BikePortland

A look at bikes in Portland’s federal legislative agenda

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“The development of this type of network will dramatically boost bicycle use beyond the City’s nationally-leading levels. The benefits to the City of bicycle use are dramatic.”
— an excerpt from the city’s request for federal funding bike boulevards

The City of Portland’s Office of Government Relations recently released their 2009 Federal Legislative Priorities.

The 25-page document (download PDF here), prepared for the mayor and City Council by the Director of the Office of Government Relations Dan Bates, outlines the city’s requests for funding of a number of projects and programs including transportation infrastructure.

Bikes are mentioned in the document several times. Here’s a quick rundown:

The latest Sellwood Bridge project news (browse our previous coverage):

Policy leaders to choose Sellwood Bridge plan

The Policy Advisory Group for the Sellwood Bridge Project will meet on Friday, February 6 at 3:00 pm in the boardroom of the Multnomah Building at 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd. to choose a locally preferred alternative. The decision is a major step in a planning project that began in 2006. The meeting is open to the public and will include time for public comment.

Read more

In-Depth: Where bikes and streetcar collide (Part One)

Libby Tucker

[Publisher’s note: This article is by BikePortland’s In-Depth reporter Libby Tucker. Tucker is a freelance journalist whose stories have been published by the Associated Press, MSNBC.com, The Oregonian, and others. She was most recently a staff writer for the Daily Journal of Commerce where she covered transportation, construction and energy. She is also the author of the blog, Naked Energy and is a regular contributor to the NYTimes.com blog, Green Inc. This will be a two-part story (read Part Two here).]

The streetcar tracks and bike lane on NW Lovejoy.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A bottle of “Commuter Cuvee”.
(Photo: Mike Quetel)

When you drink the newly released “Commuter Cuvee” pinot noir by Grochau Cellars, you’ll not only raise your spirits, you’ll raise money for bike safety.

The new wine is the work of Portland-based winemaker and bike lover John Grochau, with help from his distributor Casa Bruno.

BikePortland reader Mike Quetel came across the new wine last week. Quetel emailed us to say that he was “excited to see two of my favorite things, cycling and wine, intersect here in Portland.” Quetel also added that the wine was “delicious and affordable”. But that’s not even the best part…

Yesterday we unveiled our first video advertisement.

The idea with this new program is to approach select local businesses that have an interesting product/service/idea to share and then create a short film about it (the film is created under our direction and we will never use canned, promotional footage). We then run the video on the Front Page. The business then pays us for this exposure.

If everything works as planned;

Blumenauer unveils Gas Price Relief Act-4.jpg

Metro Council President David Bragdon.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Thursday at Metro, councilors are sure to get an earful when they host a public hearing on the contentious Columbia River Crossing project. The topic will be Resolution No. 09-4023, which Metro describes as:

“For the Purpose of Expressing a Sense of The Council on the Number of Lanes Proposed as part of the Columbia River Crossing Project, taking into Account Congestion Pricing, Capacity, and possible Induced Demand Effects.”

Brooker Enterprises wants to paint your bike (Video Ad)

Marcy Cauthorn gives “Pinky” a powdercoat.
– Watch video below –
(Paid advertisement)

Clark Brooker built his powdercoating business by painting custom chopper motorcycles. But, being based in SE Portland (at 3714 SE Powell), he can’t ignore how many bicycles he sees around the neighborhood. Sensing an opportunity, Clark (and his son Brad who works with him) decided to focus on painting bicycles.

How’s this for last-minute plans?

John Cardenas, president of the Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association (PGSCA), asked me last week if I’d like to join them on an upcoming trip to Guadalajara. They’re leaving Tuesday of next week and one of the agenda items for the trip is to share information about bikes in Portland.

Photo from the scene on June 10th, 2008.
(Photo: Ian Stude)

Back in June, Portlander Phil Sano was tackled and then Tasered repeatedly by two Portland Police Bureau officers while riding his bicycle on SE 7th Avenue. The police maintain he failed to obey their orders and then resisted arrest. Sano says they failed to identify themselves and then used excessive force to subdue him.

Next week, the Portland District Attorney’s office will present a criminal case against Sano.

“I believe we can help by getting the consumer into the showroom.”
— Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

To give you an idea at just how difficult it will be to make any significant change in the American transportation paradigm, here’s the latest in the ever-changing saga of President Obama’s economic stimulus bill (via the Associated Press, emphasis mine):

The Senate voted Tuesday to give a tax break to new car buyers, setting aside bipartisan concerns over the size of an economic stimulus bill with a price tag edging above $900 billion. The 71-26 vote came as President Barack Obama said he lies awake nights worrying about the economy and signaled he’ll try to knock out “buy American” provisions in the legislation to avoid a possible trade war.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski led the successful effort to allow many car buyers to claim an income tax deduction for sales taxes paid on new autos and interest payments on car loans.

We had our first ever Get Together event in St. Johns tonight and I have to say — mission accomplished!

We had a nice turnout. Knowledge was shared. New connections were made. Beer, fries, tots, and burgers were consumed. All in all, a great way to kickoff this new series of events.

One thing I’m looking forward to with these events is riding in different neighborhoods. I haven’t ridden on N. Willamette Blvd. for a long time and, with a clear view of Mt. Hood, I picked a great night to head up there. (Unfortunately, my ride ended on a bad note when I encountered a major repaving project toward the northern end of the street. The city has torn up the middle of the roadway, leaving a very sharp curb to mount in order to stay in the shoulder/bike lane. Add the high speed of cars, buses, and lots of dust, and the idyllic N. Willamette experience on the bluff turns quickly unpleasant.)

A look at bikes in Portland’s federal legislative agenda

Press Release: Policy leaders to choose Sellwood Bridge plan

In-Depth: Where bikes and streetcar collide (Part One)

Sales of new “Commuter Cuvee” wine will go toward bike safety

What do you think about our new video ad?

Now it’s Metro’s turn to hear CRC lane debate

CRC Hearing at Metro

Brooker Enterprises wants to paint your bike (Video Ad)

Headed to Guadalajara to meet my sister city

Phil Sano Taser incident goes to trial next week

AP: Senate votes to help Americans buy cars

Talking bikes in St. Johns

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