BikePortland

How about a nice game of ‘Bike Assassin’?

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Watch out. This could be
your assassin.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On June 1st, a new game is set to hit Portland’s streets. It’s called ‘Bike Assassin‘ and despite its sort of scary name, it sounds like a lot of fun.

The game is being organized by a guy calling himself “The Big Cheese”. According to Mr. Cheese, each registered player (it’s $5 to join in) gets a profile on another player and you have to find them and “kill” them with a squirt gun. When they “die” they hand over the profile of who they were supposed to kill. “You kill that person next. Last one standing wins.”

Williams is getting repaved. Any opportunity
to repaint with a wider bikeway?
(Photo © J. Maus)

In May 2006, a quick-thinking Bureau of Transportation employee, Jeff Smith, got a phone call from a maintenance crew leader who was about to re-stripe the southern end of N. Vancouver Avenue. The street had been repaved and the crew was about to lay down the same lane striping it had before — two vehicle lanes, two parking lanes, and no bike lane.

Smith saw an opportunity to reconfigure the roadway and install a crucial “missing link” in the bikeway. He acted fast, gaining approval form the city traffic engineer and a few hours later the road was re-striped with a nice, wide bike lane.

Shift puts the fun in bike fun.
(Photos © J. Maus)

I’m really looking forward to our Get Together tonight. We’ll be at Plan B (1305 SE 8th) from 5:30 to about 8:00 (in the back patio if the weather stays dry) talking about Shift and getting the lowdown on Pedalpalooza 2010 (which starts June 10th!).

Shift is the Portland bike non-profit you rarely see in the headlines, but you’ve almost certainly heard of their work. They’re the minds and muscle behind things like the aforementioned Pedalpalooza (a 17-day celebration of bikes unlike anything in the world), our legendary Naked Bike Ride, Bike Moves, Breakfast on the Bridges, and much more.

Year: 1995
Brand: Schwinn
Model: road
Color:dark purple
Size:60cm
Photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SbXhGl3yFHFMpAadk1272Q?feat=directlink
Stolen in Portland, OR 97214
Stolen:2010-05-23
Stolen From: House porch @ SE 37th & SE Mill (near Hawthorne)
Neighborhood: Hawthorne
Owner: Jesiah Martin
OwnerEmail: jesiah@gmail.com
Reward: cash value of bike
Description: 18ish spd, all Shimano components, white bar tape, no fenders, single red triangle rear light, black seat. All emblems and stickers removed / home painted / well used. Also stolen was the light purple cable lock with symbols instead of numbers. Pic is recent, if small.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 10-152219
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Blue and Silver Trek Kids Mountain Bike

Brand: Trek
Model: Kids Mountain Bike
Color:Blue and Silver
Size:24″ ?
Stolen in Portland, OR 97212
Stolen:2010-05-24
Stolen From: NE Thompson St, near Williams
Neighborhood: Elliot
Owner: Rachel Valdes
OwnerEmail: valdesrachel@hotmail.com
Description: blue and silver kids trek, 21 speed, one of the shifters gets stuck, there was a bike gallery sticker on it and another bike shop sticker(can’t remember what)
Police record with: Portland PD
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Springwater repaving begins: Detour maps and closure details

View details on closures below.
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Springwater Trail Repaving Project has begun and so have the closures we warned you about back in March. Since our last update, Portland Parks has released updated detour and closure information (which I’ve posted below).

To recap, this project is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, a.k.a. the stimulus bill). The money will pay for repaving eight miles of trail and it’s set for completion by the end of August.

The trail will be closed in four separate sections and the Parks Department has been kind enough to color code them for us. Detour details and scheduled closures are listed below…

Stephen Gomez, Vice-Chair of the BTA board,
is managing the elections process.
(Photo: Adams Carroll)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is currently accepting applications to be evaluated for election to their Board of Directors. These elections are important because the board has significant sway and oversight into the policies and direction of the organization. We have gotten emails and phone calls from people in the community who wanted to know more about the election process, so I asked Board Vice Chair Stephen Gomez to explain how it works.

These fence posts riled tempers. Now
the project is delayed until neighbors
know more.
(Photo: Jim Parsons/BikePortland)

When fence posts went up where the Fanno Creek Trail crosses SW Hall Boulevard (map) over the weekend, trail users were outraged.

Beaverton Bicycle Advisory Committee member Barbara Chapnick fired off an email to several fellow advocates and city planners that read, “This is absolutely terrible! Horrible, abominable! What can we do about this?”

Year: 2009
Brand: Kona
Model: Dew Plus
Color:60cm
Size:black
Serial: i110803454
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2010-05-26
Stolen From: NW Hoyt and 17th; Alphabet District
Neighborhood: Alphabet District, NW Portland
Owner: Mary Ann Pastene
OwnerEmail: mpastene@comcast.net
Description: Kickstand, lights
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T10003152
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Job: Part-time IT Assistant (Alta Planning + Design) – FILLED

Job Title
Part-time IT Assistant

Company/Organization
Alta Planning + Design

This position has been filled.

Job Description
Alta Planning and Design is a 65-person consulting firm with a mission to provide green infrastructure and program solutions that help people have active daily lives. We specialize in bicycle, pedestrian, trail, park, and greenway planning, design, and implementation, in addition to outreach and education programs. We are a growing company with projects at the local, national, and international level. For more information, see our website www.altaplanning.com.

Alta Planning and Design’s Portland office is seeking:

Part-time IT Assistant: The IT assistant will work on a wide range of day to day tasks. The ideal candidate will have experience in end user technical support and website content management. This is not just a “help desk” position, the person filling this role will be involved with projects and interacting with professional staff on a daily basis. A professional appearance, great customer service skills, and a positive attitude are a must.

Required Skills:
• Expert knowledge and troubleshooting ability of Windows XP and Vista
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS and basic web formatting
• Ability to troubleshoot issues with a variety of peripherals including printers, copiers, digital cameras, projectors, etc. If it’s broken you CAN fix it.
• Must be detail oriented and have an ability to clearly convey instructions to non-technical staff both in person and over the phone

Preferred Skills:
• Experience with Google Apps
• PHP, Javascript, MySQL or other SQL, Pivot Tables, Google API’s
• Basic knowledge of Active Directory
• Basic knowledge of Switches and Routers

Required Experience:
• At least one year experience in end-user support

Compensation $12-$14/hr. This position is part time (20 hours/week). Alta offers excellent benefits, flexible work schedules, and a fun, collaborative work environment with an extremely dedicated and skilled group of planners and designers in our Portland office.

How to Apply
Please send your cover letter, resume, and 3 references to resumes+IT@altaplanning(dot)com. This position is open until filled. No calls please. Applications can also be mailed to:

Alta Planning & Design
Attn: Human Resources
711 SE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97214

Safety concerns spur new signage and markings for Morrison Bridge

Morrison Bridge bike-walk path dedication event-12

On March 30th, Multnomah County finally cut the ribbon on a new pathway for biking and walking across the Morrison Bridge that was 12 years in the making. Unfortunately, when I rode it on opening day it left quite a lot to be desired; and it turns out I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

The day the bridge opened, former transportation planner and policy analyst at Metro, Daniel Lerch, fired off an email to the county with detailed explanations of several aspects of the bridge’s design he felt were not safe. Here’s a snip from that email:

[Publisher’s note: This article was written by contributor Daniel Ronan. He’s a student representative on the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and covers statewide programs and issues. Read his previous articles here.]

Each year, between 4,000 and 6,000 bicyclists take the Highway 101 route along the Oregon Coast, mostly during the warm summer months. What helps many on their journey is ODOT’s Oregon Coast Bike Map (PDF link) that details the 370 mile route and lists information on traffic volume, weather, elevation, state parks, and other helpful tips.

How about a nice game of ‘Bike Assassin’?

Williams Ave getting repaved: Can we get a wider bike lane?

Tonight: Get Together with Shift and Pedalpalooza

dark purple Schwinn road 1995

Blue and Silver Trek Kids Mountain Bike

Springwater repaving begins: Detour maps and closure details

BTA seeks new board members

Communication breakdown: The story behind the Fanno Creek fence

60cm Kona Dew Plus 2009

Job: Part-time IT Assistant (Alta Planning + Design) – FILLED

Safety concerns spur new signage and markings for Morrison Bridge

Oregon Coast Bike Map set for an update

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From the Archives

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