Looking north on SE 8th Avenue where it crosses the rail tracks.
A person riding a bicycle died after being involved in a collision with a MAX light rail train today around 1:30 pm. It happened near Southeast Division and 8th Avenue.
It appears that the bicycle rider was using the street, not the bike path. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office says the rider was headed north on SE 8th when they went around caution barriers that had been lowered due to the passage of a Union Pacific train.
“The cyclist rode his bike into the opposing southbound lanes of travel, where there are no crossing arms, and was subsequently hit by a MAX train traveling in the direction of Milwaukie as he crossed the railroad tracks,” reads the Sheriff’s statement.
There are four rail tracks at this location — two northern tracks for heavy rail and two southern tracks for light rail. According to local news reports, TriMet Media Relations Manager Tia York said at the scene that, “Maybe [the cyclist] was anticipating or looking out for the Union Pacific train and didn’t stop to think that there could be a MAX train here as well.”
With four sets of tracks it’s very possible this bike rider saw one train clear the intersection and believed it was safe to cross — only to be hit by a train they never saw.
There is still more to learn about this crash. Stay tuned for more coverage. If you saw what happened and have anything to share, please get in touch.
UPDATE: A BikePortland reader rolled past the scene right after it happened and shared this account:
I rode past as the 2nd fire rescue was arriving on-scene.
The MAX train was headed east toward Gresham and was in the furthest South TriMet line of the 4 tracks.
There was a white ball-cap (and some misc other debris) in the northbound car lane on SE 8th Ave. and the cyclist was dragged east from the crossing before the MAX train stopped with the cyclist on the south side of the train outside the rail pinned under one of the MAX cars.
Even if there had been a Union Pacific freight train, that would have not obscured the cyclist view of the MAX train. Perhaps there was an approaching UP train that they were racing to beat and had tunnel vision on the UP locomotive. Or they were just trying to beat the MAX train at the very last second, going north in the southbound lane to avoid the crossing arm.
UPDATE, 6/19 at 3:50 pm: KOIN is reporting (via the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office) that the person who died in this collision was 80-year-old Michael O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan, who liked to be called “Mayor Mike,” ran for Portland Mayor in the last election and was a regular at Bike Happy Hour where he spoke several times on open mic about his plans to help the homelessness crisis. This is such sad news. Mike was a really bright and warm guy. Check out his campaign website to learn more about him.
Lane widths matter. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A slew of additional amendments to House Bill 2025 have been posted in the last 24 hours as lawmakers attempt to pass a major transportation spending package before the end of the session.
There are now a total of six amendments to the original bill. Some are very minor, while others are consequential. Yesterday I shared how lawmakers want to address an e-bike rebate program and a funding increase for the Oregon Community Paths Program — both of which were left out of the original bill.
Two new amendments seeks to address a major concern of may transportation safety advocates: a provision in the original bill that seeks to establish a minimum lane width of 12-feet on all major freight routes in Oregon.
This provision, likely inserted into the bill by a lawmaker at the behest of trucking industry advocates, would have codified into law a minimum lane width of 12 feet on “identified freight routes.” The trust deficit around this issue and ironclad, top-down rule about something as important as lane widths, raised many eyebrows. In a newsletter to her constituents in Albany and Corvallis, State Senator Sara Gelser Blouin said the impacts of the legislation would be “alarming”. Sources told BikePortland that even top planners and engineers at the Oregon Department of Transportation were opposed to the idea.
The two amendments — the “dash 13” introduced by Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment Co-chairs, Sen. Chris Gorsek and Rep. Susan McLain; and the “dash 15” introduced by Rep (and Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment member) Mark Gamba — seek a compromise: it would still call for 12-foot lane widths, but not if “safety or access considerations require otherwise.” The proposed new rule would also apply only to: newly constructed lanes, lanes that are officially designated freight routes on state highways, and lanes are located outside of an urban growth boundary.
The changes proposed in these amendments are clearly aimed at preventing the lane width provision from having a negative impact on bicycling, walking, and other road users whose safety is directly connected to crossing distances.
Gamba’s 95-page amendment (known as “dash 15” because it’s HB 2025-15) seeks many other changes to the original bill and it’s based on the same “SMART [Safe, Modern, Affordable & Accountable, Reliable Transportation] Framework” that he and a group of progressive Democrats released earlier this month.
The Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment held an informational meeting on HB 2025 Tuesday evening and is scheduled for a work session and possible vote Thursday (6/19). Learn more about the bill via the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) or in the BP archives.
Viv Jeevan (middle, white shirt) on a group ride in 2023. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Around 7:00 pm on June 2nd, Portlander Vivek Jeevan was part of a group of about 30 cyclists on a ride that’s part of the Bike Summer festival. As he and another rider were in the back of the group headed north on Northeast 7th Ave approaching NE Holladay, they were approached by two aggressive car drivers. One of the drivers intentionally drove into Viv. The incident shocked and startled him and even days after it happened, Viv was unable to ride as he processed the fear and trauma.
I asked Viv to write about the incident. Below is a slightly edited account of what happened:
Spirits were high as it was the 2nd day of Pedalpalooza, and the Kickoff Ride was the night before. We’d just left our meeting location at Colonel Summers Park. We were and 10-15 minutes into the ride. The ride was proceeding at an unusually fast pace, but Lynn (friend I rode with) and I were keeping up.
I was dealing with multiple road conditions at the time. The ride started to stretch out, and Lynn was falling behind. Lynn and I were at the tail end of the ride, and there were still cyclists directly in front of us. Lynn was in the bike lane, I was to her right in the traffic lane. I was talking to Lynn, asking how she was feeling, and she said she was struggling to keep up with the pace of the ride.
At that moment, an aggressive driver approached behind us. I could hear him revving his engine and getting close. I quickly moved into the bike lane behind Lynn, and when the driver passed us, I resumed my position in the traffic lane. I immediately worried, because then the driver revved and got close to the cyclist in front of me. I wondered if I should start taking video, or yell a warning to the cyclists. At the same time, I was talking to Lynn. I asked her if she wanted to quit the ride, and she said “yes”. I said we’d get off the road at the next intersection.
At this point, a second aggressive driver approached behind us. He honked and yelled various anti-bicycle things continually: “Get out of the way, you bicyclists think you own the road!” We were headed North on 7th Street. Lynn was in the bike lane. I was on her right near her, to talk her through the problem she was having, so I was “riding to the right” in the traffic lane. I don’t know if this second aggressive driver could see the entire Pedalpalooza group and was angry at all of us, or if he could see just me and Lynn (and maybe a few other cyclists), since the first aggressive driver had gotten in front of me, splitting up the group ride that was already starting to stretch out.
Viv in 2021. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
From the moment I heard him yelling, we were about 3-5 seconds away from an intersection at Holladay St. I was planning to tell Lynn that we’d get onto the sidewalk there. The traffic lane I was in was only wide enough for one car. I ignored this second aggressive driver, thinking we’d get out of his way in just a few seconds. And in general, there are screaming people throughout Portland that I ignore and just move away from quickly.
But the second angry driver suddenly lurched forward, and he intentionally struck me.
There were only a few seconds between when he started honking and screaming from behind us, and when he accelerated into me. His side mirror collapsed on the impact. I remember it hitting my shoulder. It didn’t knock me down, and I can’t remember if or how much it pushed me to the side. Immediately after the collision, we were at the light at 7th and Holladay. The light was previously green, and I remember the light turning, and thinking, ‘He hit me, now we’re stuck together at the light.’ I don’t remember if the driver slowed at the light, or came to at a full stop. He decided to run the light. I can’t recall if it was a late yellow, or a full red, but the driver decided to high-tail it away.
I chased him, screaming “hit and run!” So I too went through the light, which was likely red at that point. I expected to try and take a photo of the plate, then call 911 and report a hit and run. However, the driver pulled into a parking space at the north end of the intersection. I then realized I was going to have to face him. I called 911. He came out of his vehicle screaming at me, walking menacingly, and waving his arms. Fortunately a security guard heard the commotion and walked towards us, keeping himself between me and the driver.
The driver seemed like a person who wasn’t doing well. His face had the appearance of drug abuse. His visual appearance, jerky mannerisms, and speech pattern were those of other Portland residents who are screaming on the sidewalks. He was screaming continually at me, and couldn’t keep a logical train of thought or argument. His yelling jumped back and forth between phrases that I’m listing here by category, removing a lot of swearing: “You were in my way, how dare you ride in front of me, you think you’re the king of the road, bicyclists think they own the street, why did you call 911, this is nothing, how could you call the police, why did you do this, you’re making a big deal out of nothing!”
911 took the call immediately. They asked for vehicle information, which I was able to fully give since the driver had parked. Two officers arrived in a few minutes. One officer stood in one place, remaining silent and watching. Officer Kyle Williams (badge number #62010) did all the work.
Officer Williams separated the driver and myself, and talked to us one at a time. He asked for my Oregon ID card, and I heard him ask for the driver’s license and insurance. When he interviewed me, his first concern was the location of the crash. I showed him the street. His first question was where I was riding. When I explained that I was with a Pedalpalooza group of 30 cyclists, and I was in the traffic lane because the bike lane was occupied, his face lit up. He smiled as if he’d just solved a challenge problem. “You caused this because you were in the car lane,” the officer said to me. “You’re legally required to be in the bike lane for your protection.” (Note: The law that pertains to this situation, ORS 814.430, says a bicycle rider can leave the bike lane if they are overtaking another rider. Also of note is that Viv is very knowledgable about this law because he was part of a group that sought to repeal it.)
I knew from my experience reviewing crash reports that I had just a few minutes to give my story for his report, which would then become the permanent record, so I had to explain difficult traffic law and bike safety concepts in quick sound bites. I was not given enough time to explain much of anything. My response, for better or worse, was, “I’m a traffic instructor. I teach traffic skills, and I know my rights.” (I can attest that Viv travels with a bi-folded business card that lists key bike laws.) But the officer brushed off my comments with a quick phrase like “we’ll see about that” or something of that nature, and immediately changed the subject.
When he interviewed the driver, the driver was still yelling and frantically waving his arms. I heard Officer Williams once or twice tell him to calm down.
After having interviewed us both, Officer Williams handed me back my Oregon ID along with his business card. He said, “Nothing criminal has happened. I have conflicting stories… you tell me he intentionally struck you, he said you intentionally hit his mirror (so apparently the driver came up with a quick lie). You are both at fault. The driver should have waited for you, and you provoked him by being in the car lane. You’re both ignorant.”
At this point, I didn’t say a word, and left the scene. It felt like his decision was already made, and he was already visibly irritated with me, and clearly used the word “ignorant” to not cross the line — using that to replace the vulgarity of what he truly thought of me.
When I walked away, I felt my knee hurt. At the time of the crash, I only remember my elbow being hit, and the feeling of the vehicle at my side. It’s possible the vehicle also hit my knee, or maybe I was imagining the pain.
Viv has engaged a lawyer and is pursuing his legal options.
This is a very disappointing police interaction. I’ve known Viv for several years and he rides with extreme care and caution. To have him dismissed, called “ignorant” and both-sided like that, is disturbing. It’s a good illustration of how inadequate our system is when it comes to responding to vehicular violence. This is also a validation of fears many Portlanders have, and it’s another reason some folks choose to not ride bikes at all.
I share this because I hear a lot of stories about aggressive drivers and I worry that police officers are either unable or unwilling to handle them with the care and urgency they require. Creating a great cycling city is about much more than infrastructure. It’s about a pro-cycling culture that takes vehicular violence seriously.
Thanks Viv for sharing your story. Sorry this happened to you and I hope to see you back on your bike very soon.
One glaring omission from the transportation bill that was released last week was language that would create an electric bike rebate program. When I spoke to House Representative Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie) in April, he assured me the rebate policy he crafted in House Bill 2963 would be folded into the larger bill. But when HB 2025 came out, it was nowhere to be found.
Now the e-bike has returned to the bill in an amendment that was just made public a few minutes ago. The amendment would also boost funding for carfree biking and walking paths after a week of intense lobbying from transportation and environmental advocacy groups.
The amendment adds an increase to the existing vehicle privilege tax for luxury cars, bringing the rate to 4% of the retail price. Oregon’s vehicle privilege tax was set at 0.5% in 2017 and with this amendment to HB 2025, it would be raised to 1% for vehicles that sell for less than $75,000 and up to 4% for vehicles over that price.
As I reported yesterday, a “luxury vehicle tax” emerged from a coalition of advocates and lawmakers who were concerned that major transportation needs were left out of HB 2025. Chief among them were electric vehicle and charging infrastructure subsidies and more funding for off-highway walking and cycling paths. The -11 amendment posted today addresses these concerns.
Of the total revenue raised by this tax increase, half will go to the Railroad Fund (no change with this amendment), but of the remaining 50% would now be split in the following ways:
33% to the Multimodal Active Transportation Fund (that funds the Oregon Community Paths Program),
37% to the Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Incentive Fund,
15% to the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electrification Charging Fund,
10% to the Department of Transportation Operating Fund, “for the purpose of providing rebates for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations under the department’s community charging rebates program,”
and 5% to the Electric Bicycle Incentive Fund.
According to the amendment, the E-Bike Incentive Fund would remain largely the same as Gamba first proposed. It would give a rebate voucher of $1,200 to individuals who are 16 or older and who are already enrolled in a state program that provides medical assistance. The program would be housed in the Department of Human Services and they would coordinate with Oregon Health Authority using the existing Oregon Eligibility (ONE) System to verify who qualifies.
The only difference I can see in the program is that there would no longer be a set amount of revenue for it. Gamba initially asked for $5 million to kickstart the fund, which would have been enough for about 4,000 to 5,000 vouchers. I haven’t seen the math yet on how much revenue 5% of the vehicle privilege tax would raise.
The next hearing on the bill is an informational meeting scheduled for 5:00 pm tonight (Tuesday). Then on Wednesday at 3:00 pm the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment has scheduled the bill’s first work session. Check out HB 2025 on the state’s legislative information website for more information.
Riding in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Trout Lake. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A plan to sell off about millions of acres of public land for housing development has raised eyebrows among many Oregonians who say it threatens popular cycling routes in nearby forests.
The legislation is included in the Trump Administration’s budget bill and it was released last week by the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources (ENR). The proposal would require the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service to identify between 2 and 3 million acres of land and sell it to the highest bidder. Any land sold through this process must be developed into housing or “community needs as defined by the Secretary of the Interior.”
According to the Wilderness Society, 21.7 million acres of public land in Oregon would become available for sale. A map shared on their website shows large swaths of land in the Cascade Range that could be sold. USFS tracts east of Portland between the Sandy and Columbia Rivers — including popular roads and trails around Larch Mountain and the Bull Run Reservoir — could be sold for development. And while the bill text says protected areas, national parks and national monuments would not be eligible for sale, the Trump Administration is also making moves to undo those designations.
Tracts of public lanes eligible for sale in yellow (BLM) and green (USFS). (Source: Wilderness Society)
The ranking Democrat on the ENR Committee, Sen. Martin Heinrich from New Mexico, said the legislation would, “Take a sledgehammer to our national public lands,” and that it’s not about housing: “It’s about giving their billionaire buddies your land.” The Wilderness Society says the bill would set an “extremely dangerous precedent” and that it, “includes a range of extraordinary giveaways aimed at privatizing public lands.”
Republicans who support the legislation reject these criticisms and say the total acreage sold would amount to just 0.5% to 0.75% of the total land currently held by the BLM and USFS. They say it would help solve the housing affordability crisis because only lands that are 1-5 miles from a major population center would qualify for the sale. A fact sheet published by the ENR Committee states that, “Unlocking federal land for housing will develop millions of single-family homes, resulting in greater housing supply and making housing more affordable.” (Note they mention “single-family homes,” which validates fears that any housing built on the lands wouldn’t be affordable.)
If the bill were to pass, the current language says the Secretary of the Interior would have to consult with the Governor of the state were the land sale is proposed, as well as local government and tribal representatives. But given the track record of playing fast-and-loose with the law and major lack of trust in the Trump Administration in general, those provisions are no source of solace.
The public lands sale legislation is part of a package of proposals in Trump’s “big beautiful bill” that includes a vast overhaul of energy policy that would, “repeal billions in unspent Green New Deal handouts,” vastly expand timber farming and oil and gas leases, encourage coal mining, and more. Learn more about the bill at ENR’s website.
The Fanno Creek Trail in Washington County is the type of facility that could be funded with Oregon Community Path Program grants. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Oregonians are flooding the voicemails and inboxes of state lawmakers in hopes of reminding them that something left out of the big transportation bill is worth funding: off-street, walking and cycling paths.
When some path advocates looked through the 102-page House Bill 2025, they were dismayed to find that the Oregon Community Paths Program was nowhere to be found. Now, with support from Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment Co-chair Senator Chris Gorsek, they’re pushing a new luxury tax on expensive cars to help the program meet demands.
“Trucks or ducks? Where would you want your kids to ride? Tell lawmakers not to delay in investing in the off-street paths our communities deserve!” reads a graphic from the nonprofit Oregon Trails Coalition that features an image (below) of a semi-truck on Columbia Boulevard next to a child riding on the Columbia Slough Path.
The Oregon Community Paths (OCP) Program was established in 2017 when the previous transportation bill created the Multimodal Active Transportation Fund and filled it with revenue generated by the $15 bike tax and a portion of Oregon Lottery proceeds. Since 2017, ODOT has added funding from the Federal Highway Administration and a portion of a statewide tax on car dealers to bolster program resources. Grants are awarded every other year. In its first year (2021), the program awarded $11.3 million to 21 projects across the state. In its second year, $37 million was awarded. While that sounds like good news, keep in mind that for every dollar the program awarded in its first two funding cycles, four dollars in project applications were denied. This year, the Oregon Department of Transportation says they have $61 million to allocate and they’ve had over $120 million worth of project applications.
(Source: Oregon Trails Coalition)
House Bill 2025 as it was released last week included no new funding for the OCP program, which means demand for these projects will continue to outstrip demand. The lack of new funding was surprising given that the bill framework released back in April mentioned the OCP and included very positive language about the need to fund them. That initial proposal sought an increase in the bike tax which ostensibly would have led to a commensurate boost to the OCP Program; but when the bill finally came out last week, the bike tax increase was off the table.
Given the myriad benefits of providing safe places for Oregonians to walk and roll without the stress of drivers and their cars, path and trail project advocates say the time is now to increase funding.
“We cannot accept a transportation package that puts hundreds of millions of new transportation dollars on the table while making zero attempt at addressing the funding shortfall for Oregon Community Paths!” exclaimed Oregon Trails Coalition Executive Director Steph Noll in an email to BikePortland last week.
Instead of increasing the existing bike tax, Noll and other groups — along with hundreds of their supporters — have been busy in the past week writing letters to lawmakers asking for support of a luxury vehicle tax. Path and trail advocates have joined forces with environmental, energy, and electrification nonprofits to push for a 4% luxury tax on vehicles that sell for over $75,000. Revenue from the new tax would fund the OCP Program and vehicle electrification initiatives.
Marisol De La Torre, a legislative advocate with Oregon Just Transition Alliance testified in support of the tax at a public hearing on HB 2025 last week. She told lawmakers it’s not fair when higher taxes and fees hit lower-income communities. “Those with the means must pay their fair share,” De La Torre said. “We are encouraged by the idea of a luxury vehicle sales tax.”
Rogue Climate Legislative Coordinator Zoe Serrano told lawmakers via testimony on the bill that, “It’s time to get creative with ideas like the 4% luxury vehicle tax that calls on those who can afford it most to invest in safe, healthy, connected communities across Oregon.”
Noll says an official amendment to HB 2025 is forthcoming, but I haven’t seen it posted yet. The language is expected to spell out that one-third of revenue generated by the new tax would go to OCP Program (via Multimodal Active Transportation Fund) and the remaining two-thirds would go toward electric vehicle incentives and charging infrastructure. (A group of Democrats are pushing a SMART Framework that would raise $20 million per year for the OCP Program.)
Given that HB 2025 already seeks to impose a 3% tax on new cars (a 1% vehicle privilege tax and a 2% transfer tax on new vehicles), the additional luxury tax would put a 7% tax on new luxury vehicles. Proponents of the concept say this would put Oregon on part with nearby peer states like Connecticut, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada, who have similar new car taxes of 7.75%, 6%, 11% and 8% respectively.
After hosting three public hearings for HB 2025 last week, the legislature is continuing to debate and negotiate the bill. Stay tuned for more coverage.
It’s sticker night! (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Hope you can join us at Bike Happy Hour this week. On Wednesday from 3-6 pm we’ll gather in the Ankeny Rainbow Road Plaza for food, drinks, and conversations. As per usual, we’ll do free snacks around 4:00 and if you’d like to speak at open mic, just show up and step up around 5:30.
This week we’ll share stickers and bike t-shirts! Wear your fave bike-related tee and tell us a story about it. We’ll have a free pile table if you’ve got extras you want to recycle. I’ll bring a bunch of stickers to share and show, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. I just got some new stickers printed that I’m happy to share (especially if you make a contribution to BikePortland!) and I’ve got special “BikePortland Subscriber” stickers to give out as well. Stickers and t-shirts are the cultural currency of our community. They make our bikes and lives more colorful and interesting and they are a great way to spread propaganda and the joy of cycling.
I also noticed that the Cat Ride leaves from nearby Colonel Summers Park at 6:30 pm, so Bike Happy Hour would be a perfect spot to meet friends and pre-party!
But wait, there’s more! I’ve got new BikePortland hats! They’re slate grey with the logo embroidered in the front and “Community News Since 2005” across the back.
After missing last week, I’m excited to see everyone. This Wednesday is also two days before my second knee replacement surgery, so I’ll be counting on see you to lift my spirits and get me through another rehab.
By the way, if you work in City Hall and want to sit down for an informal, live chat during Bike Happy Hour, just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com and we’ll make it happen. I’d love to talk with local electeds and city staff. Let’s open up our conversations to the community and expand our perspectives by listening to each and learning from one another.
Dig out your classic-est bike tee and tell us what it means to you!
Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I got through three graduation events and family in town, so this week should be a bit more chill for me. I’m really looking forward to Bike Happy Hour Wednesday where we’ll have our sort of annual sticker swap.
And with that, here are the most notable stories that came across my desk in the past seven days…
Boosting U.S. bike industry: A bill introduced in Congress with bipartisan sponsors would eliminate tariffs on components used to assemble complete bikes in the U.S. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)
Land sell-off: In their latest attempt to screw up our country just to own the libs and make a quick buck, the Trump Administration is prepping to sell millions of acres of public lands, including over six million acres in Oregon. So much for “This land is our land.” (The Wilderness Society)
No fare, no healthier air: As you debate about fare-free transit, make sure to understand that it only has a positive emissions impact if it results in drivers switching to transit — and many examples show that doesn’t typically happen. (Bloomberg)
‘Fake’ e-bikes: A report by a UK parliamentary workgroup recommends taking aggressive action against what they call “fake e-bikes,” warning that their unsafe batteries, impacts on gig workers, and regulatory confusion is a threat to public safety and to legitimate e-bikes. (All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking)
Destroying a good thing: New York City continues to try and ruin all their progress as a cycling city by allowing their police officers to seek out cyclists with a heavy hand. (Streetsblog NYC)
Bikes save the day: A transit strike in Montreal led to a massive upswing in cycling trips as folks flocked to shared bikes and shattered daily ridership records when they couldn’t get on the bus or train. (CBC)
The Caravan Route: A new, 520-mile route in Morocco that follows the path of ancient trading caravans (hence the name) looks to be a perfect adventure to add to your bucket list. (BBC)
The fight over lane widths has found its way into the transportation bill. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The trucking industry wants more room on Oregon roads and they’ve taken an unprecedented step to get it. Instead of working through traditional project development channels where engineers, planners and advocates work together to solve design issues based on compromise and context on a project-by-project basis, trucking advocates are pushing a mandatory 12-foot minimum lane width on freight routes statewide.
On the last page of the 102-page House Bill 2025 (the transportation bill) being debated in Salem this week are three lines that could have major implications on projects across the state. Section 160 of the bill states: “the commission may not reduce the width of an existing motor vehicle travel lane on an identified freight route to less than 12 feet.” (The “commission” refers to the Oregon Transportation Commission, a governor-appointed body that oversees the Oregon Department of Transportation.)
Trucking advocates are making a rare and bold attempt to circumvent process and enshrine what should be a transportation engineering decision into state law. Beyond that, the vague language of “identified freight route” could leave the question of which roads this applies to open to discretion. For those reasons and others, the trucking industry’s latest gambit to make headway on this issue faces strong opposition from road safety advocates. It’s also not supported by state and national design guidelines or best practices, and even Oregon’s chief traffic engineer seems to prefer a different approach.
The provision is backed by trucking advocates like Jana Jarvis, president of the Oregon Trucking Association (OTA). In testimony at the public hearing on HB 2025 Tuesday, Jarvis said the lane width language is an, “important piece of the legislation.” “Freight routes need to be built and maintained to support large trucks by requiring 12-foot lanes to safely accommodate those vehicles,” she testified.
Section 160 of HB 2025.
Pushing for wider lanes has been a major focus of trucking advocates for years. In 2022 BikePortland detailed growing tensions between trucking companies and ODOT staff over lane widths. The issue became such a common debate among trucking representatives and ODOT project staff at freight project advisory committee meetings that the agency formed the Travel Lane Widths Work Group in March 2023.
In January 2024, OTA Government Relations Policy Advisor Mark Gibson said truck drivers need a minimum of 12 feet because “there’s a great deal of stress being a truck driver in an urban environment.” In a presentation to the ODOT Mobility Advisory Committee (the MAC, where decisions about freight route lane widths are made) Gibson said, “We’re all suffering from the road diet era.”
Contrast that perspective of a truck driver with the people outside the truck. Walkers, bicycle riders, motorcycle users — even smaller car drivers who use roads alongside truckers feel the impacts of wider lanes. Wider lanes lead to higher speeds, longer crossing distances, and more risk for road users overall. And road widths are finite: When you add a foot to one lane, it means another lane must become narrower. When that lane is a bike lane or shoulder, other road users suffers.
That’s one reason the 12-foot lane provision has drawn opposition from transportation advocates like David Binnig with BikeLoud PDX. In a letter submitted to the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment, Binnig requested that the language be removed from the bill. He wrote, “While 12-foot lanes may be appropriate on high-speed freeways, they are not suitable on streets where people live and work.”
Binning pointed out that the provision works against the legislature’s intention to boost funding in HB 2025 for ODOT’s Great Streets program — a program that seeks to update urban highways and transform them from traffic and freight thoroughfares into more humane and livable streets where commerce and community can thrive.
If the lane width provision remains in the bill, Binnig wrote, “Oregon would be dedicating funding to safer streets while at the same time outlawing the changes on the ground that are needed to make those streets safe.”
Trucking advocates point to the fact that a typical freight truck is 10 and-a-half feet wide (including side-mirrors) and 12-foot lanes are necessary so drivers don’t have to encroach into adjacent lanes (or bike lane buffers). But best practices in the planning and engineering field say 11-foot lanes are preferable because 12-foot lanes are not worth the safety tradeoffs.
ODOT’s own Highway Design Manual extols the safety virtues of narrow lane widths and clearly states that 11-foot lanes are preferred. In fact, ODOT Chief Engineer Mike Kimlinger doesn’t even appear to support such a rigid adherence to 12-foot lanes for freight.
In a December 2024 meeting of the Mobility Advisory Committee, ODOT staff presented on a project on Highway 26 through downtown Madras where they wanted to increase the width of the bike lane. Trucking advocates aired concerns and a spirited debate ensued.
Gibson from the OTA and another MAC committee member, Highway Heavy Hauling President Kristine Kennedy, wanted to narrow the bike lane in order to give truck drivers more room.
But ODOT’s Kimlinger pushed back. According to MAC meeting minutes, he opposed the OTA’s insistence on 12-foot lanes. “The desire in narrowing the lanes is truly to focus everybody, slow them all down, and make them be very attentive,” reads a paraphrased version of Kimlinger’s response captured by the committee secretary. Kimlinger then went on to point out how five-foot bike lanes would be too narrow and wouldn’t be used because riders wouldn’t feel comfortable in them. Here’s another excerpt from the minutes:
“[Kimlinger] ended by saying, yes, 11 [feet] is narrow and is going to be a bit uncomfortable for the 12-foot loads of equipment that come through, but when we are the main street of a community like this, we are put in a position to help balance that in a way we have never done before in our past.”
With negative safety implications, a divergence from best practices, opposition from transportation safety advocates, and a lack of support from ODOT’s own chief engineer, the chances of Section 160 staying in the bill appear to be getting narrower by the day.
Riders in Portland’s first-ever Kidical Mass (which took place downtown) in 2008. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
How are you doing? Been enjoying all the Bike Summer rides lately? I’m glad the heat wave has passed and we’ve got perfect weather for cycling again. I’ve been laying low because we’ve got family in town and two graduations happening so there are events to attend and parties to be had.
Have fun out there not matter what you end up doing.
Below are my selections for the best rides this weekend…
Saturday, June 14th
Portland Streetcar History Ride – 11:00 am at King School Park (NE) Learn about the extensive and interesting history of streetcars that defined northeast Portland neighborhoods in the early 1900s. This 9-mile, family-friendly loop ride will feature stops with brief educational chats. More info here.
The Going Gallup – 12:15 pm at NE Going & 17th (NE) Meet your neighhhhbors (🤣), don your best equine attire, and expect lots of fun, horse-related silliness and games as you trot along NE Going and environs. More info here.
Tenant Union Celebration Ride – 12:30 pm at Reed College (SE) Join the Revolutionary Bicycle Club as they riff of No Kings Day and help educate our community about the value and importance of forming a tenant union. All are welcome, especially if you are a tenant who wants to know your rights and is curious about organizing around them. More info here.
Kidical Mass Frozen Yogurt Ride – 2:00 pm at Tanner Springs Park (NW ) I’m so happy to see a Kidical Mass ride downtown! Family biking should not be relegated to neighborhoods and this ride will be a great opportunity for you to get comfortable riding on busier downtown streets while you remind folks in cars that you exist. For a bit of Portland bike history, watch my video of Portland’s first ever Kidical Mass in 2008! More info here.
Sunday, June 15th
Three-speed Day Tour – 10:00 am somewhere near Sellwood (TBA, SE) The Urban Adventure League and welcomes you to mount up on trusty three-speeds for a jaunt to Oregon City. Experience the legendary municipal elevator, good food at a cafe stop, Willamette Falls, and more! More info here.
Bike Bus to the Thorns – 11:30 am at The Athletic (N) Local bike celeb Jenna Bikes (who’s actually nice and real, not like a typical social media influencer (🤣) will lead this ride to a soccer match in Providence Park. Meet-up spot is the new location of The Athletic, a cool apparel shop on N Williams. More info here.
Wheel of Fortune Game Show Ride – 2:30 at Irving Park (NE) Led by Ride Safe PDX — a group working to make Portland’s bike scene safer, more welcoming, and more inclusive — leads this ride that will be full of prizes and fun. More info here.
Zoobomb! – 8:00 pm at the Pyle (SW) The proud tradition of riding mini bikes down the hills from the Zoo lives on! And this ride is led by one of the O.G. ‘bombers, the wonderful Coach Dan. It’s fun whether you show up on a mini or not. More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
It’s largest cargo bike manufacturing facility in North America that you’ve likely never heard of.
After years of avoiding media attention, the secret is finally out as Icicle Tricycles celebrates its 25th anniversary and settles into their Old Town headquarters. I got a tour of their 30,000 square-foot factory at the end of Northwest 4th Avenue on Wednesday and learned more about this burgeoning business that sells hundreds of cargo trikes a year to customers all over the globe.
Icicle Tricycles is owned by Ryan Hashagen, a relatively private guy who’s well-known by insiders for his behind-the-scenes activism on a number of local issues and who is now, somewhat reluctantly, coming out of his shell. I first met Hashagen when he moved his pedicab business from Seattle to Portland in 2008. Almost immediately, Hashagen flung himself into various advocacy campaigns; first he fought for better pedicab regulations, then he joined Portland’s bicycle business and disaster relief movements. But it was his work with Better Block PDX, the nonprofit that re-imagines public space with temporary tactical urbanism interventions and the driving force behind the Naito Parkway protected bike lane, that thrust Hashagen into the spotlight.
Hashagen’s numerous advocacy roles (he’s also a major player in the Old Town Community Association and recently won a seat on the board as its business representative) is why Icicle Tricycles has kept such a low profile. His work on sometimes sensitive issues caused him to worry that his business might get caught up in local political debates. But with the growth of his business and its quarter-century milestone, his new role in Old Town, and a position as adjunct faculty instructor at Portland State University, he’s taken cues from new employees who’ve urged him to open up.
2025 marks a new chapter for Hashagen and his business. I’ve bugged him for years to let me do a story about his shop, but he never agreed to let me in. When I got an email from his Sales and Marketing Manager Graham Adams about their 25th anniversary, I (jokingly) said I wouldn’t do the story unless I got a factory tour. I was shocked when he obliged. My time there Wednesday felt a bit like opening the gates of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Marketing and sales guy Graham Adams (left) and Ryan Hashagen.Employees at the woodworking station.A photo album of hundreds of trikes sold by the company that Hashagen made for his father.
“This is our tricycle factory,” Hashagen beamed as he swept his hand across the air of a cavernous, 100-year old warehouse on NW Hoyt that used to house, fittingly, an ice factory.
Hashagen’s business origin story began with his great uncle who ran a bike messenger service in Salem, Oregon in 1935. “He would do shopping trips, deliveries and run errands for people by bike for 10-cents a trip,” Hashagen shared, as he showed me a vintage billboard advertisement for “Red Top Shoppers Service”.
From one old trike he found in the backyard of someone’s house while hitchhiking through the Yukon in 2000, to an entire fleet of trikes that sit in orderly rows in his warehouse today, Hashagen has built Icicle Tricycles into business that employs nearly a dozen people and boasts clients as diverse as a small nonprofit bookstore to Frito-Lay at the Super Bowl, and just about everything in between.
Only 3% of the company’s orders come from Oregon and one in five trikes are shipped internationally. A whiteboard in the sales office listed about 60 current and pending orders from cities across the U.S. and Canada (where he maintains a second office).
Walking with Hashagen around the factory comes with a running dialogue of the many trike customers they’ve worked with:
“This one’s a romantic book bike, so it’s selling romance novels. These are for San Diego Premier Lacrosse League who will use them for promotional activities. This one is going to a community banana stand that will hand out free bananas in Bellevue, Washington. We build trikes for Coachella [Music Festival], the Country Music Awards, and we also just did nine trikes for the Super Bowl recently for Cheetos and Fritos.”
Then there’s the business that uses one of trikes to sell caviar, there’s been one used as a menstruation information station, and even one that was shipped to Fort Saskatchewan, Canada to serve as a job development tool for an indigenous community in a rural village that has no road accessibility.
There are popular categories of trikes that make up a large chunk of the business. The big three are: book trikes for libraries; tourist information kiosk trikes that offer free maps and travel info; and a new segment Hashagen is chasing — clean-up trikes used by urban downtown associations (and nonprofits like Ground Score in Portland that I profiled last year) that come with pressure-washers and trash clean-up tools.
Hashagen lights up when he tells me about a popular library book push cart model. “This is for service inside of libraries, schools, retirement homes — bringing literacy outreach programs to individuals and being able to do pop-up storytime in the park, or going in and lending out books after bingo at a retirement home.” One of Icicle Tricycles favorite customers is Portland-based Street Books, a nonprofit that serves people who are homeless.
The company offers a truly soup-to-nuts service. The trikes themselves are a design Hashagen and his team have refined over two decades. They are built for Icicle Tricycles and then outfitted with custom cargo boxes, paint schemes, and graphics that are all completed in their shop. The factory has a woodworking area for carts that get custom-crafted boxes with cedar wood panels, there’s a full print studio for the graphics, a shipping station, a laser etching booth for the “Icicle Tricycles” plaques fitted to each trike, an assembly and production area, and an insulation station that builds the walls of the boxes.
Many of the trikes represent an entrepreneurs first crack at owning their own business, since the low barrier to entry is a major selling point. A complete trike outfitted with a tap to dispense beer (or some other beverage), can be business and sales-ready for about $8,000.
“We’ve seen a dozens of our carts move from a cart to brick-and-mortar,” Adams, the sales guy, shared. “One of our favorites, the Nonbinarian Bookstore in New York City, started out as a library trike just last fall, then moved into a brick-and-mortar space. Now the cart lives in front of their space, and it still attracts attention and they use it to do mobile outreach.”
That attractiveness is key, Hashagen says. “Our trikes are really great at being the center of attention. They’re just so cute that they just draw people’s curiosity.”
It’s that same curiosity that built Hashagen’s business from its early days. He recalled a story when he was out selling treats and got a call from Cirque du Soleil. “They said, ‘Hey, can we buy a trike from you?’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m too busy selling ice cream right now!'”
Fast forward to today and Hashagen is too busy selling trikes to sell ice cream. (Actually, knowing him, he probably does still work an ice cream trike now and then.)
The next 25 years for Icicle Tricycles will likely see the company expand into new territory, and become a more well-known part of the community. The recent addition of electric-assist models will open up new commercial possibilities, and Hashagen says they’re launching a sign shop to design and fabricate signs for other businesses. That’s an ironic twist for a guy that intentionally left a sign off all his former buildings. It’s part of a shift for Hashagen and Icicle Tricycles, where his business and advocacy finally, fully connect.
Because for Hashagen, the trike business isn’t just about the business. It’s about how the act of using them impacts streets and other public spaces.
During my visit at the factory, he told me a story about being a young activist and attending Critical Mass rides. “It felt kind of confrontational,” he recalled. “And then later on in the day I’d be riding my tricycle and having these same people that we were frustrating on the road with our bikes, be the folks that were my potential customers and people that I wanted to engage with. And I started realizing the possibilities of how tricycles can transform public right-of-way — and how tricycles promote interactivity and commerce in the public right-of-way. We can’t just abandon our streets to be motor vehicle thoroughfares. Tricycles allow for people to do business, to interact, to invite this kind of engagement among people in a way that motor vehicles can be pretty threatening to — and so that, to me, was what was the most enticing part about tricycles.”
A work crew hired by ODOT blocking the Springwater Corridor path just south of the Ross Island Bridge. Inset: The homemade sign that appeared on the path after BikePortland contacted ODOT. (Photos: Sent in by readers)
A contractor hired by the Oregon Department of Transportation to do work on the McLoughlin Viaduct in southeast Portland near the Ross Island Bridge has blocked the Springwater Corridor path several times. That’s not a big deal, except that the community was given zero notice of the project. And the project began with ODOT not following the proper permitting and community notification procedures.
Several BikePortlanders have reached out wondering what’s going on. Here’s the deal…
After receiving photos and messages about the path blockage from a few of you, I reached out to Portland Parks & Recreation to ask what was going on. The Springwater path is a crucial link in our transportation network. For bicycle riders it’s just as important (if not more so) as Highway 99E that runs adjacent to it. So when I saw photos of a large crane and piles of fencing materials blocking the entire paved path, I wondered why I wasn’t notified about the closure. Whenever there’s even the slightest impact to the Springwater path due a construction project, Parks has a standard procedure for permitting, public notification, and detours. Ironically, I often get these closure notices and don’t even share them because the impacts are so minor. But this is not a minor impact.
(NOTE: Before this post gets totally misunderstood by haters, no, I’m not “in a rage” about this. The blockage of the path isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, I’m just telling folks what happened because I’m getting a lot of questions about it.)
This crew is working on a project that includes fencing off space under the viaduct and highway (which I assume is related to keeping campers out). The location was too hard to reach from the highway, so they changed their approach and used the path. That’s where things went south. Beginning just over one week ago, people began telling me about the blockage and how there was zero advance warning of it. When I notified Parks about the situation, they were surprised too and said a permit was still in process.
So, an ODOT contractor blocked a busy section of the Springwater Corridor path without even getting the proper permit from Parks and without following signage and detour standards?
I reached out to an ODOT spokesperson on Monday to learn more. Here’s what David House, who works in ODOT’s Region 1 public affairs office, told me:
During contractor work under the McLoughlin Viaduct on OR 99E, the contractor first tried to reach the worksite from 99E to delivery materials but needed to switch to the Oregon Pacific Railroad right-of-way and the park. Although we got access to the work site from the trail to deliver materials, we were not at first aware that Portland Parks & Recreation required notification and posting. So we and the contractor apologize for this and have corrected it.
Going forward, we have implemented a signing plan for advanced notification on the trail and are able to detour cyclists and pedestrians around the crane outriggers using the gravel trails adjacent to paved surface. Fortunately, the weather is dry, and the trails are firm.
Our contractor is telling us that they only think they have one more day of moving materials into place.
We apologize for the lack of advance notice about the trail detour.
After I connected with ODOT, one of the contractors posted a handwritten sign on the path. The sign tells people that the path will be blocked two more times before the project wraps up and that the detour is to just go around and use the singletrack dirt trail along the riverfront. If you ride this section of the Springwater, be aware of this detour today (June 12th) and and June 16th.
Thank you to the readers who gave me the heads up and shared photos about this.
