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Man wins in court three years after police, insurance company blamed him for collision

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Still from KGW-TV video taken at the scene in 2012.

A Portland man who was blamed for a collision on a notorious section of North Broadway three years ago has been absolved in court.

Three years ago 33-year old Karl Zickrick was riding down North Broadway on his way to work. As he approached Wheeler he noticed a large SUV encroaching into the bike lane in front of him as it prepared to turn right. To avoid being right-hooked, Zickrick moved to the left out of the bike lane to go around the SUV. However, just as he made that move the driver of the SUV, 62-year-old Michael McLerren, slammed on his brakes and Zickrick flew into the back window. The impact shattered the window and left Zickrick with severe facial injuries and a broken jaw. (Two months after this collision, former Mayor Sam Adams decided to prohibit all right turns onto Wheeler.)

Adding insult to injury, the Portland Police Bureau blamed Zickrick for the collision. The day the crash occurred the PPB said this in an official statement (emphases mine):

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Commissioner Novick responds to ‘Day of Protests’ with diverter promise

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BikeLoudPDX volunteer Jessica Engelman
at a protest rally in front of City Hall
yesterday.
(Photos © J. Maus)

An unprecedented day of protests yesterday have yielded their first results.

BikeLoudPDX, Portland’s upstart bike advocacy group that has made lots of headlines in the past few months, started the day with a big rally in front of City Hall followed by several of the group’s leaders giving impassioned testimony in front of City Council. After that, they helped organize several rides and then held another rally on City Hall’s steps last night.

BikeLoud leaders and the people they have inspired to show up to these events share a similar feeling: frustration and anger that city leaders sit idly by while Portlanders risk their lives on unsafe streets. “It’s bullshit!” and “It’s unacceptable!” were just two of the phrases chanted at last night’s rally.

And now it appears those voices are having an impact on City Hall.

Last night City Commissioner Steve Novick, the man in charge of the Bureau of Transportation, penned a lengthy blog post in direct response to the protests. He titled it, “Working together to build safer streets.” (He also shared thoughts about biking and the Climate Action Plan in a separate post.)

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New transportation bill in Salem includes $78 million to widen Portland-area freeways – UPDATED

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Legislators held a special hearing today
to hear testimony and learn about
the new proposal.

Despite growing consensus that the main effect of widening roads is not to reduce travel times but rather to lengthen car trips, Oregon’s overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature seems to be preparing to approve a bill that would spend around $78 million to add lanes and widen several freeways in the Portland metro area.

More widening projects are also planned around the state.

HB 2281, the 73-page bill being debated in Salem today, would raise $370 million through a mix of new vehicle registration fees and a two-cent gas tax increase. About $125 million of that would go to the Portland metro region (ODOT Region 1). The bill also includes 25 earmarked projects — most of which would widen freeways to “improve safety and provide congestion relief” and allow for “freight mobility improvements.”

There’s nothing in the new bill set aside specifically for bicycling or walking, though the multimodal Connect Oregon program would continue, presumably still funded by the state lottery.

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At City Hall rally, demonstrators demand action for safer streets

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City Council members heard calls for safer streets loud and clear this morning.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

Brittany Gratreak

If the 75 or so Portlanders who came to City Hall this morning to kick off a full day of protests could be said to be speaking for any single person, it might as well have been one of the people there: Brittany Gratreak.

On April 8, the 22-year-old Portland State University student was riding her bike to school in Northeast Broadway’s bike lane when a man driving to work accelerated across Broadway from the south, seizing a gap in auto traffic but not considering the fact that he might run into something more fragile than metal. He did.

Gratreak was hit at a 90-degree angle, thrown from her bicycle and knocked unconscious. Once she woke up and received insurance information from the man who’d hit her, she decided to save money by calling a friend, rather than an ambulance, for a ride to the hospital.

She didn’t know at the time that by not paying for an ambulance ride, she was avoiding Portland’s little-known trigger for a police investigation. Two months later, Gratreak remains in physical therapy.

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TriMet bus operator allegedly drives into people on Williams Ave, then flees – UPDATED

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This photo shows a TriMet bus driver who drove through a crosswalk despite the presence of people walking and biking.
(Photos by Abraham Sutfin)

Last night a TriMet bus operator turned her bus directly into a group of people who were using North Williams Avenue. Witnesses reported that contact was made between the bus and a trailer attached to a man’s bicycle, but luckily there were no injuries. According to people at the scene, the bus operator forced her way through a crosswalk that was full of bikers and walkers while honking repeatedly, then fled only to stop several blocks later after people chased her down.

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‘Aggro’ driving on neighborhood greenways annoys Portlanders in cars too

clinton speed

Here’s another take on the much-discussed and increasingly well-documented problem of people who are in a big hurry to drive on some of Portland’s neighborhood greenways (sometimes known as bike boulevards).

My commute has me driving for four blocks on the Clinton bike boulevard west of 21st. For the second time this month I’ve had an aggressive drive pass me to speed down the street. This morning there was a line of bicyclists in front of me basically taking up the lane through to the next signal, as well as oncoming traffic. It would not have been safe or prudent to overtake the bicyclists as I would have to either cut one of them off or stay in the oncoming lane until the next signal. Instead I just drove at the speed of the bikes which was around 18mph. The car that passed me nearly took out a cyclist trying to get back in our lane to avoid a head on collision. It’s completely ridiculous to me that PPB has nearly zero traffic enforcement, especially on our neighborhood greenways where safe respectful driving is even more important. I’ve tried calling in requesting enforcement but have not seen any cops. Any ideas on how to make our streets better, and what the fuck is going on this summer that is making all the drivers extra aggressive?

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State wants help in effort to improve 82nd Avenue

82ndlead

Help is on the way.
(Photo: ODOT)

82nd Avenue is finally getting the attention is so badly deserves. The state-owned arterial is one of the City of Portland’s ten High Crash Corridors, a designation it has earned by being the place in Portland where you’re most likely to die or be seriously injured while walking.

But two projects might change that — and you might be able to help.

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced today they’re seeking members for the Community Advisory Committee for their 82nd Avenue of Roses Implementation Plan. That effort will identify transportation projects along a seven-mile stretch of 82nd from NE Killingsworth to Johnson Creek Blvd.

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Portland Expo Center will host six bike-in movies in August

driveinpsoter

Bikes welcome too.

Don’t let the event name and marketing fool you, next month’s “PDX Drive-In Movie Spectacular” at the Portland Expo Center (located at end of MAX Yellow Line, I-5 and Marine Drive) welcomes bike-in customers too.

The event invite caught my eye because I’m a huge fan of drive-ins. My family and I have enjoyed several nights in the back of our mini-van at the 99W Drive-In in Newberg. But I’ve always thought it’d be great to have a drive-in with a bunch of bikes instead of cars.

While the folks at the Expo Center have put a strong auto-centric spin on the event, they are also encouraging people to show up on bikes. Here’s more from their press release:

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