BikePortland

Wonk Night recap: Finding a space for parking reform

Fuel for change.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Wonk Night is sponsored and hosted by Lancaster Engineering. Drinks for this month’s event were provided by Widmer Brothers Brewing, makers of Omission Beer.

On Tuesday night we brought together some of Portland’s most dedicated and whip-smart parking reformers for our monthly Wonk Night. It was a sincere pleasure to be in a lively room of about 50 people who all want Portland to do a better job using auto parking as a tool for good instead of evil.

A Safe Routes to School event in 2010. The Metro regional government is proposing to start supporting the program in suburban schools, but not to increase funding for accompanying street improvements near those schools.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

A two-year campaign for regional funding of better biking and walking near schools, backed by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and other advocacy groups, is in tatters.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

OregonLive.com coverage of a fatal collision this month.

“Accident”? “Crash”? “Collision”?

The Oregonian’s director of news says the newspaper’s unofficial practice has been, for years, to avoid “accident” in the absence of information because that word suggests that a traffic incident was unpreventable.

But the copy desk chief says the opposite: his preference is to go with “accident” in the absence of information because he feels “crash” and “collision” are favored by “activists” and the newspaper needs to remain neutral.

Reporters, meanwhile, don’t seem to be sure what to do. Last week, a business reporter was taking her turn on a weekend cops shift when an allegedly drunk driver killed a 17-year-old; her report described this as a “bike accident.” After a local lawyer emailed her to suggest different phrasing, she first described the word choice as “fine” based on the advice of one editor, then later apologized based on the advice of a different editor.

Jade Koide, Bike Gallery Service Manager Scott Scholl, and the custom Bob Jackson.
(Photo courtesy Jade Koide)

It’s been a while since we last shared a good stolen bike recovery story. So here goes…

Portlander Jade Koide emailed us last week with a pretty remarkable story that involved the theft of a bike that had a lot of sentimental value to her.

Crosswalk on Division between 142nd and 143rd.

There’s been yet another crash in Portland involving a vulnerable road user. It marks a very troubling start to 2016 that should force the city to do a gut-check about its commitment to Vision Zero.

Download PDF of the poster.

If you’re like many of the bike lovers I know (myself included), you’ve got piles of bike parts, frames — even old bikes — just sitting around unused. Others of you who might be just entering this wonderful world of cycling probably find yourself needing a new piece of equipment or a freshening up of your kit. And then of course there are the diehards out there who are always in the middle of a bike build project and you could use some hard-to-find bits to help finish it off.

Well boy have we got an event you for you!

The Portland Bike Swap is coming on Sunday, April 17th. Billed by organizers as “Oregon’s biggest bike parts garage sale,” the event promises lots of great deals on new and used bikes, parts, and accessories for all types and sizes of bike lovers. The event is also a fundraiser for Rosewood Bikes, a non-profit project of the Rosewood Initiative that serves the community around SE 161st and Stark. Attendees are encouraged to bring unwanted bikes and parts to donate to the shop. If you plan to bring a donation, please contact organizer Dan Sloan at info@portlandbikeswap.org to make arrangements.

Every dot is a urban mountain biking trails system[/caption]

There’s no shortage of urban mountain biking trail systems in the U.S. Portland is lagging behind.

This post was written by Joshua Rebannack and it’s based on the “Knobbies in the Neighborhood” presentation he recently gave in Portland.

The issue of urban mountain biking has been one that made its rounds through the halls of government at Portland multiple times in past decade. But regardless of the property, the conditions, or the proposal, the result has been the same: mountain bikers are promised trail mileage, that “this time will be different”, only to end up with nothing at the end of the process.

Bright fresh striping on SW 3rd this morning.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

There’s good news and bad news about the unauthorized cones on SW 3rd Avenue that have made that street’s bike lane much safer and comfortable to ride in. The bad news is most of them are gone as of this morning: Only four of the original 14 are still standing. The good news is that the bike lane stripes have magically become much more visible even without the cones.

Compare the photo above from this morning with the one below I snapped on Monday:

Archives of Paul Souders’ photo project.

Paul Souders has climbed to the top of Council Crest peak in the hills southwest of downtown Portland over 500 times in the past four years. That alone is a feat worth reporting. After all, at 1,073 feet above sea level Souders’ legs have earned him over a half-million feet of elevation gain and the bragging rights that go with it.

But what makes his relationship with one of Portland’s most popular climbs even more notable is that he’s taken a photo at the top each time. And not just any photo. He done a sort of amateur meteorological experiment by pointing his camera east toward Mt. Hood and then posting the photo to a website that answers a burning question: Can you see Mt. Hood from Council Crest?

Bike parking at Oregon Buddhist Temple-1.jpg

Charles Reneau and the bike parking area he made happen.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Making a place more welcoming to bicycle riders often starts with parking. It’s a basic need for all vehicle users. In the central city you can usually find a staple rack or something else to lock up to; but head out into Portland’s neighborhoods, beyond the main commercial districts, and it’s another story.

Take the Oregon Buddhist Temple for example. Since their attractive building on Southeast 34th just south of Powell Boulevard opened in 1966, members have had no place to park a bicycle. That fact bothered temple member Charles Reneau, so when he got a seat on the board he decided to do something about.

View of Burnside eastbound at 162nd. Shbeb was crossing from the light rail station on left when he was hit.

East Portland is once again reeling after the death of a young person who was using the street while not in an automobile. It’s already being called an accident, but there’s reason to think more deeply than that label usually allows.

Memorial for 10-year-old boy who was struck and killed by someone driving on East Burnside at 162nd in Gresham yesterday.
(Photo: Cory Poole)

This essay was written by Portland resident Tony Jordan. He wrote it before yesterday’s tragic crash on East Burnside that resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy.

Traffic violence is a big problem. More than 30,000 people die every year on American roadways with many many more injured or maimed. The cost of this carnage is tremendous, nearly a trillion dollars a year in social economic harms.

So what do we do about it?

Wonk Night recap: Finding a space for parking reform

Metro proposal rejects Safe Routes to School, spends more on freight routes

A look inside one newspaper’s thinking on crashes, accidents and collisions

“I had given up hope”: Portland woman gets stolen bike back five years later

Portland’s “pedestrian problem” is not going away

Get ready for the Portland Bike Swap on April 17th

Guest article: How urban mountain biking fits in Portland

City restripes 3rd Avenue bike lanes one day after activists’ cones appear

Can you see Mt. Hood from Council Crest? One man’s daily quest caught on camera

How Portland’s oldest Buddhist temple got better bike parking

Gresham police say 10-year-old boy’s death on Burnside is “horrible accident”

Guest article: Want safer streets? Ask for them

Latest Headlines

‘Better Sheridan’ project brings safer street to South Waterfront

Your guide to finding the ‘Wildwood’ crows by bike

My journey to that ‘Hard Rock glow’

Off-Road Cycling Master Plan: A decade later, what has changed?

From the Archives

The 10 busiest bicycling spots in Portland