BikePortland

Bike League, Americans, respond to Boehner’s “trash talk”

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

“American’s have repeatedly said that they value more livable communities, transit, bicycling and walking improvements ahead of new highway capacity.”
–The League of American Bicyclists

The League of American Bicyclists has published a lengthy response to comments made on Sunday by Ohio congressional representative and House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner.

Boehner’s comments have also sparked a lot of response by bike-riding Americans.

On a Sunday morning talk show, Boehner criticized spending on “bike paths” in Obama’s economic stimulus bill as something “Americans are not going to look very kindly on”. He also referred to “widening highways” as being beneficial “for American families”. (Watch the video and read analysis and reader comments here.)

A screenshot of the Burley
D’Lite on sale at Costco.com.

When a friend of mine said they saw Burley trailers being sold at big-box retailer Costco last week, I was shocked. Based in Eugene, Oregon, Burley is known as a premium priced, quality brand in the bike industry. Selling to a big box retailer like Costco dilutes that reputation. This upsets dealers, who rely on the strenth of a brand’s reputation to sell products at full retail price.

Looks like Multnomah County is set to redesign the “streetscape” on Scholls Ferry Road. What does this mean to you? Well, according to their press release (below), they want feedback on the design plan which will “identify ways to improve bicycle and pedestrian travel through the corridor.”

If you ride on Scholls Ferry, check out all the info below and visit www.multco.us/schollsferry.

Public meeting kicks off Scholls Ferry Road streetscape design plan

Read more

A visit to Baltimore’s Velocipede Bike Project (Slideshow)

One of my favorite stops in Baltimore was at the Velocipede Bike Project.

Occupying a bright storefront in the young and hip Charles Village neighborhood, Velocipede is a collectively run community bike shop. Since July of 2006, the all-volunteer shop has welcomed members of the community to come volunteer time (or, as a downplayed alternative, pay a fee) in exchange for access to bike tools, parts, and expertise.

[Via Paul Dorn’s Bike Commute Tips Blog]

Rep. John Boehner thinks
Americans don’t want
spending on bike paths.
-Watch video below-

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) weighed in on Obama’s big economic stimulus bill during an interview on the CBS News show “Face the Nation” (his comments were also picked up by TheHill.com).

Saying that the stimulus must happen quickly and in a “responsible way” he shared his thoughts on the infrastructure component of the bill (emphasis mine):

“I think there’s a place for infrastructure, but what kind of infrastructure? Infrastructure to widen highways, to ease congestion for American families? Is it to build some buildings that are necessary?…But if we’re talking about beautification projects, or we’re talking about bike paths, Americans are not going to look very kindly on this.”

Enjoying a road in Forest Park.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Last month we shared a new, grassroots effort to open up more of Portland’s Forest Park to bicycles (currently, only 1/3 of a mile of trail — out of over 5,000 acres — is open to bikes).

Frank Selker, a citizen activist who is passionate about riding off-road, decided that the path to more bike access was to join the the Forest Park Conservancy. As a non-profit, the FPC has worked as a respected partner of the Portland Parks and Recreation Department for many years.

OBRA toasts another stellar year

Dave Aldersebaes accepts
his “Off-the-Back” award from
OBRA Exec. Director Kenji Sugahara.
(Photo: Tom Hartkop)

Members and leaders of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) had a lot to be happy about in 2008. Year-end stats from OBRA officials show that there were 3900 licensed riders at the end of the year — a 13% increase over 2007.

Numbers aside, much of what makes OBRA a success is that they focus on fun. That was on full display when racers and everyone that keeps OBRA ticking got a chance to relive the successes, the pain, the fun, and the camaraderie of 2008 at their annual meeting and awards banquet on Saturday in Southeast Portland.

As usual, the event recognized 2008’s best racers and best teams in a variety of categories and disciplines. In addition, this year OBRA unveiled a new set of “fun awards” that included such honorable titles the “Best Crash Caught on Film”, “Biggest Fan”, and the “OTB Award” which was given to the best story about finishing last or near-last in a race (a.k.a. being OTB or “off the back”).

“Retrofitting the cityscape for bicycles as a primary mode of transportation needs to be a priority.”
— Gill Kelley, outgoing director of the Planning Bureau

Whether you follow city politics or not, you’ve got to recognize that Portland is at an exciting point in its history.

Yes, we face major challenges, but we’ve got a fresh jolt of energy in City Hall, a new Mayor who will (hopefully) not shy away from big challenges, and we’re knee-deep into the Portland Plan; which, when complete, will “guide the physical, economic, social, cultural and environmental development of Portland over the next 30 years.”

You can take a shuttle between conference
venues, or a ten minute walk across this gorgeous
bridge on Connecticut Ave.
(Photos by Elly Blue)

Washington, DC is the final stop on my East Coast Tour. I am here for the week-long Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting.

TRB is the big transportation conference in North America, hosted by the country’s pre-eminent transportation research organization. Hundreds of sessions fill three huge hotels on Connecticut Avenue, and 11,000 attendees walk briskly from room to room, talking shop about everything from bituminous pavement to international shipping to pedestrian signalization.

The theme of the conference this year is Transportation, Energy, and Climate Change. The fact that this is the theme is a big deal in its own right, as it signals a shift in focus in transportation research and policy nationally.

[This is a dispatch from Elly Blue’s East Coast Tour. Read more here.]

Parker and Sturgis-Pascale catch up with their former intern, Reed College student (and New Haven native) Rose Vickery. (Photos by Elly Blue)

New Haven, Connecticut is the birthplace of pizza, hamburgers, and the lollipop. It has the highest rate of public housing per capita in the United States. But it has always been better known for being home to the wealthy, prestigious Yale University. Yale is a major player in New Haven — the university is the city’s largest employer, owns a huge percentage of downtown property (including several streets), and is incredibly influential in the social and economic life of the city.

Happy Monday, folks.

– First off, some exciting meta-news: our own BikePortland.org has been accepted by Google as a legitimate news source. Now, when you search news.google.com, our stories may come up, depending on your search terms. If you search for “bicycle portland,” a lot of our stories come up. We’ll have a big party to celebrate when I get back to town in a week and a half!

– Snow can’t stop the hardy cyclists of Montreal.

– This Norwegian TV commercial is the first for a group called Miljøagentene (Eco Agents). It features a very young eco-agent fighting the battle against SUVs on a family level.

Bike League, Americans, respond to Boehner’s “trash talk”

Industry mag: Burley admits error in selling to Costco

County announces public meeting for Scholls Ferry redesign

A visit to Baltimore’s Velocipede Bike Project (Slideshow)

Rep. John Boehner: Widen highways for “American families” (updated)

Momentum for Forest Park plan; group sees surge in new members

BTA Annual Meeting

OBRA toasts another stellar year

Outgoing planning director says bikes should be “primary mode of transportation”

In D.C.: The great transportation convergence

Building livable streets in New Haven: State, city, and university

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