BikePortland

White/red/black Felt Z5 2011

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Year: 2011
Brand: Felt
Model: Z5
Color:White/red/black
Serial: F112D0908
Stolen in Portland, OR 97204
Stolen:2014-06-3
Stolen From: 4th and Yamhill, right outside the Apple Store in downtown portland. bike stolen off my car’s bike rack, parked on 4th street between Yamhill and Taylor. interestingly, 2 security guards stationed on that corner didn’t see a thing.
Neighborhood: downtown portland
Owner: Kelly Cushing
OwnerEmail: kellycushing( atsign )hotmail.com
Reward: $100
Description: White Felt Z5 road bike with red/black on frame. white handlebar tape with silver chrome handlebars visible in the middle. white stem, white seat with black and greenish blue color. 2 black water cages in frame. black bag under seat (which may or may not still be there), with tube, tool, tire levers, patch kit, etc.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: 14-154348
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

The world’s best bike festival kicks off … right now

Portland’s summer will unofficially begin at 6 p.m. today in Colonel Summers Park at Southeast 20th Avenue and Belmont. Ingredients: one sun, one city and several hundred thousand bicycles.

They won’t all be at tonight’s PedalPalooza kickoff ride, of course. But the first big event of Portland’s annual bike festival means the start of the sunny season and the beginning of 24 days of ridiculously wide-ranging fun on bicycles.

Landslide in the Historic Columbia River Highway near the Stark Street Bridge.
(Photo: Michael Johnson)

A big landslide has forced ODOT to close the Historic Columbia River Highway. The slide happened a few hours ago and it’s just before the Stark Street bridge as you head east. ODOT Region 1 spokesman Don Hamilton told us a few minutes ago that the road will be closed at least through Friday. Hamilton said ODOT crews will inspect the 80-100 foot high rock face in the morning to make sure it’s stable enough to cart the rocks away.

Download Episode

Portland’s traffic signal guru, Peter Koonce,
in our podcast studio.
(Photo J.Maus/BikePortland)

When you change something about a traffic signal, people don’t notice. They simply obey.

Well, mostly.

Maybe that’s why signals have quietly become one of the most important and unique ways that Portland has made itself a better place for walking, biking and driving cars at reasonable speeds rather than at noisy and unsafe ones.

In this month’s episode of the BikePortland podcast, Jonathan, producer Lillian Karabaic and I interview one of the wizards behind the curtain of Portland’s unusually safe streets: Peter Koonce.

Koonce, the division manager for Portland’s signals and street lighting division and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in municipal government, talked with us about all the tricks in the city’s signal system that you never even noticed. And as always, we close with a transportation tip of the month, Lily’s favorite tweets about TriMet and the uncannily appropriate song that Lily found for the subject of the show.

You’d be smiling too if you were rolling on the perfect roads on the Pioneer Century route.
(Photo J. Maus/BikePortland)

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

Yes, yes, we know Pedalpalooza starts today and fills the entire weekend with dozens of bike rides… But believe it or not there is a world of bicycling beyond that joyous kingdom of bike fun. So, we present to you a carefully considered selection of rides and events that you won’t find on the Pedalpalooza calendar.

(Program note: We’ll be posting a Pedalpalooza Preview each Saturday morning beginning this Saturday.)

Friday, June 6th

Lifestyle columnist Cathy Hastie.

My friend, a recent transplant from the Midwest, was describing his 35-mile round trip bike commute during the misty quiet of the early mornings. He sets off in the dark, living his ideals, even on those days when he doesn’t really want to. His commitment put me in awe.

But what he wanted to talk about was stop signs.

“What do people here in Portland do?” he asked, eager to know. “At 4 a.m., when no one is around, do you stop?”

At first, I thought he was joking. Is there any place in the U.S. where people stop their bikes at stop signs at 4 in the morning when no one is around?

Year: 2014
Brand: Trek
Model: 7.5 FX WSD 15 TL 13
Color:Drk Green
Size:15
Serial: WTU357C7029G
Stolen in Portland, OR 97215
Stolen:2014-06-5
Stolen From: Back deck of my house. SE 52nd and SE Stark
Neighborhood: Mt Tabor
Owner: Victoria Skakel
OwnerEmail: zvskakel(A T)gmail.com
Reward: Yes
Description: Computer, headlight, Shimano SPD Touring pedals, back rack with black bag (but is easily removed), bottle cage
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Tan K2 Astral 3.0

Brand: K2
Model: Astral 3.0
Color:Tan
Size:Medium
Stolen in Portland, OR 97209
Stolen:2014-06-3
Stolen From: 937 NW Glisan . Between NW 9th and 10th Ave
Neighborhood: Pearl
Owner: Adam Crelling
OwnerEmail: acrelling(A T)hotmail.com
Description: Almost new. No damage. Tan in color. Standard peddles. Straight crossbar handlebars.
Police record with: Portland PD
Police reference#: T14005927
This registrant does not have proof of ownership of this bike

Maroon Fuji Crosstown 2008

Year: 2008
Brand: Fuji
Model: Crosstown
Color:Maroon
Size:17″
Serial: ICF7L08523
Stolen in Portland, OR 97217
Stolen:2014-06-01
Stolen From: Vendetta Bar, 4306 N Williams Ave. Portland OR
Neighborhood: Boise
Owner: Matt Brown
OwnerEmail: Baseboardmatt(at sign)yahoo.com
Reward: Beer
Description: Unisex bike, black fenders, near new condition, rarely rode,
Police record with: Portland
Police reference#: 14-45501
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Red Surly Instigator 2009

Year: 2009
Brand: Surly
Model: Instigator
Color:Red
Size:Large
Stolen in Portland, OR 97210
Stolen:2014-06-4
Stolen From: Rae’s lake new lounge
Neighborhood: NW Portland by Montgomery park
Owner: Andy Throckmorton
OwnerEmail: Andythrockmorton(replace with at sign)gmail.com
Description: Red frame black accessories, polished steel Chris King headset silver brake levers. Disc brakes, large tires big gussets on connecting the steer tube to the top tube and down tube.
Police record with: Portland
This registrant has documented proof of ownership of this bike

Is Portland’s newest urban corridor good or bad? City is asking residents

SE Division street scene - photo by Michael Andersen

There’s nothing like a walk to better understand the impact of changes to a street.
(Photo M. Andersen/BikePortland)

Portland’s planning department is trying to figure out if the rapid transformation of Southeast Division Street will become a template or a cautionary tale.

On Wednesday night, it’s invited the public to attend a “community walk” to assess the rapidly redeveloping street and “consider zoning issues through a local lens.”

The walk is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and begins at Piccolo Park, SE 28th and Division. According to the official description, city staffers will ask:

What’s working well or not so well regarding new development?
How can zoning code regulations help support a thriving business environment?
What building features, scale, or site designs will enhance the character of the area?
What design features will create a quality environment for future residents?
What are appropriate ways of creating transitions in development scale and activity between mixed use development and adjacent residential areas?

Charley Gee helps us work through the
wonk on insurance.

Welcome to our Get Legal column. This is usually written by noted local bike lawyer Ray Thomas. But this time we’ve got one of Mr. Thomas’s co-workers Charley Gee filling in. Gee, an attorney at Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton is also an expert on how bicycles fit into the legal fine print. Today he’ll unravel confusion that often exists around insurance. Specifically, how auto insurance policies impacts those of us who don’t drive much (or at all).

Q. I have an Oregon automobile insurance policy. What does that mean?

A. In Oregon, every automobile insurance policy has four areas of coverage: Liability, Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Property Damage, and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM).

Q. What is PIP?

A. PIP covers medical expenses and lost wages if you are injured in a collision. In Oregon, the minimum amount of coverage is $15,000. PIP is (usually) “first party” coverage which means your automobile insurance covers your medical bills and wage loss despite the collision being the fault of another road user.

Q. I ride a bicycle and walk places sometimes, do I need to buy an additional insurance policy that covers me when I ride?

White/red/black Felt Z5 2011

The world’s best bike festival kicks off … right now

Landslide closes Historic Columbia River Hwy near Stark St. Bridge

On the podcast: The ‘invisible urbanism’ of traffic signals

Weekend Event Guide: Shuttles, films, and blesssings and more

Friday, June 6th

Lifestyle column: Observing, analyzing Portland’s stop sign culture

Drk Green Trek 7.5 FX WSD 15 TL 13 2014

Tan K2 Astral 3.0

Maroon Fuji Crosstown 2008

Red Surly Instigator 2009

Is Portland’s newest urban corridor good or bad? City is asking residents

Get Legal: Auto insurance, biking, walking, and you

Latest Headlines

Advocate for nondrivers, Anna Zivarts, will speak in Portland Wednesday

Police team up with park rangers to patrol paths

Tow truck driver hops onto I-5 bike path to skirt traffic

Peer into future of I-5 freeway covers at community work session

From the Archives

More biking = better driving. So why isn’t this said more often?