BikePortland

Guest Article: ‘Peer to peer’ car-sharing and its potential in Oregon

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

— This article was written by Portlander Steve Gutmann. He works for the Portland Sustainability Institute and formerly worked for EcoSecurities and Flexcar.

(Photo © J. Maus)

On September 29th, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that will — for the first time — allow individuals in California to have their personal cars become car-sharing vehicles without invalidating their personal auto insurance. This legislation clears the way for “peer to peer,” (P2P) or personal vehicle car-sharing in California, and a similar effort is underway here in Oregon. This could dramatically accelerate the already rapid growth of car-sharing nationwide.

But why should you (a bike-riding audience) care?

This (or a 29er MTB version) could
be yours for just $20. Seriously.
(Photo: Cyclepath)

Cyclepath, a bike shop in Northeast Portland, has stepped up to support bike advocacy in Portland. They’re currently holding a raffle with a very tempting prize to bike lovers — the Grand Prize winner will choose from a Moots cyclocross or 29-inch mountain bike fully decked-out with high-end parts and worth about $7,000.

Only 1,000 tickets will be sold and 100% of the proceeds will be evenly split between the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Northwest Trail Alliance. There are also several very nice runner-up prizes.

Portland Fox TV affiliate station KPTV has published an article on their website titled, No Texting In Car? Doesn’t Work For Mom: Car Becomes Mobile Office. The article is written by Laura Lewis Brown, a syndicated columnist who writes for LifeWhile.com.

The article is a bit shocking given the massive national effort to combat distracted driving and the well-known consequences that can come from texting while driving. A friend of mine on Facebook (a mom who rides her kids around town on bicycles) saw the article and wrote via a status update, “I am speechless! Is this a joke? What planet is this woman from?”

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“1 in 55 Americans will die in a car crash*. My job is to say it out loud. Why do we allow these deaths to occur?”
— Peter Jacobsen, P.E., public health consultant and researcher

As I mentioned yesterday, public health consultant and research Peter Jacobsen, P.E., will be in Portland Friday to spread the word about the “Vision Zero” traffic safety philosophy.

(You might recall Jacobsen as the researcher behind the widely regarded and influential “Safety in Numbers” concept. Learn more about that in a recent column on Grist.com by Portland’s very own Elly Blue.)

In a nutshell, the Vision Zero concept is about a total re-thinking of the way we approach street design and traffic engineering polices and practices. To learn more about it, I interviewed Jacobsen over the phone yesterday.

Forest Park.
(Photo: J. Maus)

Commissioner Nick Fish’s big decision to put off improved bike access to Forest Park may have come and gone, but the issue is still in the news.

Oregon Public Broadcasting is set to air a special episode of Oregon Field Guide tonight on Forest Park and the Northwest Trail Alliance has released more details and a statement about their “Share the Park” event that’s happening on Saturday.

You might recall that it was an OPB crew that stumbled upon the illegal trail working on this special that set off a media frenzy and ended up having a major impact on the ongoing discussion about bicycling in the park. The special airs on OPB tonight at 8:30 p.m.. Here’s how OPB frames the bicycling portion of the show (via a press release):

Year: 1993
Brand: trek 7900
Model: hybrid
Color:white
Stolen in Portland, OR
Stolen:2007-10-14
Stolen From: south east portland
Owner: eric goldstein
OwnerEmail: wrecklesseric47@mac.com
Reward: $100
Description: i scratched off the T in trek. so it says rek. its an old hybrid with a more modern gruppo. its a white bike but pretty scratched up. im offering a reward for its return
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Silver Specialized Sequoia 2006

Year: 2006
Brand: Specialized
Model: Sequoia
Color:Silver
Size:51″
Serial: P5GH26043
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-10-12
Stolen From: My backyard bike shed
Near SE Belmont and SE 39th Ave.
Neighborhood: Sunnysdie
Owner: Meredith Hendricks
OwnerEmail: meredithhendricks@msn.com
Reward: $200.00
Description: 2006 Specialized Sequioa – Silver
Specialized FACT carbon front and rear forks
MTB Shimano clip pedals
Black plastic fenders
Drop bars with black wrap
Reelight SL100 safety lights (magnetic running lights)
Shimano 105 9-speed component group
Silver back rack and two silver water bottle cages
New Black Wheels
Gold bell
When stolen it had a yellow Ortlieb bag on the back rack full of my personal belongings
Police record with: Portland Police
Police reference#: 10-085073
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Silver Specialized Sequioa 2006

Year: 2006
Brand: Specialized
Model: Sequioa
Color:Silver
Size:51″
Serial: P5GH26043
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-10-12
Stolen From: My backyard near SE Belmont and SE 39th Ave.
Owner: Meredith Hendricks
OwnerEmail: meredithhendricks@msn.com
Description: 2006 Specialized Sequioa – Silver
Specialized FACT carbon front and rear forks
MTB Shimano clip pedals
Black plastic fenders
Drop bars with black wrap
Reelight SL100 safety lights (magnetic running lights)
Shimano 105 9-speed component group
Silver back rack and two silver water bottle cages
New Black Wheels
Gold bell
When stolen it had a yellow Ortlieb bag on the back rack full of my personal belongings

White Specialized 1994

Year: 1994
Brand: Specialized
Color:White
Size:58 cm
Photo: http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/5112/img0147me.jpg
Stolen in Portland, OR 97206
Stolen:2010-10-9
Stolen From: Stolen outside of EastEnd bar right on Ash and Grand streets on Saturday night 10/9/10
Neighborhood: NE industrial Area
Owner: Philip Orchard
OwnerEmail: Philiporchard@gmail.com
Reward: Yes!
Description: Shimano shifters and components, clip in pedals, the Specialized logo on the left side of the frame is scuffed in the middle of the word “specialized” there is a sticker of a tree on the crotch bar. Black carbon for with a “time” sticker. White seat and blue handle grip.
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

City flips switch on bike signals at Broadway/Williams (Video) – UPDATED

The new bike signals at Broadway/Williams. As you can tell by the encroachment of this motor vehicle, it will take some time for folks to get used to the changes.

Year: 2005
Brand: Trek
Model: 1000
Color:Silver, white, and blue
Size:54cm
Serial:SC84AL598
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-10-13
Stolen From: Grace Bible Church, SW 12th and Clay. Portland.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Owner: Lyndsey Hall
OwnerEmail: thelyndseyhall@gmail.com
Reward: $200
Description: Bike is women’s specific, and had pedals for clip in shoes, had a bell bike bag on the back, attachments for lights on handle bar and rear.
Police record with: filed with portland police, pending approval
Police reference#: n/a
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Weekend Event Guide

Looks like another great weekend in the saddle! This week’s guide offers something for everyone: trail building and advocacy, freak bikes, informative tours, and plenty of mud.

Friday, October 15th

8:00pm: Freak Bike Alleycat
The main event of Freak Bike Fall, come join what promises to be a crazy good race. Freak bikes of all shapes and sizes will compete in a race around town, stopping at some truly unique and interesting checkpoints along the way. Race begins at Irving Park, NE 7th and Fargo.

Saturday, October 16th

Guest Article: ‘Peer to peer’ car-sharing and its potential in Oregon

Local shop steps up for advocacy with benefit raffle

Columnist, mom: I should be able to text and drive in “my mobile office”

“Why do we allow these deaths to occur?” – A Q&A with Peter Jacobsen

Forest Park roundup: OPB special tonight, rally on Saturday

white trek 7900 hybrid 1993

Silver Specialized Sequoia 2006

Silver Specialized Sequioa 2006

White Specialized 1994

City flips switch on bike signals at Broadway/Williams (Video) – UPDATED

Silver, white, and blue Trek 1000 2005

Weekend Event Guide

Friday, October 15th

Latest Headlines

Video: Good bike infrastructure vs bad drivers

Merry Christmas! Portland’s upgraded automated speed cameras are ticketing drivers once again

Monday Roundup: Golden gravel route, too bad for Rad, Uber is sad, and more

Video: Meet a nursing student who received one of Portland’s first e-bike rebates

From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride