Weekend media roundup

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Been a ton of bike-related articles in the news lately so I thought I’d just put them all in one post.

The August 19th issue of the Portland Business Journal did an in-depth piece called, A passion for pedaling: Commuters switch gears, turn to bikes for transportation. The article focused on everything from Molly Cameron, owner of Veloshop to the Bike Commute Challenge and quotes from all the usual suspects. Great to see a Biz Journal devote so much space to the bike scene. The headline alone will make people think.

This week’s Portland Mercury noticed BikePortland.org and your “close call” submissions in their “In Other News…” section (scroll down).

The Willamette Week printed a few more bike-related letters in their current issue, including one from the ever-vigilant and hard-working Jessica Roberts of the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance).

And of course, I can’t leave out the Oregonian’s Metro section front page story on bike safety. Staff writer Harry Esteve, did a solid job presenting the facts behind the bike safety issue. He also took the time to talk to a bunch of folks in the bike community to make sure he got the full story.

And finally, this interesting story from today’s San Francisco Chronicle. It covers the parallel rise of SF’s creative bike culture crowd with the more formal advocacy crowd. What really struck me were the similarities between their bike scene and ours here in Portland. Just substitute “San Francisco” for “Portland” and “the San Francisco Bike Coalition” with “the BTA”. I especially like the headline: Wheels of revolution turning toward cheap, friendly transit.

First look: Trek’s new “Portland”

trek \"Portland\"

As you may remember from a comment to a previous post, Trek Bicycles is planning on a new bike model for 2006 called the “Portland”. This last weekend, Trek held its annual dealer-only show and photos of this new bike are just now starting to show up on web forums.

I was hoping for more of a city/urban warrior type of bike, but it looks like Trek decided to make the Portland a winter training bike for racing enthusiasts. It also looks like it would easily double as a cyclocross bike just by adding some knobby tires.

Either way, it’s pretty cool that the largest bike brand in the world has been duly inspired to name a bike after us.

In other news, I have recently heard that some movers and shakers in the local bicycle industry are meeting to discuss the feasibility of a home-grown bike brand. This potential new bike company would specialize in commuter and city bikes and would leverage Portland’s bike-friendly reputation in its marketing plan.

[Thanks for the tip David! Photo taken from a post to the forums at RoadBikeReview.com by “unclefuzzy_ss”]

Interactive bike crash maps

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

I recently posted about the City of Portland’s work on an exciting mapping project that combines our bike routes with an interactive, web-based map. I have also heard from many of you about your close calls with motorists.

The next step will be to integrate the close-call data with an interactive map. This map would instruct the city on where to focus their bicycle infrastructure budget, it would be a useful tool to highlight problem areas for advocacy groups and the police and it would also help cyclists choose the safest routes through the city.

To get an idea of how this “crash reporting map” might look, I just came across this nifty map reporting bike crashes in Sussex County Delaware.

New York City transportation advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives also has a cool bike crash mapping system called CrashStat that offers loads of valuable information like the top 10 crash locations and an injury/fatality trend map.

Besides being a useful tool for our community, an online bike crash map would encourage more cyclists to report incidents that currently go unreported. Stay tuned for more details and your chance to get involved with this effort.

Bike safety: a trucker’s perspective

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

A few days ago I received an email from a trucker named Jim. He has been making local deliveries in his 34,000 pound truck around N and NE Portland for 13 years. He brought up some constructive points about the bike safety issue and I think his comments are worth sharing.

“I sense a feeling within the bike community that the typical motorist doesn’t show enough concern for the safety of bicyclists. I occasionally see this first hand…I have noticed more and more friction between motorists and bicyclists lately. This friction has been progressively building up for the past 10 or so years and I’m concerned that it has reached it’s boiling point.

I think a big part of the problem is the angry or impatient motorist but I also think a small part of the problem is with the very few arrogant bicyclists. One example is a pair of bicyclist riding side by side in a bike lane, taking up part of the car lane. When this is done on a narrow street, (such as N Willamette Blvd. near the University of Portland), it creates a hazard not only for the bikers but also the motorists. It appears to me that these bike lanes are designed for groups of bikers to ride single file rather than side by side. Another example I see is bike riders who are riding in the middle of the car lane and do not move to the side so faster moving car traffic can get by. To me that is just a lack of common courtesy.

My intentions of are not to criticize the bicycle community. My intentions are to ease some of the tensions between bicyclists and motorists. This friction is causing people to get hurt or even killed and it deeply saddens me. Motorists have the responsibility to drive in a safe manner and be aware of their surroundings. Bicycles must also abide by those same rules. Two cars should not drive side by side down a one lane road and neither should 2 bikes. If a car is going considerably slower than the flow of traffic he should pull over and let the flow of traffic go by, bicycles should do the same.”

I agree with Jim that common courtesy is the only way cars and bikes will ever be able to “share the road.” Bike lanes and signs are absolutely necessary, but it is consideration and respect for other road users that will do the most good. What do you think?

Oregon riders at US Track Nationals

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Alpenrose 6-Day Race
Local racers claimed a whopping 13 medals at this year’s U.S. Track National Championships in Los Angeles. Here’s the rundown:
Silver
U23 Pursuit; Walker Starr

Bronze
Sprints; Heather Vanvalkenburg
Pursuit; Walker Starr
U23 Kilo ; Dean Tracy
Team Sprint; Jen Featheringill

4th
Team Sprint; Dean Tracy, Steven Beardsley, Carl Boucher
Team Pursuit; Walker Starr & Recycle Cycles
500; Miranda Duff
U23 Kilo; Steven Beardsley

5th
Scratch Race; Walker Starr
Team Sprint; Miranda Duff, Heather Vanvalkenburg

For more track racing action don’t miss the Oregon State Track Championships this weekend out at Alpenrose Velodrome.

[Thanks for the tip Norrene!]

New bike lane markings at Benson Hotel

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Benson Hotel bike lane, Portland OR
Benson Hotel bike lane, Portland OR

[update: I have been notified of several incorrect facts in my account and have made appropriate changes.—Jonathan]

A few months ago, the bike lane in front of the Benson Hotel on SW Broadway was the scene of an ugly incident involving a delivery truck, a cyclist, and several cops, summoned by the Benson valet via cell phone. The truck was parked in the bike lane, the cyclist (participating in Critical Mass) tried to get around it without going into traffic, scratched the truck in doing so, and the cops took offense. Tickets were written An arrest was made, damage was done, and nerves were rattled. The incident has since been settled out of court.

The incident started a discussion in the bike community about the unsafe practice of motorists parking in bike lanes downtown. The problem is that when someone blocks a bike lane, bikers are forced into traffic. Not only does that make things more dangerous to the cyclist, it also finds them in a strange legal place according to the current law which isn’t kind to cyclists once they leave the bike lane (however, thanks to the BTA, as of Jan. 1, 2006 the law will explicitly grant legal protection to cyclists outside of the bike lane).

Recently, with groundwork by concerned cyclists and Sam Adams’ prodding, there have been new bike lane markings painted in that spot. They consist of four creatively decorated cyclists and four arrows. Hopefully, these new, and highly visible markings will discourage motorists from impeding on the bike lane and everyone will be safer.

Commissioner Sam wants feedback on Bridge Pedal

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

[PLEASE NOTE: This post is from 2005. If you’d like to comment on the 2007 Bridge Pedal, please do so here. Thanks.]

Bridge Pedal, 2005. Portland ORSam Adams, recently voted “Best Local Blogger” and “Best Member of the City Council” by the Willy Week, is asking for your feedback about how to make next year’s Bridge Pedal even better.

There were several bottlenecks where we were forced to walk and I’ve also heard of several people that were accidently mis-led on the route. Sam is especially interested in the logistics and planning of this event because he was recently given the responsibility of transportation issues for the city of Portland.

So get over to Sam’s blog and leave your input.

Twilight Criterium rocks the Park Blocks

Twilight Criterium, Portland OR

Twilight Criterium, Portland OR

Twilight Criterium, Portland OR

Bikes, beers, bands and burgers. You couldn’t go wrong at last night’s Twilight Criterium at the South Park Blocks in downtown Portland. The racing was all-out and the scene was massive. Thousands of bike-lovers from all over the city converged on the event. They were treated to a great event that featured the best athletes and bike racers in the country.

[Check out all my photos. Also see Shane Young’s photo gallery.]

And when the sun went down, the racing got even crazier. Imagine flying on your bike at 35+ mph, elbow-to-elbow with your competition, then diving into sharp, dark turns full of screaming crowds and live music flowing through the air! The vibe was electric.

The Community Cycling Center was on hand parking bikes. River City Bicycles owner Dave Guettler was jammin’ with his “Six Fingers” band, the OBRA crew were on top of the action, and Widmer brewing couldn’t pour beer fast enough.

It was an amazing night for Portland bike racing and I think this event is destined to become a classic on the racing calendar for years to come. Big props to the promoters and everyone involved. I’m looking forward to next year!

(make sure to see the great photo of local racer and coach, Michael Manning on the front page of today’s Oregonian Sports section)

Bike There! map and Google Earth

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Portland bike routes on Google EarthI’ve just learned of an exciting development in Portland’s quest for an interactive bike route map. It looks as though Metro is trying to partner up with Google and their new Google Earth program. No official partnership yet, but Metro is actively experimenting with the technology (check the screenshot on the left).

The idea is to meld the popular Bike There! map with Google Earth so you can easily view and navigate the safest, most ideal bike route in a 3-D, satellite view of the city! Once this is finalized and fully functioning, you’ll be able to type in where you want to go and the program will select the most bike-friendly route automatically. Then, you can do 3-D flyover of the route before heading out.

As of last night, Metro has made it possible to play with this technology on their website. Here’s how to get started:

  • Download the free Google Earth beta application onto your PC (Google says it is working on the Mac version)
  • Then download this .kmz file of Metro’s Bike There! Map.
  • Open Google Earth on your computer, and then from within GoogleEarth, go to file > open and open the Metro file.
  • Use the dashboard in Google Earth to fly over the region and have a bird’s eye view of the bike routes.

Note: the trip planner is not yet available. Metro is still exploring the use of this technology. They would love to know what you think. Please leave your feedback in the comments.

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