🚨 Please note that BikePortland slows down during this time of year as I have family in town and just need a break! Please don't expect typical volume of news stories and content. I'll be back in regular form after the new year. Thanks. - Jonathan 🙏
Mapps at a press conference in April 2023. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
On Monday July 1st, Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps will no longer be in charge of the transportation bureau. Mayor Ted Wheeler will retake the bureaus and pass them onto administrators ahead of an historic reform to our city government, making Mapps the last ever commissioner-in-charge of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT).
It was perhaps a fitting end to the dysfunctional and outdated commissioner-in-charge system that Mapps, who hopes to be Portland’s next mayor, spent part of his final week in that position answering questions about a bike lane controversy he was solely responsible for. Mapps was asked about his role in the Southwest Broadway bike lane scandal in a podcast interview published by City Cast Portland yesterday.
Interviewer Claudia Meza pressed Mapps on a number of topics throughout the interview. When the conversation turned to the importance of clear communication from the city’s top politician, Meza told Mapps his stance on important issues was often misunderstood not just by Portlanders, but by his own bureau leadership.
When Meza used the Broadway bike lane “scandal” (her word) as an example — a story we covered closely back in September after Mapps told PBOT to rip out a protected bike lane because several downtown hotel owners didn’t like it, only to have his plans thwarted by swift pushback from the community — he didn’t take responsibility.
Instead, Mapps blamed my reporting.
“It doesn’t matter what’s right, what’s wrong, it’s the confusion,” Meza said. “People aren’t clear about where you stand, where you want things to go, including your bureau.”
To which Mapps replied:
“Well, Claudia, I think what you might be pointing to is the quality of reporting that happens in this space… Frankly, I did not recognize the reporting on this. It did not jive up with my experience… You know… I have no influence over what blogs publish.”
When Mapps first took over the PBOT commissioner job, he told me in an interview that he was, “the guy where the buck stops on transportation.” But when things got messy on Broadway, he ran away from chances to take responsibility and clarify his role. It was the PBOT director — not Mingus “Where the Buck Stops” Mapps — that apologized for what happened. And Mapps continued to share an inaccurate version of events when asked about it in public.
I’ve given Mapps every opportunity to set the record straight, including an interview just one day after I broke the story and several emailed requests for comment that remain unanswered. We still don’t have a the full picture of who did what and why.
While many Portlanders remain confused about where Mapps stands, he shows no self-reflection or humility about what happened. The only thing he’s clear about is who to blame. That’s not the type of leader Portland needs.
When I made that video earlier this month I grabbed footage of my entire ride to the new path, but only shared the the last segment. In this video you’ll see what it’s like to go from Peninsula Park near I-5 in north Portland to the start of the path.
Along the way, you’ll learn about the extremely bumpy and potholed NE Holman neighborhood greenway, the blissful pocket park at Holman and NE 13th, experience the gap on the NE 42 Ave overpass to Columbia Blvd, see how the new(ish) protected bike lane on NE 47th is holding up, ride the white-knuckle gauntlet of NE Cornfoot Rd, and then find out how to connect to off-street sidewalks of NE 82nd Way and get to NE Air Cargo Rd where my other video picks up.
I also shared a bit of news in this video. That (last time I checked) PBOT has funding to build a new path along NE Cornfoot in 2026 and that the Port of Portland will start a project next summer to redesign the NE 82nd Way/Air Cargo Rd intersection to improve bike network connections to the new path.
Remember, getting to the airport by bike isn’t just some cool thing for privileged travelers, there are thousands of people who work at or near the airport who need/want an alternative to driving.
Do you ever ride parts of this route? What has your experience been? Do you think a significant amount of Portlanders would bike to the airport if we had a safe, “8-80” quality route the entire way?
A happy e-bike rider at Sunday Parkways in the Cully Neighborhood on June 17th. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
By next summer, low and medium-income Portlanders will be able to walk into a bike shop and receive a significant rebate when they purchase an electric bike. That timeline was just one thing we learned yesterday as staff from the Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability presented new details to City Council about their forthcoming e-bike rebate program.
In addition to funding an estimated 6,000 new e-bikes (and adaptive e-bikes!) over the next five years, the program will train mechanics, and launch a program for e-bike parking and storage at multi-family apartment buildings.
Portland’s e-bike rebate program is part of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund Climate Investment Plan. That plan, adopted by council in September 2023, pumps $750 million into projects and programs that help Portlanders with low-incomes and Black, Indigenous people of color fight climate change.
The plan includes $20 million for an e-bike rebate program. How exactly the program will be implemented came into clearer focus at the council meeting yesterday. The ordinance will authorize BPS to hire people and/or organizations to run the program. It was a first reading, so councilors and Mayor Ted Wheeler won’t discuss or vote on it until next week.
PCEF Transportation Decarbonization Lead Seetha Ream-Rao framed the program to council as a way to reduce fossil fueled car trips that is, “Absolutely essential to meeting Portland’s net zero goals.”
Ream-Rao cited recent Oregon Household Activities Survey data that the average daily trip in the Portland metro area was six miles and 80% of those are completed with a car. “That [distance] is well within the range of any e-bike on the market today and one of the biggest opportunities for carbon reductions,” she said.
ScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotSlides shown at city council meeting Wednesday.
For lower-income Portlanders, an electric car is way too expensive. E-bikes however, would be within reach with a little help in the form of a purchase incentive. Not only would these bikes open up mobility opportunities for more Portlanders, they’d save their owners lots of cash by being able to replace car trips — or in some cases allow families to not own a car or buy a second one.
When the rebate program is in place next summer, people will be able to visit a website, get a voucher, and then receive a point-of-sale rebate at a verified bike retailer. BPS also plans to establish a program to train 50 new e-bike mechanics. The third aspect of the program would create a pilot project aimed at residents of existing mulitfamily buildings to make sure they have secure storage and charging available for e-bikes on the ground floor.
How much will the rebate be? That detail is still unknown. Ream-Rao said they’re discussing the proper amount with retailers and other experts. Portland has modeled parts of its program on the City of Denver, where lower-income participants can receive up to $900 off an e-cargo bike.
Portland’s program will have two brackets, low and medium income (higher wage workers won’t be eligible). While the income brackets haven’t been shared, we learned yesterday the low-income rebate will have three tiers, depending on which type of bike someone wants: standard e-bikes will receive the (unknown) base rebate amount; cargo e-bike buyers will receive the base amount plus $750; and those who have a disability and need an adaptive e-bike will receive an amount based on a percentage of the final cost of the bike (up to a specific amount).
Ream-Rao said they want to remain flexible on the adaptive bike piece of the program, “Rather than trying to make a one-size-fit-all.”
For medium-income folks, there will be a single base incentive that will be less than the low-income incentive.
Whatever the base rebate amount is, Hayes Kenny, who manages River City E-Bikes, said during invited testimony that it should allow participants to buy a bike in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. Kenny said that’s the cutoff for bikes that will be easy to service and will last customers a long time.
Another thing we learned yesterday is that every voucher will come with a $200 “safety incentive” to purchase essentials. “We don’t want to see folks not be able to afford the helmet that they need to be riding these bikes, or a good lock, or the lights,” Ream-Rao said.
Making sure people ride the bikes will be key. In the city of Denver, where an e-bike rebate program was launched in 2022, a survey found that voucher recipients replaced 3.5 car trips and drove an average of 23 few miles in their cars per week.
You can multiply that behavior change by 8,644 because that’s how many Denverites have taken advantage of the program in just two years, said Elizabeth Babcock, who runs the city’s climate office and was invited to speak at council yesterday. Babcock said the program has been, “wildly successful.”
Sarah Iannarone, executive director of the nonprofit The Street Trust, said in her testimony that all these new e-bike riders will need more and better infrastructure. Iannarone said the Portland Bureau of Transportation needs to step up to handle the coming demand. “I think [this program] is going to be incredibly popular here. I also want to talk about the fact that I don’t see PBOT as actively involved as they should be in this,” she said.
The Street Trust has experience getting people on e-bikes through their Ride2Own program. Based on rider data from that program, Iannarone estimates BPS’s e-bike rebates will lead to over 180,000 miles traveled by bike, over 100,000 new bike trips and over 17,000 fewer car trips. “And the infrastructure is not increasing exponentially with it,” Iannarone said, “So we need to tap into the existing infrastructure and capacity at PBOT to make sure these programs roll out in tandem. I cannot stress that enough.”
Having too much demand on bikeways sounds like a good problem to have. But with different types of bikes and a new, battery-powered future, PBOT would be wise to do as much as possible to get ready before the latest phase of the e-bike revolution hits the streets next summer.
A team of Portland State University urban planning graduate students has completed a report on the future of Sandy Boulevard. Their plan seeks to rescue the diagonal arterial from its notorious reputation and turn it into a destination.
Their recommendation: swap two existing on-street parking lanes for bike lanes and get rid of two general travel lanes to make room for two bike-only travel lanes that are physically protected from other road users.
Despite its 60-foot wide profile, Sandy Blvd currently has no dedicated space for bicycling. It has long been eyed for a bikeway due to its diagonal alignment that could provide convenient, efficient access to many destinations and other facilities in the bike network in a fraction of the time it takes riders to navigate around it.
The team behind the report.
With a full repaving project scheduled by the Portland Bureau of Transportation in 2026, nonprofit bike advocacy organization BikeLoud PDX worked with Strategic Minds Consulting Group, made up of five PSU Masters of Urban Planning (MURP) graduates who took on the project as part of their MURP workshop. The group has worked since January to research the stretch of the road between 14th and 28th. They held open houses, hosted interviews and surveys. They also came to events like Bike Happy Hour to present the project and collect feedback.
Strategic Minds released their existing conditions report back in May. Their final report calls for two 10-foot wide bike lanes — wide enough for a seven-foot lane and a three-foot buffer zone. Here’s more from the report:
“This alternative allows existing parking lanes to be maintained on both sides of the street, providing a further barrier of protection between the bike lane and moving vehicle traffic. Cyclists would be unprotected by parking at intersections, driveways, and areas where the roadway narrows to the extent that parking cannot be accommodated, mostly due to left turn lanes, bus stops, and pedestrian crossing curb extensions. In these areas, the bike lane would be separated from vehicle traffic with a 3’ physical barrier. Currently, pedestrians crossing Sandy must cross four lanes of moving vehicle traffic. This alternative would shorten the crossing distance to two lanes of moving traffic, increasing safety and comfort for pedestrians.”
Aerial view of recommended lane configuration.Detail view of recommended lane configurationGraphics from Future Sandy Final Report.
The project team shared several justifications for their recommendation. Fewer lanes for car users will effectively narrow the driving space and lead to slower speeds overall, thus making it safer for everyone. Removal of two driving lanes will also make crossing Sandy much easier and safer. Their recommendation also aligns with Portland’s adopted Vision Zero goal, which specifically calls for a “safe systems” approach that includes road diets.
Strategic Minds also found broad public support for this change. “Engaged community members also put a strong emphasis on wanting Sandy Boulevard to be a pleasant place to spend time,” the report reads. “Rather than just a freeway bypass.” And from a business and economic development perspective, when Sandy Blvd is a quieter, safer place with capacity for more people (not just more cars), folks will be more likely to spend time on the street. And in economic terms, that means businesses could see more customers and larger receipts.
In their detailed recommendation, the project team also shared how they’d approach a bus priority lane and shared ideas for how to transform several intersections along Sandy Blvd with traffic calming methods to make it safer and more human-scale.
While the project team reported latent bicycling demand and general popularity for changes like this, they also found some residents and business owners who are concerned about how it would impact parking. “The perceived shortage of parking, as well as the potential removal of existing spaces were frequently mentioned,” reads the report. “Community members expressed concerns that new apartment complexes without parking facilities would worsen the neighborhood’s parking situation.”
Duckworth Dock was the end spot for the 2022 Yacht Rock Ride. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
I hope everyone is having fun on all the great rides going on. Remember that it’s Bike Summer / Pedalpalooza season so you’ll want to check the official calendar and/or grab the Bike Fun App (iPhones only) for all the ride options!
Check out my picks for the best things to do for bike lovers this weekend…
Friday, June 28th
Sprockettes Hangout – 6:00 pm at Irving Park (NE) Members of Portland’s now defunct mini-bike dance team, the Sprockettes, are in town for a 20th anniversary reunion and they want to hangout with old fans. More info here.
Loud N Lit – 8:30 pm at Irving Park (NE) The biggest and baddest party ride of Bike Summer / Pedalpalooza is here. Light your bike, your body, and your mind and get out there to soak in the full Portland bike scene experience. More info here.
Saturday, June 29th
Reborn Bikes Cruiser Sale – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Summerlin Center Parking Lot (West Linn) All bikes just $100 at this must-visit sale of refurbished bikes. Huge selection. First come, first served! More info here.
Cathedral Park River Fest & Yacht Rock Ride – 2:15 pm at Peninsula Park (N) Our friends at Human Access Project have restored a sandy beach and upgraded the dock at Cathedral Park under the St. Johns Bridge and they’re throwing a big party to celebrate. And if you like yacht rock, come join us at Peninsula Park for a ride to the big bash. There will be food vendors, swimming, and immaculate hangout vibes. More info here.
Neighborhood Celebration for Safe Streets – 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Lents Park (SE) PBOT and Oregon House Rep. Khanh Pham want to share all the cool bike and walk network updates they’ve made recently in the district. Show up for a family-friendly park party with drinks, games and quality time with Rep. Pham and PBOT leaders! More info here.
E-Bike Open House – 5:00 to 7:00 pm at River City E-Bikes (SE) Snacks, swag, and 10% off purchase of an e-bike. What else is there to say? OK, how about taking a peek at the amazing selection and spacious showroom of this cool shop. More info here.
Sunday, June 30th
The Alley Ride – 1:30 pm at Peninsula Park (N) You will not regret spending time on this 10-mile ride that will explore the multitudes of wonder available to us all in Portland’s unheralded alleyways. Art, mystery, adventure, alleys! More info here.
Biking With Toddlers Clinic – 3:00 pm at Rose City Park Elementary School (NE) Join other folks with little ones to share tips and tricks for how to make cycling safe and fun. Once you figure out your gear and get advice from others, you’ll be confident to ride with the kids! There’s a playground nearby if anyone get antsy. More info here.
Inflatable Costume Ride – 6:30 pm at Holladay Park (NE) You know you are curious about this. There’s still time to scrounge up an inflatable costume (T-Rex is my personal fave, sumo wrestler is fun too) and challenge yourself to pedal a bicycle while wearing it. More info here.
— Did I miss your event? Please let me know by filling out our contact form, or just email me at maus.jonathan@gmail.com.
One of the models they’re considering. It’s just 48-inches wide. (Photo: Madvac)
Dirty bike lanes have been a persistent problem for the Portland Bureau of Transportation for years. The influx of protected bike lanes too narrow for PBOT vehicles to fit into has made the problem worse. Portlanders of all stripes have complained about the issue; but rocks, gravel and other road detritus continues to plague our bikeways.
At a June 20th meeting of the PBOT Budget Advisory Committee, PBOT Director Millicent Williams addressed the issue. “We’ve heard the voices,” she said. “We just ordered a bike lane sweeper.”
I reached out to PBOT to learn more and turns out the sweeper hasn’t been ordered quite yet, but it’s coming soon. The bureau is on the verge of buying a new electric sweeper designed for spaces as narrow as 48-inches wide.
Tenax.MadvacMadvac and sidewalk for scale.
According to PBOT communications staffers, they’re looking at two models, a Tenax Electra 2.0 Evos and a Madvac LS125E. Both are electric sweepers built for tight spaces. PBOT says they’re getting demos of each model and have set up rental periods for prolonged test rides before pulling the trigger on the purchase. They want to be sure because the Tenax would set them back $345,000 and the Madvac goes for $283,000.
The new sweeper would be used in addition to their other mini-sweeper used for curb-protected bike lanes. That one, a Mathieu MC 210 I profiled back in 2021, works OK, but PBOT says it requires “quite a bit of maintenance.”
In a speech at Bike Happy Hour last week, mayoral candidate Keith Wilson said PBOT had cut all of its street sweeping, and “especially to bike lanes.” I asked PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer about that. She said it’s not true. “We are still continuing with bike lane sweeping and it is incorrect to say that we have stopped.”
Despite the maintenance delays with the Mathieu sweeper, Schafer told BikePortland they’ve swept 343 miles of protected bike lanes in the last 12 months, which exceed their goal of 300 miles. One reason Schafer said PBOT has focused on sweeping bike lanes is because striping crews can’t paint fresh lines on dirty roads. So far this season, PBOT has striped 1,664 miles of roads, with 91% of all high crash corridor streets already receiving at least one pass (they try to do at least two passes of striping on all arterials as Portland winters wear down stripes significantly each year).
Regardless of the reason for doing it, cleaner bike lanes are an essential part of keeping people in the saddle. And folks that ride bikes have a right to well-maintained facilities.
PBOT should make a purchase decision on the new sweeper by this coming October. Stay tuned for a BikePortland video where I ride-along on one of the test runs.
Screenshot from State of Oregon livestream video of Joint Committee on Transportation hearing held on June 18th in Tillamook.
There’s a lot of ink spilled over Oregon’s “urban-rural divide,” but a love of bicycling and its benefits is something that ties our state together.
Case in point: Nearly one-third of the people who testified at a public hearing hosted by state lawmakers Tuesday said they want more funding for bike paths. Safe places to bike and walk away from drivers and cars was the most popular issue by far. What’s notable is that the hearing didn’t happen in urban cycling hotspots like Portland or Bend or Corvallis. It happened in the city of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.
This was the second stop on a 12-city tour of the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation to garner feedback on a possible 2025 transportation package.
As I watched the hearing online, it became clear that rural Oregonians place a very high priority on getting around without a car. 13 of the 30 people who shared testimony said they wanted either better bike paths or better transit. The Salmonberry Trail project in particular — an 86-mile rail-trail that would connect Banks in Washington County with the Oregon Coast — had more support than any project or issue at the hearing.
Rockaway Beach City Councilor Mary McGinnis was just one of six people who talked about the project. “I’m here to encourage you to fund the Salmonberry Trail,” McGinnis said. “When it’s finished, our children will be able to walk to school without having to walk the shoulder of Highway 101 with semi-trucks and people won’t have to get in their cars just to drive to the next business to eat lunch.”
For Libby Golden, the Tillamook County Coast Ambassador for the Salmonberry Trail Foundation, the project is personal. “My son is about to switch from Nehalem Elementary to the middle school in Rockaway,” she shared with committee members. “He’s also just learning how to ride his bike, but we don’t have places for this.”
Other people who spoke up for the Salmonberry Trail included: a man who lives in Manzanita and introduced himself as “an avid bicyclist for 40 years” but said he’s afraid to ride on Highway 101; a representative from the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association who asked the committee to imagine, “a future network of multi-use pathways where hikers and bikers can leave their cars in portland entirely and just access our area by foot or pedal”; and a former director of public works for the City of Wheeler.
Screenshot of ODOT press release.
And two other folks spoke up for a multi-use path between Tillamook and the towns of Netarts and Oceanside as an alternative to narrow and dangerous Highway 131.
But you wouldn’t know that lawmakers and the committee heard all this support for carfree path projects if you read ODOT’s press release about the event. That release was titled, “Coastal residents urge ODOT and lawmakers to ‘maintain what we have'”. “A common theme,” the statement reads, was, “The desire to better maintain the infrastructure we have in order to better connect our communities, support our economy, and keep all travelers safe.”
ODOT’s lead quote from the meeting shared in their press statement was from the owner of a trucking company who urged the state to invest in highways to relieve “bottlenecks” on Portland area freeways. That was despite this person being one of only two people who testified in support of more funding for freeway expansions.
And despite the fact that five people testified in support of better transit service and more funding for buses, ODOT included only one passing reference to transit in their recap statement.
I also noticed the way ODOT framed feedback about walking and bicycling was to point out how dangerous and unsafe it was. It’s too bad they didn’t share the overwhelming support for new paths that would open up human and earth-friendly ways of moving around coastal areas. Several people at the meeting shared a hopeful vision of what these paths would do for people and how they’d have a positive impact on coastal communities.
These 12 tour stops are important; not just for the feedback ODOT receives, but for the narratives that ODOT and lawmakers build from them. There is a clear political agenda going on with lawmakers, lobbyists, and agency staff. That’s fine and I’m aware of that reality. But ODOT needs to be careful and honest with their recaps of these events so that folks who don’t attend or watch the meetings get an accurate assessment of what was talked about.
Standing-room-only at the “Community Conversation about Transportation in Southwest Portland” event. (Photos: Lisa Caballero/BikePortland)
“Alpenrose is forcing the issue.”
– Event attendee
About a hundred and fifty people gathered at the Hayhurst Elementary School auditorium Monday night for a standing-room-only event billed as a “Community Conversation about Transportation in Southwest Portland.” Joining them were nearly 20 elected officials, staff, candidates for office, and representatives from government agencies.
While the impetus for the gathering was the Alpenrose development, the meeting covered the area’s broader transportation problems.
Left to right: Candidates Bob Weinstein, Mitch Green, Eric ZimmermanLeft to right: Candidates Andra Vitavin, Moses Ross, Sarah Silkie, Chad Lykins, Soren UnderdahlCandidate Chad Lykins shakes a voter’s hand, with Representative Dacia Grayber and Washington Co Commissioner Kathryn Harrington to his left.A parade of candidates spoke at the event.
Marita Ingalsbe, a founder of FoA and President of the Hayhurst Neighborhood Association, began the meeting by introducing the public employees in attendance and pointing out how many different jurisdictions were affected by the development plans. Indeed, there were representatives from the cities of Portland and Beaverton, from Washington County and Metro, and from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Trimet. Not to mention that eight of the 18 candidates running to represent Portland City Council District 4 were in attendance.
Let’s just say a lot of hands were shaken and business cards exchanged.
One of the biggest talking points Monday night was the issue of jurisdictional challenges.
The infamous intersection of Scholls Ferry Rd, Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, and Oleson Rd known as “crash corners,” “consternation corners,” and Councilor Hwang’s “intersection of doom.” Map of the jurisdictional boundaries between Multnomah and Washington Counties. The City of Beaverton is violet, and City of Portland is pale yellow. Unincorporated areas are white. (Source: Metro)
The patchwork of jurisdictions in play is one thing that complicates all transportation issues along the border between Multnomah and Washington counties — not just the Alpenrose development. This north-south border territory has a swath of some of the most poorly designed and dangerous roads you’ll find in the metro area. Those roads don’t have sidewalks or bike lanes, and their cross sections can change as you enter a new jurisdiction.
It’s not right, but it makes sense why that is so. As an advocate, it’s challenging enough to get something fixed when working with just a single jurisdiction, like the City of Portland. But when I was on my neighborhood association’s transportation committee, neighbors would regularly contact me about that speedway known as SW Scholls Ferry Rd, which runs through three jurisdictions: the City of Portland, and unincorporated Washington and Multnomah counties. Why can’t Scholls have a sidewalk, they’d ask. We need another turn lane! We need to get rid of the turn lane! If we narrowed the lanes there would be enough room for a sidewalk and a bike path! I heard it all.
Scholls Ferry is so dangerous for anyone not in a car that TriMet refuses to put bus stops on it. As a transportation volunteer, I never knew where to begin and, apparently, even folks receiving a paycheck don’t know what to do.
In general though, the Washington County side of border territory is mainly unincorporated, with small islands of City of Beaverton within it. The Multnomah County side is mostly City of Portland, which leads to the border territory’s second complication: Portland has neglected to provide basic infrastructure to this part of town for half a century. And no one has wanted to own the growing problem.
But, as one attendee told me, “Alpenrose is forcing the issue.”
Metro Councilor Duncan Hwang’s role
Metro Councilor Duncan Hwang addresses audience. (Photo credit: Richard Clucas)
There is a saying in finance that goes like this: “If you owe the bank a million dollars you’ve got a problem. If you owe the bank $100 million dollars, the bank has a problem.” That doesn’t exactly fit this situation, but as I listened to several public sector employees tell the audience to “keep advocating,” I found myself thinking that the problem is bigger than something neighborhood volunteers should be responsible for solving. And that, yes, the neighbors have a problem, but so do all these different representatives and public sector employees. Alpenrose is a whale of a development which, when you consider that recent “missing middle” housing rules allow each eventual owner to add additional units to their property, severely strains the area’s already sub-par transportation system.
(Plus, I was recently in a meeting in which a veteran southwest bicycle advocate quipped “we all have bruises on our foreheads,” presumably from banging heads against the wall for so many decades.)
Hopefully, Metro Councilor Hwang, who played an outsized role in the meeting, and State Representative Dacia Grayber can champion this part of town and orchestrate a solution. Because this is a political problem.
As Marita Ingalsbe explained to me, “It makes sense for Metro as the regional transportation planner to take the lead.”
What about stormwater?
“It shouldn’t take 25 years to get a sidewalk.”
– Mitch Green, city council candidate
In a meeting which covered many, many issues — from sidewalks, to bus service cuts, to transportation plan prioritizations, to matching federal grants, to the state’s upcoming transportation package — one issue I didn’t hear mentioned was the area’s lack of stormwater facilities. In a lot of ways, that’s the problem which unites them all.
Currently southwest Portland does not have a formal stormwater system, instead its run-off drains to streams. Stormwater from impermeable surfaces like sidewalks is not allowed to go, per federal environmental regulation, directly into creeks and streams without treatment to slow it down, cool it off, and filter out pollutants. In many cases, developers cannot be required to provide that treatment for public works like sidewalks, and in recent years public works development review has stopped requiring sidewalks on the frontage of many new developments, thus not capturing for the public good the frontage improvements which are required.
It might make transportation seem more manageable to address it street by street, but, like whack-a-mole, the same inability to put a sidewalk in one place just repeats itself in a different location.
Or, as district four candidate Mitch Green said, “It shouldn’t take 25 years to get a sidewalk.”
My takeaway
This was a remarkable event. I’m impressed that so many residents showed up to a meeting about transportation, and was really blown away to have this collection of elected officials in a room together addressing the topic. That alone felt like an accomplishment.
But to have eight city council candidates already versed in transportation issues, months before the election, and before even holding office, was all I needed to see to believe that our new form of elections, with ranked choice voting and multi-member districts, is working. The level of engagement is the highest I’ve ever seen it, and these candidates are working their rear-ends off.
I don’t have the answers to southwest’s transportation problems. But I know that cutting bus service, and not providing safe networks for walking and biking just makes the area more dependent on the automobile. I’m hopeful that people who know more about this than I do will soon start working together to make the southwest the best it can be.
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? (Photo: City of Portland)
The era of the City of Portland looking the other way when it comes to expired registration, missing license plates, and parking violations will soon come to an end. In recent weeks the transportation bureau has hired a fresh contingent of enforcement officers and they announced today these new ticket-writing troops will hit the streets July 8th.
Whatever people say about this move, they can’t say they weren’t warned. PBOT made it clear during budget talks back in February that the lack of enforcement of these violations was robbing the bureau of precious resources needed to maintain streets and perform other core services. According to PBOT estimates, of the one million registered vehicles in Portland, nearly half (460,000) have expired tags.
“Over the course of many, many years, PBOT has been quite altruistic and has taken on opportunities to be in service to community without necessarily charging,” PBOT Director Millicent Williams told city council members at a February meeting.
And the number of cars without license plates (both front and rear are required by law) and folks parking in places they shouldn’t has skyrocketed in recent years — a result of the combined shift in behavioral norms after Covid and PBOT’s laissez faire enforcement approach.
Now those days are over.
In a June 4th meeting with state legislators and local agency leaders, Williams was direct: “We are coming for you if you have not registered your vehicle. This is registration summer,” she said in a forceful tone, while adding that the new officers will also provide, “An additional set of trained eyes and ears are situations that arise on our streets.”
PBOT has received permission from council to hire 22 officers. In a statement today, the agency said recent hires are a, “large expansion of their parking enforcement operations.” Currently the bureau employs around 59 parking code enforcement officers. Once the hiring is complete they’ll have 81 on staff.
List of common infractions shared in a PBOT statement today.
The more robust team of officers (who make between $42,00 and $79,000 per year) will allow PBOT to patrol all paid parking districts on a daily basis. They’ll be busy because the bureau estimates only about 50% of meter users are paying the required fees.
PBOT’s 2023-2024 budget listed a “strategic target” of 280,000 parking citations issued; that would be 125% more than the 124,00 citations they issued in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Specifically, the officers will be citing people for expired tags, missing plates, wrong-way parking, and drivers who park their cars in a way that blocks visibility at intersections. And yes, they’ll also be booting cars that have a tow order from Multnomah County Circuit Court. The citation fees range from $55 for parking the wrong way on a street, to $145 dollars for tags that are more than 90 days expired.
The result of this effort is expected to net the bureau an average of $3.8 million per year over the next five years and increase compliance rates by about 5% per year, bringing total compliance to 75% within that timeframe.
Ghost bike for Mark Angeles on corner of SE Gladstone and Cesar Chavez. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
NOTE: This is the second post in a series. The answers shared have been highly edited for brevity. Please read the full responses at Bike Loud’s website.
Local bike advocacy nonprofit BikeLoud PDX asked all City of Portland candidates* to answer eight questions gleaned from their members. The second question, “How would you help Vision Zero succeed, and reduce the number of people killed and injured by automobiles in Portland?” was answered by 38 city council candidates and four mayoral candidates.
I’ve gone through the submissions and pulled out 1-2 particularly salient sentences from each candidate. The very abbreviated answers below are based on what I personally found to be the most interesting/notable/newsworthy parts of their responses. For the full answers, visit BikeLoud’s website. I’ve also shared photos of each candidate in the order their responses were shared (if you’re on mobile, be sure to hit the arrow and scroll through the images.) The photos were taken from the Rose City Reform candidate tracker.
Read edited responses from all 42 candidates below:
Timur EnderSonja MckenzieDavid LinnSteph RouthAll candidate photos are in order of answers below and taken from the excellent new Rose City Reform website. (If reading on mobile, please click the arrow on the right to view candidate gallery.)
City Council District 1
Timur Ender
I will advocate for protected intersections where signal timing phases are separated between bicycle and pedestrian movements and right turning cars.
Sonja Mckenzie
… start by supporting the creation of an education and community engagement plan for our community…
Steph Routh
First, we need to believe as a city that Vision Zero is possible. Second, we need to be clear about the devastating impacts of traffic deaths in our communities.
David Linn
Use data-driven upgrades to target high-risk areas, especially routes to schools and bike/bus transit routes can help us invest our money prudently.
… we have to slow cars down and make more spaces and more space (different things, and both important) for bike and pedestrian users.
Christopher Olson
Create a network of protected urban trails across the city.
Nat West
Close the intersection where a death or car-on-bike/ped crash occurs until inexpensive and temporary traffic calming measures can be installed… Immediate application of daylighting on all city intersections.
Michelle DePass
I’m in favor of more enforcement. Just this week I’ve witnessed cars in bikes lanes on Williams Avenue, and multiple red light runners at the intersection of Fremont and Williams.
Debbie Kitchin
Road signage and marking should be consistent across the city so all users understand what is expected… combine driver education with more diligent enforcement of driving rules.
Mariah Hudson
… implementing protective barriers and dedicated lanes to minimize the risk of collisions. There needs to be a culture shift and greater responsibility among motorists if we want to significantly reduce the incidence of accidents.
Jonathan Tasini
We need to prioritize people by prioritizing other modes of transportation rather than cars by investing in public transportation, bicycling, and changing the city’s physical infrastructure to save lives.
Mike Marshall
I’d work with the OLCC to evaluate reducing overall access to alcohol and shutting down establishments linked to continued fatalities.
Laura Streib
We need separate streets for vehicles and for bikes to reduce the number of people killed/injured by autos.
Will Mespelt
… we need to start enforcing traffic regulations in a meaningful way to protect bikers and increase general safety for all non car users.
Introduce and fight for policy that centers SAFETY for our streets over SPEED.
Rex Burkholder
Higher penalties for motorists who hit vulnerable road users or break speed limits, run signals/stop signs including license suspensions and loss of vehicles.
Theo Hathaway Saner
Lowering speed limits in areas with high bike traffic and installing speed bumps can reduce accidents.
Daniel Gilk
To achieve real systemic change, we need to redesign our transit systems to better incentivize residents to drive less.
Angelita Morillo
Environmental changes such as [the Arleta Triangle Square Plaza project at SE 72nd & Woodstock] can have tremendous affects on neighborhoods and pedestrian safety – we just need to prioritize them.
Jonathan Walker
We need the resources so every hit and run is fully investigated and prosecuted… For the plan to work, the city needs to get serious about making sure cars are registered and have license plates.
Matthew Thomas Anderson
A fundamental change is needed to the visibility of the bike. Light is not the only visual cue we use to identify a moving car or threat when driving.
Daniel DeMelo
When we adopted Vision Zero, we failed to establish a timeline for achieving our goal of zero traffic deaths. This oversight has made it difficult to assess whether our safety investments are delivering the expected results.
Philippe Knab
I would focus on improving infrastructure, enhancing public awareness, and enforcing traffic laws.
Sandeep Bali
More accountability for reckless drivers.
Jesse Cornett
I will lobby in Salem to eliminate the preemption that does not allow Portland to tax alcohol… Portland should pass a tax on beer and wine and use part of the revenue for better public education about the danger of drinking and driving.
Chris Flanary
Paint alone doesn’t stop vehicles, we need to create the protective bike lanes and traffic-calming measures to slow cars down.
Mike DiNapoliOlivia ClarkBen HuffordChad LykinsSarah SilkieMichael TrimbleEli ArnoldAndra VltavínEric ZimmermanLisa FreemanBob WeinsteinMitch Green
Council – District 4
Mike DiNapoli
Increase visibility for all commuters with additional street and safety lighting.
Olivia Clark
Bring back and expand the Portland Police Traffic Division for enforcement.
Ben Hufford
Traffic Rules and are a language that people learn… Consistent rules, physical separation of bikes from cars and prioritizing maintenance of systems should be the standard.
Chad Lykins
I will propose legislation that prohibits the removal of infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit before (1) the completion of comparable alternatives and (2) validation that these alternatives function as well or better than the infrastructure being removed.
Sarah Strawberry Silkie
Increase enforcement of speed violations – traffic is consistently 5-20 mph over the posted speed limit…
Michael Trimble
I want to make many streets car free zones giving pedestrians and cyclists their own walkways/bike lanes.
Eli Arnold
We need stricter traffic enforcement combined with an end to street camping along roadsides.
Andra Vltavín
I will be working toward phasing out fossil fuel use altogether.
Eric Zimmerman
I think standardization of lanes leads to safer streets. We have also introduced a lot of distracting factors to the roadway for all users… These are creating different decision-making and norms across the city and it is not helpful from a safety perspective.
Lisa Freeman
We need to de-prioritize cars in our decision making, and prioritize safety, especially that of our most vulnerable populations…
Bob Weinstein
Increase funding for safe infrastructure: Allocate more resources to redesign dangerous intersections, expand protected bike lanes, and implement traffic calming measures in high-risk areas.
Mitch Green
…treat traffic injuries and deaths as a public health issue… Shelter and house our most vulnerable who are living on roadways so that people driving cars don’t kill them.
Liv OsthusDurrell Javon Kinsey BeyKeith WilsonCarmen Rubio
Mayor
Liv Østhus
Using data around specific areas and intersections, I will advocate for PSUs urban planning teams to join in evidenced based solutions.
Durrell Javon Kinsey Bey
Work with the several non profits that have already been doing this work…
Keith Wilson
I do not consider paint and flexible poles adequate safety infrastructure. I support permanent materials to protect biking corridors.
Carmen Rubio
I want our police department to work with the District Attorney’s office to see what evidence and process would be needed to prosecute more drivers for vehicular homicide or assault. While I generally do not support sending more people through the justice system, I also recognize the fear of prosecution can be a strong deterrent.
I find the format of this project by BikeLoud interesting and useful in large part because they’ve received such a large volume of responses. That means we can see what folks have in common and what issues we might find some consensus and political majority for. On that note, I noticed 16 candidates mentioned the need for stronger enforcement. 12 specifically called out the need for physical protection of bicycling facilities, and six mentioned the need to address homelessness due to the vulnerability of people who live along streets.
What other trends or commonalities did you find in the answers?
BikeLoud will post more responses in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for question #3 and see related posts for more 2024 Portland election coverage.
*BikeLoud sent the questionnaire to all candidates that had filed a letter of intent as of May 27th.
See you Wednesday. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Summer has been sublime so far on the Bike Happy Hour (BHH) patio. I love seeing all of your beautiful faces every Wednesday afternoon. And I hope you’re ready for another great time because there’s a special BHH coming tomorrow.
But first…
If you missed last week, we heard speeches by two mayoral candidates: Marshall Runkel and Keith Wilson (videos below). Marshall told a story about how he handled a very wild constituent call into city hall while he worked for a former city commissioner. And Keith outlined how he’ll provide all Portlanders a shelter and how he believes we need a bike lane on Sandy Blvd and better bike lane maintenance.
Mayoral candidate Keith Wilson at Bike Happy Hour, 06/19/24.
Mayoral candidate Marshall Runkel at Bike Happy Hour, 06/19/24.
We also heard a speech from City Council District 4 candidate Michael Trimble. Michael promised free transit, more enforcement against people who park in bike lanes, and really excited the crowd with his passion. There were other folks on the mic as well, including District 2 candidate Will Mespelt. Each week around 5:00 is open mic where anyone can come up and share what’s on their mind. In addition to political stump speeches, we have people asking for volunteers, promoting events, and just sharing projects they’re working on.
What’s on your mind? You don’t need an invitation to speak at BHH. It’s an open, community space!
Michael Trimble on the mic.Joan! City Council D2 candidate Will Mespelt.TovaMattErikaKate
And you don’t want to miss the fun this week. That’s because BHH will be the end spot for BikeLoud’s General Member Meeting Ride with groups of folks descending on the patio from four corners on the city.
BikeLoud will meet with members to discuss issues in each new political district. Then they’ll take four different routes to BHH to join us on the patio. BikeLoud leaders will then grab the mic to share what they heard at each district meet-up and tell you what actions you can take to help improve cycling.
In addition, we have City Council candidates Jesse Cornett (D3) and Mitch Green (D4) who will share a short speech.
Jesse Cornett (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)Mitch Green (Photo: Mitch Green campaign)
A rider opts for the sidewalk on SE 122nd to avoid drivers and a dirty bike lane. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Portland ranked fifth among 173 large cities and saw minor improvement to its score over last year in an annual ranking of bike-friendliness by a national nonprofit cycling advocacy organization.
People for Bikes, a nonprofit supported by bicycle companies (that was formerly known as Bikes Belong) gave Portland a score of 59 out of 100 in their 2024 City Ratings — that’s up 3 points from last year’s score. Portland was rated fifth in the large city category (population above 300,000), coming in behind Minneapolis (71), Seattle (65), San Francisco (64), and St. Paul (61). There were 173 large cities Portland’s score has grown steadily since the first year of these ratings in 2018.
Stress map of Portland. Blue is lower stress, red is higher stress.Portland’s scores in each destination category.(Source: People for Bikes)
People for Bikes uses a methodology called Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA) to form the basis of their rankings. The BNA is built on six main factors: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space for biking and walking, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data. Using those factors, People for Bikes determines what parts of a city’s bike network is “low-stress” and then overlays the stress map with important destinations.
The BNA score is then calculated by a process that considers how well a city’s bike network connects to six categories of access: where other people live, jobs and schools, core services like health care and grocery stores, recreational riding opportunities, shopping areas, and transit hubs. Each category is weighted and scored from 0 – 100.
Portland scored highest (72) in access to shopping centers and lowest (41) in access to transit (see chart above right).
Portland’s score of 59 is over double the average city score and is nine points over what People for Bikes considers the “tipping point to becoming a great place to bike.”
People for Bikes rated 34 cities in Oregon. Portland came in third in our state behind Ashland (73) and Corvallis (70). Below are the scores of all Oregon cities included in the ratings:
Ashland
73
Corvallis
70
Portland
59
Bandon
55
Cascade Locks
49
Astoria
46
Rockaway Beach
42
Brookings
41
Lincoln City
41
Eugene
39
Hillsboro
37
Cornelius
34
Forest Grove
33
Grants Pass
31
Beaverton
31
Klamath Falls
31
Bend
30
Medford
29
Milwaukie
28
Tigard
27
Hood River
27
The Dalles
24
Springfield
24
Roseburg
24
Albany
24
Prineville
23
Oregon City
23
Salem
23
Troutdale
23
Gresham
22
Lake Oswego
21
Redmond
21
Happy Valley
20
La Grande
17
Portland’s social bike culture is unrivaled, but it doesn’t earn us any extra points in these ratings. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
These ratings are a helpful way to track our network quality over time, but they lack a major part of what makes Portland such a great cycling city: our social bike culture. Take the three months of Bike Summer/Pedalpalooza going on in Portland right now. This festival of free cycling events features welcoming group rides that transform city streets into casual critical masses. Many people find the safety of riding in a group and easy socializing opportunities to be more attractive than a protected bike lane; but none of Portland’s world-beating bike culture is figured into these ratings.
I’ve always said that when our bicycle network quality improves it will combine with our existing bike culture to make Portland the greatest cycling city in the world. If People for Bikes added a measurement for free bike events and the fun-on-bikes potential of a city, Portland would be rated #1 every single year.
