🚨 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 🙏

Grab the kids, load up your bike, and cool off at a local watering hole

Bikes and summer: just add water.
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

We love biking to water in the summer — whether it’s to a beach, lake, river, spray park, or swimming pool. Summer days are long and free activities that hold the kids’ attention for long periods of time are my favorites. I can’t be the only parent who happily hangs out in the shade while my kids dig in the sand or throw rocks into water for hours on end, with the occasional break from my book to play catch or help with sandcastle building.

Our Family Biking column is sponsored by Clever Cycles.

➤ Read past entries here.

The main things I pack for the beach are snacks, swimsuits, towels, beach toys, and shade (if we’re not heading to a site with its own shade). I strive to demonstrate family biking as fun and easily replicated, but I also tend to fill all available storage space with stuff. Once on our way to the beach a couple flagged us down to ask if we were at the tail end of a cross-country bike tour. Beach stuff is bulky but light so it looks impressive, but is still easy to lug around.

Whether your plans call for a quick jaunt to your local park’s splash pad, the new Poet’s Beach downtown, or a more ambitious destination like Broughton Beach on the Columbia River, here are some tips to help make the day go smoother.

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The tram is closed! How do I go by bike? (Day 1)

As a weekday commuter to OHSU, I am admittedly excited for the tram to be out of service until July 30th. Why? Because I will have a chance to shake up my normal bike commuter from the Hollywood neighborhood to the tram. Most of the commute will be the same but once I cross the Tilikum bridge I will have a few options on getting to the hill.

What’s happening with the tram? The track ropes need to be shifted. This is scheduled about every 10 years. Here’s a video about the process and you can also learn more from Jonathan’s post last week.

Today I rode into the Whitaker lot. The is the lot nearest to the tram’s regular Go By Bike lot, which is where I usually park. Shuttles queue up here to take employees, patients and guests up to the hill. The wait this morning was short, but if you don’t want to stand in line and wait there’s a cornhole game set up to pass the time.

As I was parking my bike with Go By Bike, Lime Bike was unloading their ebikes for folks to use to ride up the hill from the South Waterfront. They are joining the Jump ebikes that have also been made available for people wanting some e-assistance in riding up the hill.

Since today was my first day, I decided to take one of the shuttles up. The shuttle I rode did not have a bike rack, but as I reach the Kohler Pavilion on the hill I saw that the shuttle behind me did, so I could have loaded my bike if I wanted to bring it with me.

Tomorrow I am planning on leaving my bike at the Schnitzer Lot and riding an ebike up to the OHSU Student Center, where one of the auxiliary bike valet locations is located.
As I reached the tram level of Kohler Pavilion, I got to see some of the rope workers out for a walk.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll try to answer them.

Here’s how we build it: PBOT releases draft version of Protected Bike Lane Design Guide

Cover image.

Portland could build 137 miles of protected bike lanes protected from other traffic with a planted buffer zone — and launch a transportation revolution with far-reaching benefits — for just $73 million. Or we could do it for about $34 million using plastic delineator posts. Those are two of many insights gleaned from the 124-page Portland Protected Bicycle Lane Design Guide just released in draft form by the Bureau of Transportation.

When we shared a sneak peek at the guide last month, PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller said, “It provides much-needed clarity about what we can build and how it will fit on Portland streets.”

The guide offers engineers, planners, project managers and advocates a road map to retrofit Portland’s streets. From detailed cross-section drawings that can be applied to 28 different street configurations, to clear recommendations on what type of protective materials to use in specific situations, the guide should help hasten the development of protected bike lanes. If you’re an advocate for streets where fewer people die and where everyone — even those who don’t use cars — can get around more efficiently, you’ll appreciate the vibe in the introduction:

“The intent of the designs in this guide is to quickly and emphatically reconfigure Portland’s streets, not just so they operate in a safe manner, but also to communicate that bicycling is more attractive than driving and that bicycle transportation is accessible to people of all ages and abilities…Numerous studies from around the world, as well as our experience and the experience of cities with which we are allied through the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), have confirmed that providing protected bicycle lanes on busy streets is a key element to addressing the demand for better conditions for bicycle transportation. Such facilities are the highest quality bikeways, and are appropriate on roadways that include higher motor vehicle speeds and volumes.”

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Golden Pliers, a bike shop and cafe, opens on North Skidmore at Interstate

Inside the new Golden Pliers.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus)
Owners Kevin Purcell and Becky Newman.

Portland’s newest bike shop quietly opened its doors on Friday. Kevin Purcell and Becky Newman are the people behind Golden Pliers, a small shop and cafe at 1451 N Skidmore (just east of Interstate) that will focus on repairs and carefully selected accessories.

Purcell is a former service mechanic at River City Bicycles and more recently, manager of 21st Avenue Bicycles, a shop that closed its doors last month. Newman is the owner of Makeshifter Canvas Works, where she handcrafts bags, apparel and other accessories — many of which are now sold in Golden Pliers.

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A north Portland Sunday Parkways photo gallery

Sunday Parkways is such a powerful force for kids. Imagine: They can ride their own bikes in the street without fear. That’s no small thing.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

The City hosted the second of five Sunday Parkways events yesterday. The north Portland route stretched from Peninsula Park on the southern end to McCoy Park in the north.

As always, the event drew a wide and wonderful mix of people. All ages, all sizes, all colors, all abilities. And of course there were tons of kids — especially at the dirt track adjacent to the Community Cycling Center’s Bike Repair Hub in the New Columbia neighborhood.

We were treated to live performances, all types of fun activities, conversations with friends, food, and safe, carfree streets

Here’s a taste of what I saw…

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The Monday Roundup: Hinault’s gauntlet, anti-transit extremism, sundress-gate, and more


Welcome to the week. Today’s Monday Roundup is made possible by the Portland Century, offering three route options on August 19th.

Here are the best stories we came across in the past seven days…

Ball sports are over: If you’re too afraid to let your kid bike in the neighborhood, get them into racing! There’s more to life than the traditional ball sports, as the Bike Snob explains in his most recent column.

Any excuse necessary: It’s amazing what people will do to justify their anti-bike bias; including protesting a protected bike lane on safety grounds while marching in said bike lane in order to not get hit by other road users. (h/t @BrooklynSpoke)

Anti-transit extremists: As if non-car mobility needs any more hurdles in America, the billionaire Koch Brothers are hellbent on destroying it.

Auto touchscreens are bad, very bad: Even a self-described “Tesla fanboy” admits that the huge “infotainment” screens in cars are very unsafe because — shock! — they distract people from the important task of paying attention to the road.

Phones too: FiveThirtyEight reveals the hidden dangers of having phones in cars — even when they’re not actively being used.

Trump’s tariffs: The man in charge of our country has slapped tariffs on Chinese-made bearings, materials, GPS devices and electric motors.

Dockless wisdom: Seattle’s DOT has shared a trove of data about their robust dockless bike share pilot program and Curbed has a solid breakdown.

Portland needs to try this: L.A.P.D. is using e-bikes for patrol. It makes so much sense. Portland talks about community policing, we are a biking city, we finally got rid of mounted horses… Time to bring back police bike patrol units!

A new day at TriMet: The transit agency’s new leader comes out in an Oregonian interview as a champion of bus-only lanes, fewer light rail stops downtown, a new transit tunnel, and more good things. Sure as heck beats his freeway expansion lobbyist predecessor.

Sundress-gate: A councilor in the Canadian city of Hamilton spurred quite the backlash after wondering aloud whether women’s love of sundresses prevented them from riding more.

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Turns out walking isn’t the problem: Despite the propaganda from governments and other “safety” agencies, new research shows what many of us have known all-along: That “distracted pedestrians” aren’t really a thing to worry about.

Coal-rolling victory: A judge in the case against Diesel Brothers has ordered them to stop selling illegal exhaust kits that allow people to spew toxic exhaust at will. (We covered that case back in 2016.)

Congestionomics: What if free-flowing freeway traffic was a sign of economic depression instead of success? New research from Denver makes the case that there’s a strong correlation between congested cities and booming business environments.

Lime’s scooter pitch: High usage rates and solid profits are among the ways Lime is selling investors on their dockless electric scooters. Worth noting that Lime is likely to win a permit to operate in Portland very soon.

Hinault’s gauntlet: Frustrated by continued allegations of doping in the sport he once dominated, a legendary Frenchman says riders should boycott the Tour de France if Chris Froome — who’s under investigation for drug use — participates.

Dispatch from L.A.: Amid a sharp rise in deaths and with a city government not doing enough to keep them safe (despite a Vision Zero pledge), a new guard of bike activists is rising up in the car culture epicenter of Los Angeles.

Speed camera debacle: Advocates in New York are reeling after their state government failed to renew a speed camera program that had placed 140 of the safety devices in schools throughout the state.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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North Portland hosts thousands for annual Naked Bike Ride

By all accounts last night’s World Naked Bike Ride was a huge success. The (rather short) route started in Cathedral Park under the St. Johns Bridge (which by the way is spotless this morning, nice job organizers and volunteers!) and stayed on the bluff along Willamette Blvd before working its way over to the end point at Woodlawn Park.

We’ve heard from several readers who said it was a great night of protest, partying and carfree fun.

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How to find the Highway 26 bike path from the Sunset Transit Center

The more you know.
(Click for larger view)

Naomi Fast is our Washington County correspondent. She previously wrote about plans to widen the Walker and Murray intersection in Beaverton.

Ever been on a MAX Blue Line train to Hillsboro with your bike comfortably resting on the hook and caught a glimpse of a person pedaling behind a sound wall over on the south side of Highway 26? This sight can give way to imagining there’s a well-marked bike route connecting Portland to Washington County. How long is that bike path behind the freeway wall? Does it go the whole way between Beaverton and Portland? Where’s the entrance?

The goal of this short, ride-along-style post is to locate the westside entrance to the bike path that runs alongside Highway 26, for which there are — unfortunately and inexplicably — zero wayfinding signs. It may seem like a short stretch, but one missed turn and it’s possible to get lost. Then a short stretch becomes a lot longer, which is no fun when late to work.

Here we go:

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Five-week Aerial Tram closure starts tomorrow: Here’s what you need to know

Look for these signs to guide you through the bike detour.
(Photo: @madeyerish on Twitter)

If you are one of the 2,500 or so OHSU employees who bike to campus and use the Portland Aerial Tram to get that free lift up to Marquam Hill, remember that you’ll have to change your plans for the next five weeks.

As we shared last fall, a routine maintenance project will close the tram tomorrow through the end of next month (July 30th). The bad news is that people will have to figure out other ways to get up the hill — none of which will be as easy or convenient. But the good news is that the Portland Aerial Tram, OHSU and other agencies are pulling out all the stops to make sure things go as smoothly as possible during the closure.

The GoByTram.com website has all the information you need to plan your trip by transit, biking, or walking. There’s even a frequent daily shuttle service they’ve set up just for the closure.

When it comes to biking, here’s what you need to know:

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What’s going on with the North Rosa Parks Way project?

With a staggered rollout of key project features, the results of the Rosa Parks project have been a mixed bag thus far.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

“We’re definitely learning some lessons.”
— Scott Cohen, PBOT project manager

It’s been six weeks since the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) began grinding off pavement and laying down new lane striping as part of the North Rosa Parks Way project. Yet despite weeks of dry weather and no major controversy or pushback (at least that we’ve been able to confirm), the project is still not closed to being finished. Meanwhile, people who ride on the two-mile stretch between Martin Luther King Jr and Willamette boulevards are frustrated by incomplete striping and many people park their cars illegally in the new bike lanes.

At the end of May, PBOT posted an update that acknowledged the major elements of the project that remain: they haven’t even began on the sections from Delaware to Interstate and Williams to MLK; none of the promised, plastic delineator posts have been installed; no permanent “No Parking” signage has been added despite a major change in parking availability; many bits of pavement markings are incomplete; and a median island crossing at Villard has yet to be started on.

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Latest Headlines

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Video: Good bike infrastructure vs bad drivers

Merry Christmas! Portland’s upgraded automated speed cameras are ticketing drivers once again

Monday Roundup: Golden gravel route, too bad for Rad, Uber is sad, and more

From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride