BikePortland

Multnomah County’s drop in auto ownership since 2007 would fill 287 acres of parking

Everyone knows Multnomah County is growing, and that most new residents are buying or bringing in cars, too. In all, state records show, 8,709 more passenger vehicles are registered in the county than there were in 2007.

But a review of car registration statistics shows that if passenger vehicle ownership were still as popular in the county as it was in 2007, it would have had to find room for 38,501 more cars and trucks instead.

How many cars are we doing without? Well, if we built a parking lot to hold the 38,501 cars that didn’t show up and assumed a standard 325 square feet per space, we’d need about 287 acres of land. For the sake of scale, that’s everything between NE Killingsworth, Skidmore, Rodney and 16th:

Downtown Columbus.
(Photo: Sean Denney)

Well, it’s a nice week to be an Ohioan.

Two days after the NBA Championship, the Buckeye State’s capital has apparently scored a $40 million federal grant that’ll be matched by $100 million in private investment to create a model of a future tech-connected city.

Columbus beat out Portland, San Francisco, Austin, Denver, Pittsburgh and Kansas City for the Smart City Challenge victory, an initiative of U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Here’s an interesting new local product aimed at people who like to be highly visible on a bike at night but prefer not to resemble a mirror when they get to their destination.

The Portland Bike Reflector, which launched on Kickstarter this morning, is a simple concept: a two-piece “magnetic, removable reflector” that attaches to a jacket, backpack or saddle bag when you’re on the road.

Screengrab from bus75.org, photo by Geoffrey Hiller.

We don’t often publish transit-only posts, but we’ll make an exception for this one.

Portland-based photographer Geoffrey Hiller is working on an all-year project to document the life of Portland through the lens of a single bus line: the No. 75 that runs between Milwaukie and St. Johns via Chavez, 42nd and Lombard.

For a post yesterday, he recruited Portland-based transit consultant and writer Jarrett Walker (who happened to be a teenage intern at TriMet in the 1980s, when the 75 bus was created) to write about the ways the 75 reveals this moment in Portland’s ebbing, flowing life.

The result is a short illustrated essay that is, somehow, both about our city and about good public transit network design. It’s something to behold:

Tandem riders unite! Though not necessarily in matrimony.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

Don’t postpone all your bike fun until the weekend! Here are a few highlights from the Pedalpalooza calendar from the next few weekdays.

Open Architecture PDX
Everybody talks about new building; this ride invites people to do something about it. “We will be touring vacant sites or unused land in the area and inviting our members to sketch their ideas for the site.” 6 p.m. Monday.

Dapper Tandem Twinsies
“We’ll promenade around town looking classy, stop at a classy grocery for classy on-the-go drinks, and play some classy lawn games.” 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The bike lane gap at NE Lombard at 42nd, where Martin Greenaugh died in December.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

For the first time, BikePortland’s reporting has been chosen by the Society of Professional Journalists as some of the best from small newsrooms in the Northwest.

In the annual awards announced Saturday, Jonathan’s December report about the circumstances around the death of Martin Greenough (“Why would anyone ride on that scary stretch of Lombard?”) took first place for general news reporting in the five-state contest among news organizations with 10 staff members or fewer.

Ray Minter’s house in San Jose has a 50-year history of violence.
(Image: Google Street View)

Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

Crash-prone house: A single San Jose home near an offramp has seen 19 vehicles land on its property since 1960, most recently last Monday.

Accidental triathlete: A British mother of three, out for what she thought would be a “leisurely ride” two weeks after she started riding a used hybrid bike for exercise, unexpectedly found herself riding with a triathlon — whose participants talked her into joining them for the whole 13-mile route. “I kept thinking it can’t be that much further,” she said later. “I’m known for getting myself into odd situations.”

Job Title *
Bike to Leadership (B2L) Program Manager

Company/Organization *
Bike Clark County

Job Description *
Bike Clark County is a not for profit bicycle advocacy, safety and education organization located in Vancouver WA. We are seeking a dynamic, self starter with good social and communication skills to represent our organization and help launch our High School B2L Program. The Job is part time and begins immediately – the actual H.S. program will begin in the fall.

The B2L program is an after school mentoring and leadership program designed around bicycle maintenance and community service.

The Program is still under development. The Manager is responsible for working with our board of directors and other partners to finish program development. When the program launches in the fall, the Manager will be responsible for smooth workflow and ensuring students and subject matter experts are scheduled correctly and administrative requirements are met. Basic Bicycle knowledge is helpful but not required.

Program Managers must be reliable, pass a thorough background check, have solid administrative skills and work well with our students. Current pay rate is 15-18 per hour based on experience. Required hours are approximately 10-15 flexible hours per month currently, but will likely increase. This is a funded position for 3 years with big potential to evolve into full time work for the right person.

How to Apply *
Send resume with applicable skills to: info@bikeclarkcounty.org

Candidates will be contacted for preliminary phone interview then scheduled for an in person panel interview. Closing date is 30 June.

Tigard, Beaverton, Milwaukie paths get nod for likely state funding

A BikePortland Get Together in Tigard in 2010. The city’s trail system consistently ranks highly for state grants.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

As we reported Wednesday, Portland’s proposed Flanders Crossing Active Transportation Bridge across Interstate 405 made the cut for probable funding from a two-year, $45 million state program.

On Friday, the state released a full list of 75 project rankings from the final review committee for the lottery-backed Connect Oregon program.

Of those, 37 fit into the top-priority $45 million worth of projects.

There are as many ways to be a person who bikes as there are ways to be a person, and just as many ways to be a person of color.

That was part of the thinking shared by BikePortland reader Clement in a comment on yesterday’s post by Taz Loomans about how to get more racial and ethnic diversity into organized bike fun.

Here’s what Clement said:

Dropout Prom: good times roll.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

The weather will be a little hit-or-miss this weekend, but the bike-fun schedule is looking packed. You really need to check out the full schedule for yourself, but let’s review a few highlights.

Maybe it was the wine?
(Photos: K.Laudermilk)

This post is by columnist Kate Laudermilk.

In April, Cycle Oregon’s Chris Knott e-mailed me asking if I would like to cover the first ever women’s only Cycle Oregon ride. At the time, he informed me that they had exceeded their original goal of 250 sign-ups and were at 620.

After visiting the ride’s website, I could tell why so many women were enticed. Wine tasting? All local catered lunch and rest stop snacks? Massage therapy and acupuncture? Yoga? Live music? Widmer beer? AND bike riding!? SOLD!

Multnomah County’s drop in auto ownership since 2007 would fill 287 acres of parking

Columbus beats out Portland and others for federal Smart City Challenge

For $29, ‘Portland Bike Reflector’ offers a snap-on visibility aid

The story of today’s Portland in the path of the No. 75 bus

Five rides before Friday: This week in Pedalpalooza

BikePortland journalism scores two awards in five-state contest

The Monday Roundup: The 19-crash house, the accidental triathlete & more

Job: Bike to Leadership (B2L) Program Manager – Bike Clark County

Tigard, Beaverton, Milwaukie paths get nod for likely state funding

Comment of the week: Biking with color in a country with history

From lemonade to champagne to prom: Pedalpalooza picks for weekend 2

Winding roads, wine and an all-women ride: Gal by Bike says Yes, Please

Latest Headlines

A quest to ride all of Washington County’s historic communities

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Kotek calls for repeal of transportation bill

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From the Archives

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