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House passes bailout bill; bike commuter tax benefit becomes law

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Blumenauer unveils Gas Price Relief Act-2.jpg

Blumenauer at the unveiling of his
Gas Price Relief Act, one of many
pieces of legislation that included
a bike commuter tax break
over the years.
(Photo: J. Maus)

What a long, strange trip it’s been for Congressman Earl Blumenauer and his Bike Commuter Act.

The House Democrat is a former City Commissioner of Transportation in Portland (1987-96) and he was at the helm during Portland’s Golden Age of biking — a time when we laid down much of our bikeway network infrastructure that is now the envy of many cities.

Blumenauer carried his commitment to biking into the halls of Congress and has worked the system relentlessly to pass bike-friendly legislation like the bike commuter tax benefit. Calling it a “matter of equity”, his idea is simple; give bike commuters the same respect and recognition in the tax code already given to folks that drive and take public transit.

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A small victory in the war of perception

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The BTA’s Government Affairs Director Karl Rohde and I have something in common; we can’t stand the outdated perception (held by all too many legislators and decision makers) that bikes are simply a means of recreation and that funding bike infrastructure is some sort of frivolous, non-essential expenditure.

Mr. Rohde is on a crusade of sorts to rid politicians of that notion. Part of the legislative package he’ll fight for in Salem next session will be a resolution that tries to re-frame “bike funding” and “bike trails” as “non-motorized transportation funding” and “non-motorized transportation corridors” respectively.

Another front in his campaign is simple propaganda.

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Bike-mounted State Trooper pedals down reckless driver

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Here’s an unusual bike story that just landed in my inbox from the Oregon State Police.

“The incident happened Wednesday, October 1st, in Salem at about 1:00 p.m. when OSP Trooper Perry Rhoades was patrolling the Capitol Mall area on a bicycle and spotted a 1997 Ford four-door drive recklessly near the State Capitol building nearly striking pedestrians in a crosswalk on Court Street near Winter Street.

Trooper Rhoades caught up with the car and made several attempts to get the driver to stop, including riding alongside the driver’s door and ordering the female driver to stop. The driver, identified as SUZANNE L. FUTRELL, age 44, from Dallas, refused to stop and yelled through her rolled up window she didn’t do anything wrong.

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UPDATED: Senate sweetens bailout bill with Bike Commuter Act

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[See below for updates: Hint, Blumenauer is saying he won’t support the bailout package.]

“The (bailout) bill now includes a… tax benefit for bicycle commuting sought by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, also a “no” vote on Monday.”
— from an article in the Baltimore Sun

Hoping to garner votes from House members who previously voted “no” on the $700 billion financial bailout package, the U.S. Senate has added several sweeteners to the bill (now known as the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008”).

Among those enhancements (according to this article in the Baltimore Sun) is the Bike Commuter Act, a piece of legislation championed by Rep. Earl Blumenauer for many years. Blumenauer voted “no” on the bailout on Monday and the move by the Senate is being done in hopes to turn that into a “yes”.

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Facing “financial obstacles” Jorg & Olif looks for investor

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The founders of Jorg & Olif, a company that was around at the inception of the Dutch Bike Invasion in America, have announced that they’ll sell off the company if they don’t find an investor.

In a statement posted to their website on September 16th, co-founders Rob MacDonald and Jane Cox wrote that their company, “faces some financial obstacles that need immediate attention” and that “Without new capital injection, the partners are considering new paths.”

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BTA’s 2009 legislative plans take shape

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As bike ridership spikes in cities across the state, Oregon’s upcoming legislative session is sure to be full of bike-related action. Figuring prominently in that mix will be the lobbying efforts of the Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA).

Leading the charge for the BTA will be their new Government Affairs (a.k.a. lobbyist) man Karl Rohde. Today I learned more about what Rohde and the BTA might be focusing on in January when Oregon’s 75th Legislative Assembly convenes in Salem.

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Rapha to put cyclocross spin on roller racing at Manifest Show

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The Oregon Manifest Handmade Bike Show (October 10-12 in Portland) is shaping up to be an event you won’t want to miss. I’ll be writing much more about the show in the days to come (not to mention complete daily coverage once it’s here).

Event flyer. More info here.

Local bike apparel company, Rapha, has announced they’ll bring back their Roller Races event that was a smash hit when it was held during the North American Handmade Bicycle Show back in February.

This time around, in honor of the Oregon Manifest show and Portland’s cyclocross season, Rapha will host the “Cross Roller Race” event. Here’s how they describe it:

“…Cross Roller Racing is a highly competitive and thoroughly costumed night of 500 meter on-stage roller sprints combined with running, dashing and jumping through a 250 yard indoor cross course, complete with barriers, run-ups and Zoo-Bomb bikes.”

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Police Bureau continues with traffic safety education missions at Broadway/Flint

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Broadway and Flint.
(Photo © J. Maus)

As part of an ongoing effort, the Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division is performing a series of “traffic safety educational missions” at the intersection of Broadway and Flint.

Traffic Division Captain Larry O’Dea says his officers are conducting the missions during morning commute hours every day this week. According to O’Dea, the missions are being done in conjunction with the first round of changes made by PDOT (the “Bikes Stop” markings installed last week).

In an email sent by O’Dea this morning, he described the PPB’s efforts as,

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