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

Bikes, Bridges and Bullet Trains: Riding Japan’s Shimanami Kaido route

Dedicated bike path that connects to the Kurushima Kaikyo bridge.
(Photos: Robert Pickett)

Robert Pickett, a former (and future!) Portland resident and member of the Portland Police Bureau Bicycle Patrol Unit, is currently serving as a U.S. diplomat stationed with his wife and two daughters in Sapporo, Japan.

“Its the best ride in Japan—let me know if you end up doing it and want some company.” High praise from my boss — a taciturn triathlete with an eye for art and nature, and many years living in Japan. I figured I’d better ride the Shimanami Kaido sometime before the end of my time here.

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Job: Bike Valet Sub – Go By Bike

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Bike Valet Sub

Company / Organization

Go By Bike

Job Description

Go By Bike is the largest bike parking area in North America. We average parking and returning over 300 bikes per day. Go By Bike is a small one location operation that started 7 years ago. We are very proud that the number of people riding to the tram continues to grow. When the tram first opened they only had 12 bike parking spaces.

We are looking for people who are interested in being a sub at the bike valet when people are sick or on vacation. The ideal sub is someone who is interested in being around bikes, cool people, and has excellent people skills. As a sub you would be helping retrieving people’s bikes. You do not need to have any mechanic experience to sub. When someone is out we will contact people on the sub list and if you are available you can respond. Compensation starts at $15/hour.

How to Apply

Fill out this form on the Go By Bike website and we will contact you to schedule a time for you to do a 20 minute orientation at the bike valet where we will show you how things operate and how to valet bikes. After your orientation we will contact you when we are in need of a sub.

https://www.gobybikepdx.com/valet-sub/

Job: Go By Bike Afternoon Mechanic – Go By Bike

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Job Title

Go By Bike Afternoon Mechanic

Company / Organization

Go By Bike

Job Description

Go By Bike is seeking an afternoon mechanic at the largest bike parking lot in North America. For the past seven years we have provided bike valet and repair under the Aerial Tram in South Waterfront. Go By Bike a small local independent business whose goal is to make the tram the best place in Portland to begin and end your bike trip.

The mechanic would work on bikes between 12-3 and then help valet bikes from 3-6:30 providing on the spot mechanic work and advice to customers. Customer service is a must as well as the ability to multitask. For the first hour you would work with our morning mechanic and for the following two hours you are by yourself. Repairs are mostly flats, brake pads, and regular tune-ups.

During the summer we valet 350-450 bikes a day.

Compensation starts at $15/hour plus 10% of your repair revenue.
Sick and vacation pay as well as paid national holiday and 1 paid week off during winter break.

How to Apply

Please send a resume with a cover letter explaining why you would like to work at the bike valet to goybikeshop@gmail.com

Ride in northwest? Tell PBOT what you think about latest bikeway designs

PBOT is inching closer to finalizing these 12 projects.

It’s time to help the Portland Bureau of Transportation make northwest neighborhoods as bike-friendly as possible.

PBOT has just opened an online open house and shared latest project concepts for their Northwest in Motion project. This is an effort to identify and prioritize about a dozen projects that aim to encourage biking, walking, and transit use in and around the Pearl District .

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The Monday Roundup: Gravel’s big year, highway industrial complex, killer ads, and more

Welcome to the week. Here are the most noteworthy items we came across in the past seven days…

Double duh: A major study found that protected bike lanes work. And if that wasn’t obvious enough for you, they found that paint-only bike lanes are actually worse than nothing at all.

Flower power: Continental is set to launch a line of tires derived from “dandelion rubber”, which the company says are much easier on the planet than using rubber trees.

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Opinion: Our candid commissioner

Pretty safe to say the commissioner won’t be at the World Naked Bike Ride.

It’s been many years since we’ve had a transportation commissioner as willing to voice progressive ideas and positions as Chloe Eudaly.

I’m not sure if it’s because Commissioner Eudaly is simply more comfortable on social media than any other council member, or because she sees the communication channel as a strategic tool to shift the conversation her way. Whatever the reason(s), I like it. And if you care about smashing the transportation status quo, you should too.

Two recent Facebook comments from the Commissioner stand out. One was lighthearted, the other more meaty.

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City lowers speed limits in latest effort to control the insanity on Marine Drive

PBOT crews installed the new signs this morning.
(Photo: City of Portland)

Marine Drive has been a problem child for the Portland Bureau of Transportation for years and the city hopes recent disciplinary actions help set it straight.

The road’s design encourages dangerous driving and the city has tried all types of tricks to slow people down and prevent them from running into each other, or from running off the road and into the Columbia River — something that happens more often than you think.

In one week last month, two drivers failed to control their vehicles and ended up in the river. One of them didn’t make it out alive.

The latest move is a speed limit reduction from 45 to 40 mph on an 8.5 mile segment between NE 33rd and 185th (Portland city limits). Last year PBOT lowered the speed limit west of this segment (from 40 to 35) and installed speed cameras at two locations (33rd and 138th).

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Better Block’s ‘Project Pathway’ program now formally integrated into PSU curriculum

The plaza on SW 3rd (left) and Better Naito are Better Block’s biggest successes. (Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

This story was written by Malia Knapp-Rossi, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning candidate at Portland State University and intern with Better Block PDX.

Better Block PDX is excited to announce that Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) has adopted the Project Pathway program.

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City of Portland wants to make side guards mandatory on all garbage and recycling trucks by 2022

Side guards installed on a garbage truck during a City of Portland pilot project.

It’s been a long time coming, but Portland is finally about to take a big step forward in road safety. The Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (BPS) announced today they’ll propose a change to the City’s administrative rules that would require all garbage and recycling contractors to fill gaps in the sides of their trucks by 2022. The new mandate would apply to about 195 vehicles that currently don’t meet federal safety standards.

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Latest Headlines

Advocate for nondrivers, Anna Zivarts, will speak in Portland Wednesday

Police team up with park rangers to patrol paths

Tow truck driver hops onto I-5 bike path to skirt traffic

Peer into future of I-5 freeway covers at community work session

From the Archives

More biking = better driving. So why isn’t this said more often?