4/25: Hello readers and friends. I'm still recovering from a surgery I had on 4/11, so I'm unable to attend events and do typical coverage. See this post for the latest update. I'll work as I can and I'm improving every day! Thanks for all your support 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor

Portlander’s ‘protected intersection’ concept gets first on-street demo (in Minneapolis)

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A temporary “protected intersection” at Open Streets MPLS June 8.
(Photos courtesy Alta Planning and Design)

A Portland planner’s concept for a way to almost completely eliminate bike-car conflicts from American intersections got its first road test in Minneapolis this month.

Bikeways for Everyone,” a Blue Cross Blue Shield-funded, Minneapolis-based advocacy coalition with a goal to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes by 2020, invited Nick Falbo of Alta Planning and Design to create a one-day demo at Open Streets MPLS, the city’s version of Sunday Parkways.

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‘Bikes + Books’ event will showcase local authors

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A cool event coming to the Disjecta arts space in Kenton next week (6/26) combines two of our favorite things: bikes and books. It’s being organized by the same folks behind Filmed by Bike so you know it’ll be great.

Check out the event announcement below:

Bikes+Books: A literary event with a bar.
Wednesday, June 25
6:30-8:30pm
Disjecta Contemporary Arts Courtyard – North McClellen east of N. Denver in Kenton

In the last five years, Portland has seen an explosion of authors publishing bike-related books. For one night only, Nisus Gallery, in conjunction with Filmed by Bike, will bring these authors to the Disjecta alfresco stage for an evening of live readings, a bar, food cart, book sales, book signing and a photo booth in the courtyard.

This event is free. Rain or shine. (indoor space available)

MORE INFO >>

If you are planning on going to the Photobooth ride, you can do both! We will be rockin a photo booth and the photo booth ride will stop by at 9, so you can join in with them at that time.
Authors

– Joe Kurmaskie aka The Metal Cowboy
– Mykle Hansen “I, Slutbot” “Help a Bear is Eating Me”
– Lucy Burningham “Hop in the Saddle”
– Evan P. Schneider “Boneshaker” and “A Simple Machine, Like the Lever”
– Stephanie Routh “How to Move by Bike”
– Brian Benson “Going Somewhere”
– Ellee Thalheimer “Cycling Sojourner” “Hop in the Saddle”
– Sarah Mirk, Bitch Magazine and “Oregon History Comics”
+ more!

Job: Recycle and Reuse Manager – Bike Works Seattle

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Job Title
Recycle and Reuse Manager

Company/Organization
Bike Works Seattle

Job Description
RECYCLE AND REUSE MANAGER (FULL-TIME EXEMPT)

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW:
Bike Works, based in Seattle, builds sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling. Bike Works has been working for kids, bikes, and community in Seattle since 1996. Our programs and services invest in young people and encourage bicycling as a clean and healthy transportation alternative. Last year over 600 youth, ages 9 to 17, participated in our programs and gained the skills and resources they need to translate lessons about confidence and leadership into their own lives, helping them to make healthier decisions about their futures. We also recycle and redistribute close to 5,000 used bicycles annually to youth and adults locally through our programs and community bike shop, and internationally through organization partners. We value and seek diverse team members who are passionate, innovative, collaborative, professional, fun, responsible and solutions-oriented.

ROLE OVERVIEW:
The Recycle and Reuse Manager reports to our Bike Shop Director and oversees our bicycle recycling program. This program is an essential component of our mission, increasing access to affordable, environmentally-friendly transportation in Seattle by distributing thousands of refurbished bicycles back into the community. This program prolongs the life of usable bikes and parts and each year diverts thousands of pounds from the waste stream. The Recycle and Reuse Manager oversees this process, and supplies other departments at Bike Works with the bikes, parts, and accessories they require to carry out our mission. The Recycle and Reuse Manager leads procurement efforts for bike donations, manages bike recycling intake and processing systems, and supervises up to three staff within the Recycle and Reuse department. This position is full-time (40 hours per week), exempt.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Oversees intake and triage processes, and inventory systems, for donated used bikes, bike parts, and accessories
• Acts as lead in bike donation procurement efforts
• Manages Recycle and Reuse department, supervising staff mechanics and mentoring volunteer mechanics
• Acts as liaison to corporate bike donation partners, including companies within the bike industry
• Serves as facility manager in our bike recycling warehouse
• Works cross-departmentally at Bike Works to mentor new bike mechanics and develop youth leadership
• Contributes to the organization’s vision, participates in organization-wide programs, and helps to create a sustainable organizational culture

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:
• Two or more years of experience in a bike shop, community bike project, non-profit, or related bike industry organization
• Two or more years of experience supervising staff within the bike industry or in a related field
• Professional-level bike mechanical skills
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with a proven track record of working cooperatively in a team and across departments
• Previous experience designing, implementing, and holding others accountable to organizational systems and work processes
• Enthusiasm for Bike Works’ mission and the ability to motivate others around that mission
• Commitment to youth leadership, sustainable communities and bicycle transportation
• Willingness and ability to work with people from a variety of racial, cultural, religious and economic backgrounds, with various ages, lifestyles, sexual orientations, gender orientations and political beliefs
• Commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends, scheduled in advance
• Driver’s license and ability to pass a driving record check
• Ability to lift bicycles (up to 50 pounds), and load or unload bicycles from containers or vehicles

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:
• Energetic, flexible, personable, and a sense of humor
• Ability to write in a clear and concise manner and verbally communicate with people from diverse communities
• Fluency in two or more languages
• Ability to manage time effectively
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Access and internet searching
• Comfort with speaking in front of groups

COMPENSATION: $33,000 to $38,000, depending on experience, plus medical, dental and paid vacation.

How to Apply

HOW TO APPLY:
Please visit our website at www.bikeworks.org for more information about Bike Works.

Email your resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references to steve@bikeworks.org.
NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

This position is open until filled. Complete applications received by June 28, 2014 will receive priority consideration.

Women and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Bike Works is an Equal Opportunity and queer-friendly employer.

Dates announced for carfree riding around Crater Lake

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There’s nothing quite like it… especially without any cars to deal with.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

If you missed a chance to ride McKenzie Pass without being disturbed by noisy and smelly cars (it was just re-opened to all traffic over the weekend), then I’ve got some great news: Officials from Crater Lake National Park and Travel Oregon just announced this year’s dates for their own version of carfree cycling spectacularness.

This year there will be three different dates when certain sections of Rim Drive will be open only to non-motorized traffic: June 21-22 (this weekend!), Saturday September 20th and Saturday, September 27th.

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‘Popcorn plaza’ video shows off benefits of reusing underused street space

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One of the organizers for local group Better Block PDX has made a nice video of how Portlanders responded to two temporary public spaces the group created over the weekend at one of Portland’s most interesting intersections.

After securing city permits and a green light from nearby business owners, the Better Block PDX team marked off an underused turn lane at Southeast 26th and Clinton and turned it into a public plaza (or technically, Portland architect Don Arambula observed, a “forecourt”) for two days.

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PBOT hires Margi Bradway as new Active Transpo Division Manager

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Margi Bradway speaking at a panel discussion
at the Oregon Active Transportation Summit in 2012.
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has hired Margi Bradway to be their new Active Transportation Division Manager. Bradway, 40, comes to PBOT from the Oregon Department of Transportation where she managed the agency’s Sustainability Program and more recently became their lead staffer on active transportation policy. Bradway was also a close adviser to ODOT Director Matt Garrett.

Here’s more about Bradway from ODOT’s website:

Margi is a long time Portland resident with a background in environmental science. Before law school Margi worked for the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C. on national wetlands policy. During law school at Lewis and Clark College, Margi worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Justice in the Natural Resources Division. Margi was also an environmental attorney at Stoel Rives.

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PPB Chief Reese joins a shift with downtown bike patrol

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Portland Police Bureau Chief Mike Reese on SW 2nd Ave and Ankeny this morning.
(Photos J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland Police Bureau Chief Mike Reese is on bike patrol today.

I follow @chiefreese on Twitter and this morning he mentioned he was out with bike officers today. Then, after a few readers texted me his whereabouts (thanks Ryan and Dee!), I rolled out to track him down. I ended up meeting him and Officer Todd Engstrom near the corner of SW 2nd and Burnside.

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Legislator says effort to improve 82nd Avenue is ‘really picking up steam’

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State Sen. Michael Dembrow, right, at a Safe Routes
to School ride with state Rep. Lew Frederick in 2010.
(Photo J.Maus/BikePortland)

Saying that a window of opportunity is opening for the Oregon Department of Transportation to make Portland’s 82nd Avenue a better place, State Sen. Michael Dembrow is urging people to attend two events this summer.

“I’ve been working on various issues related to 82nd since I was first elected, and now a path to addressing these issues in a more comprehensive way is opening up.,” Dembrow wrote in an email this week. “Neighborhood leaders have convened a group to bring together businesses and community leaders, neighbors and neighborhood associations to create a unified voice for change along 82nd Ave. The 82nd Ave. Improvement Coalition has been meeting regularly since the beginning of this year, and I’ve been able to attend several of their meetings. Things are now really picking up steam.”

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Bike-to-transit mobile trip planner launches in Portland

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nimbler screenshots

A free app that uses the open-source software behind TriMet’s much-heralded Trip Planner has just brought multimodal trip planning to Portland iPhones.

Nimbler, a California-based startup that already has similar apps in place for San Francisco and Washington DC, combines public transit schedules, bike routes and (in other cities) bike share station info to make it easy to combine bike and transit trips.

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After alleged bike-bus collision, TriMet driver tells man ‘You’re fine’ and drives off

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Google Street View image of the approximate incident location. The bus stop is visible beneath the tree at right.

TriMet is investigating an incident in which a man claims that a TriMet operator blew him off after a bus pulled in front of him while he was riding his bike, prompting a collision.

The encounter took place June 6 at 4:30 pm, leaving the man, Erik Holm, with what he described as “minor pain in my left shoulder, injury sustained when I used my left arm to brace against impact with the bus at oblique angle.”

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New buffered bike lanes for Boones Ferry Road

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Brand new buffered bike lane on SW Boones Ferry Road installed by Washington County.
(Photo: Robin Straughan)

Reader Robin Straughan sent in the news that Washington County has added buffered bike lanes and a sidewalk to a one-mile stretch of SW Boones Ferry Road between Tualatin and Wilsonville (map).

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