Young people are literally fighting for their lives when it comes to climate change. And in downtown Portland today, they inspired tens of thousands of people to show up and fight with them.
Yesterday Portland released an update on local carbon emissions. The results are troubling. With demonstrations planned tomorrow as part of the Global Climate Strike, I anticipate City Hall will put out a statement supporting the event and use the occasion to reaffirm Portland’s “commitment to climate change”.
But just how committed are we? I’d say not very if you look at how little priority we’ve given to tracking our progress thus far.
A 21-page white paper released today by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability says carbon emissions from the transportation sector are “increasing dramatically” and are currently 8% over 1990 levels.
Another large Portland bike retailer has decided to shut down its brick-and-mortar location. Western Bikeworks is set to announce today that their 10,000 square foot shop on the corner of Northwest 17th and Lovejoy will close before the end of this year.
Jay Torborg, CEO of Western Bikeworks’ parent company Velotech Inc, told us via email yesterday that the move comes as their lease is up for renewal and they’ve decided to prioritize their online business. “The expected future costs of operating the store have cast doubt on our ability to operate this store profitably,” he shared.
It’s that time again when our regional elected government needs help deciding which transportation projects to fund with a pot of federal dollars known as regional flexible funds. This opportunity only comes around once every three years, so it’s a golden opportunity to nab some cash for important projects.
Cycling education in local schools isn’t new — the City of Portland has been helping students learn bike safety skills since 2005. With partners like The Street Trust, the transportation bureau educates hundreds of elementary students through their Safe Routes to School program. This year they plan to graduate the program up to middle school.
“Incredible. This was absolutely a surprise. For anyone who’s been watching her rise through the ranks this is something you dream of happening you just don’t expect it to happen so soon.”
In case you haven’t heard, this Friday (9/20) is the big Climate Strike in Portland and around the world. Inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg and other youth organizers, the event aims to get people to stop talking about climate change and start taking action.
Friday’s event will kickoff with a rally at City Hall followed by a festival on the east side of the river in a lot just south of OMSI. We expect a huge turnout with many cycling activists taking part as there’s (not surprisingly) a ton of overlap between people who fight for transportation reform and those who fight for the environment.
Sunday night around 8:00 pm someone who was walking in the Cully neighborhood near the intersection of Northeast 45th and Lombard died in a collision with someone driving a car. This is the third fatality in the Columbia/Lombard corridor in 2019 and it comes as the Portland Bureau of Transportation is working on a plan to improve conditions in the area.