After protest, Metro Council set for public hearing on Tualatin Mountains plan

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Protestors in front of Metro headquarters last Friday.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

In over 10 years covering bike issues in Portland I had never been to a protest outside Metro headquarters. That changed last week when about two dozen people marched and held up signs in opposition to Metro’s plans to build new trails on two parcels in the hills north of Forest Park.

Now the debate will head into Metro Council Chambers where a public hearing will be held tomorrow (4/14) on the North Tualatin Mountains Access Master Plan.

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Troubled past, hopeful future for neighborhood greenways in northwest Portland

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NW Raleigh was set-aside as a bike street by the City of Portland in 1999. Today it’s a neighborhood greenway in name only that has exceedingly high auto volumes and none of the safety features common in other parts of the city.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Part of NW Portland Week.

When you browse over to the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s neighborhood greenways website and follow the links to the list of current projects you’ll see that northwest is the only one of the five quadrants that has this sad note next to it: “PBOT currently does not have any new neighborhood greenway projects in Northwest.”

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St. Honore: Baking French bike culture into the crust of northwest

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Seanna Sample and Tommy Wilson of St. Honore
Boulangerie.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Part of NW Portland Week.

Every July for 10 years now, northwest Portlanders who love the Tour de France have gathered at 6 in the morning for a slice of international cycling, available for free … at a local bakery.

Why a bakery? Because the annual bike race makes its 40-something owner, Dominique Geulin, feel at home.

“He grew up with the Tour going through his town,” said Seanna Sample, Geulin’s niece and a supervisor at St. Honore Boulangerie at NW 23rd and Thurman. “When it’s on TV he sees his family and friends standing by the road.”

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Job: Tour Guide – Everybody’s Bike Rentals & Tours

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Job Title *
Tour Guide

Company/Organization *
Everybody’s Bike Rentals & Tours

Job Description *
Are you an outgoing cyclist looking for a fun side-job 1-3 days a week?
Everybody’s Bike Rentals & Tours is looking for some great tour guides to join our team! Spring has arrived and we’re gearing up for another busy season.

We’re looking for a few people who:
– Love bicycles and can do basic repairs
– Are very familiar with NE & N Portland
– Are charming, friendly, and confident
– Have a flexible schedule, weekdays especially.

As a tour guide, you would lead groups of 2 – 10 people on a tour of NE Portland, stopping at breweries, coffee shops, parks, etc, following routes we’ve developed, all at a fairly casual pace. There are currently 2 tours that we lead and you can read a bit about them at http://www.pdxbikerentals.com/portland-bike-tours/
Schedule will vary based on your availability and how many tours get booked. Tours are often booked just a day or two in advance, so having a flexible schedule is a must.
A little about us:

Everybody’s Bike Rentals & Tours is located in NE Portland and maintain a fleet of over 80 refurbished commuter and road bikes from the 1980’s and 90’s. Our bikes are fun, functional and all a little different. The tours we lead take visitors off the beaten path to some of our favorite spots on the east side of the river – great local businesses, gorgeous parks and “only-in-Portland” oddities.

How to Apply *
Sound like a good fit? Send a message and CV to pdxbikerentals@gmail.com to introduce yourself and we’ll go from there.
Thanks and Happy Spring!

Job: Associate Attorney – Forum Law Group LLC

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Job Title *
Associate Attorney

Company/Organization *
Forum Law Group LLC

Job Description *
Seeking highly-credentialed, goal-oriented attorney with 0 to 3 years experience to join established plaintiff’s personal injury law practice including pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle injury cases, as well as child abuse, products liability and general personal injury matters. Performance-based compensation.

How to Apply *
Send resume and letter describing your interest to Lisa Butler at lisa@forumlawgroup.com

Where are we adding residential capacity in Portland? The Northwest District

Q21 at NW 21st and Quimby, replacing a warehouse with 163 apartments

This guest post by contributor Ted Timmons is part of NW Portland Week.

Since it’s “Northwest Portland week” here on BikePortland I thought I’d give a quick tour of my neighborhood, which is what I think of as “NW Portland”: north of Lovejoy, west of 405. There are several names for it- Nob Hill, 23rd, Slabtown- but “NW” seems to be the easiest. Sometimes I say “west of Pearl” or “west of Downtown”, but that’s awkward because people think of Beaverton.

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NW 23rd is really annoying to drive on and there is only one solution

23rd

No more space on 23rd at Overton as of a few minutes ago.
(Photo: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Part of NW Portland Week.

Sometimes a street just fills up. Northwest Portland’s most famous street has.

If you want to force someone to think for the first time about the solution to traffic congestion in cities, take them to Northwest 23rd Avenue and ask what they would do. Knock down the buildings that all these people are happily popping in and out of all day, every day? Add a turn lane to every intersection by tearing up the curb extensions where people are gathering to laugh, to smoke, to flirt?

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Book review: ‘Streetfight’ by Janette Sadik-Khan

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Our reviewer hard at work.

This is a guest post by Kiel Johnson.

A specter is haunting our cities — the specter of street life!

Our streets make up the vast majority of our public space in cities. How these spaces are designed have profound impacts on how we think about communities and the policies we create. Janette Sadik-Khan’s “Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution” is a necessary chronicle and persuasive argument for giving street space back to people. She writes “streets are the social, political, and commercial arteries of cities … These are the spaces where life and history happen.”

Last week, I presented to a group of business leaders in the Lloyd District, most of whom commute by car from the suburbs. I was talking about the Better Broadway project that will open one auto lane of Broadway up for businesses and people for one week next month.

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New to biking? Been a while? These tips will comfort you

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A comfortable fit will keep you smiling.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

This post was written by Kevin Schmidt (MSPT, CMP, Bike PT), licensed Physical Therapist, bike fit specialist, and owner of Pedal PT on SE Clinton.

With the sunny spring weather thousands of new riders are taking to Portland streets. Although pedaling a bike can be a wonderful, empowering, and rewarding experience, more than 80 percent of riders* experience some form of cycling-related pain, numbness, and/or injury- even with short-distance commutes. The good news is a lot of these symptoms are preventable by looking at basic bike fit and pedaling techniques.

Here are some quick tips to help keep you riding more, and hurting less when getting back in the saddle for the first time of the year.

Pedal contact

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The Vanilla Workshop unveils ‘Ready-Made’ OG1 Speedvagen

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The OG1 from The Vanilla Workshop in southeast Portland is the biggest move company founder Sacha White has made yet.
(Photos: The Vanilla Workshop)

Now you can a bike designed, developed, and made in Portland from the legendary Vanilla Workshop in two weeks or less. It’s called the “OG1” and it’ll come fully-built for just over $5,000.

That’s huge news. Here’s why:

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Latest Headlines

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Local gas tax will fund two new crossings on SE Division

Guest article: ‘High crash’ intersections and what Portland is doing about them

From the Archives

Portland’s invisible machine: Behind the scenes at the World Naked Bike Ride