🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏
Just in time for Tilikum Crossing’s public preview last weekend, TriMet and the City of Portland unveiled a new design for the main street leading to the South Waterfront.
In two words: It’s fantastic.
This menu of delicious rides and events is brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery. Their support makes BikePortland possible.
Today may be starting out pleasantly brisk with a dose of drizzle, but things are expected to turn around Saturday and Sunday and hit highs in the 80s. So get ready to take a ride and catch some rays. Here are the organized bike events we’ve heard about happening this weekend so far…
Clinton Social Ride – 5 p.m. at PAZ PDX (SE 16th and Woodward)
Latest edition of the “positive and non-confrontational” monthly social ride down the middle of Clinton with the goal of communicating that Clinton Street is in fact supposed to prioritize bike traffic. More info here.
We’ve had two great jobs listed this week. Learn more about them via the links below…
Sorry, this job has been filled. Browse more great jobs here.
A new documentary looks at transportation activism in a way many of us rarely see: multinationally.
“Bikes vs. Cars,” made by Swedish director Fredrik Gertten and drawing on characters in Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Toronto and Copenhagen, will screen at the Hollywood Theater at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, followed by a post-show discussion panel and party at the nearby Velo Cult bike shop.
Repairs to the pedestrian gate on the bridge between west Vancouver and north Portland will close its western (southbound) sidewalk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Freeway lanes and the opposite sidewalk will be unaffected.
The Interstate 5 bridge’s sidewalks double as bike routes. Detours from one to the other are time-consuming because of the way the ramps are built.
“The sidewalk will be closed to make way for equipment needed for installation of a new traffic gate across the southbound lanes,” the Oregon Department of Transportation said in its news release. “The new gate replaces a gate damaged in a June crash on the bridge.”
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is facing pressure from its counterparts at the Oregon Department of Transportation to do something it’s almost never done before: remove bike lanes from a street.
An ODOT official said she could not cite evidence other than the site-specific judgment of her engineering colleagues that removing the bike lane on SE 26th Avenue would improve overall road safety. But she said that because 26th is not as safe to bike on as 28th would be, it stands to reason that the bike lane on 26th should be removed in order to encourage people to cross at 28th.
Therefore, ODOT has agreed to approve the city’s request to add a new traffic signal at 28th and Powell only on the condition that the city remove the bike lane and bike box from 26th.
It’s fun to report two separate bits of news about bike friendliness in the state park system on the same afternoon.
Milo McIver State Park and Champoeg State Heritage Area are both upgrading their bike amenities, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Wednesday. They’ll get new lockers for gear and food storage; phone charging stations; and bicycle fix-it stations, plus new group shelters. A third park, Bullards Beach State Park on the southern Oregon coast, will be upgraded too.
A seasonal Oregon State Parks employee is leading a free introduction to bike touring in the Colombia River Gorge this month.
The 30-mile trip on Saturday, Aug. 22, will start at 9 a.m. outside Hood River, and loops to Mayer State Park and back by 5 p.m. Here’s the description from Oregon State Parks:
You will learn what equipment is necessary, how do you plan a route and pack panniers or a trailer to be successful. We will discuss the light impact of bike touring is on the environment and other traffic, and the positive effects on small town economies. By the end of the program you’ll have resources to take away and learn more about this exciting way to see the world around you!
This is a guest post from BikePortland reader Ted Timmons, who visited L.A.’s version of Sunday Parkways this year and was moved to write up some of his observations.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Los Angeles was late to the ciclovia scene, even by American standards. However, they have had several per year since late 2010.
While the stereotype of Los Angeles revolves around its infatuation with the car, it’s arguably the densest urban area in the country. The percentage of trips in Portland by means other than car is about 16 percent; in Los Angeles, it’s 25 percent.
In the latest burst of bike-oriented development on the Burnside Bridgehead, a developer is considering turning the tables on all those drive-through windows that allow cars but not bikes.
Key Development has proposed a 20,000-square-foot, $7 million commercial building on the space immediately west of Couch Street’s southward curve towards the Burnside Bridge. Currently in design review, the project would include a bike-oriented retail plaza, possibly with a bike-through window.
It might also function as a sort of annex that’d create easy bridge-level bike access to residents of the big 21-story tower that’s now in construction right behind it.
Job Title *
Shipping Specialist
Company/Organization *
Velotech, Inc.
Job Description *
Velotech, Inc. is looking for a detail oriented shipping specialist to join our fast paced and fast growing operation. This person will be expected to pick, pack, and ship customer orders and receive incoming shipments in a timely manner. Additionally
there will be many random tasks that will assist in warehouse operation.
* Must be able to lift 50lbs
* Must be comfortable with ladders
* Basic knowledge of cycling components preferred
* Enthusiasm for cycling
* Full-time
* Great benefits and vacation package
Velotech, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, pregnancy or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
How to Apply *
Send your cover letter and resume to Jobs@velotech.com