San Francisco is making a serious run at Portland to become the most bike-friendly big city in America.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) reports that according to their municipal transit agency, there were more bikes than cars during yesterday’s commute into the city. Here’s the blurb from the SFBC website:
Found bike in brush behind NW Portland Thur.17 May looking for owner
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This morning was the annual Bike to Work celebration hosted by the Lloyd District Transportation Management Assocation (LDTMA). In addition to free massages, bike tune-ups, food, coffee, and other helpful resources for bike commuters, the event marked the debut of the Lloyd Bikettes.
The Bikettes are LDTMA Program Manager Moira Green and volunteer Sandi Deodato. Their inspiring performance brought the house down. Hoping to encourage folks to joing the TMA’s Bike Committee, they courageously donned traffic safety vests and sang and danced their hearts out to Village People’s classic YMCA song.
As I reported yesterday, the fixed-gear brake bill is moving along nicely in Salem. What I didn’t mention was that an amendment has been added to the bill that will allow police bicycles to be equipped with a siren.
Here’s the deal. Existing Oregon statute (ORS 815.280(b)) states that,
“A person shall not install or use any siren or whistle upon a bicycle.”
I mentioned in my legislation update earlier this week that the chances of the velodrome bill (S.B. 926) passing were slim.
Now it seems like the final nail is in the coffin. Here’s what the Co-Chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee recently said in response to a reader’s email:
The following job was listed this week on the BikePortland Job Listings:
Like new, orange lemond poprad, road bike, front wheel does not match, black rims and handlebars
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A group of volunteers concerned about bicycle and pedestrian safety on crowded bike lanes and paths, handed out free bike bells to downtown commuters on both sides of the Hawthorne Bridge this morning.
Dark Grey Trek 2100 ZR with Silver and Red Logos, aluminum, 58cm; carbon fork, seat stays, seat post; Bontrager Crank, wheels, hubs, stem, handlebars; Shimano 105 STI shifters, front derailer; Shimano Ultegra rear derailer; standard clips, bar-end lights
More Info on Finetoothcog
A brand-new version of Metro’s venerable Bike There! map is set for release in the next few days. According to sources, the new map should be available ($6) at tomorrow’s Lloyd District Bike to Work Day event and will be available at local retailers by the weekend.
Mark Bosworth in Metro’s Geographic Information Systems department says the new map includes 17 miles of new, striped bike lanes and nearly 20 miles of new off-street bike and pedestrian paths which are not on the current version (last printed in 2005).
Other new features of the map are special markings for bicycle boulevards (they’ll be green with a black outline), and a new color for caution areas. Nine new bike shops have also been added to the list in the map’s resource section.
Ken Nichols has a vision for a new facility for downtown bike commuters and “urban athletes”. He calls it Bike Republic.
Think of it like a cross between a Bikestation and le Maison des Cyclistes in Quebec.
The plan is to offer an array of services to the general public and for (a nominal fee) to members. Members services might include: secure full-service bike parking; personal lockers; showers; and dry cleaning/laundry delivery. The facility would also offer a small cafe, bike repair and rental and a retail store for biking and running products.
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Yesterday, after a brief struggle with motorized transport units in downtown Portland, I was able to gain access to PDOT’s secret Command Center for their SmartTrips Southeast Bike Delivery Operation Squad (SSBDOS).
Before being carted away by security guards, I was able to snap a few photos.