🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
Our Instagram post the other day received a large number of “likes” and positive comments from as far away as London, and a lot from right here in Portland.
On a related note regarding rear lights: I remember the late Sheldon Brown telling me about “target fixation” and impaired drivers. Every since then, I’ve always avoided blinkies, and ridden with a solid red in back.
We’ve just received a response from the Oregon Department of Transportation in response to the crash Saturday night that killed Martin Greenough.
Martin Greenough is the name of the man who was killed while riding his bike on NE Lombard on Saturday night. He was 38 years old.
Here are some updates on the case as we continue to follow the story and report on its impacts…
The man driving the car that struck Greenough, 26-year-old Kenneth Smith Jr., was in court yesterday to face multiple charges in the incident including Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Criminally Negligent Homicide, Reckless Driving, and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (Marijuana). KATU-TV was at the Justice Center and provided some important new details about Smith’s family and the crash itself.
According to KATU, Smith’s wife spoke on his behalf at the hearing, saying that he’s “An awesome person and he’s a great father to all three of these kids.” She pleaded for leniency and said the crash was an accident and that Smith had no idea what he’d done.
The Alliance for Biking and Walking, part of the country’s web of nationwide biking advocacy groups, is facing a big funding gap and is likely to change in big ways.
Alliance executive director Breen Goodwin, a Portlander, had joined the staff on Sept. 1 but resigned last week, effective Dec. 31. Her plan had been to work remotely for the Washington D.C.-based Alliance.
Since its founding in 1996, the Alliance’s main role has been to provide support, training and coordination for the many local active transportation advocacy groups in the U.S. and Canada, such as the Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Community Cycling Center and Oregon Walks.
As promised last week, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is calling out the police to beef up enforcement on SE Clinton Street.
It’s just the latest tool in their arsenal in the battle to defend neighborhood greenways from rude and dangerous driving behaviors.
According to a statement just sent around by PBOT, the police will take part in an “education and enforcement action” on Clinton between 12th and 50th tomorrow (12/15) from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 4:30 to 6:30 pm (it’s unclear why they’re avoiding the morning rush).
The aim of the increased enforcement is, “to enhance the Clinton Greenway and make it more inviting for people who are walking and biking.” It’s part of a multi-pronged effort to educate people who use Clinton that it was designed specifically for people to walk and bike. In addition to the enforcement, PBOT has placed 22 signs on the road to get the point across.
Travel Oregon is awarding several $1000 scholarships to attend the 2016 National Bicycle Summit (March 7-9) with Oregon’s delegation.
Scholarships are allotted specifically for individuals working on rural bicycle tourism-related projects throughout the state, and who are able to attend the entire Summit in Washington D.C., including a special Lobby Day.
Deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on January 4, 2016.
If you have additional questions or comments about $1000 Scholarship to Attend National Bicycle Summit in Washington D.C., please contact Nastassja Pace, Destination Development Specialist at Staj (at) TravelOregon.com 971-717-6203.
In the wake of a fatal crash that left one man dead, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is calling on the Oregon Department of Transportation to install bike lanes on NE Lombard Avenue.
The BTA has just released a petition that they plan to deliver to ODOT Region 1 Manager Rian Windsheimer. Here’s the text of the petition:
I, the undersigned, support immediate provision of continuous bike lanes on NE Lombard at 42nd Avenue. Vision Zero is the refusal to accept any fatalities or serious injury crashes on our roads. We must take a Vision Zero approach to this deadly bike lane gap by addressing it immediately. Please act now before anyone else is killed on this ODOT road.
This week’s Monday Roundup is sponsored by Lancaster Engineering, a Portland-based traffic engineering and transportation planning firm.
Saturday’s successful finish to the Paris carbon-reduction commitments hovered over a lot of this week’s news, including the bike news. Here are the bike-related links, climatological and otherwise, that caught our eyes this week:
Failure to yield: It causes six times as many traffic injuries as drunk driving (PDF) but is prosecuted 99.6 percent less. (Numbers are from New York state.)
200 miles: That’s what Kurt Searvogel, 52, pedals every single day in his Pop-Tart-fueled campaign to set a world record for distance biked in a year.
Smart car: A Florida woman was arrested for an alleged hit-and-run after her car ratted her out by calling 911 itself.
A man was killed while riding his bicycle on NE Lombard/Portland Highway tonight. According to the Portland Police the crash happened near NE 42nd Avenue. This is the same location we just wrote about on Friday as having a “scary pinch-point.”
The crash happened around 8:30 pm. Here’s the statement released by the PPB at 9:10 pm:
For those of you who’ve moved to Oregon in the last year: yes, every winter is like this.
Just kidding. But this soggy, blustery week has certainly given us a reminder of what we do to pay for those long summer evenings. In Monday’s open thread about riding through the day’s downpour, BikePortland reader Pedal PT offered a list of simple suggestions for rainy riding. They’re a perfect introduction to a commute that can be surprisingly fun.
