Opinion: ODOT-written articles in the Tribune mislead the public
Opinion: We’ll never have safe streets if we continue to make safe choices
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Late Thursday night someone died while using 122nd Avenue. They were the 46th person whose life ended while traveling on a Portland road so far this year, putting us on the same grim pace as 2019 despite a major reduction in travel due to the pandemic.
There have been four fatal crashes in a one mile stretch of 122nd Avenue in the past year alone. In 2018 I attended a press conference marking the completion of new crossings and other updates to the notoriously deadly street. Standing just one block from one of this year’s deaths, Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, PBOT Director Chris Warner, and other transportation bigwigs gave glowing speeches about their dedication to Vision Zero. Eudaly said the recent changes they made were an example of “transportation done right” and how she wasn’t willing to accept the constant carnage on 122nd.
ODOT modifies I-5 expansion plans to prevent Esplanade impacts
(Source: Graphics by Cupola Media/ No More Freeways PDX)
BAT, LRT, FAT, buses, bikes, freight: A guide to Portland’s lanes
New Gideon Overcrossing offers new connections and relief from delays
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Congressman Earl Blumenauer bullish on transportation under Biden
After Trump won in 2016, Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer told us he was both appalled yet assured. He said the presidential election was “grim” but that wins for transit and other issues he cares about gave him hope. At the 2017 National Bike Summit just three months after Trump moved into the White House, Blumenauer said cycling might be one way for America to heal its divisions.
Fast forward to 2020 and a Democrat is headed back to the White House. I spoke with Blumenauer on the phone this morning to hear his perspective on the last four years and what might lie ahead. I’ve edited our conversation below for clarity and brevity.
The new ‘Vanilla Classic’ pays tribute to Sacha White’s legacy
(Photos: Bob Huff for Vanilla Workshop)
City crews address campsites, debris on many popular bike routes
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Checking in on the carfree Blumenauer Bridge over I-84
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland/BikePortland)
‘My bike is my car”: An interview with Portland City Commissioner-elect Mingus Mapps
Biden, Blumenauer, and bikes
(Photo: Biden Harris Transition)
Even without official acknowledgement by the Trump Administration, President-elect Joe Biden is already moving towards the White House. Fresh off declarations of his win finally coming on Friday, he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have begun their transition process in earnest.
In our little corner of the internet, the buzz is about who Biden will pick to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation and what transportation policy might look like in the next four years.
The buzz is especially intense in Portland because one of the names being floated as possible DOT pick is Congressman Earl Blumenauer, the former Portland city commissioner who’s represented the best cycling city in America for the past 24 years. On Saturday, Politico included Blumenauer as the most likely pick after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who most people see as the frontrunner.
