BikePortland will return on Monday, August 3rd
Sorry I didn’t share this sooner, but I’ve been on vacation all week. I appreciate all your messages of concern and I can assure you that BikePortand is alive and well and will return to full strength on Monday.
I was reluctant to share this here because I usually work during family time and trips and I figured that would be the case this time as well. However, given that I need to re-connect with my family and make space to enjoy my 20th wedding anniversary (!) I decided to just take a real break. I’m not even reading the news!
See you back here on Monday.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Get ready to roll through the heat with these tips
As if we didn’t have enough on our plates, now a heat wave is coming.
Given that we’re in the midst of a surge in biking and many of you might not have been through a hot summer season before, it’s worth thinking ahead about how to stay comfortable when cycling gets sweaty.
Biking in the heat is no joke — especially if you’re wearing a mask or some other type of face covering that could make you even hotter. Before I share a few of our best hot biking tips, I want to share a story I heard from a reader this week.
Doug H. was biking toward the Springwater path in Sellwood Riverfront Park on Tuesday when he saw a man fall over while biking. According to Doug, the 68-year-old man suffered from a heat stroke and then later died of cardiac arrest. It was 90-degrees at the time of the incident.
I share this story to underscore how heat can impact your ride. So before heading out in the next few days, check out our tips below:
‘Bike Match’ connects used steeds with those in need
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
A local community group is helping fuel the local bike boom and make sure there are more people of color taking part in it.
Opinion: Making space for the protests and the issues behind them
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)
PBOT defends bike lane, says federal wall on SW Main is illegal and must be removed
The Portland Bureau of Transportation says a metal fence and concrete barriers installed around the Federal Courthouse yesterday are illegal and they’ve sent a cease and desist letter to the United States General Services Administration demanding that it be removed.
As we reported Wednesday, the unpermitted fence blocks an entire lane on Southwest Main Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue — a section PBOT said in a statement is, “One of the busiest bike routes in the United States.”
“The City Attorney’s Office offered legal guidance that the installation blocking the bike lane and other parts of the public right of way are violations of City Code and Transportation Administrative Rules designed to protect the safety of the traveling public,” a PBOT statement said.
Hood River businesses take over street from ODOT in order to take over street
(Image: City of Hood River)
The Oregon Department of Transportation is trying.
The agency that’s pushing to expand freeways throughout the Portland region and has become Oregon’s de facto advocacy organization for car users, wants to be seen as innovative and nimble; but a situation in the city of Hood River shows the lengths businesses had to go just to use a few curbside parking spaces on one of the agency’s state highways.
Earlier this month businesses along Hood River’s main drag of Oak Street started building “street seat” installations to give customers more space to eat and drink. The efforts were part of a parklet permit program launched by the City of Hood River at the end of June.
Weekend Event Guide: Redlining ride, film benefit, Push for Peace, and more
Feds erect wall on city-owned street, blocking travel lane on SW Main
PBOT splits with Portland Police Bureau on crosswalk law enforcement program
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has ended a 15-year partnership with the Portland Police Bureau that centered around the enforcement of Oregon’s crosswalk law.
Since 2005 PBOT has conducted “pedestrian crosswalk education and enforcement actions” with the PPB. But in recent years conversations around the enforcement of traffic laws and concerns about racial profiling by police officers have intensified.
At a meeting of the City of Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee last night, PBOT Traffic Safety Section Manager Dana Dickman said City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly asked the bureau to stop working with police.
“There had been concerns about secondary violations,” Dickman told the committee. “People were being pulled over for failure-to-yield, but during the stop they are cited for lack of insurance or a suspended license. And then the citations rack up… There was a concern we are potentially bringing people into a much more serious situation, impacting them financially, and bringing them into a legal situation in a way we didn’t intend… Our commissioner and community members felt that was potentially punitive.”
New Biketown e-bikes will be nice, but at what price?
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland from vandalism incident in April 2017).