In yet another example of the wondrous potential of bus transit, the State of Oregon is starting up their Columbia Gorge Express service starting today.
‘Gorge Express’ bus service returns with major upgrades
Jobs of the Week: Metro, Yakima Products, Santiam Bicycle
Start summer off right with a new job!
Learn more about our latest listings via the links below…
–> Deputy Director – Planning and Development – Metro
–> Consumer Service Rep – Yakima Products
Job: Mechanic/sales – Santiam Bicycle
Job Title *
Mechanic/sales
Company/Organization *
Santiam Bicycle
Job Description *
We are looking for a seasonal employee at our Tigard store with at least 1-2 years of bike shop experience, pay will vary based on experience.
Responsibilities will primarily include repairs and bike builds but will also include helping on the sales floor occasionally and helping with any other tasks that may need to be done.
We want someone who can work 3-5 days per weeks during peak months. Winter hours are not guaranteed but you will maintain employee discount status all year long.
If you have suspension and brake service experience that is a huge plus!
How to Apply *
Please send your resume to mitch@santiambicycle.com or drop it off in person at 9009 SW Hall Blvd Tigard, OR 97223.
What does the Portland Business Alliance really think about Better Naito?
Make way for the job creators!
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
What does the Portland Business Alliance think about Better Naito; the city’s reconfiguration of Naito Parkway to include a two-way protected bike lane and sidewalk? It depends on who you ask. Or more precisely, it depends on which of their positions will face more public scrutiny.
The PBA, Portland’s most well-established business lobby group with over 1,800 member companies, has issued two official statements on Better Naito. One came in the form of an op-ed from PBA Board of Directors Chair Jim Mark published in the Portland Tribune on Tuesday; the other came from PBA President and CEO Sandra McDonough in the form of a letter dated May 9th and addressed to Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman. I obtained that letter (PDF) via a public records request along with 12 other emails sent to Saltzman’s office regarding Better Naito over the past month.
Killingsworth gets two-way protected bike lanes in Cully neighborhood
An opportunistic move by the Portland Bureau of Transportation has given us a glimpse into the future of biking and walking in the Cully neighborhood.
PBOT recently took advantage of a repaving project on Northeast Killingsworth to build a new striping and crossing treatment that connects NE 55th and 54th Avenues. It’s all part of the $3.3 million “Connected Cully” project that PBOT won funding for via a State of Oregon grant (the 2015-2018 STIP to be exact). I took a closer look at it yesterday.
PBOT has built a two-way bike lane for one block that’s separated from motor vehicle traffic with rubber curbs and plastic wands. Mid-way between 55th and 54th a bicycle rider has the choice to either continue straight or use a crosswalk. The crosswalk has a standard zebra-striped walking area and an additional green cross-bike treatment on both sides (to handle two-way bike traffic). There’s also a new signal with an activation button at the mid-block crossing.
As you can see in the images, this area gets a lot of walking traffic. I was only there for a few minutes and saw three separate families come by — each of whom had toddlers in tow and were pushing a stroller. And they all used the new bike lane because there are no sidewalks.
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Why here?
The only major destination adjacent to this new bikeway is Trinity Lutheran Christian School. Since that’s a private institution, the changes to Killingsworth wouldn’t have been done as part of the City’s Safe Routes to School program (which focuses on public schools). I asked PBOT Communications Director John Brady about it and he said the new striping and crossing treatment was built as part of a future neighborhood greenway that will run along 55th and 54th Avenues. When PBOT got wind of a paving project on Killingsworth, they re-striped for the future instead of putting things back like they were. Way to go PBOT!
The Connected Cully project includes lots of other changes intended to make it more pleasant to walk and bike in this area. The info below was taken from the PBOT project description included in the ODOT grant application:
This is just one of several safe streets and active transportation initiatives in the Cully area. As we reported in February, Cully won over $2 million in infrastructure investments that will include a new “biking and walking parkway” on NE 72nd Avenue between Lombard and Fremont.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Weekend Event Guide: LapQuest, gentrification education, wine country adventure, and more
A weekend to fly our flag.
(Photo: J Maus/BikePortland)
(Photo: J Maus/BikePortland)
This weekend feels like the calm before the storm. There are noticeably fewer events happening because it seems as though everyone is resting up a bit for the bike-riding, fun-having onslaught of June when Pedalpalooza — and a whole lot of other stuff — starts in earnest.
The Portland connection behind the limited edition ‘Sequoia Merz’ bike from Specialized
(Photo: River City Bicycles)
One of the most well-known bike brands in the world has just released a limited edition model (only 200 will be sold) that has a Portland framebuilder’s name on the downtube.
The new Sequoia adventure road bike from Specialized Bicycles has the name “Merz” emblazoned on the frame in honor of the work of Jim Merz. As you might recall in a story we shared of a bike tour Merz took in 1972, he was one of the first custom framebuilders to set up shop in Portland. After getting his start here in the early 1970s his work caught the attention of Mike Sinyard — the man who started Specialized. It was 1982 and Sinyard needed help building his “Stumpjumper” mountain bike frames which were taking the country by storm.
When “The Big S” wanted to bring back their Sequoia road bike to capitalize on today’s big adventure riding/gravel bike market, they contracted with Merz on the design. Below is an excerpt form an interview with Merz recently posted on the River City Bicycles website. In it, Merz explains how he first met Sinyard:
New ‘Portland Bus’ group finds momentum in push for dedicated lanes
More dedicated lanes for buses might be an idea whose time has come in Portland. At least that’s how it appears given the support that the Portland Bus Lane Project has received after it launched just two weeks ago.
The effort is being spearheaded by lawyer and activist Alan Kessler. Kessler turned his passion for more reliable and efficient public transit into an organized effort after a May 4th tweet of gridlock on the Hawthorne Bridge gained attention.
Since then, Kessler has built a website and social media presence, garnered headlines, built up an email list (he has about 140 people signed up already), and even tabled at the recent Sunday Parkways event.
“The vast majority of comments we received [at Sunday Parkways] were supportive,” he shared with us yesterday. “We heard over and over from folks how well bus priority works in other cities they’d lived in and visited.”
Much to Kessler’s surprise, he said many people who stopped by his booth had already heard about his efforts. One of those people was Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish. “We were excited when he pulled up and grabbed a card.”
Major changes to Bridge Pedal route means three fewer bridges this year
The St. Johns Bridge is one of four Portland spans that won’t be included in this year’s routes.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)
Portland’s 20 mph speed limit bill passes Senate, nears final passage
East Portland resident Sarah Iannarone during a December 2016 protest at the corner of SE 82nd and Division.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
A new state law that would allow the City of Portland to reduce speed limits on over 3,000 miles of residential streets — that’s over 60 percent of all the streets in Portland — to 20 mph cleared a major hurdle yesterday.
With a vote of 4-1 in the Senate Committee On Business and Transportation, House Bill 2682 now only has to pass a vote of the full Senate before it can be signed into law. The bill passed the Oregon House 55-1 back in April.
The bill, sponsored by State Respresentative Rob Nosse, would only apply to the City of Portland. It was amended after cities and counties across the state said they didn’t want the added resonsibility of making speed limit decisions themselves and would rather have ODOT’s continued oversight.
First look: ODOT’s new path around deadly Lombard intersection
It’s 450-feet long but it could be the difference between life and death.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)
The State of Oregon has completed construction of a new bike path on NE Lombard (Highway 30) at 42nd. The path is about one-tenth of a mile long and is separated from motor vehicle traffic by a guardrail.
It doesn’t have an official name, but I’ll always think of this as the Martin Greenough Memorial Bike Path.
28,000 Portlanders in the streets at Sunday Parkways season opener
Laurelhurst Park was swamped with cycling sun-seekers Sunday.
(Photos: Kevin Koch)
(Photos: Kevin Koch)
Sunday was a glorious day by all accounts. The weather was sublime and the streets were full of everything we love about Portland. It couldn’t have been more perfect for the first Sunday Parkways event of the season.