🚨 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 🙏
NOTE: Please see updates at end of this story. It was originally reported as a bicycle fatality; but we have since confirmed that the woman killed was walking prior to being hit.
Portland Police say someone has been hit and killed in the area of NE Grand Avenue and Broadway.
The rising number of people using cars on our neighborhood streets has many negative impacts. Among them are more crashes caused by people who make dangerous moves out of frustration, selfishness, impatience, or all of the above. One way to combat this is to constrain the driving environment so people have fewer choices and are forced to make safer movements.
And that’s exactly what the Portland Bureau of Transportation wants to do on North Michigan Avenue at Skidmore.
Here’s something new: the Portland Bureau of Transportation is set to invest $1.6 million on an arterial in east Portland before it gets on their list of high crash streets.
Portland Parks & Recreation is teeing up two projects that will lead to closures of separate sections of the Springwater Corridor path starting in the middle of May.
The closures will be between SE 45th and 55th and between Circle Avenue and 174th.
Below is the information on each project and the official detour map.
No more fakeouts: Spring has arrived. Yes we will have more showers here and there; but temps are set for high 60s/low 70s for at least the next week, so it’s time to ride bikes!
We’ve got a great line-up of suggestions this week. It’s our first gravel double-header of the year with amazing rides Saturday and Sunday. There’s a Spanish-only bike repair clinic, a BMX movie premiere, and more.
Have fun out there…
What better way to mark Earth Day than to make bike share free?
If you care about making streets in southwest Portland better for biking and walking, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has just done you a huge favor.
Yesterday the bureau released the draft version of the Southwest in Motion (SWIM) plan. It’s an impressive, detailed, and easy-to-use blueprint for activism that should lead to projects on the ground in very short order (and help tee up larger projects in the future).
Modeled after similar planning documents for east and northwest Portland, the SWIM plan offers a prioritized list of projects, possible design treatments, and even identifies potential funding sources to actually get things built.
Part time bike valet attendant
Go By Bike
Go By Bike is hiring an AM and PM part time valet attendant to help during summer commute hours. Come work at the largest bike parking area in North America. We park about 400-450 bikes a day at our station under the aerial tram in South Waterfront.
Our mission is to provide the best start and end to people’s bike ride. Excellent customer service is a must. People drop off their bike and we park it. During the day we have mechanics who do repair work on people’s bikes and in the evening people come to pick up their bike.
15 hours per week at $15/hour.
Position runs from start of May to end of October.
Send a 1-2 paragraph description of why you would like to work at the bike valet and a resume with at least 2 references. Include whether you would be interested in the morning (7-10am) or evening (3-6pm) shift
The idea was simple: Codify a network of Oregon’s best cycling routes into state law so that people could access a Cycle Oregon-like experience for free, any time.
What makes a great cycling city?
We often think of bike-friendly policies and politicians, or bikeway miles and ridership statistics. But if you ask me, the most important part of what makes a place great for cycling is the people who live in it. Here in Portland, we’re lucky so many smart, dedicated, selfless, and inspiring bicycle lovers call this place home. Why? Because most of them share their passions with the rest of us.
Ryan Francesconi is one of the people I’m grateful for. He’s one of the leaders behind the local gravel riding revolution. He’s the chief moderator of the “Unpaved” Google Group and he (along with his friend Ron Lewis) is one of the main leaders and organizers behind the legendary Our Mother the Mountain (OMTM) rides. Beyond that, he’s always quick to share his vast knowledge of routes and riding tips with everyone who asks (we shared his winter riding tips in 2017).
Despite confusion from some lawmakers that led to an unexpectedly lengthy discussion prior to the vote, House Bill 2682 passed the Joint Committee on Transportation yesterday by a tally of 7-3.
I’ve described this bill as a no-brainer; but because it involves bicycling, you just never know what some Oregon legislators will get hung up on. I was amazed at how much consternation and discussion this simple housekeeping bill received in committee yesterday.
“The attempt of this bill is to clarify longstanding practice and expectation.”
— Lindsay Baker, ODOT government relations
Let’s be clear: Since bike lanes have existed in Oregon, it has been understood — both by road users and the legal system — that they exist inside intersections even though they are not painted. Same for every other lane. Road authorities do not paint lane lines in intersections because with all the turning movements it would be a maintenance nightmare, dangerously confusing, and useless.
Out of hundreds, if not thousands, of court cases over the years, for some reason two Oregon traffic court judges — one in 2009, one in 2018 — took it upon themselves to decide that a bicycle user did not have the legal right-of-way in a collision because the lane wasn’t painted. Out of concern that these two outlier cases might start a trend, advocates proposed HB 2682. The text of the bill is short and simple.
