BikePortland

BTA will change name, expand mission to walking, transit and political action

BTA Executive Director Rob Sadowsky says the changes will usher in a new era of progress.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Change is afoot once again at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. The Portland-based nonprofit organization announced today that they’ve embarked on a major transition that will result in a new name, a new mission, and a new entity that will allow them to be more engaged in political lobbying.

“This is about building a broad political tent that can move policymakers.”
— Rob Sadowsky, executive director

The organization plans to no longer focus solely on bicycling and will expand their mission to include advocacy for better transit and walking. In addition, the BTA board has voted in favor of creating a 501c4 alongside the 501c3, a move that would give the BTA more tools to influence elections and politics through endorsements, direct political lobbying, phone-banking for candidates, and so on. The 501c4 would also offer memberships to other organizations with aligned missions: like Oregon Walks, the Community Cycling Center, 1000 Friends of Oregon, OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, and others. After the reorganization is complete the BTA could lead a new political action committee (PAC) that could have wide-ranging impacts on elections and policy measures statewide.

In an interview with BTA leadership last week I learned that this change has been in the works for many years.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

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Wonk Night recap: Exciting times for open streets

(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

If Portland is on the cusp of a new open streets era (and I think it is), it will be up to us to make it great. And by “us” I mean all of us — from city staffers to grassroots activists and everyone in between.

Especially the grassroots.

That’s because the way Portland is doing this is different than other places (surprise, surprise). Our movement is being led by the community and the powers-that-be (the transportation bureau and City Hall) are merely facilitators.

That’s one of the big — and exciting — takeaways from our latest Wonk Night that happened on Wednesday at the Lancaster StreetLab.

With about 40 or so movers-and-shakers in the livable streets movement, we shared insights, traded ideas, and asked important questions about Portland’s open streets past, present, and future.

Is this section of NE Cully Blvd what a safe street
looks like? You won’t know unless you ask.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

There’s a lot of talk about equity in the transportation planning world these days.

Here’s an example of how the City of Portland is handling geographic equity in the roll-out of a major initiative:

Vision Zero is one of the largest efforts the Portland Bureau of Transportation is currently involved in. In fact, along with bike share, Vision Zero is probably the highest priority project for PBOT Director Leah Treat. She is throwing a lot (relatively) of her agency’s capacity and resources toward the planning and policies it will take to make Vision Zero a real thing and not just another buzzword.

Will the Vision Zero campaign be successful in Portland? Will we really eliminate serious injuries and deaths by 2025? That remains to be seen. There’s a long way to go. But so far PBOT is at least talking to the right people. And by that I mean people who don’t have easy access to the central city or City Hall itself. And people who bear an undue amount of those injuries and deaths.

On Monday the city is bringing Vision Zero to the Cully neighborhood in outer northeast Portland. They’re hosting a Safe Streets Fair at the Living Cully Plaza on the corner of NE Killingsworth and Cully. The event welcomes everyone in the community with free food, a Spanish interpreter (and other languages if needed), childcare and prizes.

Location of new speed bumps coming to Clinton Street.

In their ongoing effort to reclaim Southeast Clinton as a low-stress bikeway, the City of Portland will install new speed bumps this weekend.

Our bike parking coverage is sponsored by Huntco, a Portland-based maker and seller of bike racks and other industrial furnishings.

Portlanders who bike have granted the wish of a local business.

Base Camp Brewing now has a shiny new on-street bike corral in front of its brewpub on SE Oak and has become the latest example of bikenomics and bike-oriented development in Portland.

It’s going to be a hot weekend so we hope you’ve carved out some time to do some pedaling. Whether you like mountain biking, the track, or a classic road century, there’s something to get you excited.

And there just happens to be several really excellent events that are well worth your time. In case you haven’t noticed we’ve been working hard to keep our new event calendar up-to-date and full of all the best bike events in the region.

But we understand if you can’t keep up with everything so we’ve picked the best events for you to consider.

Friday June 3rd

Job Title *
Retail Sales

Company/Organization *
Bike Gallery

Job Description *
The Bike Gallery (Portland’s Bike Shop) is looking for Sales people to work in our retail locations in Portland area. We have 6 locations in the Portland Metro area. Downtown Portland, Woodstock, Clackamas, Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Hollywood district! There are full and part time positions available.

Looking for a person with the following characteristics:
– friendly
– outgoing
– integrity
– confident

Prior Bike shop experience nice but not required… Prior retail experience a plus too! We are willing to train the right person.

Pay is dependent upon experience. The Bike Gallery has a wide range of benefits for full time employees.

How to Apply *
Send Resume to: BGResumes@bikegallery.com

Is Biketown bike share for all? Or only the able-bodied?

Hand-cycle riders like Ian Jaquiss won’t be able to use Portland’s bike share system.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland is launching a bike share program with 1,000 bikes. But what about people with who need to ride a hand-cycle or a recumbent or a trike due to a physical disability? Will they be able to use this new system?

That’s a question raised by city council candidate Chloe Eudaly just six weeks before Portland’s Nike-sponsored Biketown system is set to launch.

Graves speaking in The Dalles in 2014.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Cycle Oregon announced today that Alison Graves is no longer the organization’s executive director but will remain involved as a member of the board.

Graves was hired by the Portland-based nonprofit in February 2014. Current Deputy Director Steve Schulz will take over leadership of Cycle Oregon.

For more details read the press release below:

Cycle Oregon Executive Director Passes Leadership Baton to Deputy Director
Organization will continue to focus on bicycle tourism and rural investments

Read more

Weekly Video Roundup: Santa Monica modes, horses, racing and more

Welcome to this week’s roundup! I went bike camping over the long weekend, rolling 165 miles in three days on a 40+ year old bike. I also managed to review 45 videos for the roundup. We start with this Streetfilms video from Santa Monica, which is a strange place. In some ways it is isolated from the rest of Los Angeles, but it’s also full of tourists and celebrities. The Third Street Promenade has two different crowds: during the day it is mostly office workers, and in the evening it’s people out for entertainment. A light rail line was just extended there, which quickly led to classism. Look at those buffered bike lanes! Also note their bikeshare uses the same system as Biketown.

Lloyd Cycle Station at Hassalo on Eighth-25.jpg

The Lloyd Cycle Station is open for business.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

A key piece of the decades-long vision for the Lloyd District came into focus this morning when the Lloyd Cycle Station – and its 600 secure bike parking spaces – opened to the public.

We shared the lowdown on the the Cycle Station earlier this month and today I attended the grand opening. To refresh your memory this facility is part of the Hassalo on Eighth development that has arisen on a former surface parking lot on the 700 block of NE Multnomah. There are three new buildings in this development and they all strongly encourage a low-car lifestyle among their tenants. Along with an adjacent MAX light rail line and one of Portland’s best protected bike lanes (on NE Multnomah), Hassalo residents now have their choice of 1,200 bike parking spaces. Compare that to just 328 auto parking spaces and you can see why car ownership is only optional here.

BTA will change name, expand mission to walking, transit and political action

Job: Mechanic/All-Rounder – Joe Bike – FILLED

Wonk Night recap: Exciting times for open streets

Transportation bureau asking Cully neighborhood what safe streets look like

The makeover continues: Speed bumps coming SE Clinton

After beer-for-biking giveaway, eastside brewer gets new bike parking corral

Weekend Event Picks: Stub Fest, Pioneer Century, Adaptive Bikes, PDW Omnium

Friday June 3rd

Job: Retail Sales – Bike Gallery

Alison Graves stepping down as leader of Cycle Oregon

Weekly Video Roundup: Santa Monica modes, horses, racing and more

First look inside the new 600-space Lloyd Cycle Station

Latest Headlines

Five rides to roll in the new year

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