4/25: Hello readers and friends. I'm still recovering from a surgery I had on 4/11, so I'm unable to attend events and do typical coverage. See this post for the latest update. I'll work as I can and I'm improving every day! Thanks for all your support 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor

How Portland can make its ‘Slow Streets’ plan work

Let’s keep the barricades in the lane.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

This morning the Portland Bureau of Transportation has invited media to a launch of the first installation of a traffic diverter as part of their “Slow Streets Safe Streets” initiative.

In the coming days and weeks PBOT plans to place signs and barricades at 100 locations citywide. Before we embark on this exciting traffic calming and open streets experiment, I want to share a few thoughts about what we can do to make sure it’s a success.

Address equity issues
There’s a large schism happening in the active transportation world around equity. Some people are worried these pandemic-related responses do not fully acknowledge historical and current systemic racism and that they ignore the lived experiences of low-wage earners, people of color, and other vulnerable populations. They have very valid points. Others are frustrated that the word “equity” has paralyzed cities from taking actions needed to reclaim street space and create safer conditions.

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Portland duo creates ‘Bike Tag’ website to spread popular game

A few recent “tags” uploaded to BikeTag.org.

A fun game that encourages people to get out and ride bikes might help cure your cooped-up coronavirus blues. And two Portlanders are leading the charge to introduce it to more players.

Bike Tag is a simple game where one person (who’s “it”) posts an image of their bike at a mystery location. Then another player must find the location, bike there, and take a picture of their own bike in the same spot. The player then rides to a new location, takes a photo and uploads both photos (the location they found, and the new one) to a website and the fun starts all over again.

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Man hospitalized after being shot while biking in southeast Portland road rage

Mike Hilbrandt’s Instagram post.

Portlander Mike Hilbrandt faces multiples surgeries and is recovering at a local hospital after being shot in the arm Tuesday night.

According to a source who’s related to Hilbrandt, the incident started on East Burnside. Hilbrandt was bicycling along Burnside near 12th Avenue when he noticed an SUV in the bike lane. As Hilbrandt passed it, he tapped on the window to alert the driver to his presence. He was then chased and verbally threatened before being shot at Ankeny and 13th.

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Becky Jo’s Carfree Life: Bike Culture Happy Hour and school bike parades

Just a couple 8th grader moms.

I’m pretty good at being reclusive and introverted, but even I’m starting to feel the strain of quarantine.

I was truly looking forward to all the local bike rides for spring and summer to get to know all of you IRL (in real life), and for getting my kids a bit more into biking. You know, plant those life-long cycling seeds. I’m hoping today we can each share a bit of what we’re doing to help both new people like me find “virtual” social biking options and help each other stay connected.

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Sources: Portland bike share talks break down, Uber now in line for major expansion contract

A Jump bicycle in Seattle.
(Photo: Seattle Department of Transportation)

Sources say the Portland Bureau of Transportation has ended bike share contract negotiations with Lyft and is now jumping on board with Uber.

PBOT sought bidders for a major bike share system expansion last fall and opted to stay with Lyft, the company that owns Biketown operator Motivate Inc. Portland’s current contract with Lyft ended in April and PBOT had been negotiating an extension of that agreement since December. As The Oregonian reported in January, the plan was to stay with Lyft and complete a seamless transition to a larger service area and launch an all-electric bike share fleet this summer.

That plan appears to have shifted.

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