🚨 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 🙏
New sign broken off and discarded and a broken wand on Rosa Parks. A vandalized sign on NW Skyline. (Photos: Jonathan Maus)
As Portland marches forward in an effort to reform streets from auto-centric speedways into more humane and safe spaces for a variety of users, not everyone is taking it well.
Back in March we reported on someone who had painted red X’s on the sidewalk outside homes of people who supported changes to make SE Lincoln safer for bicycle riders. A month later we shared how vandals defaced dozens of orange “20 is Plenty” signs on a north Portland street that’s frequently used as a cut-through.
And now we’ve seen more of this anti-safe streets vandalism.
PBOT says the total number of e-scooters allowed in the city will be capped at 2,500 and there will be a requirement that companies deploy 20 percent of the fleet in east Portland (as defined here). Top speed will be limited to 15 mph.
Here’s more from the announcement:
Throughout the Pilot Program, Shared Scooter companies will be expected to report on and mitigate impacts in several areas of concern. These include (but are not limited to): Safety and access for people walking, safety and access for people with disabilities and compliance with state law (including helmet requirements and the prohibition on sidewalk riding).
Through public engagement and program evaluation, City officials will determine whether and under what circumstances electric scooter sharing may be permitted to continue operating in the public right-of-way after the Pilot Program has ended. The bureau will use anonymized trip data analysis, user surveys, and intercept surveys to understand the potential benefits and burdens of e-scooter operations in Portland in relation to the City’s equity, mobility, and climate action goals.
Riding a bike gives us independence from so many things. Bicycles are freedom machines that allow us to go where we want, when we want — and the only fuel they require is our own muscles.
Hope you get a chance to ride today — whether that’s to a street party, parade, BBQ, or whatever.
WashCo Bikes’ new logo and new ED Joe Kurmaskie (as seen at an anti Columbia River Crossing rally in 2009). (Photo: Jonathan Maus)
Bike advocacy on the other side of the west hills from Portland has gone through a lot of changes in the past few months.
The nonprofit Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition changed their name to WashCo Bikes back in May and this week they’ve announced their first-ever executive director.
From up here in Bellingham! I just completed an artistic non voyeur video of the 2018 Bellingham World Naked Bicycle ride that has the history and purpose of the World Naked Bicycle Ride as well as a very important message from the producers of the Bellingham World Naked Bicycle Ride. It is a family and work place safe video as privates and faces are blurred out to protect privacy.
I was taught to bike the old-fashioned way. My mother tossed me and a little red bike off the end of the pier by our house and I pedaled with all my might for land — and I was a competent bicyclist by the time a wave swept me onto the sandy shore. Or something like that.
Kids these days have it much easier with lots of nifty options that don’t involve the Pacific Ocean, avoid scraped elbows and knees, and aren’t uphill both ways. This week I’ll share what I’ve learned about balance bikes, tricycles and trailer bikes.
Latest iteration of how TriMet will design eight new stations on outer SE Division.
After months of feedback from partner agencies and advisory committees, and “recalibrating” due to a budget shortfall, TriMet has released its latest designs for how bicycle riders will pass through its new bus stations as part of the Division Transit project. An online open house went live last week and is accepting public comments through July 12th.
We last shared TriMet’s plans a few weeks ago. Since then, the agency has held two open houses and firmed up the design.
TriMet is grappling with how to maintain a protected bike lane while achieving all the other design and budget goals for the project (primary among them is to increase bus speeds and reliability). When we took our first close look just over one year ago, TriMet planned on a design where the bike lane would go behind the bus island (something similar to this scenario in London). Now the design routes the bike lane between passengers and the bus.
Here’s what they presented in June 2017:
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In September 2017:
In October 2017:
And here’s the latest design again:
This view gives you a different sense of how it will all come together (the teal/purple sections are protected bike lanes, the blue is the bus station):
According to their latest maps, TriMet plans to build eight of these “Integrated–Shared Bicycle and Pedestrian” stations — all east of 82nd. The locations include: 84th Place westbound, 87th eastbound, both sides of the street west of the I-205 path, and in Gresham on both sides of the street at 174th and 182nd.
One of the key aspects of the design you can help TriMet finalize is how wide the bike lane and the boarding strip (aka “alighting area”) should be. This is the “to be determined” part of the cross-section in the drawings above. According to discussions I’ve overheard, the concerns is that a wider alighting area will encourage people to stand on it and result in more blockage of the bike lane (TriMet wants people to wait further back on the sidewalk). But a narrower alighting area might not do enough to slow down bicycle users and create a safe space for passengers.
Be on the lookout: Breadwinner Cycles in north Portland was broken into last night and the thieves stole two bikes.
Co-owner Ira Ryan contacted us with the news this morning. He said someone smashed through their glass front door, waltzed into the shop and took the bikes and a company laptop.
According to Ryan the bike that was taken is a red, Lolo model road bike with the name “J. Daugherty” on the top tube. To make matters worse, the bike belonged to a customer from Washington that was planning to come to Portland this Thursday to pick it up. The other bike that was stolen is a blue, prototype dirt-jumper model. Scroll down to see both bikes…
Between 2010 and 2017 an average of 171 people moved to Portland each week. That’s over 62,000 new residents hitting the streets of what’s arguably the most bike-friendly big city in America.
As such, it’s likely a good percentage are ready start biking more. And we want to make sure they all feel at home when they do.
Are you new to town? Do you know someone who just moved to here and wants to learn all the ins-and-outs of two-wheeled life in Portland? If so, hopefully Pedalpalooza and/or this amazing summer weather has piqued your interest in cycling. Now it’s time to cement that relationship by showing up for a new series of rides aimed at making you feel at home in the bike lanes.
It might not be on your mental bike map of Portland, but I have a feeling it will be soon. (Photos: Jonathan Maus)
A former landfill between NE Columbia and Killingsworth at the end of 72nd Avenue is now Cully Park — a 25-acre expanse of feature-filled green space in a community that desperately needs it.
For the past month there’s been widespread speculation that ride-sharing giant Lyft would purchase Motivate, the bike share company that operates Portland’s Biketown system (among many others).
Now the deal is official, which means Lyft is the owner of the contract between Motivate and the City of Portland. And with Motivate’s existing presence in major cities like New York (Citibike), Chicago (Divvy), Washington DC (Capital Bikeshare), San Francisco (Ford GoBike) and others, it gives Lyft 80 percent of all U.S. bike share trips and a massive mobility footprint.
Here’s the press release we just received from Lyft (emphases mine):
Introducing Lyft Bikes
We are excited to announce that Lyft has reached a transformative agreement to acquire Motivate, the largest bikeshare operator in North America. Together Lyft and Motivate will revolutionize urban transportation and put bikeshare systems across the country on a path toward growth and innovation.
