Washington Park shuttle drivers concerned about unsafe behaviors from bicycle riders

When you see purple, slow down and chill out.

It’s peak season at Washington Park. That means about 1.2 million people will visit the Oregon Zoo, the Rose Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, the Japanese Garden and many other attractions between now and September.

The good news is that about one-quarter of visitors opt to get around the park via the free shuttle. The bad news is that according to shuttle operators, some people who ride bicycles in the park are not being as safe as they should be.

Washington Park’s free shuttle service is the fastest growing mode of transportation in the park. 120,000 people used it last season, a 40 percent increase from 2015. This year the park is encouraging even more people to take the shuttle due to the reservoir construction project.

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Portland will celebrate 10th year of Sunday Parkways: Here’s what the first one looked like

Official proclamation will be passed by city council Wednesday.

This weekend Portland will celebrate the 10th year of Sunday Parkways with an official proclamation making June 25th “Portland Sunday Parkways Day”.

The beloved community event began on June 22nd 2008. Staff from the Bureau of Transportation were inspired by “Ciclovia” events in Bogota, Colombia and began planning for a Portland version in July 2007.

With no experience in doing such a large open street event, they weren’t sure how it would translate. After a few hours they got their answer: It was a resounding success. Over 15,000 people flocked to north Portland streets and a new tradition was born.

Since 2008, PBOT and their partners (most notably Kaiser Permanente, who has sponsored the event from the start), have hosted 39 events that have drawn nearly 700,000 people out of their homes and cars and into our streets — which PBOT rightly likes to refer to as “our largest public space.”

Here are some photos from that first event:

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I also made this short video…

Through all the budget debates, elections, and myriad changes to our city, to have a program like this so solidly institutionalized and all but unassailable to political whims is no small feat. The fact that Sunday Parkways is still around and stronger than ever is a testament to PBOT and the people of Portland who support it.

My only complaint about the events is that there aren’t enough of them.

Congratulations Portland! Long live Sunday Parkways!

Learn more about the route and all the fun activities planned for this weekend’s event at the city’s website.

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

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Portland’s newest and smallest street is also carfree

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Carfree Couch Court. Because it just makes sense, that’s why.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

To improve circulation of vehicle traffic through a very fast-growing part of the central city, the Portland Bureau of Transportation decided to expand the road network. With two new lanes, people can now travel on a new road between NE 3rd Avenue and Couch Street.

Typically we’d be skeptical — possibly outraged — if PBOT added new lane-miles in the urban core; but in this case it’s fine because the new street is carfree. It’s the most efficient and humane way to utilize this important space adjacent to three new buildings that tower over the east end of the Burnside Bridge and have a combined 300 residential units and over 100,000 square feet of office and retail space.

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Job: Full Time Mechanic – PSU Bike Hub

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Job Title *
Full Time Mechanic

Company/Organization *
PSU Bike Hub

Job Description *
Position Summary

The purpose of this position is to facilitate operations for the service area at PSU’s Bicycle Hub. This position conducts pay­-for­service repairs on Bike Hub members’ bicycles, assists with training of the Bicycle Hub student staff, particularly in regards to mechanical skill and instruction, and assumes responsibility for service sales and customer relations. Additionally, this position assists with ordering and receipt of equipment and repair supplies needed to operate the service section of the Bike Hub. This position also serves as a back­up for all student positions associated with sales/cashiering and repair instruction for Bike Hub members.

Minimum Qualifications for this Position

– 1 year experience as bicycle mechanic
– Excellent customer service skills
– Excellent oral and written communication
– Computer experience including point of sale software
– Cash handling and reconciliation experience
– Successful completion of a background check

Preferred Qualifications

– Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive
– Completion of bicycle mechanic certification/training program
– Experience as an instructor or trainer

Key Cultural Competencies

Creates an environment that acknowledges, encourages and celebrates differences.
Functions and communicates effectively and respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities and cultural backgrounds.
Seeks opportunities to gain experience working and collaborating in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings with a willingness to change for continual improvement.
Adheres to all PSU policies including the policies on Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment and the Professional Standards of Conduct.

Work Days/Hours

Total Compensation Range & Benefits Statement
The starting salary rate for this position will be between $12.62 and $14.18 per hour, dependent upon qualifications and experience, with an excellent benefits package including 95% premium paid healthcare; a generous retirement and vacation package; and reduced tuition rates for employee, spouse or dependent at any of the Oregon University System schools.

How to Apply *
Use the following link to apply:
https://jobs.hrc.pdx.edu/postings/23639

Please contact Dan Penner with any questions at penner2@pdx.edu

The Monday Roundup: Lessons from Oslo, TNC impacts, a forgotten bike boom, and more

Cars are weapons: There’s been another intentional attack using a motor vehicle in a crowded city. It will be interesting to see if governments respond by limiting auto access and/or creating more protected areas for vulnerable users (both of which have been encouraged by transportation reformers for many years).

Bike-share’s latest boom continues: We continue to track the explosive growth in next-gen bike share systems taking over Chinese streets. Check the latest data from private companies operating the largest systems China. One of them is manufacturing 100,000 bikes per day to keep up with demand.

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Job: Sales – Lakeside Bicycles

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Job Title *
Sales

Company/Organization *
Lakeside Bicycles

Job Description *
Lakeside Bicycles, located in Lake Oswego, is looking for a full-time sales associate. Weekend work required. Previous sales experience helpful. Knowledge and passion for bicycles is a must. If you love everything bike-related, enjoy being in a positive environment, have a sense of humor, are dependable and consistent and detail-oriented, please apply. We’d like to hear from you! Please send your resume along with a cover letter to info@lakeside-bikes.com. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. No phone calls please.

How to Apply *
Send a Resume and Cover letter to info@lakeside-bikes.com.

With acceptance of grant, City can finally build the Flanders Crossing Bridge

On Wednesday Portland City Council accepted a $2.8 million grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation to build a new carfree bridge over Interstate 405 at Flanders Street.

It was the final funding hurdle for a project that has been hoped-for in Portland planning documents for over 20 years. At the council meeting, PBOT Commissioner Dan Saltzman said, “This has been a long time coming.”

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Biketown and Baptists will team up for record ride attempt

On June 30th Portland will add another notch to its bike culture belt: An attempt at the world record for most clergy on bikes.

It’s an idea hatched by 42-year-old G. Travis Norvell, an American Baptist pastor of a church in Minneapolis and self-described, “gospel-centered liberal.” Rev. Norvell will be in Portland later this month for the 2017 Biennial Mission Summit and will use the occasion to spread the gospel about one of his favorite topics: How bicycles can help connect communities, improve public health, save the planet and further the church’s mission all in one fell swoop.

Norvell isn’t shy about his love of cycling. In a Medium post titled, Bicycling Toward Justice, he drew inspiration from the Montgomery bus boycott and Civil Rights Movement to implore his fellow clergy to ride bikes more often. On his Pedaling Pastor blog, Norvell mixes biking tips with passages from the bible. In one post he shared the text of a bike blessing he gave fellow riders at the start of the 30 Days of Biking challenge in April:

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The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good of Bike accident economics

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I only have week to go before I can get on my bicycles. I am not just looking forward to the naked bike ride but really looking forward to rolling through the air on my two wheels. The Why: the accident, the surgery, the recovery are my personal equivalent to the good, the bad, and the ugly in reverse order. I had shoulder surgery on Mar 24 and my orthopedist-surgeon told me multiple times you cannot bicycle for three months.

The cost of a bicycle accident triggers many thoughts about dollars, aging, and attitudes. The top muscle (supraspinatus) was completely torn from the bone. With age, this muscle (as well as many other ones) develops micro-tears. As one ages, more tears become larger, pain increases, and accidents have greater consequences pushing up the cost of medical treatments. For me it was simply a fall-over with a cargo bicycle caused this big rip.

Citylab.com published an article by John Metcalf at the beginning of June describing the increasing costs of bike injuries. He stated that there has been an increment of a 120% ‘bump’ in hospital visits featuring bicycle crashes since 1990. More than 800 deaths from car-on-bike crashes occurred in 2015 in the US. He reported that a serious non fatal ‘accident’ in 1997 cost an average of $52,495 which included medical expenses, missed work, and reduced quality of life. This figure jumped to $77K in 2013.

Metcalf went on to report that the total bike injuries costs have increased nearly $789 million per year from the late 1990s and to near total of $24 billion in 2013 (yes 24 billion). Additionally, there are more older-cyclists. There were nearly 2 million bicyclists in 2001 over the age 45 and in 2009 this number reached 3.6 million. I could not find the number of these riders in this decade. Federal data shows biking rates among people between the ages of 60 and 79 are soaring. ‘New trips by seniors account for 22 percent of the nation’s growth in adult biking,’ according to People for Bikes. Growth rates of older bicyclists are larger than younger age groups of new bicyclists.

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Weekend Event Guide: A prom, mayhem in Mosier, black liberation, adaptive bikes, and more

Is there a better time of the year to be a bicycle lover in Portland? We think not. Pedalpalooza is going strong, the racing season is in its prime, and adventure seekers of all stripes are pouring over maps for their longest rides of the season. Oh, and school is out (PPS last day is today)!

This week’s guide has a bit of everything and we hope you find time to get out on your bike at least once if not multiple times.

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From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike