BikePortland

Road rage assault leaves man feeling helpless, frustrated and scared

Image of the altercation taken by a witness.
Watch video below.

Menacing behavior from motor vehicle users is something that happens all too often. It can take many forms and has varying levels of severity — from annoying and almost comical (like yelling, revving an engine or “rolling coal“) to serious and life-threatening behaviors like aggressive passing and throwing objects at another person.

Reader Jason K. just shared his experience. And we’re sorry to report it was the latter. Jason says he was passed so closely by a man driving a car that the rear-view mirror might have made contact. After that unsettling experience, Jason caught up to the man at a train crossing, tapped on his window, and tried to talk with him. It went downhill from there. Fast.

It all happened this past Saturday afternoon at the intersection of SE 11th and Division.

Jason shared a video with us that was taken by someone in a car who saw the situation unfold.

Here’s the video, followed by excerpts from an email Jason shared with us (emphases mine):

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

I ride home, most nights, on SE Salmon/Taylor from 7th-47th.

Several times a week I encounter a person riding a scooter up the greenway. It’s a loud scooter and it leaves a several block long trail of fumes behind it.

It’s gross, it gives me a headache, it makes me feel sick.

I know I’m not the only one who encounters this person, has anyone ever managed to flag them down and ask them not to ride on the greenway? Could we make an effort to do so? Perhaps they aren’t aware how bad of fumes they are leaving behind.

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Neighborhood meeting tonight will address homeless camp on Springwater path near 82nd

Springwater path near Cartlandia 82nd and Harney-1.jpg

Springwater path west of 82nd.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

We apologize for the short notice; but we’ve just heard that the Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association is hosting a meeting tonight (7:00 pm at Brentwood Darlington Community Center, 7211 SE 62nd Ave) to talk about issues related to the large number of people living in tents adjacent to the Springwater Corridor path near SE 82nd Ave.

As we reported last month, the situation reached a boiling point when business owners, residents, and users of the path shared a variety of concerns about the impact of the people living on the path. One of the activists mentioned in our story on January 14th, Terry Dublinksi-Milton, connected with Vahid Brown, a well-known homeless advocate who has helped establish the Hazelnut Grove camp in north Portland.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has identified a section of West Burnside they’d like to tame; and the result could make it easier to cross the high-speed road that dangerously bisects our city.

The City’s West Burnside Multimodal Study aims to “evaluate opportunities to improve safety and accessibility along and across West Burnside Street between 15th Avenue and 20th Avenue.” We first heard about this project from a reader who saw a presentation about it from a PBOT staffer that was given at a meeting of the Northwest District Association’s transportation committee last night.

Here are more details about the project via PBOT’s website:

West Burnside Street is a major east‐west travel route through downtown Portland and connecting to the West Hills and areas to the west of the City. On an average day, between 21,000 and 25,000 vehicles use the undivided four‐lane facility to travel east or west in the blocks between Interstate 405 (I‐405) and the West Hills.

Read more

15th annual ‘Worst Day’ ride has new routes, stops, and a $5,000 costume contest

Time to bust out of winter with a huge and fun bike ride!
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Organizers of Worst Day of the Year Ride, one of the largest in Oregon, are pulling out all the stops for its 15th birthday. The ride is expected to have about 3,000 participants when it rolls out of southeast Portland on February 14th.

I went through the Steel Bridge area today- it’s been four days since last time I was through there during daylight, and supposedly there was a lot of rousting today, they were “told to leave“.

First, approaching the container. The dumpster has been moved so it is near the container, and all the trash is gone. There are tents on the former dumpster location. (compare to last time)

Job Title *
Service Manager – E-Bikes

Company/Organization *
Cynergy E-Bikes

Job Description *
We are looking for an experienced bike mechanic to lead our service area. The ideal candidate will be a team member who is excited to deliver quality service, improved procedures, customer kindness and creativity that will contribute to greater excitement and sales of electric bikes. We strive to provide fun for our customers and a workplace where you can feel great about what you do.

Responsibilities:
• Perform all types of repairs on both electric and non-electric bikes.
• Assemble e-bikes and perform adjustments.
• Manage the bike builds of other team members.
• Install components and accessories – fenders, racks, integrated lighting, saddles and tires, etc.
• Install conversion kits on traditional bikes.
• Keep the department well-organized.
• Be part of the team for evaluating new bike models, new accessories, for building store traffic and generating sales.
• Some delivery of e-bikes to customers.
• Assist on the sales floor.

Desired Qualifications:
• 4+ years of bike mechanic experience.
• Experience servicing e-bikes a plus.
• Good knowledge of principles of electricity and electronics a plus.
• A team orientation towards improving the overall performance of the business.
• A strong desire to deliver a great customer experience.
• Enthusiasm for learning rapid technical change and innovation.
• An interest in getting more people out of their cars and into cleaner, healthier transportation.
• Valid driver’s license with good driving record.
• A genuine fondness for pizza.

Location: Southeast Portland, OR

We offer a very competitive wage and bonuses based on the overall performance of the team.

How to Apply *
Tell us a little about you. Forward resume or an explanation of your qualifications (or a little of both) to info@cynergyebikes.com.

Cycle Oregon announces new women’s ride and a coastal route for 2016

A scene of what day four will look like when riders go from Gold Beach to Brookings.
(Photo: Cycle Oregon)

BikePortland is an official Cycle Oregon media partner.

At their annual route announcement party and gala at the Portland Art Museum tonight (and streaming live on the web) Cycle Oregon unveiled the route of their 29th annual ride that will take place from September 10th to 17th. Hundreds of people waited in the rain (some for several hours) for a chance to get first crack at guaranteed early registration for the event.

Cycle Oregon usually sells out quickly, so organizers gave the first 500 people at tonight’s event a spot on the list. Registration for everyone else begins tomorrow (2/4) at 12:00 pm.

A contractor’s trailer blocked sidewalk and bike lane, so the city temporarily removed some parking to keep the routes open.
(Photos: Michael Andersen/BikePortland)

Three months ago, there were so many construction zones encroaching on walking and biking routes that a few Portlanders organized a walking tour of downtown’s worst offenders. So today we’re happy to take a moment to recognize a detour that the city has handled beautifully.

The bike lane and the freeway on-ramp on North Greeley where a man was hit on January 27th.
(Photo: Google Streetview)

A recent collision on North Greeley where it crosses over an on-ramp for the Interstate 5 freeway has thrust concerns about that dangerous intersection back into the spotlight. It’s also a reminder that even when collisions don’t lead to serious injuries or even death they still take a significant toll on victims and the road designs that lead to them still deserve our attention.

Last week I flew to Philadelphia to present Fat Pencil Studio’s work in court. The story in this case was all-too-familiar: a city bus takes a left turn and collides with a person walking in the crosswalk. The driver never saw him, but a security camera did.

We worked on a similar case two years ago, and were able to apply the same methods this time around. Using still frames captured from two different security cameras that saw the crash, we accurately placed the bus and pedestrian in a digital 3d model, and then put a virtual camera in the bus cockpit to understand what the driver could have seen in the moments leading up to the collision.

Not going anywhere.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Local media coverage of the Portland Police Bureau’s 2016-2017 budget proposal has sent shockwaves through the community. But there’s no reason for alarm. Here’s what’s going on…

Back in November, Mayor Charlie Hales asked all bureau directors to cut 5 percent from their budgets. Despite the City enjoying “relative fiscal stability,” the Mayor said the cuts are necessary to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. This is how it goes every budget cycle: The Mayor issues “budget guidance,” then the directors send him proposals with that guidance in mind.

The police bureau’s budget has raised eyebrows because, in his budget that was made public yesterday (PDF here), Chief Larry O’Dea proposed the elimination of three speciality units that have a major impact on all our lives. One of those units, the Traffic Division, writes over 90 percent of all traffic citations and is responsible for keeping our streets safe and sane. The elimination of the Traffic Division would cut 44 positions and would save the City $4.3 million in the fiscal year.

Road rage assault leaves man feeling helpless, frustrated and scared

Noxious Scooter on SE Salmon

Neighborhood meeting tonight will address homeless camp on Springwater path near 82nd

PBOT wants to make W Burnside at 18th/19th safer for biking and walking

15th annual ‘Worst Day’ ride has new routes, stops, and a $5,000 costume contest

Steel Bridge homeless camp update, Feb 3

Job: Bike Mechanic – E-Bikes – Cynergy E-Bikes

Cycle Oregon announces new women’s ride and a coastal route for 2016

Detour done right: 21st and Belmont shows how construction zones should work

Victim of collision at notorious Greeley/I-5 intersection comes forward

A closer look at blind spots on buses

Budget exercise causes alarm as Police Bureau proposes elimination of Traffic Division

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