Vivian Satterfield in 2021. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Starting February 1st, the City of Portland will have a new chief sustainability officer and the person hired for the role might be familiar to many BikePortland readers. It’s Vivian Satterfield, a transportation and environmental justice activist who previously worked at nonprofits Verde NW and OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon.
You might also recall Satterfield from our podcast interview with her in October 2021. To have someone like Satterfield in this key role guiding the City of Portland’s strategy to battle climate change and reduce carbon emissions is a very promising bit of news.
According to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability the chief sustainability officer is responsible for Portland’s climate action programs. The job description specifically noted that her role would include, “Reducing carbon emissions from buildings and the transportation sector,” and “Collaborating with land use and transportation planning programs to integrate climate and sustainability priorities into other citywide plans and initiatives.” Given her experience on transportation issues and existing relationships with Bureau of Transportation staff, Satterfield is likely to hit the ground running at time when we desperately need action and progress on these fronts.
And for what it’s worth, Satterfield is also an everyday rider who gets to work on an electric bike.
Here’s to hoping she kicks Portland’s transportation-related climate change policies and projects into high gear! Congrats Vivian!
— This post is part of BikePortland Staff Writer Taylor Griggs’ trip through Europe. See previous dispatches here.
She said something along the lines of: “Amsterdam is a lot like Portland,” and then, whispered: “except for the homeless people.”
Could Portland have nice, well-maintained public spaces like the Dutch do? In the comments of the story I wrote yesterday about the bounty of “third places” in The Netherlands, someone said it wouldn’t be feasible: any space offered to Portland’s public free of charge would soon be overrun with trash and needles. (This point is brought up a lot when we talk about creating more public amenities in Portland.)
Now, I might not feel like the comments on yesterday’s post warranted a story of their own, but this discussion emphasized another experience I had a few days ago. I was briefly chatting with an American woman in Amsterdam who lived in Portland at some point recently, and when we discovered our mutual connection, she said something along the lines of: “Amsterdam is a lot like Portland,” and then whispered: “except for the homeless people.”
I posted this anecdote almost verbatim on Twitter and it got more attention that I expected. Some people chimed in with their opinions on why she would say something like this. Now, I don’t want to single this woman out specifically — I’m sure other people have made the same comparison, and I have no idea what her relationship to Portland’s homeless population is — but I do think it’s worth looking at why Portland has a far more visible problem with homelessness (and things typically associated with homelessness, like public drug use) than Amsterdam does.
The main source of litter on Amsterdam’s streets seemed to be Christmas trees waiting for pickup.
It’s not a value judgment to say that you don’t see trash and needles in The Netherlands to the same extent that you do in Portland. And it didn’t take me long to figure out why: dealing with trash is built into the city’s DNA. Unlike in Portland, there are public trash cans everywhere in Amsterdam. If you need a place to put your garbage while walking around the city, you don’t have to hope someone left their trash bin out in their driveway and won’t yell at you for using it. You can simply toss it in one of the many facilities available for everyone to use.
Let’s talk needles, then. The existence of a sufficient needle exchange program in Portland has been limited by people’s concerns that the availability of a place to dispose of needles and syringes will encourage drug use, (despite no evidence to support that idea) so there simply aren’t very many places for people to dispose of them. In comparison, Amsterdam created the first needle and syringe exchange program in the 1980s to good effect, and there are several options available for people who want to dispose of their used needles now. (Thanks to government efforts, they also don’t have an ongoing opioid epidemic like we do in the U.S.)
And these public facilities are just additions to the social safety network already present in western European countries (and many other places outside of the United States), which gives people access to healthcare, education and housing subsidies.
This isn’t to say the system works perfectly. The rising cost of living in The Netherlands has made way for a resurgence of a squatting movement that first took off in the 1960s within Amsterdam’s student population. But compared to the U.S., Dutch residents have a lot more resources at their disposal, and this includes public playgrounds and carfree spaces.
Without a government willing to provide basic resources for its residents, it will be a lot more difficult to see Dutch infrastructure in the United States. This much is clear just by looking at the way Amsterdam deals with its trash.
Chris Warner in 2019. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Chris Warner has left his post as the director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, a position he has held since May 2019. Warner has taken a job with new Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and will serve as her deputy chief of staff of public administration. In an email to PBOT staff this morning newly named PBOT Commissioner Mingus Mapps said this was “an unexpected transition” but that he’s “thrilled” for Warner’s new role.
In her announcement, Gov. Kotek said Warner will, “coordinate activities and oversee the new office’s efforts to better align the Governor’s office management and oversight of agencies and the policies they manage.”
Warner was named PBOT director in May 2019 and was interim director for about one year prior to that. This change isn’t all that surprising given that PBOT has a new commissioner-in-charge (Mingus Mapps) and because the City of Portland is just two years away from a massive overhaul of its form of government that is likely to bring sweeping changes to how bureaus are run.
Tara Wasiak named interim director. (Photo: PBOT)
Salem political circles will be familiar territory for Warner. His wife, Barbara Smith Warner served as an Oregon State Representative (for district 45) from 2014 to 2022. Prior to his job at PBOT, Chris Warner was a policy advisory for Governor Ted Kulongoski, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, and most recently he was chief of staff for former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick.
PBOT Deputy Director Tara Wasiak will step into an interim role while a national search is conducted for Warner’s replacement. Wasiak was in charge of PBOT’s Maintenance Operations group before she became deputy director.
It’s unclear whether the City of Portland will launch an immediate search for a new PBOT director given the lame duck status of our current government. The fact that we’re less than two years away from implementing the changes brought on by charter reform, we might see an extended run from Wasiak while the dust settles at City Hall.
Warner’s tenure as PBOT leader was defined by the racial justice protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. Warner once said equity was PBOT’s “north star” and in June 2020 in the heat of protest and outcry over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, he vowed to make the agency more inclusive and “anti-racist.” That commitment led to PBOT staff trainings, a re-evaluation of all policies, a plan to “assess and address infrastructure priorities with Black-serving organizations, and other promises.
Warner in 2019. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
When Warner had the opportunity to influence a project on the commercial section of SE Hawthorne Boulevard in May 2021, he surprised many Portlanders by pushing through a design option that favored wider driving lanes and crossing improvements instead of bike lanes. Warner and PBOT (in a decision set in motion by former City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly) claimed the addition of bike lanes would be bad for climate change and racial equity because it would slow down bus service and require more driving trips from Black and other people of color who live in east Portland. That decision was “disappointing” to PBOT’s own Bicycle Advisory Committee, was called a “huge missed opportunity” by a notable member of the Portland Planning Commission, and was part of the rationale for a pending lawsuit against the City of Portland that alleges they have not complied with a state law that requires bicycle lanes on major road projects.
The rate of bicycle ridership in Portland continued to stagnate and fall during Warner’s tenure at PBOT, while the number of cars and drivers on our roads has increased. In March 2021 the Portland Planning Commission wrote a letter to Warner outlining their concerns that PBOT wasn’t doing enough to boost bicycling and limit car use. As more drivers have hit the roads and PBOT has failed to bolster enforcement capabilities, the number of fatal collisions is at all-time highs and the perception of safety on our streets is at all-time lows.
In February 2021 Warner dissolved the city’s Vision Zero Task Force and promised a new multi-pronged engagement plan that would include a “BIPOC-centered education and outreach” strategy, collaboration with Metro and Multnomah County, an outreach and marketing plan for automated enforcement, and a new informational dashboard to help inform the public on progress. The dashboard was released two months later.
Warner’s most significant legacy might be the development of the Healthy Business program, which awards permits to businesses to use more street space and public-right-of-way for outdoor dining. That program emerged in May 2020 as an emergency measure to keep businesses afloat when COVID-19 health restrictions prevented indoor dining and it grew to include street plazas as well. PBOT has since made it a permanent policy and it will lead to more carfree spaces citywide.
UPDATE, 12:43 pm: Here’s the announcement from Commissioner Mapps sent to all PBOT staff this morning via email (it also appears to be his first communication with them since taking over the bureau):
Greetings, Portland Bureau of Transportation staff; my name is Mingus Mapps, as you have likely heard I am the new Commissioner-in-Charge of PBOT. I am honored to serve with you and continue the great work that PBOT has been doing. As PBOT Commissioner, I look forward to improving livability throughout the city, increasing the safety and accessibility of our transportation system, and furthering climate change initiatives while addressing the bureau’s structural budget challenges.
With the shift towards building a Public Works department with Environmental Services and Water, there are new opportunities to elevate the innovative efforts from the three bureaus in the areas of procurement, asset and data management, equity and more. We can do big things together and by working in concert with our regional partners this year.
Last night, Governor Kotek announced that she will be appointing Director Chris Warner to her administration as Deputy Chief of Staff of Public Administration. It’s fantastic news for the future of state service delivery to have such an experienced leader in this new role.
This is certainly an unexpected transition and I am sad to see Director Warner leave PBOT and the City of Portland, but at the same time I am thrilled that he will be joining Governor Kotek’s team. In the immediate term, I am appointing PBOT’s deputy director Tara Wasiak as the interim director while we conduct a competitive process to select a permanent director this year. I and PBOT leadership are committed to a smooth transition and ensuring a stable environment for employees.
One of my regular practices as Commissioner-in-Charge is to host employee town halls so that I can engage with bureau staff directly. My kickoff town hall is not yet scheduled, but when it is you will be the first to know. I hope to meet many of you there.
Thank you for your service to our community. I look forward to working with you!
— This post is part of BikePortland Staff Writer Taylor Griggs’ trip through Europe. See previous dispatches here.
Yesterday I wrote about Amsterdam’s effort to replace on-street car parking spots with urban greenery and bike parking, an initiative partly meant to create more public spaces in the city for people to enjoy. And as I pointed out in that story, residents of Amsterdam’s city center are not necessarily wanting for urban parks as it is: it seems like everywhere you turn, there is some kind of carfree public plaza for people to enjoy.
People in the U.S. have been yearning for these types of public spaces lately. The term “third places” went viral on TikTok a few months ago, popularizing the concept of a place outside the home or workplace where you can just sit and relax without the pressure of needing to buy something.
And when you look around, it’s true: we don’t have very many of these in most cities in the United States, including in Portland. Yes, Portland has several gorgeous, large parks that I wouldn’t trade for the world. But compared to what you’ll come upon in Amsterdam, these places are few and far between. (Although thanks in part to former Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s efforts and a federal funding boost, this could change soon.)
A dog park and playground in Utrecht.A playground in Amsterdam.Kids can play hopscotch in this carfree public plaza in Amsterdam.Your “third places” don’t have to pay homage to famous artists like Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam, but they can!Another public plaza in Amsterdam.This play structure in Amsterdam is right outside a school, but it’s open during other times for public use.
The presence of all these spaces in The Netherlands also makes it much more pleasurable for city residents to live in very dense housing without room for individual backyards and gardens. Who needs a lawn to water when the city will do it for you at the park next door? So, here are some photos of my favorite public plazas and playgrounds I came upon while wandering around Utrecht and Amsterdam in the past several days. You’ll notice that many of them aren’t very big (though some are) — abundance is more important than size.
I hope you’re enjoying these dispatches. I’ve seen and experienced so much it’s challenging to condense it all and find the most post-able chunks. Stay tuned for a funny story where I was stopped by a police officer for riding in a pedestrian-only zone (and other innocent mishaps).
Looking east on NE Fremont at Alameda. (Photos/video: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A few weeks ago, the long, sordid tale of the traffic diverter on NE Fremont and Alameda came to an end (or at least a new chapter began) when the Portland Bureau of Transportation was finally able to get it in the ground.
With installation of plastic curbs and (all too) flexible posts, along with new signage, the new diverter and crossing treatment now (mostly) prevents drivers from using Alameda as much as they used to. This is important because Alameda (and NE 37th to the north) is a vital, north-south neighborhood greenway where bicycle users are supposed to feel safe and welcome. The diverter (in theory at least) prevents drivers from crossing Fremont on Alameda and prevents them from turning left from either street. One of the main goals of the project was to reduce car user volumes on Alameda, but other positive impacts of the new treatment are likely to be slower driving speeds and more courteous car use in general.
I spent about 30 minutes at the location this morning observing traffic. What I noticed was a very busy intersection with a lot of walkers, runners and bikers — not to mention a relatively high volume of car users on Fremont. In the time I was there, only one person rammed over the plastic curbs and wands — the driver of a large truck going south on Alameda selfishly tore through the intersection and I was startled by the loud “boom” of the wand hitting the truck’s grill.
(Check out the full photo gallery and watch the video below.)
Besides that one jerk, compliance by drivers when walker or bikers were present was really good. These installations create a perception that the road is narrower and that drivers need to reduce their speed and use caution at the intersection.
I also saw the Alameda Elementary School bike bus come through. This project has had a major benefit for the 100 or so students and volunteers who follow Sam Balto on this weekly trip to school. Balto advocated strongly for the diverter at neighborhood meetings and is now singing its praises (see recent tweet below):
PBOT deserves praise here not only for the project and its design, but for trudging deftly through a thorny bit of pushback from some people in the neighborhood who didn’t want the diverter installed. Back in March, the board of the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association actually voted 7-4 in opposition to it with concerns about diversion of traffic to other streets, a reduction in convenience while driving, and various other reasons.
That vote forced PBOT to spend several months trying to hammer out a different solution that would address those concerns yet still have the desired safety goals. But in the end PBOT decided the full diverter was the right choice all along.
From what I saw this morning, PBOT made the right decision. Hopefully those neighbors come around eventually.
Have you driven or ridden this yet? What do you think so far? Don’t miss my little video below (and please subscribe to our YouTube channel so we can reach 1,000 subs!).
State Capitol building in Salem in 2009. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
**UPDATE: We will continue to add new bills to this list as they are introduced and have added several since the guide was first published.**
While the Oregon Legislature won’t officially convene until next Tuesday (January 17th), the bills we’ll be talking about in the months to come are now available for perusal. While only a very tiny fraction of bills that are introduced actually become law, it’s worth knowing what gets proposed. If nothing else these bills can give us some hope (or dread), and they reveal something about the lawmaker(s) behind them.
There are several very intriguing bills session. Some are serious, some are less so, but they’re all fair game at this point as the sausage-making machine begins to whir. We’ve flagged bills that would: repeal Oregon’s recent parking reforms, repeal the “Idaho Stop” law, create a statewide bicycle registration program, transfer Powell Blvd from ODOT to the City of Portland, create a tax on EV charging, make “sleeping in a highway danger zone” a traffic violation, and more.
Below is a roundup and brief description of the 24 bills we’ve flagged so far. We will have missed some, so please, if you hear about a bike and/or transportation-related bill, please let us know and we’ll add it to our watch list.
Here’s the list in numerical order:
Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. Chris Gorsek (D-25) Official Summary: “Proposes amendment to Oregon Constitution to authorize use of motor vehicle-related tax revenue for infrastructure that reduces traffic burden of, or pollution from, motor vehicles on public roads in this state.”
This is a very exciting proposal that would finally amend Article IX, Section 3a of our state constitution so that money we raise from taxes and fees on cars and trucks can be spent on things other than projects that encourage more use of cars and trucks. The existing restriction wields vast influence over policies and projects and this could be a game-changer. Sen. Gorsek wants the constitutional amendment to be put in front of voters in the 2024 general election.
Senate Bill 301 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. Kim Thatcher (R-11) Official Summary: “Provides that person operating bicycle may not treat stop signs and flashing red lights as yield signs if bicyclist slows bicycle to safe speed.”
Looks as though someone dislikes the “slow, then go” (a.k.a. Idaho Stop) law Oregon passed in 2019 so much they want to repeal it completely. This bill was filed on behalf of a specific person (David Samuel Hill) in what what lawmakers will often call a “constituent bill.” That could mean it’s not much of a priority for Sen. Thatcher and she’s just doing it to satisfy a constituent request. The current law allows bicycle users to treat stop signs and flashing red signals as yield signs, as long as they first slow and make sure there’s no cross traffic. Even though this isn’t likely to make much noise during the session, it’s interesting to see that someone cares enough to make this effort and there’s a lawmaker willing to go along with them.
SB 580 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. Floyd Prozanksi (D-4) Official Summary: “Requires Land Conservation and Development Commission to amend statewide planning goals to address equity, engagement with underserved populations and climate change.”
Back in July, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission voted in what advocates called “the largest rollback of parking mandates in U.S. history.” The new law, that went into effect on January 1st, gives Oregon’s largest cities the ability to develop land without a requirement to include car parking stalls. Supporters of the idea say it’s a way to increase housing supply, and create more climate-friendly communities. But the cities of Springfield, Medford, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Happy Valley, and Troutdale; along with the nonprofit lobby group League of Oregon Cities, isn’t quite ready for the change. They are the entities who’ve asked Sen. Prozanski to delay implementation of the new laws until a host of amendments can be made. Portlanders for Parking Reform leader Tony Jordan has wasted no time sharing his opinion about it: “SB 580 would reinstate hurdles to solving tough problems. Let’s crush it.”
SB 598 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. Kathleen Taylor (D-21) Official Summary: “Transfers jurisdiction of Southeast Powell Boulevard to City of Portland.”
Sen. Taylor has kids who attend Cleveland High School and she was the (highly engaged) emcee of the Powell Blvd Safety Forum held at the high school back in October. The bill would force ODOT and PBOT to hammer out a deal to make the transfer and would cover the stretch of Powell from Southeast 9th Avenue to I-205.
SB 615* (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: Sen. Chris Gorsek (D-25) Official Summary: “Modifies crime of organizing speed racing event. Punishes by maximum of 364 days’ imprisonment, $6,250 fine, or both. Punishes second and subsequent convictions within five-year period by maximum of five years’ imprisonment, $125,000 fine, or both. Modifies crime of reckless driving to include activities related to speed racing. Authorizes criminal forfeiture of instrumentalities of crime of reckless driving.”
SB 693 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. James Manning (D-7) Official Summary: “Establishes voluntary bicycle registration program. Sets registration, transfer of ownership, change of address and other fees. Establishes Bicycle Transportation Improvement Fund. Makes bicycle ownership information available to law enforcement agencies.”
Here we go again. Sen. Manning has filed this bill on behalf of a constituent named Zach Mulholland. It’s unclear why he thinks this would be a good idea, but the proposal is to establish a voluntary bicycle registration program run by the State of Oregon. Perhaps Mr. Mulholland thinks this would help with bike theft? Or he thinks it would be a good way to raise money? The bill would require people to pay $12 for a registration certificate, $3 for a serial number, $3 if the registrant changes address, and $6 if the bike transfers ownership. Proposals for mandatory registration have gone down in flames at least twice in the past — once in 2009 and again in 2015 — so maybe he thinks making this voluntary will be the trick. Not likely! I’ll eat my cycling cap if this even gets a committee hearing.
SB 719 (Overview) Sponsor: Sen. Fred Girod (R-9) Official Summary: “Defines terms used in Article IX, section 16, of Oregon Constitution. Modifies law related to tolling to conform with enactment of Article IX, section 16, of Oregon Constitution. Takes effect only if _____ Joint Resolution __ (2023) (LC 156) is approved by people at next regular general election.”
This appears to be an attempt to put a pause on all of ODOT’s existing plans to toll freeways (which were granted to them in 2017) until the issue can be sent out to a public vote via a referendum in November 2024.
SB 895 (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: At the request of Richard Hughes and Doug Parrow Official Summary: “Modifies offense of passing in no passing zone. Clarifies that term “obstruction” includes person riding bicycle or operating another type of vehicle.”
This bill seems to amend ORS 811.420 to make it clear that car drivers can cross over a centerline in a “No Passing Zone” in order to safely pass a bike rider.
House Bill 2095 (Overview) Sponsor: At the request of Joint Committee on Transportation for League of Oregon Cities Official Summary: “Authorizes all cities to elect to operate photo radar if city pays costs of operating photo radar. Eliminates restriction on number of hours per day photo radar may be used in any one location. Expands authority of city to set designated speed for certain residential streets to speed that is up to 10 miles per hour lower than statutory speed, but not less than 20 miles per hour.”
This bill would expand the authority to use photo radar cameras to every city in Oregon (currently it’s limited to just 10 cities) and expand their scope in general. It would also give cities the authority to lower speed limits 10 mph below statutory speeds (like school zones and business zones) instead of the current 5 mph.
HB 2101 (Overview) Sponsor: Joint Transportation Committee at request of Oregon Association of Counties Official Summary: “Directs Department of Transportation to establish local transportation program to provide state funding in exchange for federal surface transportation funding available to cities and counties.”
This appears to be an attempt by lobby group Oregon Association of Counties to exchange federal transportation funding for state funding so they can make sure it abides by Article IX section 3a of the Oregon Constitution which states that certain state transportation funds can only be spent “exclusively for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, repair, maintenance, operation and use of public highways, roads, streets and roadside rest areas in this state.”
House Bill 2301 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Rick Lewis (R-18) Official Summary: “Imposes tax on use of electricity to charge battery of electric vehicle at rate equivalent to rate of license tax imposed on first sale, use or distribution of motor vehicle fuel.”
This detailed proposal would create an entirely new state program to administer and enforce a tax on EV charging that, if unpaid, would be punishable by a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.
House Bill 2518 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Pam Marsh (D-5) Official Summary: “Expands traffic offense of pedestrian with improper position upon or improperly proceeding along a highway to include prohibiting pedestrian on interstate highways. Expands traffic offense of pedestrian with improper position upon or improperly proceeding along a highway to include prohibiting pedestrian on interstate highways. Punishes violation by maximum fine of $250.”
This bill would add the words, “Takes a position upon or proceeds along an interstate highway” to the Oregon Revised Statute 814.070. That statute is what defines all the circumstances where a pedestrian can be found liable of being in an illegal location/position on a public road. The only thing I can think of that would prompt Rep. Marsh to propose this is the increasing amount of people who live near interstate freeways and who walk on and adjacent to them as a result. In some ways this type of thinking is very much in line with how Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler moved to ban camping on freeway on-ramps back in February.
HB 2571 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Dacia Grayber (D-28), Rep. Mark Gamba (D-41) Official Summary: “Directs Department of Environmental Quality to establish program for providing rebates to qualifying individuals who purchase electric assisted bicycles or cargo electric bicycles and qualifying equipment.”
This is the bill we first covered back in November that would give purchasers of electric bikes a healthy rebate right at the point of sale — up to $1,200 for a standard bike or $1,700 for a cargo bike. The bill also asks for a $6 million out of the state’s general fund to pay for the rebates under a program run by the Department of Environmental Quality. This bill would harken in a new era of bicycling for Oregon, stimulate millions of dollars in local economies from bike shop sales, and help us achieve a myriad of climate, transportation, and health-related goals.
HB 2619 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Khanh Pham (D-46), Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-33), Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (D-18) Official Summary: “Modifies membership of Oregon Transportation Commission. Directs Governor to appoint executive director for commission.”
This could be a big one. It appears that Rep. Pham has heeded years of calls from transportation reformers to reform the OTC and make it more accountable to Oregonians. The OTC is a five-member body that oversees ODOT and wields immense influence over the state’s transportation budget, projects, and policies. This bill would finally force the governor to appoint a more representative roster, including at least one member who is younger than 25 (a top demand of youth climate activists), one who gets around without car, one who has a disability, one who can represent Oregon Indian tribes, and so on. The bill also seeks the appointment of an OTC executive director to manage and oversee the commission, as well as other accountability measures. A more responsive and representative OTC is long overdue and this bill seems like a great step forward.
HB 2658 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Mark Gamba (D-41) Official Summary: “Directs Department of Transportation to determine carbon emissions of motor vehicles and impose additional registration fee based on relative vehicle carbon emissions.”
This novel concept would add a new fee onto car and truck owners based on how much carbon their vehicle emits, then use revenue raised to create a new Transportation Modernization Grant Fund that would invest in, “projects designed to reduce carbon or other greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.”
HB 2662 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Courtney Neron (D-26) Official Summary: “Requires Department of Transportation, in collaboration with Tri-Met and Portland & Western Railroad to study extending Westside Express Service commuter line to Salem.”
Rare to see support for the WES, TriMet’s heavy rail commuter train that we hardly ever hear about and that has been roundly criticized for low ridership.
HB 2677 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Khanh Pham (D-46), Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (D-18) Official Summary: “Requires Department of Transportation to provide funding plan for highway maintenance when transportation project that adds lane miles is added to STIP.”
Rep. Pham is a noted freeway expansion critic and this appears to be a novel way of forcing ODOT into being more transparent about how much it costs to add lanes to Oregon interstates. The bill would create a new law requiring ODOT to detail how they’d fund maintenance of new highway lanes without robbing existing the highway maintenance budget. This would add heft to growing calls that ODOT stops spending money on new highway lanes until they invest more on dangerous orphan highways like Powell Blvd.
HB 2691 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Nancy Nathanson (D-13), Sen. Chris Gorsek (D-25) Official Summary: “Provides that any agreement related to providing ultra-high-speed ground transportation in this state must include service to Eugene. Prohibits Department of Transportation from expending in any biennium more than 50 percent, or $1 million, whichever is less, of moneys available to department for passenger rail service, on ultra-high-speed ground transportation.”
With high speed rail talks building steam, it looks like these legislators want to cause a delay. It seems odd to propose a bill that simultaneously limits investment in high speed rail, but then also wants to make sure if it does happen, it makes it to Eugene. Would be ironic if we had a high speed rail project on the table that planned to go to Eugene, but didn’t have enough funding to get there. Of course at this stage of the game, these bills can take wildly new forms (what they call a “gut and stuff”) so this could just be a placeholder for other high speed rail-related ideas.
HB 2838 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Paul Evans (D-20) Official Summary: “Creates offense of sleeping in highway danger zone.”
Rep. Evans wants to create a new traffic violation that could be applied to a person caught sleeping on the ground within 10 feet of the outside edge or curb of any roadway in Oregon between sunset and sunrise. Violators would be subject to a $100 fine.
HB 2951 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Courtney Neron (D-26), Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-50) Official Summary: “Directs Department of Transportation to establish program for awarding grants to providers of traffic safety education courses to fund Spanish language traffic safety education courses.”
HB 3014 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Khanh Pham (D-46), Rep. Courtney Neron (D-26), Rep. Hoa Nguyen (D-48), Rep. Mark Gamba (D-41), Rep. Rob Nosse (D-42) Official Summary: “Directs State Board of Education to adopt rules that allow for reimbursement of school district expenses incurred in lieu of transporting students.”
This intriguing bill looks to be a way to give school districts more flexibility in how they spend school transportation dollars. It would give district administrators the ability to seek a reimbursements from the state for any costs they would have otherwise spent on transportation (which is mostly buses). If I’m reading it right, this is bill that tries encourage more bike buses like the very successful one at Alameda Elementary School in Portland. Districts can use the reimbursements from bus transportation and instead spend it on things like public transit passes, “pedestrian or bicycle group leaders” and promoting other transportation options.
HB 3016 (Overview) Sponsors: Rep. Khanh Pham (D-46), Senator Michael Dembrow (D-23), Rep. Mark Gamba (D-41) Official Summary: “Establishes Community Green Infrastructure Grant Program. Establishes Community Green Infrastructure Fund.”
This bill would define a “community green infrastructure project” as something that, “provides social, environmental or economic benefits to a particular community and is developed through a collaborative process that helps define those benefits.” It would also create a grant funding program (with no financial commitment yet), a committee to oversee the grants, and it calls for a statewide tree canopy assessment tool.
HB 3036 (Overview) Sponsor: Rep. Courtney Neron (D-26) Official Summary: “Permits education provider to operate video recording device for purpose of recording persons who fail to stop for bus safety lights.”
This bill was filed at the request of one of Rep. Neron’s constituents (Sean Sype) and has some very notable co-sponsors in Rep. Pham, Rep. Zach Hudson (D-49), Joint Transportation Committee leader Rep. Susan McLain (D-29) and Sen. Lew Frederick (D-33). It would give schools the option of installing video cameras on the swing-arm of school buses that displays a stop sign. These arms are deployed when students are being let off the bus and the vehicle’s rear signals are flashing. It’s already Oregon law to not pass a bus in this situation; but far too many road users do anyways. These cameras would act much like red light cameras and would send a citation to suspected violators. Unfortunately the bill text currently says a police officer must review the camera footage when we know that’s been a major problem for the City of Portland’s program. Perhaps they can replace “police officer” with “duly authorized traffic enforcement agent.” Any revenue raised would go into a new fund controlled by the Department of Education.
HB 3113 (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: Rep. Susan McLain (D-29) Official Summary: “Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Department of Transportation, for biennium beginning July 1, 2023, for improving safety and increasing access to walking, biking and transit on state highways that serve as community main streets. “
HB 3212* (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: Rep. E. Werner Reschke (R-55) Official Summary: “Directs State Parks and Recreation Department to conduct study to determine feasibility of authorizing use of electric assisted bicycles on public trails that allow for use of nonmotorized bicycles.”
UPDATE, 2/14: Rep. Reschke told me via email this is just a constituent bill. Someone he represents wanted to know why he can’t take his e-bike on State Park trails, so Rep. Reschke thought a study of the issue would be a good step forward to help educate other legislators about the issue.
HB 3224* (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: Rep. Tom Andersen (D-19), Sen. Deb Patterson (D-10) Official Summary: “Requires Department of Transportation, State Department of Energy and Department of Environmental Quality to collaborate with City of Salem and mass transit agencies to study feasibility of developing rail streetcar system in city of Salem.”
HB 3374* (Overview) *Added after guide was first published* Sponsor: Rep. Jeff Helfrich (R-52) Official Summary: “Replaces references to vehicle accident and vehicle collision with vehicle crash.”
How a Bill Becomes Law. (Source: State of Oregon)
The next step for these bills is to await committee assignments (see the full process of how a bill becomes law in the graphic above). Then they’ll need to earn a public hearing and a vote in committee. There are deadlines for all these steps and as time goes on we’ll discover which of these — if any — has the momentum and support it takes to reach the finish line.
We will likely add more bills to this list. Please let us know if you find others we should know about. We hope to have a lot of exciting, transportation-related bills to cover and debate this session — and with any luck a few of the good ones will actually pass (and the bad ones will die).
Shipping & Receiving Clerk / Customer Service Rep.
Company / Organization
SimWorks USA
Job Description
Job Summary:
SimWorks is seeking a Shipping and Receiving Clerk who will verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments. This candidate is a critical and integral part of the SimWorks USA team. The responsibilities indicated are a baseline expectation of the kinds of work that a successful candidate will encounter. We are a small and dynamic business that is growing and we are always open to our employees carving out additional opportunities for themselves and SimWorks business.
Ideally you will have a working knowledge of bicycles and their various components, an understanding of basic standards and specifications for parts and how they relate and correspond with each other. Industry experience is not a requirement but preferred. A passion for bicycles, cycling and a general knowledge of how the industry is structured and functions would be an asset for a prime candidate.
Hours: Part-time to start – 20-25 hrs/week with review after 30 days. Potential for this to evolve in to a full-time roll.
Compensation/Benefits: Competitive, DOE, Minimum $16/hr. 30 day review, and regular reviews thereafter, in addition to Cost of Living adjustments. Paid Holidays, access to SimWorks product as well as Industry and adjacent industry discounts. Access to Chris King facility- cafeteria, bike parking, locker room facilities. Additional benefits negotiable and evolving
Duties/Responsibilities:
Processing of web orders – capture payments, create shipping labels, print invoices, verify addresses
Shipping – Picking of products from warehouse, boxing, packing
Receiving – Checking in product against purchase orders, and store for picking
Inventory – double-checking quantities to physical quantities on hand, reconciliation, and restocking
Organization – maintaining an orderly and efficient work and storage space
Communication – Effectively and timely communicate with management, dealers and customers
Problem solving – Strive to proactively and with positivity solve issues
Purchasing – maintaining necessary levels of packaging materials and supplies necessary
Cleaning – Sweeping, taking out trash/recycling, breaking down cardboard.
Events – Assisting with off-site events including setups and teardowns for pop-ups, trade shows, and marketing events.
Required Skills/Abilities:
Ability to accurately sort, count, and verify items received
Basic understanding of mathematics, a grasp of weights and measurements, spatial reasoning.
Strong knowledge of domestic & international geography
Good organizational skills and attention to detail.
Passion for cycling and cycling culture is a plus
Possess excellent attention to detail, follow- through, and time-management skills
Strong communicator (both verbal and written) with great customer service skills
Self-motivated with flexibility and adaptability
A comprehensive knowledge of Shopify merchant service software is a plus
Able to visually identify packaging sizes for orders
Able to perform the following physical tasks: sit or stand for long periods of time; lift up to 50lbs; climb a ladder/stairs; walk, stoop, perform repetitive movements; operate a pallet-jack: working in a warehouse environment with wide variety of conditions (temperature, noise, etc.)
SimWorks mission statement
Simworks was created with the vision of connecting people from all over the world with a shared appreciation for those elements in the world of cycling that ask us to slow down, connect with our natural environments, and savor the most meaningful ideals of our lives.
With an emphasis on heritage components with deep roots in Japan, to thoughtful offerings from small-batch makers and craftspeople- Simworks has an eye for timeless style and a focus on offering quality products that will make you smile.
With the humble bicycle transporting us along our way- we can inspire one another to live enriched lives, and to forge an enviable bond- between you and me…..
How to Apply
Please e-mail steven@sim-works.com with a brief introduction of yourself, and include a resume
TriMet Line 61 bus from Beaverton arrives at first stop on Marquam Hill with few passengers on Monday morning. (Photo: Lisa Caballero/BikePortland)
Last week, TriMet announced its proposed 2023-24 bus service changes. Most of this year’s service changes target lines west of the Willamette River, with the bulk of those running through southwest Portland, particularly Hillsdale and the Marquam Hill campus of the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and VA Hospital. Taken together the changes amount to a bold rethinking of area bus service.
The proposal arrives on the heels of TriMet’s Revised Forward Together Service Conceptfor reshaping regional bus service that, “will guide TriMet’s annual service improvements over the next 3-6 years.” Forward Together was done in partnership with Jarrett Walker + Associates, a Portland-based transit consulting company with national and international clients.
One of the most decisive changes proposed by the Service Concept is the discontinuation of five express lines from various points in the city to the Marquam Hill campus. Affected lines originate in Beaverton, Tigard, Barbur Blvd, the Hollywood transit center and Goose Hollow, and currently run with few stops between those points and the hill.
The Forward Together Summary by Area explains the reasoning behind this move to restructure access to Portland’s largest employer:
We received many comments that asked us to restore the existing structure of the 60s Marquam Hill expresses. In designing the pattern of services shown in the Service Concept, we were focused on making Marquam Hill easier to access for everyone, not just 9-to-5 workers.
Because the 60s expresses run only at rush hour, on weekdays, they are not relevant to a great portion of the Hill’s visitors and workers, who need to arrive at all times of the day. The Hill workers for whom rush hour services are most relevant are also more likely to be office and administrative workers, the same workers for whom working from home has persisted the longest, and is most likely to continue in some form in the future.
Ultimately, with the Service Concept’s twin goals to build ridership and improve equity, we cannot afford to offer a separate set of services that are useful for only a portion of the many people who need to travel to Marquam Hill. We believe that making Marquam Hill easily reachable all day long from the southwest part of the region is an important step in building ridership and enhacing access to this critical destination for people whose travel patterns do not neatly align with the traditional rush hour. For these reasons, we continue to suggest these changes to Marquam Hill services.
I quote at length from these paragraphs to give an idea of the quality of the work that has gone into the new Service Concept. It is thoughtful, well-researched and responsive to feedback.
On left is the current TriMet route map for Marquam Hill. On right is the proposed Forward together restructuring. (Source: TriMet)
The reconfiguration also reroutes Lines 56 and 43 through Hillsdale to Marquam Hill. Thus, Hillsdale, with its new Rose Lanes, becomes a key transfer point between buses continuing to downtown and the Hill-bound 43 and 56. This configuration achieves 15-minute service from Hillsdale to the hospitals “so that people coming from the southwest can reach the hill all day without having to go all the way downtown to transfer to Line 8.”
I reached out to Michael Harrison, OHSU’s director of local government and neighborhood relations, for comment about the OHSU-related changes. He replied that,
“Over the years, bus service to Marquam Hill has been particularly helpful to our on-campus employees who work a typical day schedule. This system has not always served our patients or employees who work early and swing shifts quite as well. Since COVID, many of our typical ‘office’ employees have shifted to telecommuting. While we are still analyzing the sweeping changes TriMet has proposed, we definitely agree with the overall approach they are taking to improving the equity and efficiency of the system.”
Three lines will serve Marquam Hill under the Forward Together plan. (Source: TriMet)
A visit to the VA hospital yesterday morning during rush hour—the first stop for several 60s-line buses —confirmed that those buses are arriving on the hill with only two or three passengers on board. Pre-covid, buses on the hill could be seen full of passengers. Forward Together’s bold redesign appears to be warranted.
Although I have focused on Hillsdale and Marquam Hill, this year’s service changes will modify twenty-one lines. So there is a lot I didn’t cover, and there is still much change to come over the remaining 2-5 years of the plan.
For readers who want to learn more, the Revised Service Concept by Area provides maps and a description and discussion of changes to thirty-one areas in the regional network, as well as the big ideas guiding the project. It also provides information about implementation and the possible effect of the bus operator shortage on roll-out.
Play structures replace what used to be car parking on this Amsterdam street. (Right photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
— This post is part of BikePortland Staff Writer Taylor Griggs’ trip through Europe. See past dispatches here.
My exploration of Dutch bike infrastructure continues. Yesterday I wrote about advisory bike lanes, one type of street design that originated in The Netherlands and is now being tested in Portland. Today, as I was wandering the streets of Amsterdam’s De Pijp neighborhood, I noticed another example of an infrastructure concept that a lot of Portlanders are excited about right now: trees in the curb zone.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Bureau of Environmental Services announced their own Trees in the Curb Zone Pilot Project in November, detailing a plan to trade parking spots for trees in certain parts of the city. Right now, there are a couple spots in the city where planners have tried this before (downtown and on SE Hawthorne Blvd) but now PBOT and BES want to focus the project in the outer Portland neighborhoods, where tree canopy is the most lacking.
Some other neighborhood scenes. (Photos: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
This idea has proven to be very popular — even when the BikePortland story about it was reposted to Reddit (which doesn’t always result in the most pleasant discussions), the majority of the comments were positive. Clearly, people want more urban greenery and tree canopy and fewer cars clogging up the sides of the streets.
Walking around Amsterdam today, it felt like the streets had always looked like this. But a quick look at the Google Street View archive says otherwise. Just a few years ago, the areas now filled with beautiful urban greenery, bikes and even a couple of play structures were full of cars.
Even before these green spaces were installed, public green space wasn’t in short supply in the area — there’s a large, beautiful park right in the center of the neighborhood — but of course it’s good to have even more. In Portland, on the other hand, there are large swaths of the city completely barren of urban greenery. It’s easy to imagine the power a project like this could have in transforming these neighborhoods (and the city at large).
Car parking in Amsterdam is already very discouraged with very high prices and limited space. This initiative just underlines the city’s commitment to design that centers people instead of cars — and the positive public response to it. If Portland planners come at their upcoming pilot project with similar fervor, I think we could see the same kind of results.
There was a very serious bike-on-bike collision on the Sellwood Bridge Friday afternoon around 5:10 pm. A witness who goes by West Stewart McCall online saw the immediate aftermath and said it happened on the raised path on the north side. Now McCall wants to warn other users about what he feels is an inherent danger on the bridge.
From videos and information shared by McCall, the two bicycle riders crashed into each other about midway across the Sellwood span. One rider was heading westbound and the other was coming toward them in the eastbound direction. The eastbound rider was on an electric-bike and the westbound rider was on a bike with no motor. It’s unclear how exactly the collision transpired, but the westbound rider clearly bore the brunt of it. The rider was down on the ground and McCall said he was “completely disoriented,” unconscious for several minutes and might have had a serious head injury. A TriMet bus operator saw the collision, pulled over and helped render aid to the victim along with another bystander. He was taken to the hospital, but we don’t know his current condition.
Bikers riding in both directions on north side path near Highway 43. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)View of north side path looking west near site of collision. Note the arrow on the path showing one direction for bicycle travel.
According to McCall, the uninjured rider stayed at the scene, but allegedly left without sharing his information and claimed he was not at fault. The Portland Fire Bureau responded to the incident and Portland Police Bureau tells us three of their units also responded. PPB Lt. Nathan Sheppard said it was handled as a medical issue only because it was categorized as a “non-criminal bike crash.”
McCall is worried that the bridge’s signage and markings are dangerous by design because they don’t do enough to discourage two-way bicycle traffic. “This avoidable accident has almost happened to me in the past,” he shared in an email Monday. “Recently, I’ve seen more bikers riding east on the path on the north side of the bridge, putting others are risk of serious injury.”
It’s true that many riders prefer to go east on the north side of the bridge, even though pavement markings installed by Multnomah County (who owns and maintains the bridge) encourage bicycle riders to go one-way only. The bicycle marking has an arrow only in the westbound direction, while the pedestrian marking has arrows in both directions.
Google Earth/BikePortland
I asked folks on Twitter yesterday why it’s so popular to go against traffic on the north side path. Some people said it’s likely that many riders headed southbound on the Willamette Greenway path on the west side of the river don’t know that the path continues under the bridge and will connect them to the south side (see map graphic). They see a path that leads up to the bridge, so they hop on it. “This is exactly my experience,” one person replied. Other people ride eastbound on the north side because it allows for an easier and safer connection to Sellwood neighborhoods and the Springwater Corridor path. “If I was connecting to the Springwater going north everyday I’d use the north sidewalk to avoid the somewhat confusing intersection at SE Tacoma and 6th where I have had a close call once before,” wrote Bjorn Warloe.
A sign on the north side of the bridge encourages bike riders to stay to the left to give space to walkers. There are no warning signs to tell westbound bike riders they should expect people cycling toward them. There is also no signage that explicitly discourages people from biking eastbound on the north side.
That lack of signage might be because Oregon law doesn’t recognize any directionality on sidewalks or bike paths. Multi-use paths are a grey area of the law and they’re not even mentioned in the Oregon Vehicle Code.
Lawyer and bicycle law expert Chris Thomas with Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost (a BikePortland advertiser) said there’s a lack of legal clarity when it comes to off-street infrastructure that can lead to confusion. “There is no statutory definition of a multi-use path even though we use that term. There are some multi-use paths that could be categorized as sidewalks or bicycle paths [both of which are defined in statute], or a combination of the two depending on what section you’re talking about,” Thomas said. Either way, unlike travel in a street, Oregon law allows users of sidewalks and bike paths to go in either direction.
Even though legal definitions are confusing and incomplete, Thomas says at the end of the day every user of the public right-of-way has a legal obligation to behave with caution and reasonable care. In this case on the Sellwood Bridge, it appears one (or both) of these riders was not doing that.
Please use this collision as an example of why it’s imperative to ride slowly and carefully when passing other riders.
We hope the injured person makes a full recovery.
UPDATE, 3:05 pm: We’ve heard more from PPB. The rider who was unconscious is out of the hospital and has filed a police report. The police say they’re pulling TriMet video of the collision and doing an investigation to see if any crimes were committed.
UPDATE, 1/11 at 9:05 am: We have heard from someone who is a close friend of the e-bike rider. He wants to connect with the other rider. If anyone knows the identity of the rider who was going westbound (the one who was on the ground after the collision), please get in touch with us.
— This post is part of BikePortland Staff Writer Taylor Griggs’ trip through Europe. See previous dispatches here.
In Utrecht, people driving cars are treated like bicyclists are in Portland.
Much has been made about advisory bike lanes in Portland over the last few months; and it just so happens I’m currently in the Dutch city that helped inspired them.
Advisory bike lanes or advisory shoulders (when there’s no sidewalk), also known as “edge lane roads”, create dedicated space for bicycling on either side of a narrow, low-traffic street, leaving the center lane to be shared between car traffic in both directions. But the bike lanes are striped with dashed lines, indicating that drivers can pass into them briefly if they have to pass another car coming toward them (and there isn’t anyone using the adjacent bike lane). You can read our previous coverage for a more detailed look at what this infrastructure entails.
These new installations are exciting to PBOT planners and many bike advocates. To conflict-wary planners, advisory bike lanes are good because they’re fairly uncontroversial and don’t require completely redesigning a street. And advocates are happy the city is exploring new ways to include bike infrastructure on streets that might otherwise be without. Plus, this type of street design is a Dutch import, and anything that makes Portland look a little more like The Netherlands is great, right?
So of course, I was keen to look out for this infrastructure while biking around in The Netherlands, where I am right now. I spent the morning yesterday cycling through Utrecht, a city near Amsterdam that’s known for being even more bike friendly than its more internationally-recognized neighbor (Utrecht was was ranked the best bike city in the world this year). It didn’t take long to find what I was looking for: I just had to veer out of the mostly carfree city center a bit into a more residential area, where some people actually own cars.
People feel comfortable enough using streets with advisory bike lanes in Utrecht to ride with their young children.n.
A group of riders in Utrecht’s city center, much of which is off-limits for people driving cars.
Before I continue, I have a few caveats. First of all, this infrastructure is very new to Portland, and I’ve only had the chance to ride on one street with the design, in outer northeast on San Rafael street. And I liked using the San Rafael advisory bike lanes, especially because PBOT bike coordinator Roger Geller was there as a guide to explain the project. I think this design is safer for people biking than the situation on most of Portland’s neighborhood greenway streets. The striping makes it clear to all road users that people biking are prioritized, which is not always the case for people using the greenway system.
As far as the design goes, the streets with advisory bike lanes in Portland and Utrecht look very similar. But the utility of this infrastructure is quite different, and I believe that comes down to the huge cultural differences in each city.
In Utrecht, people driving cars are treated like bicyclists are in Portland. The city makes accommodations for them to get around, but their convenience is clearly not the priority. If you’re going to drive a car in Utrecht, you must navigate around the carfree city center and network of bike paths, and it will probably take you longer to get to your destination.
From my observations, there’s an atmosphere of deference — not agitation — from drivers toward people biking. So on streets with advisory bike lanes where drivers are allowed to share space with people biking, the people on two wheels remain in control.
Like I said, I prefer the advisory bike lanes to greenways or unmarked “shared roadways” in Portland. But after some time observing traffic in Utrecht, it’s all the more clear to me that planners need to realistically consider driver behavior when designing infrastructure. Even if people biking legally have the right-of-way or are supposed to be able to use a street without stress, that’s not always (ahem, pretty much never) how it really plays out. (I get tailed too closely by drivers while biking on Portland’s greenways just about every day.)
This culture of car dominance is all the more prominent in east Portland, where the advisory bike lanes have just been installed on NE San Rafael. It is only very recently that east Portland has seen the development of sufficient bike infrastructure at all, and it’s going to take more than a few lines of paint to make people feel safe biking in the area. In order to turn Portland into a place comparable with Utrecht, we have to take bigger steps to mitigate car use. Only then will things like advisory bike lanes serve their purpose and reach their potential.
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…
E-bikes for clunkers: As the quality and price of e-cargo bikes has gone up, perhaps it time to offer a financial incentive to people who want to trade in their older, gas-guzzling cars for a new electric bike. (The New Daily)
Fatality fault: Noted car culture critic Greg Shill offers four ways the federal government should regulate automakers so they being to think of “public safety” as something that pertains to road users, not just oversized car users. (Streetsblog USA)
Real mobility hubs: Portland could learn a thing or two from Berlin where their transit operator has created a new app that combines all types of shared vehicle sign-ups into one place — with physical locations to match. (Bloomberg)
Highway widening chronicles: When one of the most influential voices in American news has “widening highways doesn’t work” in a headline of a piece not in the opinion section, you know the Overton Window has shifted. (NY Times)
Pricing over pavement: A smarter way to create a more efficient I-5 would be to charge drivers more to use it and then invest that money into public transit. (Willamette Week)
Infrastructure ecosystems: Cities do themselves no favors by building bike lanes, sidewalks and train lines unless they’ve done the deeper work to make sure people will actually use them. (Strong Towns)
Perils of big EVs: “Automakers’ focus on large, battery-powered SUVs and trucks reinforces a destructive American desire to drive something bigger, faster, and heavier than everyone else,” says David Zipper in his latest article. (The Atlantic)
Wasted money: This investigative story argues that some EU countries are using funds earmarked for cycling infrastructure to no positive effect because it’s not being spent to build a high quality, connected network. (EU Observer)
Change is hard: While there’s a growing realization that billions on highways is bad for America, DOTs just can’t quit the habit. (Washington Post)
E-deaths: Let’s compare and contrast how government regulators respond to a report on e-scooter and e-bike deaths versus evidence that oversized SUVs and trucks kill many more people. (Fox News)
Nasty collision: A Portland bike courier is currently on the mend after being involved in a collision with a driver who was allegedly going the wrong way. (Fox 12)
