BikePortland

Hubris and icy streets: a cautionary tale

A bike lane covered in ice. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Well, some of the puddles I wrote about a few weeks ago have solidified under recent freezing temperatures. Now they’re ice, and even more treacherous! I had a mild encounter with some of this ice last week, and wanted to share a bit of a cautionary tale.

As someone who was born and raised in Colorado, I have to admit that I have a bit of arrogance in me when it comes to traveling in winter weather. When I moved to Oregon and heard about the concept of “ice storms” for the first time, I rolled my eyes.

“You’re ‘iced in’?” I thought. “When I was a kid, I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow. You didn’t hear me complaining about it.”

This is obviously exaggerated: of course I complained. But I did, in fact, grow up getting around in inclement weather. Colorado public schools are notoriously stingy with snow days, and while I never had to strap on the cross-country skis, I certainly navigated through a foot of snow to get to school at least a couple times.

And I’ll always remember the first time I drove a car by myself, hands shaking on the steering wheel during an unexpectedly heavy April snowstorm. When I stepped on the brake at a red light and the car didn’t immediately stop, having caught itself on some ice, I panicked, not remembering if I was supposed to pump the brakes or not. (I managed to stop in time, but wow, 16-year-olds should not be allowed to drive multi-ton vehicles.)

All of this is just to say that I’m not particularly worried about traveling in cold and icy weather. But that didn’t stop me from completely wiping out on black ice while biking the other day.

As is often the way in these kinds of situations, what happened was a pretty mild incident that had the potential to be terrible had only a couple other things gone wrong. I was almost home on Thursday night, biking quickly down Northeast Ainsworth Street in the cold, when I was suddenly on the ground. Evidently there was a big patch of black ice that was either invisible in the dark or that I simply hadn’t been paying attention to, and it knocked me down to the street, popping the front wheel off my bike in the process (still not sure how that happened).

The first thing I did was stand up and turn around to make sure there weren’t any cars coming toward me. A woman driving a truck was coming up maybe a block away, and I waved my arms a couple times so she’d see me and I could collect myself. She happened to be very kind, and stopped to asked if I needed help, looking at me skeptically when I waved her along.

I knew I hadn’t been seriously injured — I was mostly just embarrassed. But I also realized that this situation could have been very bad. If I hit my head or fallen in a way that made it more difficult to get up and a driver happened to be speeding by, they might not have seen me in time to stop (people drive too fast on Ainsworth and similar neighborhood streets all the time). The fact that there wasn’t a driver tailing me on this stretch of the street is actually a rarity in my experience. It makes me shiver to think about all the worst-case scenarios.

Ultimately, I am fine — still a little sore, but completely intact. But I think situations like this can teach us a few things. First, I’m going to lose the invincibility complex and keep a closer eye on the street, especially when it’s really cold and icy. Second, it would be great if the city could figure out how to keep ice off our streets as much as possible to keep vulnerable road users safe. As it turns out, icy streets in Colorado and Oregon are completely different ballgames. In high-altitude and sunny Denver, ice turns into mostly harmless slush quickly. Here, however, the freezing overnight temperatures combined with even a small amount of precipitation and days of cloudy skies make it a lot more treacherous.

Lastly, I want to emphasize that the most component here with the most potential for danger isn’t the ice — it’s the cars. Sure, I could’ve been knocked out if I hit my head on the street or broken a bone by falling wrong. But the risks posed by inclement weather is amplified exponentially by the 24/7/365 dangers we face on streets. So drivers, please keep your distance from people biking and walking — all the time, but especially during the winter. Pay close attention to your surroundings and try to stay patient when driving behind someone who isn’t going as fast as you’d like.

You never know when they might hit a patch of ice.

Portland mom shares grief with USDOT Secretary amid push for changes

Screenshot of online meeting. DOT Sec Buttigieg is in lower left corner. Portlander Michelle DuBarry is on lower right holding a photo of her son Seamus who was killed by a driver while he walked across a north Portland street in 2010. (Source: Michelle DuBarry/Families for Safe Streets)

“The fact that USDOT took the meeting in the first place is a sign of progress, though, and I think we all left with a sense of guarded hope.”
– Michelle DuBarry, Families for Safe Streets

North Portland resident Michelle DuBarry is part of the group no one wants to be in. She’s a volunteer with Families for Safe Streets, a national nonprofit with a chapter in Portland that’s supported by The Street Trust. She and the other brave activists in this group share stories of grief and loss from traffic crashes that killed their sons, brothers, sisters, daughters, moms and dads.

Just last month DuBarry and others in the group stood on a corner of SE 122nd Avenue as traffic roared by to share how unsafe streets have impacted their lives. And last Friday, DuBarry found herself in a Zoom room talking to the most powerful transportation leader in the entire country; US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The online meeting was set up by Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs Dani Simons (who has a connection to Portland as a former director of communications for Motivate, the company that runs Biketown). Also on hand was US DOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg (who you might recall from our 2011 interview) and other top DOT brass. The event was likely part of the DOT’s ongoing work around the National Roadway Safety Strategy, an effort funded by President Joe Biden’s recently passed infrastructure law that took a step forward back in October.

DOT released no press statement about the event, but DuBarry shared a thread about it on Twitter over the weekend. Here are the four things she and other bereaved parents asked Buttigieg and other DOT staff to do:

1. Safety regulations for large trucks and SUVs to protect people *outside* of the car (Intelligent Speed Assistance, Automated Emergency Braking, & hood/bumper design standards)
2. Mandatory side guards for large trucks. The EU, Japan and many other countries have long mandated side guards. Research shows these can reduce bicyclist fatalities by 50-74%
3. Change the way speed limits are set. Did you know that current US speed limit setting practice is to raise the speed limit when more than 15% of drivers are driving faster than posted signs?
4. Street design standards that prioritize safety of all road users (not just drivers). So many of our loved ones would still be with us if our roads were designed better, with narrower lanes, raised crosswalks, physical barriers between cars and pedestrians/bicycle riders etc.

Asked to share more about the meeting, DuBarry told me she came away with mixed feelings. “It was devastatingly sad but also gratifying to be in a space with federal transportation policymakers,” she said. “The fact that USDOT took the meeting in the first place is a sign of progress, though, and I think we all left with a sense of guarded hope.”

And DuBarry and other members of Families for Safe Streets won’t let them forget about it. They’re working on a follow-up letter that will outline their requests.

With the road death crisis at an all-time high and with one of the most sympathetic and progressive slates of DOT staff we’ve ever seen, now is the time to push forward on these issues. We’re lucky these folks are brave enough to tell their stories to these powerful policymakers. Now let’s hope change is coming so no one else has to ever join them.

Job: Bike Tour Travel Guide – Trek Travel

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Bike Tour Travel Guide

Company / Organization

Trek Travel

Job Description

Bike Tour Travel Guide

Ambassador, leader, concierge, bike mechanic, host-with-the-most, friend, team player. If these words inspire you, see if you have what it takes to be a TREK TRAVEL GUIDE!

Is your idea of an office more like the view from a bike?

Do you have a passion for sharing epic adventures with others?

Do you make challenging situations look easy?

If you answered yes to above questions, then let your adventure start here! TREK TRAVEL is hiring vibrant, adventurous, & hospitality-focused people to join our team in leading guests on world-class cycling vacations around the globe. If you have a passion for travel and cycling, are proficient in bike mechanics and fluent in English, apply today!

During a typical day, we are extremely organized and flexible. We master trip logistics, manage trip finances and represent Trek Travel with subcontractors. We educate our Guests on safe biking techniques, enrich their cultural understanding, motivate those who wish to challenge themselves, pamper those looking for the ultimate in luxury, and provide vacations of a lifetime for all. This is simply the beginning. Do you have what it takes?

How to Apply

An office with a view

KGW’s lopsided, fear-mongering story about new bike lanes on Broadway

Portland NBC affiliate KGW has chosen to highlight the concerns of a downtown hotel manager who says a new bike lane is hurting their business and is a danger to their customers and staff.

Here’s the opening salvo from KGW reporter Mike Benner:

“It’s no secret that downtown Portland is still trying to come back from the pandemic and all of that civil unrest back in 2020. But there are business leaders who believe this new guarded bike lane is not helping the cause one bit.”

“We had an incident where a guest [car] door got hit by a bicyclist.”
– Heathman Hotel general manager

The “guarded” lane is the new parking-protected bike lane on SW Broadway the Portland Bureau of Transportation completed this past fall. This project was the final phase of a 13-year project to update Broadway and create a safer space for bicycle users on this crucial downtown main street. Prior to the creation of this wide, curbside lane, bicycle riders were forced to ride in a door-zone lane with just a few feet of space between people driving and people swinging open their doors. The bike lane was a relic that was long overdue for an update.

But to KGW and the general manager of The Heathman (who was the only non-PBOT source in the story), none of that matters. The only thing that matters is how some hotel guests and a few hotel staff must now deal with a bit more traffic in order to access this business. The story centers the stress felt by the hotel manager for about two months, but not one word is shared about the mortal fear and daily stress posed to bicycle riders for decades before these changes were made.

Both the KGW reporter and the hotel manager spoke of “close calls” between people getting out of their cars and bicycle riders using the lane. At one point the hotel manager said, “We had an incident where a guest door got hit by a bicyclist.” That is a very odd way of describing what was most likely an illegal act by the car user as defined in ORS 811.490 which states that drivers or passengers must not open their doors, “until it is reasonably safe to do so and it can be done without interference with the movement of traffic.” Why on earth would a bike rider purposely hit a car’s door and risk injury?

None of that matters in this story because it’s sole purpose is to center the feelings of one business owner and portray the bike lane (and by association, the people who use it) as the antagonist and troublemaker.

Toward the end of the segment, we see a perfect example of how these type of stories tend to over-inflate an idea simply to establish a false narrative that local TV news viewers can sink teeth into.

As the KGW camera ran, the reporter narrated a scene where two people pedaled bicycles slowly and calmly in the bike lane. As they approach someone on foot, the person crossed in front of the bike riders and easily stepped onto the curb. It was a totally normal and sane interaction that happens hundreds of times in our city every single day. But to the KGW reporter, it was a nefarious act by the menacing cyclists in a dangerous bike lane. PBOT’s goals to encourage more cycling, the reporter said in an ominous tone, “Won’t come without hiccups as we saw while shooting video near the Benson Hotel. Close Calls like this one are what bothered [the hotel manager].”

Thankfully, even though KGW didn’t bother to represent a bicycle rider’s point-of-view, they did give a PBOT spokesperson an opportunity to defend the bike lane. Interim Communications Director Hannah Schafer did an admirable job given the circumstances (I can relate to being involved in stories like this where the framing is stacked against you and story editors won’t let your words change the narrative they desire).

This is just the latest example of a lopsided local news story that centers the experience of business owners and drivers over everyone else. Late last month, a Portland Tribune story focused on changes to the lanes on SW Capitol Highway through Hillsdale with a similar framing. The article presented the new bus priority lanes as a problem that was hurting businesses and limiting access for drivers — but it never mentioned how bus users benefit and included no sources who used the bus.

Heathman Hotel guest parked illegally in the SW Broadway bike lane. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The SW Broadway story ends with a warning that the manager at The Heathman plans to install security cameras to “keep an eye on what she says has become a hazard.”

Hopefully she makes good on that threat. Judging from what I’ve seen in front of the hotel (above), PBOT Parking Enforcement officers could use all the help they can get.

And hopefully, our city’s media and business leaders will move past this tired and false narrative that bike lanes and bike riders are the source of their problems and realize these projects are not perfect because managing streets for a variety of uses (instead of just cars and drivers) is an inherently messy task that requires everyone to compromise, mitigate risk, and muddle through — something bicycle riders have been forced to do out of necessity and yet never this this kind of media attention until one of them is killed while doing so.

— See the full story and watch the video on KGW’s website.

Metro Council will hear plan for “ultra” high speed rail

Screen grab from Fast Forward Cascadia website, a group boosting the effort.

The future is now — or so say the planners leading the Cascada Rail project to bring “ultra-high-speed ground transportation” (a.k.a. high speed rail, or HSR) to the corridor between Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia. While this project may seem far-fetched, regional leaders are giving us some hope that we’ll be whisking ourselves between Portland and Seattle at 250 mph sooner rather than later.

At last Friday morning’s Metro Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee (TPAC) meeting, planners from Metro and the Oregon and Washington State Departments of Transportation (ODOT and WSDOT) briefed the committee on the latest HSR updates. As it turns out, there has been quite a bit of progress on this project in the past couple years. The main agency leading this progress is WSDOT (the majority of tracks will be laid in Washington) but other agencies are supportive and on November 16, 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan signed a Memorandum of Understanding in a show of support.

As far as the North American west goes, the Cascadia Megaregion is quite dense, containing three of the most populated cities in the United States and Canada within a little more than 300 miles. The entire region has grown significantly in recent years and this growth is projected to continue in the coming decades by as much as four million people by 2050. This is one reason advocates think it’s so important to take urgent action on this project.

Concept of the route. It could expand during project planning — perhaps to serve Eugene and central Oregon. (Source: WSDOT)

It’s difficult to fathom what a HSR system in the Pacific Northwest could do for our region. At 250 miles per hour, trips between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver could take less than an hour between each city. Theoretically, a Portlander could get to work at the Microsoft headquarters near Seattle in almost the same amount of time as it takes to drive to Intel in Hillsboro during rush hour today. Hell, you could even throw in a trip to Canada in the time it would take to get through the line at the original Starbucks in Pike Place Market.

The project planners have more a more detailed account of the benefits of Cascadia HSR. The Metro TPAC memo states:

This enhanced interconnectivity would unite the Cascadia megaregion and allow to better manage population and economic growth potential and maximize public transportation benefits, resulting in better access to jobs, affordable housing, shared resources, increased collaboration, and economic prosperity. Corridor study has conceptually considered various scenarios with 21 to 30 daily round trips, with some express trips stopping at only a few locations, interspersed with others that stop at more locations at about $24 to $42 billion in up- front construction costs.
Outcomes include:
— Ultimate potential to carry 32,000 people an hour (only 12 to 20 percent of total current intercity trips would shift to UHSGT).
— Estimated annual ridership between 1.7 and 3.1 million, conservatively.
— Estimated annual revenue of between $160 and $250 million.
— Estimated $355 billion in economic growth and 200,000 new jobs related to construction and ongoing operation of the service.
— Reduction of 6 million metric tons (tonnes) of CO2 emissions over first 40 years and potential for zero emissions by using clean energy sources (hydro, wind, solar).

Letterhead of MoU between Oregon, Washington and BC.

Planners in Washington began the Cascadia HSR research process back in 2016. In late 2019, policymakers and business leaders convened in Seattle to discuss the future of the project, and the momentum continued from there. Perhaps the most actionable step came in November 2021, though, when the leaders of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing to “advance activities in support an ultra-high-speed ground transportation project.” Here’s an excerpt:

We commit to establishing a Policy Committee made up of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia designees and representatives from regional planning entities and the private sector to build relationships and coordinate efforts to advance the project. A lead from the respective government departments or ministries will be identified to spearhead the related activities in each of our jurisdictions and engagement in the Policy Committee.
We commit our states and province to advancing work on the Ultra-High-Speed Ground Transportation project and to pursuing emissions reduction with a focus on equity, inclusion and meaningful community engagement.
We commit to developing an organizational framework that facilitates inclusive input and decision-making…

While this MoU is not legally binding, it serves as documentation of a collective regional interest in this project and lists a few specific government commitments.

A timeline overview from WSDOT. (Source: WSDOT)

Skeptics may point out that American high speed rail has long been a transportation white whale, elusive even when it seems close to the surface. Just look at all the chaos surrounding the California HSR project. There are considerable roadblocks in the way of getting these types of projects done in a country so heavily oriented toward freeway projects.

Still, planners are optimistic. With WSDOT allocating $150 million to studying HSR in the Cascadia Corridor last March, the project is now in a development phase, and the team is currently researching more ways to secure federal (and possibly private) funding. (Note to Amtrak enthusiasts: this funding application will also include requests for assistance funding improvements to the Amtrak Cascades route, especially between Eugene and Portland.)

Portland Metro Council will discuss the corridor proposal and more details of the plan at a work session Tuesday (12/6). If they decide to sign on, that will be one more government agency in favor of the plan. It will take more than that to get it done, but it’s a start.

If you’re interested in this project, advocacy group Fast Forward Cascadia is asking people to voice their support to agency representatives and legislators. You can find more information about their campaign here.

(Video) Thief unbolts rack and steals bike in downtown Portland

There might be fewer people commuting and parking their bikes downtown these days, but unfortunately bike thieves are not working from home.

A BikePortland reader reached out to us over the weekend to share the sad news that their electric cargo bike had been stolen. They also sent a video and a brief description of how it happened. Bike theft is so common in Portland that I don’t share every one of them we hear about here on the Front Page unless there’s a notable circumstance.

This theft was notable for two reasons: First, it was captured on video; and second, the person who took the bike did so by first loosening the bolts that attached it to the sidewalk. As you can see in the video above, the thief calmy unscrews the bolts of the staple rack, then works the rack through the u-lock, leaves the rack on the ground, and rides off. The victim used a heavy-duty u-lock, but it didn’t matter.

Be on the lookout for this bike! (Photo: Sent in by reader)

Also notable about this theft is that the rack isn’t blue. This makes me wonder if it was a City of Portland rack or a rack installed by a private building owner. It matters because the standard, blue, Portland Bureau of Transportation staple racks were upgraded in 2017 with tamper-resistant bolts that are harder to unscrew.

This is so infuriating to see! Many Portlanders simply won’t lock up their bikes on a street due to fears of theft and it’s a problem don’t seem to have made much progress addressing over the years.

Unbolting bike racks is nothing new. We’ve covered the issue on several occasions over the years. It seems the best solution to this is to require that racks are sunk directly into the concrete so bolts are not required. If we installed racks this way they’d not only be impossible for thieves to unscrew, they’d also be much stronger bollards against careless drivers. (Then again, I could see thieves carrying around sledgehammers or concrete cutters, but I’d rather not think about that.)

We hope this person gets their excellent and clearly loved bike back. It’s a distinctive red Xtracycle longtail with white accents and a relatively uncommon Nomad Cycles mid-drive motor. See more in this Reddit thread.

Monday Roundup: Musk scams, urban doom, and more

Use code bikeportland22 and save 20% off at ShowersPass.com!

Welcome to the week. We hope you had a nice holiday.

This week’s Monday Roundup is made possible by Showers Pass, makers of quality waterproof rainwear and gear that’s proudly designed and tested right here in Portland!

Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…

Pipe dreams: The worst thing about Elon Musk ghosting cities after promising to build tunnels to “solve congestion” is that some city leaders actually fell for the grift and delayed real solutions. (Wall St Journal)

KGW strikes again: Our local NBC affiliate has once again offered a stinging critique of a non-car project because a business owner is afraid of how it impacts car users. (KGW)

But wait, there’s more!: Musk is the subject of a DOJ probe for allegedly misleading people about just how “self-driving” his Tesla cars are. (Bloomberg)

Car replacement: If you’re skeptical of anecdotal evidence about the e-bike revolution, there’s also serious research that proves how electric cargo bikes can easily fill in the role of many cars. (Science Direct via David Zipper)

Rebates in CA: Now that Oregon has an active e-bike rebate bill, we’re keeping closer tabs on how the policy is going in other states like California, whose rebate program is slated to start next year. (Electrek)

Just one year: The American justice system meted out just a one year sentence to a Coloradan who admitted driving carelessly and then killing another road user. (Daily Camera)

Go by train: Two weeks ago we shared how a group of activists in Amsterdam rode bikes onto the tarmac to stop private jets from taking off. Now France has taken the admirable step of banning domestic airplane flights between cities that have a rail connection. (Daily Kos)

The City that pays its enemies: Don’t miss this exposé from former leader of Business for a Better Portland’s Ashley Henry about the problematic budget arrangement between the City of Portland and the Portland Business Alliance. (Medium)

“Urban doom loop”: The urban ecosystem that has thrived for the past three decades has been given a massive shock thanks to covid and the vast increase in work-from-homers — and dwindling public transit revenue might be one of the largest victims. (NYT Opinion)

Video of the Week: Local ride organizers Evergreen Gravel Racing have created an excellent film about one of our region’s best all-terrain routes

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week.

First Look: Changes complete at NE Tillamook and 7th

Looking south on NE 7th from Tillamook. The old traffic circle used to be in the middle of the street in the center of this photo. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has completed a project on NE Tillamook and 7th. As we’ve been reporting, the city wanted to improve safety and traffic operations at this offset intersection as part of their efforts to establish the Lloyd to Woodlawn Neighborhood Greenway which runs from the new Blumenauer Bridge to an existing greenway on NE Holman Street.

There was considerable consternation about PBOT’s plans in large part because it included the removal of a small traffic circle that had a tree planted in the middle of it. Neighbors who live around the intersection organized against the project, saying that PBOT’s plan would lead to faster driving speeds and less safety overall.

Now that the striping and other changes are done, I rolled over today for a closer look. See my photo gallery below…

PBOT installed a new protected intersection treatment on the south side that comes with large corner bulb-outs (which also make crossing safer). It directs northbound bicycle users on 7th up onto the sidewalk on the southeast corner of Tillamook and 7th, then across Tillamook in a cross-bike (green-striped crosswalk adjacent to the standard crosswalk), then onto another small sidewalk section before re-entering 7th in a painted bike lane. From there, people who want to turn left (west) onto Tillamook, can choose to “take the lane” (there’s a sharrow marking for that) or they can utilize the new, green-colored left turn box.

In addition to those bulb-outs, they’ve painted five new crosswalks on 7th — four standard white ones for people on foot and one green one to help people crossing at Tillamook.

Also of note is the new concrete planter they’ve installed at the north end of the intersection. They call it a “slow speed planter” and it’s been placed on 7th just north of where the traffic circle and tree used to be. Even though the planter is much smaller than the circle used to be, it’s placement north of the intersection gives it more relative strength because of how narrow the street is. It’s possible to drive around it faster than the circle, but I’d prefer to wait until we see traffic speed and other operational analysis before making any judgments of how it compares to the previous design.

Looking south on NE 7th from Tillamook. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Overall, the intersection feels less safe to me because of how large a footprint the circle and tree used to occupy. It’s a much wider expanse now. And as we all know, very few car drivers care about paint on the road — especially this time of year when all it takes is a bit of wet dirt and leaves to render that paint nearly invisible.

Another thing I took away from my time at the intersection is how PBOT installs design treatments many bike riders don’t/won’t even use. It would be interesting to put up cameras for a few weeks and do a count of how many people actually use the protected bike lanes that go up onto the curb and then back down onto the street. Same goes for the left turn box — especially since they’re in the uphill direction and folks on bikes always seek the shortest/straightest route from a-to-b. I have nothing against these type of treatments in theory. It just seems odd to install something new and then watch no one use it.

I also understand that not every piece of infrastructure is meant for every type of rider. We need diverse treatments because we have diverse riders.

Have you ridden these changes yet? What do you think?

See what more local riders think in the replies to our post on Instagram.

PBOT pushes new Powell Blvd truck detour

Railroad tracks separate the two yards. (Source: BikePortland)

“If a truck driver’s doing ten trips a day, and the additional route causes them to [only] do nine trips a day, that’s a 10% cut in their pay.”
– Corky Collier, Columbia Corridor Association and PFC member

In the wake of an October crash that killed Portlander Sarah Pliner while she biked across Southeast Powell Blvd at 26th Avenue, advocates have pressed for changes. Pliner died after being hit by a man driving a semi-truck north on 26th Avenue as he made a sweeping right turn onto Powell and swiped her with the truck trailer in the process.

The tragedy spurred some safety advocates, freight industry experts and city transportation planners to reexamine truck traffic on 26th Ave. This street is located in an industrial area near both the Union Pacific Intermodal Rail Yard and the Fred Meyer distribution center, and drivers traveling to and from those locations are often toting massive trailers behind them that are difficult to control.

When we talked to people who work in the trucking industry in the immediate aftermath of the crash, some said it is inherently dangerous for semi-trucks to use the corridor, especially when they have to make a right turn onto Powell. With this in mind, the Portland Bureau of Transportation took some initial steps last month to discourage truck traffic from using this route.

At Thursday morning’s Portland Freight Committee (PFC) meeting, PBOT planner Zef Wagner provided new updates how the reroute would work. PBOT’s proposal sparked concerns from some members of the committee who worry that it requires too much out-of-direction travel for truck drivers.

“Union Pacific is open to reorganizing Brooklyn yards to consolidate operations, but right now…they just don’t have space.”
-Zef Wagner, PBOT

According to Wagner, recent PBOT analysis has found that the majority of problematic freight truck traffic on 26th comes from the Union Pacific rail yard. (Truck deliveries to the Fred Meyer distribution center are evidently less common and involve smaller trucks.) Truck drivers meet up with freight trains at the rail yard in the Brooklyn neighborhood and ferry goods back and forth to the Union Pacific Annex for storage.

The main rail yard and annex are just across the train tracks from each other, accessible by car via Holgate Blvd, 26th Ave and Gladstone St. This is just a short distance, but it’s right through very narrow residential streets. PBOT’s suggestion is to trade off the short drive for one that relies more on large arterials, not on local neighborhood streets where people live, walk and bike.

“We looked at it, and we think we have found a better route — even though it’s a little bit out of direction,” Wagner said to the committee.

He said a more appropriate route would be to take McLoughlin westbound until it links up with Powell, where there’s a sizable swooping ramp to make the right turn easier for trucks hauling huge trailers. When trucks leave the annex to carry goods to their end destinations via the US 26 truck route, they can take 21st Ave to get onto Powell (see maps above).

What do truck advocates think?

To say the McLoughlin reroute is a “little bit out of direction” is an understatement — it turns a two or three minute drive into a 10 or 15 minute one, depending on the traffic situation on McLoughlin and Powell. But PBOT’s view is that local residential streets were never intended to be used by large freight trucks, and it makes sense to want to send the trucks to the highways, even if they’re out of the way.

Members of the PFC were cautious and warned that truck drivers and freight companies may not agree.

PFC member Corky Collier said if a truck driver’s productivity decreases because of the added drive time, they’ll lose out on pay.

“If a truck driver’s doing ten trips a day, and the additional route causes them to [only] do nine trips a day, that’s a 10% cut in their pay,” Collier said. He added that increased driving times could hamper Portland’s emissions reductions goals, and he doesn’t want the freight industry to be blamed for it.

“The emissions start adding up pretty significantly,” Collier said. “You may still want to do it. But if that’s the case, PBOT should be saying, ‘this increase in greenhouse gas emissions is our fault.'”

Wagner said even though the trucks were previously only moving a short distance, they were stopping and starting often and causing congestion in the neighborhoods — meaning there may or may not be a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. And the detour would only apply to outbound trips: once the trucks drop off their trailers, it’s not nearly as intrusive for drivers to just take the cabs back through the residential route.

Containing the problem

A lot of containers at Brooklyn Yard. (Photo: Union Pacific)

But the real problem here goes deeper. The reason Union Pacific freight goods have to be moved back and forth between the annex and the main rail yard so much is because of abnormally high container traffic. Ideally, they’d be able to consolidate operations onto one side of the track, but the quantity of goods is too large right now for that to be possible.

“Union Pacific is open to reorganizing their Brooklyn yards to try to consolidate operations, but right now they have such high container traffic that they just don’t have space for all the containers,” Wagner said.

This is the same reason for the clogged up railroad tracks that have caused so much grief for people traveling around southeast Portland lately. The situation has become so problematic that PBOT is seeking federal funding to find solutions.

Wagner said PBOT will continue to do analysis in the coming months. If they decide to take this approach, it’s unclear how strongly the city would be able to enforce it. Wagner said he wants to put up wayfinding signs discouraging truck drivers to travel on 26th between Gladstone and Powell — but will a sign really be enough to get drivers to take this detour?

This discussion was also yet another indication of just how deep SE Powell Blvd’s safety problems run, and how many different players are involved. It’s going to take a coordinated effort from bike and safety advocates, freight industry reps, and local transportation agencies in order to make change. In the meantime, 26th Ave and similar streets in the neighborhoods surrounding the rail yards — which happen to be home to many families with kids and lots of people who rely on biking and walking to get around — will be unreasonably dangerous.

Weekend Event Guide: Explore Powell, party with the Cyclocross Crusaders and more

Celebrate a successful cyclocross season at Hopworks this Saturday. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Happy December, and welcome to the weekend. It’s probably going to be a cold and wet one, but luckily, the best antidote to winter blues is getting bundled up and riding your bike.

The Weekend Guide is made possible by our friends at Portland-based Showers Pass, who remind you that they’ve offered excellent and reliable rain gear and other apparel must-haves for 25 years!

Here’s our hand-picked selection of the best rides and events coming your way. For more suggestions, see the BikePortland Calendar.

Thursday, December 1st

Shift Social and TNR Prefunk – 5:15 – 7:30 pm at Lucky Lab on Hawthorne (SE)
Get together with the Shift2Bikes crew at the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne. Learn more about the Shift calendar and forum and chat with some old Pedalpalooza friends! Anyone is welcome, and the group will head to the Thursday Night Ride after. More info here.

Saturday, December 3rd

PDX Coffee Outside – Location TBD
The location always changes for the weekly park gathering of bike and coffee lovers. Check the group’s Instagram for location, which will be posted the day before. More info here.

PSU Farmer’s Market ride – 10 am at various locations (SE)
Join Hami Ramani and friends on the the weekly journey to the PSU Farmer’s Market! More info here.

BikeLoud PDX SE/East Chapter Ride: Around and across inner Powell – 12:30 pm at Hampton Opera Center/Tilikum Crossing (SE)
Learn about inner Powell Blvd by riding around it with the BikeLoud crew. BikeLoud member Josh Hetrick will lead the ride and talk about what advocates are doing to make Powell safer for riding a bike. More info here.

Cyclocross Crusade Party – 2:00 pm at Hopworks Urban Brewery (SE)
Meet up with your Cyclocross Crusade friends for the last time this season at Hopworks this Saturday. They’ll have prizes and will give acknowledgements to the people who raced this year. Free drink tickets for racers will also be available, so don’t miss it! More info here.

Sunday, December 4th

WeBike Sock Drive Ride Help bring some winter warmth to people in need and join The Street Trust’s Madi Carlson on a WeBike ride to the annual Golden Pliers sock drive. WeBike events are intended for anyone who doesn’t benefit from cis male privilege. More info here.

See all upcoming events here. Promoting an event? Know about something we should boost? Please let us know and we’ll get it on the calendar.

Local nonprofit recycles 50,000 pounds of bike scrap metal every year

Many of you have probably heard of the Community Cycling Center. It’s that plucky (or should I say scrappy) nonprofit known for their bike shop on NE Alberta Street, their summer camps, and more recently, a food delivery program.

But did you know they also recycle tons of scrap metal every year? 25 tons to be exact!

One of the things that powers the CCC programs and business model are the hundreds of bikes they receive as donations every year. They clean and repair as many of them as they can. Then they salvage all the usable parts. What’s left over is a messy combinations of plastic, rubber, and different types of metal that has no use to anyone. It can’t be used for cycling and it’s no good for recycling because it’s too mixed up. They offer some of it to the community via salvage sales where folks can rummage around for things to use in art projects, garden sculptures, for welding practice, and so on. But there’s still a ton of leftovers no one wants to eat.

That’s were CCC staff and volunteers come in. “We could take bikes and parts to the scrap yard without separating types of metal and removing plastic and rubber, but we want to do right by our donors, our community, and our industry,” the org said in an email today. “So we put in the extra effort to deliver clean scrap metal only. This ensures that the material will actually be recycled and used for years to come!”

This arduous process includes stripping frames, separating aluminum rims from steel spokes, separating tires, tubes, saddles, pedals and more. They estimate they recycle over 50,000 lbs of metal every year that would otherwise be taking up space in a landfill.

The CCC’s salvage program is just one cool way this nonprofit helps our community. And they’re just one of many great, bike-related nonprofits in Portland. Right now the Willamette Week is hosting their annual Give Guide, which is a handy way to learn about and donate to not just the CCC, but also to Northwest Trail Alliance, Depave, OPAL Environmental Justice, Albina Vision Trust, The Street Trust, and many other great organizations that care about our streets and our city.

Woman cited by Portland Police for not riding in downtown bike lane

“[That bike lane is a] death trap. It’s hazard after hazard.”
– Bicycle rider ticketed downtown

A woman riding a bike was pulled over and cited by a Portland Police officer Monday afternoon. It happened on Southwest 2nd Avenue as she rode north just after crossing SW Washington. Her offense? She was not riding in the bike lane.

Believe it or not, Oregon has a law that requires bicycle users to use a bike lane whenever one is available. ORS 814.420 states, “a person commits the offense of failure to use a bicycle lane or path if the person operates a bicycle on any portion of a roadway that is not a bicycle lane or bicycle path when a bicycle lane or bicycle path is adjacent to or near the roadway.”

It’s a type of law — known as a “mandatory sidepath rule” — many states have moved away from. The national nonprofit League of American Bicyclists vehemently opposes laws like this and has fought against them at the federal level. They’ve also specifically called-out this law in Oregon as a reason for notching us down several rungs in national bike-friendly state rankings.

A big problem with mandatory sidepath laws is that they leave enforcement open to discretion of police officers — some of whom are unsympathetic to bicycle riders, don’t fully understand bike-related law and don’t have any bicycling experience themselves. It’s also just a waste of resources to pull someone over for operating their bicycle in a general purpose lane in downtown Portland where speeds and volumes are relatively low and bicycle riders travel at the same speed as other road users (and of course there are rampant, illegal, dangerous, yet harder-to-see-because-it’s-so-normalized-and-ubiquitous, behaviors by car and truck drivers).

The woman ticketed Monday said SW 2nd Avenue has been her regular commute route home for the past eight years. She usually avoids the bike lanes because they are “a death trap.” “That entire stretch is hazard after hazard,” she shared with me this week. “I wish the police would refocus their efforts to ticketing the 5-10 cars parked in the bike lanes I come across on my 1.5 mile commute.”

Adding to the frustration around this incident, it happened in a location where the bike lane is arguably less safe than other lanes (another reason this is a bad law).

I posted a video to Facebook in 2017 that illustrated my concerns with this bike lane — the same ones I shared when it was first installed in 2016.

Bike riders will often opt out of using bike lanes because they are so often full of debris, potholes, or inherent engineering hazards that make bike lanes less safe than other lanes. The 2nd Avenue bike lane specifically is also known to be full of puddles and leaves this time of year. This matters because ORS 814.420 includes an exception that says a person is not required to use the bike lane if they are, “Avoiding debris or other hazardous conditions.”

Back in July, BikePortland reader crazytraffic99 posted a video to YouTube that clearly captured one of these hazardous conditions:

While tickets for not using the bike lane are “very rare” and “not useful” according to Portland bike lawyer Mark Ginsberg, who specializes in helping people with these type of infractions, unfortunately they are still being written.

In this case, the woman who received the ticket reports that the officer who pulled her over didn’t talk much during the stop. She said he seemed like, “just a typical cyclist hating driver.” When asked to describe more about their conversation, she said the officer stated that he first noticed her while she rode eastbound on SW Alder, in the left lane outside of the new bike/bus lane. She did this because she was turning left at SW 2nd (a clearly legal thing to do according to ORS 814.420). Here’s more from her account of their conversation:

“He wasn’t happy I was riding down Alder on the left side (since I was turning left on 2nd and not crossing the Morrison Bridge). So after I turned onto 2nd and moved to the outside of the left lane to eventually turn right onto the Burnside Bridge, he turned on his lights and pulled me over at 2nd and Washington. He stated that there was a bike lane on 2nd and I was required to be in it, because motorists weren’t expecting me to be in their lane.”

The bicycle rider says she plans to contest the ticket when her day in court comes up in December 2023. “I will fight it,” she said, “If I don’t die in the next 13 months.”