🚨 Please note that BikePortland slows down during this time of year as I have family in town and just need a break! Please don't expect typical volume of news stories and content. I'll be back in regular form after the new year. Thanks. - Jonathan 🙏
Today Westfir is as quiet as it was 100 years ago. The loudest thing is the roar of water over rocks in the nearby river. But it wasn’t always such a sleepy place.
Three great opportunities in the local bike industry have been listed recently.
Learn more about each one via the links below…
–> Part-time Mechanic/Service Writer – Abraham Fixes Bikes
–> Customer Service Representative – King Cycle Group, Inc
–> Full Time Experienced Bicycle Mechanic – Seven Corners Cycles
It’s be too long since we put the spotlight on one of your great comments. Let’s try to do this more often shall we? If you see a great comment, just hit “reply” and write “comment of the week”. If you do that, I can find the best comments in a quick search.
OK, onto the comment…
Last week (or so) we highlighted a noteworthy exchange at Portland city council during a discussion about the bureau of transportation’s vision zero program. As city staff outlined their approach of “shared responsibility” and made it clear that people using cars have to do a better job not running into people outside of cars, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty expressed discomfort. She said some of PBOT’s vision zero work is making roads “confusing” and is “making people lose their minds”. Hardesty also instructed PBOT to spend more time on people who walk around with their heads buried in their phones, saying people who are distracted by electronic devices are a “huge issue.”
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Reader Glenn II wasn’t having it. Here’s his response to Hardesty’s comments:
“Look, I feel disgust and pity for people glued to their phones as much as anybody, but ‘distracted walking’ is not a thing as far as I’m concerned. ‘Distracted walking’ is the ‘all lives matter’ of transportation — true in principle, but too often twisted around and used by members of an entrenched and powerful majority, who are responsible for most of the problems — to minimize and shut down the concerns of the minority.
Distracted walking collision: “Oh excuse me,” and get on with your day.
Distracted driving collision: “She is survived by her husband Chad and sons Chad Jr. and Jeremy. Services will be at Johnson’s Funeral Home.”
So no, f— me very much, I’m not falling for that one.”
We have yet to hear a clarification or follow-up from Commissioner Hardesty.
Thank you Glenn and everyone else who chimed in here and on Facebook. As Portland struggles to stem a spate of serious and fatal crashes, how we talk about this problem matters. Whether you agree or disagree with Commissioner Hardesty, her comment spurred an important dialogue that should make our policies and actions more effective.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Louanna “Lou” Battams life touched many people in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood of southeast Portland. The 82-year-old was remembered at a memorial last night as a creative, smart, and selfless person who devoted her later years to helping vulnerable people.
In news that won’t surprise anyone that’s been following along closely, the Portland Bureau of Transportation announced at a city council meeting yesterday that their planned bike share expansion will include electric bikes and cover more parts of the city.
The last weekend of Pedalpalooza will end with a bang. Saturday’s World Naked Bike Ride promises to be a night to remember and there’s a big party ride the night before to get you all tuned-up and in the mood.
And of course Sunday Parkways is the perfect way to nurse your fun hangover. Come out and bask in the pride of a city that can celebrate its 50th edition of this open streets event.
Have fun out there!
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Story and photos by Brighton West.
A new community group in southeast Portland organized a ‘Gathering on the Greenways’ as their inaugural event this morning. Inner Southeast Action was formed to embrace change and to promote livability, inclusivity, sustainability and climate protection.
On June 26th, they set up at the intersection of 30th and Lincoln from 7:00 to 9:00 am to create a Breakfast on the Bridges-style event on the east side. They plan to repeat this event three more times this summer on different inner southeast neighborhood greenways.
One thing that was different from Breakfast on the Bridges (besides the lack of a bridge) was that organizers were also greeting car users. As drivers pulled up, volunteers thanked them for driving safely, gave them a map of the greenway and — in true Breakfast on the Bridges fashion — offered them a homemade muffin.
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“This was a great opportunity for cyclists and drivers and neighbors to interact and get to know each other as people, not just ‘drivers’ or ‘bikers’.”
— Andrea Brown, event organizer
The feel of the event was very community-oriented and positive. Neighbors on foot, bike commuters, kids, dogs and even drivers embraced the opportunity to stop to socialize on the quiet, neighborhood street. The gathering epitomized what a neighborhood greenway is supposed to be: low-stress and family-friendly.
One of the organizers, Andrea Brown said, “This was a great opportunity for cyclists and drivers and neighbors to interact and get to know each other as people, not just ‘drivers’ or ‘bikers’, and everyone was really happy about the community building.”
The traffic operation changes at SE Lincoln and 30th have had a tremendously positive impact on street safety. According to PBOT Neighborhood Greenways Program Coordinator Scott Cohen, data shows a more than 16% decrease in vehicle speeds and a 35% reduction in cut-through traffic. These are significant safety improvements for such a low-cost project. Definitely something to be celebrated!
Community members are brainstorming ways to make the intersection even more community friendly, so expect to see some new paint, landscaping or other aesthetic improvements soon.
The next Gathering on the Greenway will be July 24th at a soon to be announced location. Learn more at InnerSoutheastAction.org.
— Brighton West
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BikeLoudPDX and the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood will co-host a memorial for Louanna Battams this afternoon (6/26) at 4:30 pm.
Ms. Battams (she was known as “Lou”) was the 82-year-old woman struck and killed by someone driving a car as she attempted to cross SE Foster Road at 71st on June 13th. The tragic death happened just hours after the City of Portland cut the ribbon on the long-awaited streetscape project that’s intended to improve the safety of the street.
According to people who knew Battams, she lived just a few blocks from where she was hit and, “Was a pillar in the Lents community, loved pottery, and is survived by her son.” Battams was formerly active in the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s regional headquarters in Portland is now known as the Matthew L. Garrett Building.
The agency installed the name of its outgoing director on the side of the building last Friday. He resigned from the position back in January and his last day at the agency is June 30th.
In a video published by ODOT (below) you can see crews installing Garrett’s name on the new building while co-workers pile on the praise. Region 1 Public Information Officer Don Hamilton says, “Matt Garrett’s great legacy for ODOT was the standard he set for kindness and decency. I think naming this building after him is a reminder of that standard he set for all of us at ODOT.”
The Oregon House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 998 today by a vote of 31 to 28. From here the bill will go to Governor Kate Brown’s desk for signing.
This is a huge victory for bike advocates who have worked for years to get this legislation through. Once it becomes law, every bicycle rider in Oregon will be able to legally treat every stop sign and flashing red signal as a yield sign. That is, you will no longer have to come to a complete stop at every frickin’ stop sign!
Here’s the official summary of the bill (PDF below):
Permits person operating bicycle to enter intersection controlled by specified traffic control devices without stopping. Permits person operating bicycle to turn without stopping at intersection with specified traffic control devices. Creates offense of improper entry into intersection where traffic is controlled by stop sign. Punishes by maximum fine of $250. Creates offense of improper entry into intersection where traffic is controlled by flashing red signal. Punishes by maximum fine of $250.
Hoping to create a stronger appetite among policymakers for more off-road cycling trails, volunteer advocates with the Northwest Trail Alliance offered up a tasty appetizer on Friday.