Widely-read New York Times op-ed columnist and regular NewsHour pundit David Brooks penned a column today that urged our government and leaders to put infrastructure projects on the fast-track.
Calling it a “National Mobility Project”, Brooks thinks that the wisest way for government to hasten an economic recovery is through shifting the paradigm on how America plans and builds transportation infrastructure projects.
By all accounts, the recently concluded Cycle Oregon was one of the best ever.
From what I’ve heard, it had perfect weather, epic routes, majestic vistas (the Wallowa Mountains), welcoming towns, and great live music — all the ingredients that make Cycle Oregon one of the world’s premiere supported rides.
Kids aren’t the only ones who need to stay dry and visible while riding. Portland is set for wet weather for the next week or so (at least) and, combined with darkness falling over rush hour, rain can make things a bit more tricky out there.
Here are some tips taken from a list of wet and dark weather riding tips put together by the City of Portland Office of Transportation:
Stay Dry and Warm
You don’t need the latest and greatest cycling gear to get around town by bicycle. A decent rain jacket and pants are your best defense. They both cut down on wind and keep you dry. If you can afford it, GoreTex or other breathable fabric will keep the rain out and keep you from feeling clammy.
A new promotional campaign launched by North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) founder Don Walker recognizes the “Original Six” group of frame builders that have exhibited every year since the show began in 2005.
Among the Original Six is Southeast Portland-based builder Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles.
The NAHBS show was a pioneering effort that helped create a category and bring awareness to handmade bicycles in America.
If you’re looking for a job, two great opportunities have been listed on the BikePortland Job Listings this past week.
Here’s the information:
The City of Portland is sitting on loads of interesting and important data about bike ridership. Full reports on summer bike counts at locations throughout the city and survey results from the City Auditor’s Office are all due out in the coming weeks.
However, a few numbers have trickled out of PDOT in recent days.
I’ll share a full look at the numbers once the reports are ready, but some of the early numbers I’ve gleaned from various sources are very exciting.
An annual survey compiled by the City of Portland Auditor’s Office (the Service Efforts and Accomplishments Survey) is set to reveal that 8% of Portlanders (citywide) now say that the bicycle is the mode of transportation they use to get to and from work.
The creators of Veer, a feature-length documentary film that chronicles the people and culture behind bikes in Portland, announced today that they’ve picked Golden Globe-nominated actor Matthew Modine to be the film’s narrator.
Modine is known for his role in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) and more recently as a recurring guest star on the Showtime TV series Weeds.
Modine is also no stranger to bicycling. He made headlines back in September when 14,000 people showed up for the launch of his Bicycle For a Day campaign in New York City.
A 17-year-old boy passed away yesterday morning due to injuries he sustained in a collision with a car on Highway 99E/McLoughlin Blvd. in Gladstone (10 miles south of downtown Portland) just before midnight on Tuesday.
The Oregon State Police say the boy, Nicolas Levi Moreno, was attempting to cross McLoughlin Blvd. at SE Glen Echo Road when he was struck by a Honda Prelude driven by 49-year-old Philip Teters. Moreno was eastbound westbound on Glen Echo and Teters was driving north on McLoughlin.
Here are two tales of bike thefts that didn’t go quite as planned.
The first, sent in by a reader named Armando, comes from an all-too familiar spot — the loggia of the Portland Building. Here’s a photo of the suspect:
This article was written by our Family Biking columnist Marion Rice. For previous articles in this series, and for links to other articles and photos on family biking, check out the Family Biking Page.
It’s that time of year again when Metro seeks your comments on how they should spend millions of dollars in federal funds through their regional flexible funding program (also known as MTIP, the Metropolitian Transportation Improvement Program).
A key part of that process is gathering public comment so decision makers at Metro can make the most informed choices on how to spend $21.6 million. Sounds like a lot of money right? Well, the rub is that Metro has received applications for projects totaling $57.8 million — so that means they need your help to whittle down the list (JPACT, a Metro advisory committee has thankfully set a minimum of $7.2 million that must be spent on bike/ped projects).
The Bureau of Planning has canceled a community workshop that would have began a discussion about a preferred strategy to tackle a re-design of the 7 Corners intersection (where SE Division, Ladd, 20th, and 21st streets converge).