🚨 Please note: BikePortland is currently on hiatus and only publishing guest articles. Learn more here. Thank you. - Jonathan 🙏

Video from Philly shows thief removing sign pole to steal a bike

pole

Out comes the pole, off goes the bike.
(Photo from WPVI-TV)

Bike theft is a national problem. I know we’ve focused on it quite a bit here in Portland, but I think it’s important to know that every major city is struggling with the issue.

As part of my daily grind I skim news headlines for bicycle-related items. One story that I think is worth sharing comes from WPVI-TV (ABC) in Philadelphia. I was struck by how it described such a similar situation to what we’re experiencing here in Portland.

What really amazed me was the video the news station shared. In it, a thief wearing a hoodie and gloves unscrews a sign pole, lifts it out of the ground, throws it on the sidewalk and cooly pedals away. All in just 30 seconds.

Check it out below…

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Portland parking reformers puzzle over how to value bike lanes

New striping on Broadway ramp-2

What’s it worth?
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

How much is a bike lane worth?

As the City of Portland begins moving toward an overhaul of its auto parking policy, the people on two massive parking-reform stakeholder committees (one for the central city and one for neighborhood commercial districts) are beginning to confront an interesting problem.

If modern acolytes of market-priced street parking are correct, it’s actually not hard to discover the economic value of an on-street auto parking space: use meters or permits to raise the price of parking until 15 percent of spaces in a given area — about one per block — are always empty and available. It’s the curbside equivalent of a store that’s acquiring new inventory at the same rate that it sells its current stock.

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Left-hook on N Williams leaves one man injured

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
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Photo from the scene. The man in the red jersey (seated) is the one who was injured. The tow-truck driver is wearing suspenders bib overalls.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

Last night on N Williams Avenue, a man was injured when he was involved in a left-hook collision with another road user. The incident happened around 5:30 at the intersection with Tillamook. I happened to be riding by and was able to stop and talk to one of the riders who saw the collision.

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Bike Farm launches pay-what-you-can wrench night for Spanish speakers

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
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Wrench time at Bike Farm.
(Photo courtesy Bike Farm)

Portland’s volunteer-driven do-it-yourself bike repair shop kicked off 2015 with a cool initiative: a night for people who speak Spanish or are learning to.

Bike Farm’s second monthly Noche Bilingüe is Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Assuming interest keeps growing, it’ll continue on the second Tuesday of each month.

Bike Farm, located just north of NE Broadway at 1810 NE 1st Ave is a place where anyone can rent a repair stand for $5 an hour and use tools and free advice from volunteers and other users. You can also skip the hourly fees by purchasing a membership.

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Amanda Fritz touts street funding plan and hopes for third term

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Commissioner Amanda Fritz in 2011.
(Photo: J.Maus/BikePortland)

The 2016 election cycle is revving up all over the country, Portland City Hall included.

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz surprised many local political pundits yesterday when she announced her plans to seek a third term. The announcement came the same day that the once-marginalized city council member won a 4-1 vote to dedicate 50 percent of surplus money over the next four years to “infrastructure maintenance and replacement” for roads, parks and emergency services.

The Oregonian reports that Fritz’s proposal will apply to “one-time funding identified during the annual budget process or excess money carried from one budget to the next.” It’s apparently intended as a sort of make-up call for the city’s infamous failure to follow through on a 1988 plan to dedicate 28 percent of utility license fees for transportation.

Opposing Fritz’s measure was her colleague Dan Saltzman, who said the council was “setting ourselves up to be criticized” by attempting to tie the hands of future councils.

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Weekend Event Guide: Women’s only, 3-speeds, a bike party, and more

Bikes seen at Alberta Art Hop-3

Grab your three-speed and head to Velo Cult on Saturday.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Welcome to your menu of weekend rides and events, lovingly brought to you by our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery.

Seriously. Is this weather amazing or what? You better get while the gettin’s good when it comes to biking in winter because it doesn’t get any better than this.

And I hope you don’t have plans for Saturday yet because we’ve got a very full slate of rides and events for you to choose from.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, January 30th

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New flashing beacon on Springwater path at SE 136th

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward
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New push-button beacon on Springwater path at 136th.
(Photo: Gretchin Lair)

Whenever biking/walking paths cross larger streets there can be a potential for conflict. Path users might get lulled into a false sense of security while users of the street — especially if they’re moving fast in a car — might not expect cross traffic.

We’re happy to report that one such crossing is now a bit safer thanks to the installation of a flashing crossing beacon. Reader Gretchin Lair sent us several photos of the new beacon that has been installed on the Springwater Corridor path where it crosses SE 136th (map).

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Entering 10th year, PBOT ‘crosswalk enforcement actions’ still going strong

Crosswalk enforcement action NE Killingsworth-2

The warnings don’t seem to stop folks from breaking the law.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

While everyone likes to argue about which type of roads users break more laws — and we are currently being forced to have the tired debate all over again thanks to a well-intentioned but misguided legislative concept — the Portland Bureau of Transportation is doing their part to address the issue.

PBOT’s Crosswalk Enforcement Action program has been going strong since 2005. We checked in on one back in September and have reported on them many times over the years. The idea is simple: Place a human decoy (sometimes a notable politician but more often PBOT safety staffer Sharon White) in a crosswalk and wait for people to break the law while a phalanx of Portland Police motorcycle officers wait in the wings, armed with radar guns and quick twists of the throttle to chase people down.

The efforts are usually quite fruitful and they offer us a small window into the rampant disregard many road users have for the law.

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