6/20: Hello readers and friends. I am having my second (of two) total knee replacement surgeries today so I'll be out of commission for a bit while I recover. Please be patient while I get back to full health. I hope to be back to posting as soon as I can. I look forward to getting back out there. 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
This section of NE Killingsworth has a lot of potential. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The City of Portland is gearing up to repave Northeast Killingsworth Street between 53rd and Cully Boulevard and parking-protected bike lanes are on the table. The project is similar to the Hawthorne Pave & Paint in that the transportation bureau (PBOT) is seizing an opportunity to redesign the roadway in conjunction with a planned paving project.
This segment of NE Killingsworth currently has unprotected, door-zone bike lanes and a 30 mph speed limit. You might recall that there’s already been some advocacy history with this project. Back in March, we reported that PBOT’s initial plan was to simply repave the street and replace it with the exact same cross-section as it has today: one general travel lane in each direction, one center turn lane, bike lanes, and parking on both sides.
But when a coalition of nonprofits got wind of PBOT’s plan, they demanded a pause to consider protected bike lanes. PBOT listened and responded. Now it appears the city is ramping up outreach in order to finalize a plan and get the project slated for construction next spring.
Hard to tell the difference!Plan drawing for 57th intersection.(Source: PBOT)
According to cross-section drawings on the project website, PBOT is open to swapping the current bike lane and parking lane. This would put bicycle riders curbside and make them protected from other lane users due to a buffer of parking spaces — a common PBOT design that’s currently in use on inner SE Hawthorne, N Rosa Parks Way, and many other places. When PBOT creates these parking-protected bike lanes, it’s not a clean swap. In order to boost visibility at intersections, they must reduce the amount of car parking spaces.
PBOT is clearly feeling sheepish about how this will be received by people who live and work on the street because they go to great lengths on the project website to explain how car parking might be impacted. Here’s how they frame the changes:
To maintain safe visibility, roughly half the on-street parking spaces will have to be removed if we implement a parking-protected bike lane. However, a recent parking study indicates that most blocks will still have enough parking capacity to meet current demand…
To assess the parking impacts of the proposed redesign of NE Killingsworth with parking-protected bike lanes, we calculated how many spaces would be available post-implementation, then looked at how the current occupancy compares to that revised capacity. We found that in both the average and peak usage scenarios, most blocks will have plenty of available on-street parking spaces. However, in some blocks the demand will outstrip the proposed supply and in that case drivers may have to park on adjacent blocks and walk further to their destinations…
All in all, these parking impacts appear to be relatively minor and worth it for the safety benefits that the proposed street redesign offers.
From the survey.
PBOT has also launched an online survey to gauge public opinion about the idea. One thing that caught my eye in the survey was a question where I could pick my top three priorities that would help the street reach the stated project goals. There was only one option that mentioned bicycling and it was about improving the bike network “in the vicinity of Killingsworth.” I found it odd that they didn’t say “on Killingsworth.”
PBOT has an unfortunatehistory of pushing bicycle riders away from main streets and onto backstreets. Portland will never reach its transportation goals if we don’t insist on building high-quality, low-stress cycling facilities on major streets. This Killingsworth project is another golden opportunity to transform a important neighborhood arterial from a car-oriented thoroughfare to something much more accessible, humane and efficient.
In addition to a possible bike lane redesign, PBOT also plans to upgrade some crossings. They’ll replace the mid-block half-signal between 54th and 55th with a median island crossing and will add more islands to the existing crossing at 64th.
Hey Dan, what do you think of transportation decarbonization? (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“We have the opportunity to complete big projects that help to reduce carbon from our two largest sources of emissions – transportation and housing.”
– Carmen Rubio, city commisisoner
Despite its outsized contribution to local and statewide greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation sector has never been a key area of focus for the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF). The PCEF is comprised of revenue the city collects from large retailers and doles out via grants to nonprofit organizations for projects intended to reduce Portlanders’ reliance on fossil fuels.
City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversees the PCEF, announced Thursday several proposed reforms aimed at, “bigger, bolder, and faster investments to reduce carbon and better respond to climate change.” Rubio’s changes give a larger nod to transportation as both a major source of emissions and a place of great opportunity for decarbonization.
“Through PCEF, we have the opportunity to complete big projects that help to reduce carbon from our two largest sources of emissions – transportation and housing – and make historic investments in our city’s tree canopy. We must make these investments happen as quickly as possible, and we can do so without compromising oversight and accountability, or community vision,” Rubio states in the press release.
Commissioner Rubio wants to target the PCEF’s investments through five-year “climate investment plans” (CIPs), which she says will “better align PCEF’s work with the City’s other climate action efforts, allowing the fund to proportionally direct money based on shared City priorities.” The PCEF Committee will develop and recommend these CIPs to Portland City Council for approval, and will include funding allocations and program goals for all programs receiving PCEF money.
“Through its first two rounds of granting, community organizations have proposed specific projects. The five-year plan would continue funding community-led work, but would also outline strategic program areas for the bulk of the Fund’s investments,” the press release states.
One of these proposed strategic program areas is transportation decarbonization, where Rubio wants to put $100 million over the next five years. Right now, transportation projects are rolled into the PCEF’s “innovation” category, which Rubio will propose to eliminate altogether, so this is a marked difference.
Rubio wants to implement two strategic programs immediately: “tree canopy growth and maintenance”, which she anticipates receiving $40 million in funding over five years (to quell concerns over how the city ended its contract with Friends of Trees earlier this year?) and “energy efficiencies in new and renovated multi-family affordable housing,” which will receive an anticipated $60 million over five years.
Other anticipated priority programs and five-year funding amounts include:
Housing and small commercial energy efficiency, renewable energy, and embodied carbon – $300 million
Resilient community centers – $30 million
Planning and early investments for a low-carbon, equitable 82nd Ave corridor – $10 million
Low-cost green financing for carbon-reducing projects – $100 million
Rubio also plans to require someone with “significant demonstrated experience in transportation decarbonization” to be on the PCEF committee.
It’s likely that part of the reason for this change is because of a city audit published last year that called out the PCEF for its nebulous goals and inadequate accountability measures. The new approach seems to streamline the process and avoid this criticism.
In order to make these reforms to the PCEF, Rubio will have to work the Portland city code a bit. The big change here will be to alter the city code to allow the PCEF to partner with for-profit and government entities including schools administering programs that align with the PCEF’s climate goals.
That’s not all – Rubio also plans to require someone with “significant demonstrated experience in transportation decarbonization” to be on the PCEF committee.
What kinds of programs this new influx of money might fund remain to be seen. E-bike incentives? Beefing up the Biketown stock? The possibilities are endless, but it’s exciting that transportation is finally getting a big seat at the clean energy table.
Rubio will seek input on her plan at tonight’s Portland Clean Energy Fund Committee meeting, and the proposal will be up for discussion and public comment at the October 19 Portland City Council meeting. Stay tuned for more details as this progresses.
After months and months of draft renderings from the team behind the planned expansion of I-5 between Washington and Oregon that focused on the highway, on Thursday the public finally got a look at what a potential bike and pedestrian path being planned as a part of the project could look like.
At a meeting of regional leaders, the Interstate Bridge Replacement project team showed a rendering depicting twin six-lane bridge structures, including shoulders, with a light rail train below one of the structures and a bike and pedestrian path below the other. Bizarrely, both areas below the highway are shown in darkness, with no lights depicted on renderings of people using the multi-use path. This has the effect of illustrating how little natural light would reach the path. About a third of the area available below the highway next to that path is shown taken up by mechanical equipment.
It’s not yet clear what the need might be for mechanical equipment underneath the bridge that could take away space from the walking and biking path. During the meeting, IBR program administrator Greg Johnson noted that the project team was in talks with US Senator Jeff Merkley about including a “smart highway” concept in the design that could include electric vehicle charging capabilities for drivers traveling at “freeway speeds.”
Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty pushed back on that concept. “90% of the people I know will never be able to afford an electric car, and so if we’re going to be increasing the cost [of the highway] significantly so that people who can afford electric cars can charge it on their way to work, I think we need to have a conversation about that, because that’s an equity issue that would severely impact some populations at the expense of others.”
The rendering doesn’t show any of the approaches to the shared use path on either side of the river, with those still depicted as a generic 3D circle in project renderings. Earlier this year, immersed tube tunnel advocate Bob Ortblad made his own calculations to depict what those ramps might look like. But those drawings drew direct criticism from the project, even as they have not been able to provide their own. That may be partly due to the fact that negotiations with the US Coast Guard are ongoing, after an initial analysis suggested that the IBR design was 60 feet too short to receive Coast Guard approval.
Johnson was emphatic in noting that the rendering shown Thursday is just a “draft concept.” “We have not made a decision on configuration, on bridge type,” IBR program administrator Greg Johnson told the project’s executive steering group. “We know that aesthetics are important for this region, so we are looking at different bridge types that will achieve the aesthetic value at a cost that is going to be acceptable to the partners.” Johnson noted that the IBR has run into issues designing a side-by-side highway project that did not encroach on Fort Vancouver, which he called a “red line” for the project.
The megaproject is steaming toward environmental review, when more details should be forced into public view. After the draft locally preferred alternative was approved nearly unanimously earlier this year, the next big milestone for the project will be next summer, when the public comment period for the project’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement opens. Before then, we should have a better look at what the walking and biking path will look like, rather than being kept in the dark.
PBOT staff showed up to a meeting in the shadow of the tree and traffic circle they want to remove — and neighbors want to keep. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
I’ve seen many interesting city meetings over the years, but nothing quite like what transpired last night on the corner of NE 7th and Tillamook.
The opposition was strong and well-organized enough that PBOT agreed to meet with neighbors Wednesday night. And it happened right in the street. Since the street is closed to cars for the imminent construction, it was quiet and calm. It also turned out that the crowd was so big they needed all the space they could get. I counted over 60 people at one point. They walked from their living rooms, and they rolled right up on their bikes.
PBOT Planner Nick Falbo (black shirt).
There were six PBOT staff in attendance (five of which appeared to be on the clock) led by Capital Delivery Division Manager Steve Szigethy. Szigethy and his team — Nicole Pierce, project manager; Nick Falbo, planner; Anthony Buczek, engineer; and Andrew Sullivan, engineer — had to navigate a thorny thicket of issues. As I shared yesterday, the initial public outreach on this project was not only four long years ago, it was also framed with the complex issues of racial discrimination and gentrification in inner north and northeast Portland.
As if that wasn’t challenging enough, the gap between the conclusion of the public process in 2018 and the start of construction today, meant that most people who live near 7th and Tillamook were caught off guard. Right off the bat, Szigethy apologized for the delay. But that wasn’t the only gripe from neighbors. Most people in the crowd simply didn’t like PBOT’s proposal — which for some reason wasn’t made public until the day construction was supposed to start.
The proposal to remove a traffic circle (and large tree in the middle of it) in order to improve safety just doesn’t square with most people. We heard many horror stories from folks last night about dangerous and reckless driving at the intersection. One couple said they won’t let their young child play in the front yard, another guy dropped a broken license plate at the feet of a PBOT staffer and said it’s one of many that’s been knocked off his parked cars after being hit by drivers. Another person said they don’t know their neighbors because the traffic is so stressful no one sits on their porch.
Rose Francis, the woman who organized the neighborly uprising, said she recently saw two middle school kids nearly get hit while biking to school.
Rose Francis makes her case as PBOT engineer Anthony Buczek looks on.
Francis read out her concerns from a pre-written speech:
“Cars drive aggressively through this intersection, honking and cussing at cyclists and residents as we try to cross the road or back out of our driveways. Speeding is a huge problem. If you remove the circles, speeds are going to go up. A Black boy was hit and killed on this street by a speeding car 50 years ago. There is a history of neglect in this community. Removing the traffic circle without putting real protective measures in its place, puts our community members at grave risk.
It appears PBOT is not doing enough to protect this neighborhood because it is more convenient for some people living to the north to use 7th Ave as an alternative thoroughfare to MLK which is one block over. That is improperly balancing the convenience for people outside this neighborhood against the life and safety of people inside this neighborhood.”
Many people at the meeting echoed Francis. “Signs and lines are not going to do it,” one person said.
Not everyone was mad at PBOT. Several folks spoke up to say they’re eager to rip out the traffic circle. “I want this thing gone!” yelled one woman. “It’s unsafe! They’re making a good choice.”
But opposers outweighed supporters, so PBOT’s task last night was to defend their proposal. Why? They’ve already hired a contractor who’s just sitting on their hands waiting to break ground. In PBOT’s mind the plan is set and this thing needs to get built. A resident revolt was completely unexpected.
“This traffic circle does improve conditions for some folks crossing the street. But it also makes it less safe.”
– Nick Falbo, PBOT
Right now, NE 7th has about 4,000 to 6,000 cars on it per day. PBOT’s dream is to get that down to 1,000 or less. In the meantime, since two neighborhood greenways come together at NE 7th and Tillamook, and it’s a key connection to the new Blumenauer Bridge, PBOT wants to give bike riders the option of riding in dedicated bike lanes without sharing space with drivers. The only way to fit four travel lanes (two 10-foot wide general lanes and two bike lanes), they say, is to remove the circle.
In addition to needing space, PBOT said traffic circle intersections like this one have more crashes on average and they can introduce unpredictable behaviors because many people (including bike riders) will cut through it in the wrong direction. At this location specifically, visibility is bad because of the circle’s vegetation and the grade of the road.
“This traffic circle does improve conditions for some folks crossing the street,” PBOT Planner Nick Falbo said last night, before sharing copies of their new design proposal. “But it also makes it less safe. We think what we’re creating is a design that can maintain safe crossing and can improve conditions on a net level for people trying to navigate this area.”
It’s important to keep in mind that the removal of this traffic circle was initially part of the much more dramatic PBOT plan to put the neighborhood on greenway on 7th. In 2018, PBOT released a plan that would have transformed 7th into a quiet and calm street; but several major community organizations that serve Black Portlanders (church, housing developer, business association, a Head Start program) opposed it. “We got feedback [in 2018] that the plan would not be good for the families those organizations serve,” Falbo recounted, “And it was not something we were going to pushback on.”
Fast forward to last night and a different subset of neighbors are now upset with PBOT for not pushing forward with that initial plan. One woman who was also involved back in 2018 (and whose name I didn’t get), put it this way:
“I feel like what’s happened is there was a really genuine concern from the African American communities up north and I think that’s important; but there’s no organization here. We’re just people living here. People work late. They don’t have the bandwidth to come out.
The thing is, we need a greenway, we need what you originally conceived of [in 2018]. It’s brilliant. It’s exactly what we need. People come through here, they try to run me over. It’s crazy! No one ‘s sitting out on their front porch because it’s a highway and it feels terrible. This barrier [the current closure and barricades] has been so amazing. People have been out walking more. This is your opportunity to really help us feel more like a community. To be able to feel each other and not just like we’re trying to hide out in our backyards.”
By the end of the meeting it became clear that diversion and traffic calming is what a lot of people really want.
Steve Szigethy
After listening and talking for well over an hour, PBOT’s Szigethy was ready to make a deal. He laid out a three-part plan and asked for support. The proposal was to:
Allow PBOT to move forward immediately on their redesign plan and remove the traffic circle.
PBOT will come back to the neighborhood with a plan to add more calming features like speed bumps, concrete planter diverters, and so on.
PBOT will agree to revisit some of the decisions about the greenway plan for 7th that were shelved in 2018.
Initially folks rejected the proposal because they didn’t trust that PBOT would return with those additional calming elements. At first, Szigethy said they don’t have time for the back-and-forth and must get started right away. But sensing a breakthrough, he ultimately relented and an agreement was reached: PBOT will send neighbors a new plan by this Friday and they’ll have until Monday to sign off on it. (Someone collected names and emails of all in attendance.)
A lot has changed since 2018. PBOT is much more nimble with diversion these days because of all the slow streets and plazas they installed during the pandemic. And it feels like most Portlanders are more open to diversion and traffic calming than in the past. With traffic volumes going down and more people walking and being outside in their neighborhoods, they’ve seen the positive impacts of less car use.
Will this change in public will translate into political will? Will PBOT’s proposal satisfy this group? Will PBOT be willing to dust off that amazing 2018 greenway plan for 7th and restart talks with Black community groups who opposed it?
Stay tuned.
UPDATE, 6:05 pm: PBOT has released the revised plan to the neighborhood group. Looks like two speed bumps and one concrete planter barricade:
Steel Bridge Skatepark rendering. (Source: DAO Architecture)
“Skate parks are a hub for multigenerational connection. They offer a safe place for self expression and they naturally encourage active transportation.”
-André Lightsey-Walker, The Street Trust
Portland skaters and BMXers may soon need to make room at the halfpipe for enthusiastic local politicians who want in on the action. At least, that was the vibe from the commissioners and Mayor Ted Wheeler yesterday after they heard testimony from people calling for the city to support the Steel Bridge Skatepark, a longtime white whale for local skate advocates. (Wheeler even suggested he and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty go in on a skateboard together – Hardesty said they could “talk about it offline.”)
But we’re talking about Portland politics here, and outward displays of enthusiasm from our politicians don’t always mean action is soon to follow. There are signs of turbulence simmering just underneath City Council’s enthusiasm that could threaten to undermine what skatepark advocates have been working on for so long.
Advocates have been pushing for a covered skatepark in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood for years. The Steel Bridge Skatepark is included in the Portland Parks and Recreation’s 2008 Skatepark System Plan, a first-of-a-kind document that reflects the idealism Portland planners had back in the aughts. But momentum fizzled out over time as the recession tanked the local economy and politicians cooled on the idea.
Proponents of the Steel Bridge Skatepark didn’t give up, however, and they’re back with a new plan and optimism that there may now be the political will to finally get the project done. The skatepark has a hefty price tag of $10 million, but advocates make a good case for why it’s a strong city investment opportunity, and they have business owners’ support and some Prosper Portland funding to sweeten the deal.
The time is now
Members of Community in Bowls Portland at the July groundbreaking. (Photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
Steel Bridge skatepark advocate Katherine Rose marks the spot where the skatepark will be at the ceremonial groundbreaking in July.
Skaters want to get moving on this as soon as possible because when the Burnside Bridge replacement project gets underway in the next few years, the famous DIY Burnside Skatepark on Portland’s east side will be unusable for quite some time. Advocates also want the Steel Bridge Skatepark to have a different, more welcoming vibe than the Burnside Skatepark across the river, which has advanced terrain and isn’t necessarily the best spot for newcomers to practice their kick-flips or rollerskating tricks.
For the past several months, Steel Bridge Skatepark champions have amped up their work to get this new skating infrastructure built. Back in July, advocates put shovel to dirt in a “symbolic groundbreaking” for the skatepark to indicate their commitment to the project, with or without the city’s help. But this wasn’t a secretive protest taking place in the middle of the night – the skatepark fans knew they had allies in the city. There’s been political support for this skatepark in the past, and it’s hard to imagine anyone in City Hall would brazenly shoot down a project meant to bring joie de vivre back to the Portland city center – especially one with such a diverse coalition backing it.
The people who spoke at City Hall yesterday morning emphasized that this skatepark would be more than just an expensive concrete halfpipe in the ground for Tony Hawk-types. They said supporting construction would be a way for City Council to walk the walk on the values they claim to herald, like investment in active transportation infrastructure and equity for marginalized groups.
The Street Trust’s André Lightsey-Walker brought his expertise as an active transportation strategy whiz and long-time Portland skateboarder, spelling out exactly why Portland’s policymakers should embrace the project as a transportation and city revitalization project. Lightsey-Walker has been petitioning the city for new skating infrastructure since he was 13, and said getting around the city on a skateboard is what eventually led him to a career in transportation policy.
“If completed, the Steel Bridge Skatepark will stand as a monument to our city’s commitment to welcoming inclusive and activated public spaces. It will establish a model for the rest of the world to follow, which is a characteristic I find foundational to the City of Portland,” Lightsey-Walker said. “Skate parks are a hub for multigenerational connection. They offer a safe place for self expression and they naturally encourage active transportation.”
Skate advocates Ryan Hashagan and Madi Carlson from The Street Trust ride to the ceremonial groundbreaking in July. (Photo: Taylor Griggs)
Joining Lightsey-Walker to testify at yesterday’s meeting were three equally persuasive people, all of whom represented diverse interests. These were Janae Hagel, a member of Community in Bowls (CIB) Portland, a group whose “mission is to increase access to skateparks for those who are often underrepresented in the skatepark scene”; Desiree Jefferson, an advocate for racially and gender-inclusive skate communities who heralded skating as a mental health treatment and Jessie Burke, a downtown business owner who chairs the Portland Old Town Community Association.
When something has the support of active transportation and climate activists, advocates for racial and LGBTQ+ justice and downtown business owners, that’s a golden opportunity for Portland politicians, and they seem to have realized it.
“It’s about activation. It’s about the future. It’s about inclusion. It’s about physical fitness and health. It’s about finding healthy alternatives for young people to engage in the central city core,” Wheeler said. “And it speaks to an opportunity to take an area that’s historically been fairly blighted and turn it into something that the community can be really proud of.”
“It’s about activation. It’s about the future. It’s about inclusion. It’s about physical fitness and health. It’s about finding healthy alternatives for young people to engage in the central city core. And it speaks to an opportunity to take an area that’s historically been fairly blighted and turn it into something that the community can be really proud of.”
-Mayor Ted Wheeler
Bureaucratic bickering
But that support doesn’t mean it’s all smooth skating from here on out. One thing City Hall may be wary of is the project’s cost, but based on the commissioner responses at yesterday’s Council meeting, it appears what could hinder the project more than the price is the undefined relationship between different local agencies and bureaus that consistently chokes up Portland projects.
After the four Steel Bridge Skatepark advocates gave their testimony, Wheeler asked which agency actually owns the parcel of land in Old Town this skatepark will be located. Turns out, the lot is co-owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Sensing dread over a looming jurisdictional battle between the two agencies, Tom Miller – who currently serves as Wheeler’s director of sustainability and livability but has been involved in skate advocacy in other roles for two decades – jumped in to assure everyone that ODOT is all good with the project.
“Although the formalities have not been established, the agreement is in place,” Miller said.
But for Hardesty, who oversees PBOT, this raised some alarm bells. She wanted to make it clear that just because the transportation bureau owns the land doesn’t mean they’ll be responsible for maintaining the park, mentioning they already have a $4 billion maintenance backlog to get through. Hardesty said commissioners will sort these logistics out internally.
“I certainly don’t want the public to worry about who owns what,” Hardesty said.
Commissioner Dan Ryan asked which bureau would take ownership of the property, questioning why Hardesty would bring attention to PBOT’s maintenance backlog if the project is a Parks & Recreation responsibility.
“You mentioned the backlog of maintenance, and I know you like to stick that in, so that confused me,” Ryan said, eliciting an audible reaction from the audience for the lightly chiding remark. “I’m just learning about this in the real live moment and I think some of the public might be as well. So I thought I’d ask these clarifying questions so we could figure out how we move forward.”
What’s next?
Whatever City Council decides to do, it’s clear that there’s enough community support for this skatepark that its momentum isn’t going anywhere. A skatepark in motion stays in motion regardless of governmental battles happening behind the scenes, and Portland’s skatepark advocates have shown a willingness to go it alone in the past.
Burke, the Old Town Community Association chair, said the skatepark team will move forward and use Prosper Portland funds to complete pre-development land analysis and the first phase of architectural drawings.
“We’re actually not asking for anything in this presentation,” Burke said. “We’re just thanking you in advance for your support in continuing to cheer for this project and finding creative ways to help Old Town repair and rebuild. That is truly the only thing giving our community hope.”
To the uninitiated, Zoobomb might seem like just a quirky sidebar of Portland’s vaunted bike cultural legacy, but there was a time when it was much more than that. At its peak from around 2007 to 2012, Zoobomb was something of a religion for hundreds of Portlanders who’d gather every Sunday night at the “Pyle” (a.k.a. the “Holy Rack” or People’s Bike Library of Portland) to meet with friends then roll to a MAX station where they’d ride light rail up to the Zoo in Washington Park, then climb a bit further to the peak of the West Hills, before bombing down the windy, steep streets in total darkness.
But in recent years Zoobomb went dark. First held in 2002, this free, DIY cultural phenomenon had run its course. That is, until last Sunday when we saw the largest turnout in many years for the celebration of Zoobomb’s 20th anniversary.
Group shot up at Hoyt Arboretum Sunday night.Val Patton was awarded Zoobomb’s Key to the City for organizing the 20th anniversary events.On SW Fairmount Blvd.Headed down “Bobsled” route.More photos below. Photos by Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
“I’m organizing this because I don’t want to see it die.”
– Val Patton
Val Patton organized several events last week to mark the occasion. She discovered Zoobomb nine years ago and is very active with other Portland bike rides. “I’m organizing this because I don’t want to see it die,” she told me Sunday night as we waited for our ride up the hill at the Providence Park MAX station. “I know how much joy it brings me and how I found a fun community when I first found it nine years ago. Just because other people aren’t doing it doesn’t mean that no one should.”
It was sort of a perfect storm that allowed Zoobomb to flourish. Back then, Portland was full of young people without much money but with a lot of energy to create art and community. Living was cheaper, Portland was a political oasis for cycling, the MAX was an easy ride up the hill, the cops were (mostly) friendly (at least when it came to Zoobomb — who remembers the police summit in 2007?!), and the Goodwill bins had an endless amount of cheap kids bikes (“minis”).
Those factors are much different now; but there’s a whole new guard of bike culture organizers in Portland today. And there’s a chance last Sunday’s spark could reignite Zoobomb.
“The hill is still here. It’s still free fun,” said Thomas de Almeida, a 39-year-old Zoobomb veteran who did his first run in 2003 and told me a tale of how he once flew down W Burnside at 45 mph — on a mini-bike! The key to speed was what de Almeida calls the “quintessential Zoobomb tuck.” “You tuck your elbows into your knees and create an easily maneuverable silver bullet in the wind.”
On Sunday night we all gathered at a covered picnic area near Hoyt Arboretum. There was music, pizza, lots of hugs, bike club vests, and a mix of Zoobomb vets and newbies.
Laura Webster was just 18 when she did her first run. “I barely knew how to ride a bike and I crashed on my very first Zoobomb. I wrecked on my face and had all this road rash,” she shared as she moved her palm down one side of her face. Why on earth would you keep coming back? I asked her. “It was that [the crash]. The reality of it. You don’t get that in other parts of your life. You don’t have extremely adrenaline-fueled moments. It felt really good.”
Webster and everyone else I talked to said it was just as much about the people they met as the thrill of speed.
For Phil Sano (aka Rev Phil) a cornerstone of Portland’s bike scene, devout Zoobomber, and bike fun dealer, Sunday’s anniversary event was a golden recruitment opportunity. “It can be like this again!” he shouted to the assembled crowd from atop a picnic bench. “We built it before and I’m excited about the possibility that this new blood will come and give us the great bicycle culture our city deserves!”
We’ve been here for a while right? A lot of us your first time which is very exciting. And for those of you it’s not always amazing. Sometimes it’s hard. There’s only a few people. But here’s the thing. It’s it can be like this again.. We’ve done it before and I’m so excited about the possibility this new blood will come and give us the great bicycle culture our city deserves!”
A few minutes later, we all rolled up to SW Fairview Blvd. Straddling our bikes in the darkness, we listened to an O.G. Zoobomber rattle off the safety rules, then Val led the countdown:
“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Zoo-BOMB!”
Val Patton on the MAX.Dan AmericaRandy AlbrightL to R: Cara Fisher, Shawn Furst, Ryan Hashagen.Val and Rev PhilLaura Webster
SW Capitol Highway looking west. The lane on the left of the photo will become a “bus and turn” (BAT) lane only (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced yesterday that construction on their newest Rose Lane Project on SW Capitol Highway in the Hillsdale neighborhood will break ground September 19th.
This project aims to improve bus speed and reliability for eight bus lines running on SW Capitol Highway from SW Barbur Boulevard to SW Bertha Court. In a statement from PBOT Tuesday, TriMet Chief Operating Officer, Bonnie Todd noted that, “These new transit priority lanes will help high school and community college students get to class on time, reduce delays for patients and medical professionals heading to OHSU and improve the commute for people in Southwest Portland who are doing business Downtown.”
As BikePortland reported earlier this summer, the project was met with opposition from the Hillsdale Business Association and other civic organizations, which had circulated a petition requesting a three-year delay to further study traffic impacts.
Full project plan. (Source: PBOT)
So it was noteworthy that PBOT’s detailed project map (right) included some new pedestrian safety improvements. Specifically, the crossing span for pedestrians and cyclists at the intersection of SW Cheltenham Street will be reduced, and a new high-visibility crosswalk over Capitol Hwy will be added at SW Bertha Ct.
Other changes include a reconfiguration of the bike/bus conflict area just east of SW Sunset where bunched-up buses sometimes require cyclists to “thread the needle” through them.
Southwest pedestrian advocate Don Baack, who sits on the Hillsdale Business Association board, told BikePortland, “Every little bit of pedestrian improvement helps in an area where we are still concerned with diverted traffic on curvy local streets—with no sidewalks—when traffic volumes return to pre-covid levels.”
Traffic volumes on Capitol Highway have been much lower due to the pandemic, which PBOT says makes this an ideal time to roll out the Rose Lane, the pause in driving gives people time to adjust their behavior. If driving levels return to pre-Covid levels, PBOT estimates people might notice an additional delay of 20-90 seconds through the project area.
PBOT has published a draft Monitoring and Mitigation Memo, and will collect data at seven locations, “to see how driver speed levels and traffic volumes have been impacted by the project.” Data will be collected at two-to-three months and again at six months after project completion. They will also observe drivers using the new lanes to “help PBOT determine whether further operational changes are needed.”
Baack said business owners remains concerned that, because of its length, the new Rose Lanes will adversely impact their businesses.
With that in mind, PBOT noted in their statement yesterday that the project, “maintains easy access for drivers to visit Hillsdale businesses and their parking lots,” because drivers are allowed to “briefly” use the bus-and-turn lanes to access destinations.
Detail of new plans for NE 7th Ave at Tillamook. (Source: PBOT)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation released their final striping plan for the redesign of Northeast Tillamook and 7th yesterday. For some reason, despite announcing the start of a project to remove the existing traffic circle on this offset intersection earlier this month, they hadn’t released the plans for what they’d put down in its place. In fact, it wasn’t until after we inquired about them yesterday that we learned the rendering would be published to their website.
My interest in these plans spiked when I heard about growing opposition from folks who don’t want the traffic circle removed and/or don’t think the City’s new plan will solve the issues. As I reported yesterday, those concerns have led to an unexpected meeting tonight where PBOT staff will explain their rationale for taking out a major traffic calming feature in order to calm traffic.
They’ll also likely get asked a lot of questions about this striping plan. Since posting it Tuesday afternoon I’ve seen numerous responses from relatively smart people who think it’s pretty bad. Let’s take a closer look…
Just like on Williams, after the process had started and plans had been circulated enough to get many folks excited, some Black residents spoke out and said they were left out of the picture. One person said the plans for 7th would “continue the whitewash of the neighborhood and result in more gentrification.” Some of them also didn’t like the idea of 7th Avenue becoming less convenient for drivers. After an embarrassing about-face and several more meetings, PBOT switched the alignment from 7th to 9th, much to the chagrin of many who felt like it was a very suboptimal plan B that lacked the direct, north-south connectivity that’s so vital for an effective network.
But PBOT didn’t give entirely on 7th. While the route will officially be on 9th, 7th will see changes as well.
Which brings us to the crucial intersection of NE 7th and NE Tillamook (one of Portland’s oldest bike boulevards established in 1999).
Looking north on 7th with traffic circle circled in red.
Currently, in addition to the aforementioned traffic circle and large tree planted in the middle of it, this intersection has only sharrows. The new plan would create buffered bike lanes in both directions. PBOT will build a protected intersection (similar to the one on W 19th and Burnside) with cross-bike markings at the southern part of the intersection. To get northbound 7th Ave bike riders across 7th and west on Tillamook, they’ll paint a left-turn pocket/box in the intersection where folks will reposition themselves onto a painted cross-bike.
The main gripe I’ve heard so far is that without the traffic circle or any other feature to slow drivers down, they’re likely to speed through all this new paint. That seems like a valid concern, especially if PBOT doesn’t put any plastic or concrete curbs or wands in the bike lane buffer zone (I’m not sure if they will or not). Others have said that if folks are waiting for a break in traffic at the left turn box, it will create a conflict with bike riders continuing north.
While the design is being widely panned, at least one person thinks it’s great. Stephen Judkins replied to us on Twitter this morning to say, “I don’t get the hate. Now that I’m riding with my kids a lot I am valuing separation over most other considerations. This intersection has always felt sketchy with car interactions, and having to stop once if I’m going north is a reasonable tradeoff.”
What do you think? Come to the meeting at 6:00 pm tonight (Weds, 9/14) at NE 7th and Tillamook if you’d like to learn more and share feedback with PBOT.
Velotech, Inc. is a locally owned business that has operated in Portland since 2002. Velotech is the parent company of BikeTiresDirect, Western Bikeworks, and Trisports.
Due to an internal promotion, we are seeking a Customer Experience Specialist to join our team. Do you like bikes, but also talking about them? Want to help others get the gear they need to get out there? Send us your resume!
This position is responsible for responding to customer phone calls, emails, and for working directly with customers in our store. Customer Experience Specialists provide product information, advice and order assistance. Qualified Customer Experience Specialists also review orders and price match requests and assist with site content, including product reviews, photos and descriptions.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
Answer product questions & assist with the order process
Analyze customer questions, troubleshoot, and provide clear answers in an efficient and professional manner
Develop trust and loyalty with consumers and build value in our brands
Navigate a sophisticated order processing system
Generate performance reports and recommend improvements
Coordinate with Returns to assist customers with returns and exchanges
Assist walk-in customers with product questions and purchases
Retrieve products from the warehouse to assist walk-in customers
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:
Navigate a sophisticated order processing system
Work with Marketing to assist with customer-facing content, including site maintenance, product images and descriptions
Increase sales by genuinely helping customers learn about additional/alternative product options
MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS:
Basic computer skills
Strong knowledge of cycling
Previous customer service experience is a plus, as is sales, service and mechanical experience in the cycling industry
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:
Excellent communication and organizational skills
Solid knowledge of cycling products
Ability to work in a high volume, fast-paced environment
Ability to work independently or with others to manage multiple task with minimal supervision.
BENEFITS:
Generous Employee Discounts
Flexible Schedules
Health Insurance
Paid Time Off – up to 15 days your first year
Quarterly ‘Get Outside’ days
A multi-agency effort netted 15 arrests, including gun and drug seizures in just four hours last Thursday, September 8th.
The location is likely familiar to many of you: the busy intersection of SE 122nd and Burnside, where a light rail line, bike lanes, and many other traffic lanes come together. Statistically, this intersection is a hotspot for all types of crimes, crashes, and traffic violations. It likely made the list for police enforcement because there were two recent shootings near here last month alone.
In a statement today, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said their Transit Police Division worked with the Portland Police Bureau and TriMet on what they call a “public safety mission.” “During the mission, approximately 20 officers and deputies performed high-visibility foot patrols, provided outreach, made numerous positive contacts with community members and addressed crime near the 122nd Ave. MAX Station and in the immediate neighborhood,” read the statement.
The Sheriff’s Office said in addition to the 15 arrests they handed out 31 warnings, seized drugs, and recovered one loaded gun (that happened to be stolen). To streamline the arrest process, they had a mobile booking system set up in the field. They chose 4:00 to 8:00 pm because that’s when the Transit Police Division says they get the highest number of calls for service.
While TriMet ridership is slowly ticking upwards, it remains only about half of what it was pre-pandemic. For some people, the lack of safety on our streets and around transit stations is a big reason they don’t ride more. TriMet launched a “Reimaging Public Safety and Security” initiative to respond to these concerns. Learn more about the effort on their website.
The most recent draft site plan for the HollywoodHub project. (Source: TriMet)
The collaboration between TriMet and affordable housing developer BRIDGE Housing to transform the Hollywood Transit Center (HTC) into the “HollywoodHub” – a redesigned light rail and bus station with a 200-unit housing development and new courtyard – is moving forward. HollywoodHub planners presented their latest design proposal to the Portland Design Commission in July and received positive feedback, particularly for the planned transportation infrastructure changes.
Hollywood Transit Center looking south from Halsey.
Today, the Hollywood Transit Center (HTC) – located on the south side of NE Halsey St between NE 41st and 42nd avenues – is home to several bus and light rail lines, and a carfree I-84 crossing. The Hollywood crossing is the only carfree I-84 overcrossing other than the Blumenauer Bridge 35 blocks west. Despite its usability shortcomings, it’s a popular route because it’s in a transit and destination-rich hotspot. TriMet sees this project as an opportunity to improve the transportation facilities .
The ramp
The different ramp options TriMet looked at for the redesign. (Source: HollywoodHub)A satellite image of the current ramp and its switchbacks.
“The argument that it’s better than current conditions does not necessarily mean that it’s good…I really wish that this would be thought of as the important bike connection that it is within our network.”
-David Stein, Bicycle Advisory Committee
One of the main problems with the current HTC, especially for people on bikes, is the switchback ramp on the north side of the I-84 crossing. This ramp doesn’t meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements because of its very tight turns that make it very hard to traverse on wheels. The design encourages people biking up or down the ramp to dismount their bikes and walk, which can be an annoying snag in a bike commute and may not be possible at all for someone using a mobility device. So when TriMet announced they were going to redesign the transit center, advocates thought it would be a good opportunity to make some much-needed changes to the ramp.
While developing the design for the HollywoodHub north ramp, planners at TriMet looked at three different options: an elevator/stair combination, a long ramp and a condensed ramp/stair combo (‘stramp’) with switchbacks, which is what they decided to go with. At the August Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, TriMet Project Manager Catherine Sherraden talked about why they went with this ramp over the longer ramp that bike advocates preferred.
“This is intended as a space where you really do have to stop and get off your bike.”
– Catherine Sherraden, TriMet
“The elevator and stairs were very unpopular because elevators are difficult to maintain,” Sherraden said. “The long ramp…had a lot of benefits that people could see. The main problem was that we need the front half of the site as a fire lane. It was not possible to do [the long ramp] and comply with code to create a fire lane for both the 24 Hour Fitness and the new housing building.”
The condensed ramp as currently planned will have two switchbacks compared to the seven it has now, which is an improvement. But TriMet planners say it still won’t be set up for people to roll down without dismounting.
“This is intended as a space where you really do have to stop and get off your bike,” Sherraden said at the August BAC meeting. “We really don’t want people biking down a ramp at high speeds in a short space like this.”
BAC member David Stein said he was disappointed by this design, even though it’s an improvement from the current ramp design.
“The argument that it’s better than current conditions does not necessarily mean that it’s good,” David Stein said at the August BAC meeting. “I really wish that this would be thought of as the important bike connection that it is within our network.”
Bus stop relocation
The transit circulation as it is now and as TriMet proposes for the future. Two bus stops have been moved away from the transit center itself and onto 42nd Ave across the street. (Source: HollywoodHub)
In addition to the ramp design, advocates have expressed concern about the proposed relocation of the southbound 75 and westbound 77 bus stops away from the transit hub and across Halsey. TriMet says they’ll work with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to make it safer to cross the Halsey/42nd intersection, but critics are unsure.
In a 2021 letter to TriMet, BAC members wrote “the removal of buses from the Transit Center will result in a substantial degradation in the experience for transit riders” and make it more dangerous for people rushing to transfer from the MAX to the bus. The letter also points out that it won’t be possible to provide sufficient for riders on the narrow sidewalks on 42nd and Halsey.
Finding common ground
At the Hollywood Transit Center in 2017, self-described white nationalist Jeremy Christian stabbed three people who stood up to him while he threatened two Black teenagers. Two of the people died and one was seriously injured. To commemorate their lives and bravery, TriMet installed a memorial mural on the HTC’s north ramp. The transit agency says memorializing this incident is a central part of their plan for the HollywoodHub.
“The May 2017 tragedy will inform the design ethos and expression of the overall site, to create an inclusive public space that fosters a sense of belonging,” TriMet states on the project website.
Advocates critical of the project say they don’t want to stand in the way of the HollywoodHub as a concept. Combining dense housing with transit access is a proven way to reduce reliance on cars and make transportation access more equitable, and the goal to create a new public plaza at a space that was the site of such a tragic event is a good one. In the letter from last summer, BAC members wrote they “strongly support building new affordable housing at this location” and “hope [they] can work with the project team to find alternative concepts that provide affordable housing while enhancing the experience for people on bicycles, on foot, and riding transit.”
There’s still time to make changes so advocates feel they’re on the right track. TriMet expects to begin construction on the ramp replacement in early 2024, but the design for the entire project is still conceptual and not yet concrete. We’ll keep you posted on how the HollywoodHub design plays out as TriMet and its partners continue finalizing the plan and seek further city approval.
Their campaign isn’t focused on Senator Beyer, an establishment Democrat who rarely makes waves, it’s more about broader concerns relating to Governor Kate Brown and the OTC in general. Beyer’s appointment is just the latest illustration of Brown’s failure to connect the dots between climate change and transportation policy.
The OTC is an unelected, five-member board that is supposed to oversee the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), implement the agency’s policies, set its strategic direction, and act as a check-and-balance to make sure they’re headed in a direction that aligns with the values of Oregonians. Unfortunately, the OTC is often little more than a reliable rubber-stamp and cheerleader for ODOT leadership that encourages the agency’s worst tendencies.
The governor’s choice of a 74-year-old, white, political insider who supports freeway expansion projects flies in the face of the type of changes many advocates have been hoping to see for years. Lee Beyer would make the OTC older, less diverse (he would replace Alando Simpson who is Black and just 39 years old), and less progressive.
In this new letter, leaders from 1000 Friends of Oregon, Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST), Climate Solutions , No More Freeways, Oregon Environmental Council, Oregon Walks, The Street Trust, and Verde, say,
“Oregon needs leaders who are visionary, climate-smart, and capable of and committed to taking our state’s transportation system in a new direction… Oregon’s families, workers, and businesses deserve better. We demand access to a complete transportation system that is safe, reliable, affordable and accessible, and which helps us meet our economic goals. We know you understand the need for transportation to evolve in the 21st Century. Your Executive Order 20-04 directed state agencies to reduce and regulate greenhouse gas emissions, including those from transportation. Mindful of these considerations, we ask you to reconsider your current Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) appointment process and nominee.”
They outline five specific reasons for opposing Governor Brown’s choice and ask for a pause in the appointment process:
1) The OTC needs visionary, climate-smart, and diverse leadership in a time of crisis and change… Oregon’s transportation future must be decided by people who represent more perspectives and more of Oregon’s communities.
2) Your current OTC appointment process fails Oregonians… The process for making this appointment thus far has failed to meaningfully engage stakeholders and local jurisdictions, including those who have been effectively engaging with the OTC in the last few years, and undermines Oregon’s ideals of open and transparent government.
3) Representation matters… Replacing outgoing Commissioner Alando Simpson, a Black business owner from ODOT Region 1, with a white, retired legislator from Region 2 fails to ensure that the OTC is representative in as many ways as possible.
4) Pause the current OTC appointment process… Oregonians will not accept regressive investments in transportation any longer.
5) The OTC needs to be reformed… We are in discussions with state legislators interested in seeing the OTC better represent and serve the interests of all Oregonians and the needs of the future.
The letter has been cc’d to all members of the Interim Senate Committee on Rules and Executive Appointments, who will vote to accept the governor’s nomination and make Beyer’s appointment official at an upcoming meeting that has not yet been scheduled.
It seems that, so far at least, Kate Brown thinks the best people to help us out of this climate change crisis are the same people that led us into it.
