First ‘Bike the Vote’ ride set for Tuesday

Lulu Johnson knows how important it is to vote.
(Photo: Kiel Johnson)

This election has many of us on edge. And what better activity to help our moods than a bike ride? Especially one that combines our election enthusiasm with cycling.

Portlander and creative bike activist extraordinaire Kiel Johnson is organizing a ‘Bike the Vote’ ride that will be a combination get-out-the-vote and political advertising campaign. Riders will slow-roll through neighborhoods to remind folks to vote while their bicycles will be adorned with political signs of all stripes.

“While the ride is non-political,” Johnson shared with us, “you are welcome to decorate your bike with signs of campaigns you support and we will have some signs on hand as well.”

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Fate of old Biketown bikes now in state hands

(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

These are dark times for the old Biketown bikes. Once celebrated, they’ve been relegated to a cold corner of a city-owned storage area. While the new electric-assist bikes gather attention and adoring fans, the 1,000 or so old bikes just gather dust.

While they weren’t integrated into the new system, the old bikes have lots of mileage left in them and it would be a shame (and a PR debacle) if they ended up in a scrap heap. If the City of Portland has their way, the bikes will see action again someday.

Back in August we wondered what their future would be. Now we’ve heard a bit of an update.

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Multnomah County offering ‘Black Transportation Academy’

(Graphic: Multnomah County)

A federally funded program within Multnomah County’s health department is laser-focused on reducing health disparities between Black and white Portlanders. Among their offerings is a ‘Black Transportation Academy,’ a workshop that aims to get more of the county’s African-American and African immigrant/refugee populations involved in local and regional planning.

Instead of asking for feedback once transportation policies and projects are half-baked, the county wants more Black Portlanders involved in the cooking.

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