Collision Chronicles: A ‘traumatic’ close call while biking down Interstate Ave

North Interstate before Russell.
North Interstate before Russell.

This story is part of our Collision Chronicles, an ongoing series to shine a light on the constant stream of scary street interactions we hear about but that you won’t read about in the news.

This account was posted by the victim Jocelyn Gaudi to her Facebook page yesterday. Gaudi, a very experienced rider and well-known local advocate who sits on several city transportation advisory committees, has given us permission to publish it here.

This morning, I experienced the closest call I’ve ever had while riding in Portland. To say that it was a traumatic experience is to short sell the negative impact that it had and will continue to have on me.

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Can you get air on a Biketown bike?

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
Yes, apparently you can.(Photo: The Lumberyard)
Yes, apparently you can.
(Photo: The Lumberyard)

Our friends at the Lumberyard Bike Park are doing great things and their indoor (and outdoor) riding facilities are getting better and better.

They just capped of a summer season that saw a record number of kids participate in their camps. Now they’re ramping up the fall after-school program schedule.

And while the business hums along, they still know how to have fun.

Case in point is the video they just released. They put a helmet-camera on one of their riders and had him check out a Biketown bike, ride it out to their location on SE 82nd Avenue and put it through the paces.

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15-year-old clings to life after being hit by a driver near north Portland school – UPDATED

The intersection of Columbia and Midway. George Middle School is on the left in the background.
The intersection of Columbia and Midway. George Middle School is on the left in the background.

Despite pleas from the police to slow down due to the start of the school year, there has already been a major collision and a 15-year-old boy is clinging to life.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, the crash happened at around 7:45 am this morning at North Columbia Boulevard and Midway — right across the street from George Middle School. The Oregonian has confirmed that the boy is an incoming freshman at nearby Roosevelt High School and was headed to his first day of classes.

As you can see in the photos below, Columbia Blvd is a major industrial freight route with a wide, five-lane cross-section. And Midway is at an angled intersection. The street is so dangerous to cross and so close to a school that it has one of those walking bridges that goes up and over it (bridges that planners and engineers often see as symbolic of a failed street). The speed limit is 40 mph at this location. There’s a speed reader board a few tenths of a mile from the collision site which means that PBOT has been trying to slow speeds down in this area.

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Washington Park reservoir project will close popular biking routes – UPDATED

Ride Along with Stasia Honnold-43

If you ride/commute through Washington Park, you might have to change your route.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Get ready for yet another construction project that will impact biking routes.

Starting two weeks from now, on September 12th, the Portland Water Bureau will begin their Reservoir Improvements Project in Washington Park. The construction of a new 12.4 million gallon reservoir and other upgrades to two existing reservoirs will last for 12 to 18 months.

There will be significant impacts to nearby roads that will include complete closures — including bicycling traffic.

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Citybikes will close one location amid business downturn

The creatively painted Citybikes Annex on Ankeny and 7th is closing its doors.(Photos: Citybikes)
The creatively painted Citybikes Annex on Ankeny and 7th is closing its doors.
(Photos: Citybikes)

In another sign of a changing Portland, Citybikes is closing the doors of its flagship sales location and consolidating its business.

The shop has been run as a worker-owned cooperative since 1990. It expanded from its original repair shop location on Southeast Ankeny near 20th to a second location, the 5,000 square-foot “Annex”, on the corner of SE Ankeny and 7th in 1995. Because of dwindling sales, the Annex will close for good by the end of this year.

“The main factor,” said Citybikes owner Ryan Smith in a phone interview last week, “Is that people who used to come here, don’t live in Portland anymore.” Smith is one of nine current owners of the shop and he expects that the total number of worker-owners will be reduced to just five once the transition is complete. Citybikes used to have as many as 25 owners in peak season.

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Track bikes to invade Portland for ‘Bone Machine Criterium’ and bike show

Team Ironclad Street Sprints-8

Get ready for some exciting racing.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

If you’re a fan of fixed-gear and track bikes, you’re going to love this news: Next weekend (September 9-11) the Bone Machine Criterium is coming to Portland.

Organizers have put together three days of track bike goodness that begins with an event at the Alpenrose Velodrome on Friday.

Ernesto Gonzalez is the man behind the crit. He says the race, which will take place on Sunday in Swan Island (and industrial zone in north Portland) is the first of its kind in Oregon. Riders must use track bikes with one gear only that is fixed — meaning there is no freewheel and the only way to stop is to push backwards on the cranks. Imagine a huge pack of racers riding inches away from each without any hand-brakes. Gonzalez says they’ll be flying through the course at about 30 miles per hour. There will be races for men and women and a cash purse of $2,000 (there is equal payout for men’s and women’s fields and women are especially encouraged to sign up!).

“I’m expecting a fair amount of people to come, race and have fun,” Gonzalez shared with us via email. “Many racers are flying from out of town.” Criterium racers from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Washington D.C., and Mexico are expected to compete.

Prior to the main event on Sunday, there will be a track meet at Alpenrose Velodrome followed by a party at Velo Cult Bike Shop and Tavern. At the party there will be a goldsprints competition ($5 to enter, winner takes all) and the talented group of riders and filmmakers from San Francisco’s Mash SF group will share a free screening of their new film (trailer below)

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The Monday Roundup: Bronzeville, fatality ‘crisis’, bike heroes, e-bike shares, and more

The headline and photo says it all (but you should still read the article).
The headline and photo says it all (but you should still read the article).

This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by Huntco, your Portland-based source for commercial bike parking solutions.

Welcome to the Monday Roundup.

Sorry to start it off on a sour note, but if we want more happiness in the future we have to confront what’s making us so sad (and mad) in the present. We have a trio of stories for you that get to the root of the problem: too many people driving too many cars, too fast.

“Crisis”: An Associated Press story made the rounds last week with dire warnings about the significant rise in traffic deaths across the country so far this year. The word “crisis” is being used not just by activists but by mainstream experts and leaders in the field.

Crisis cause: And in related news, The Atlantic has a must-read article for anyone who follows traffic culture. The headline says it all: “The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life”

But wait, there’s more: The news and cultural analysts at Five Thirty Eight went deep into the underlying policies and perspectives that lead to America’s speeding problem. Spoiler alert: The way speed limits are set guarantees deadly roads.

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A life lost too soon: Photos and thoughts from the Fallon Smart memorial ride

Fallon Smart Memorial Ride-42.jpg

Hawthorne Boulevard was open only to mourners of Fallon Smart during tonight’s memorial.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland failed Fallon Smart.

The bright and beautiful girl of just 15 years died on August 19th while walking across Hawthorne Boulevard. The person who killed her was driving 55-60 mph — more than twice the posted speed limit — and swerved around a stopped car just before impact.

This tragic event has shaken a large part of our community to the core. After a week of protests and visits to the scene of this tragic crime, a memorial ride returned to the site tonight.

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Port project in Troutdale will include 2.1 mile path extension

Sandy River connections-13.jpg

Currently not signed or maintained for public use, this stretch of levee along the Columbia River north of Troutdale is slated for a paved path in 2018.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

A Port of Portland project in Troutdale will include a significant extension to the 40-Mile Loop path along the Sandy and Columbia Rivers.

The extension totals 2.1 miles and will finally make it possible to walk and roll on a paved path between Marine Drive near Blue Lake Park (via NE 223rd Ave) and the new paths along the Sandy River constructed by the Oregon Department of Transportation in 2014.

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Bicycle rider collides with woman walking on Broadway Bridge (8/24/16)

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Note: This is part of our Collision Chronicles project. Learn more here.

Received 8/24/16:

So my colleague’s wife was walking on the Broadway bridge last Tuesday (2nd) and was hit by a bicyclist. She was hit so hard that she suffered a fractured skull, subdural hematoma, dislocated shoulder and 6 fractured vertebra. She has since become paralyzed in her arm. The bicyclist fled the scene after briefly stopping and telling someone else to call 911.

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From the Archives

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