After being cooped up all last week, and having to cancel Bike Happy Hour for the first time in 40 weeks, I’m ready to get out and see your beautiful faces. I hope you’ll consider joining us tomorrow (Wednesday, January 23rd) at Ankeny Tap & Table (2724 SE Ankeny) for our weekly gathering.
We have two special guests who will be joining us: Portland City Council candidates Sarah Silkie from District 4 (Sellwood and west Portland) and Jesse Cornett from District 3. Both candidates reached out to BikePortland and want to learn more about bicycling. Sarah, a Portland Water Bureau employee and mom to three young kids, asked specifically about my opinion on parking-protected bike lane designs and whether I preferred them over standard bike lanes or a sidewalk-level facility. And you already know about Jesse from his recent interview on the BP Podcast. This is a great chance to bend their ears and make sure they understand how important cycling is to our city. Each candidate will share a short stump speech and then will be available for questions. As per usual we’ll open the mic around 5:00.
And of course Bike Happy Hour is open to everyone and you don’t need to be a special guest to just show up. Other council candidates are always welcome.
Also this week I’m happy to have fresh name tags and Regulars Club cards for everyone who needs one. I also plan to bring some BikePortland postcards so folks can write out notes of thanks to PBOT for all their hard work this past week dealing with the storm.
What else? Our hosts at Ankeny Tap have a new menu and I encourage folks to grab dinner or heavy snacks. They make great food and part of what we’re doing with BHH is supporting local businesses.
One other thing… Is anyone reading a good transportation-related book? I’ve been stewing on how to do a Bike Happy Hour Book Club for a few weeks now and it just hasn’t crystalized yet; but maybe we can start by giving some time during open mic to anyone who’s reading a good book and has insights to share about it.
See you tomorrow!
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Bike Happy Hour – Every Weds All Year Long 3-6 pm at Ankeny Tap & Table, 2724 SE Ankeny Street $2 off drinks from Ankeny Tap, Gorges Beer, and Crema Coffee
In this video you’ll get a close-up view of what some of Portland’s bikeways looked like after the Great Storm of 2024. Sunday was the first day I felt safe enough going for a proper ride, so I grabbed my cameras and did a loop from my house near Peninsula Park, down to the Pearl District via Broadway Bridge, then back up on the N Greeley path and Rosa Parks Way.
Listen to my narration or read the captions for more details.
Bike lane conditions on N Rosa Parks near I-5 ramps on Sunday, January 21st. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Many transportation bigwigs came together around a table inside the EcoTrust building in the Pearl District this morning for a meeting of the Regional Tolling Advisory Committee. On hand were RTAC members including: a VP of the Portland Metro Chamber, the director of the Oregon Trucking Association, the directors of the Oregon and Washington transportation departments, several Metro councilors, commissioners from Multnomah and other counties, etc.
The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone, also an RTAC member, was only able to attend via Zoom. Why? Here’s how she opened one of her comments:
“I’m sorry I’m not there today. The bike lanes aren’t quite as clear as the motor vehicle lanes, so it’s not super safe for me to be commuting down there. So I appreciate you allowing me to Zoom in.”
Yes, the good news is this tragic and terrible storm is behind us. But the bad news is — just like the trauma and damage this storm inflicted on many Portlanders will linger — so too will terrible bike lane conditions and dangerous roads that put everyone outside of a car at risk.
N Greeley AveNW LovejoyN Rosa Parks WayN InterstateN Broadway
“It’s really dangerous for people cycling on streets right now,” Iannarone shared from her personal X account a few minutes ago. “A lot of pent up demand and frustration from motor vehicle operators, plus seriously hazardous bike lanes, still quite icy and strewn with debris.”
I rolled out for a loop from north Portland down town the Broadway Bridge on Sunday to document conditions. Thankfully, much of the snow and ice I biked through has mostly melted away by now, but the debris and gravel remain. People who are out on bikes are forced to make difficult decisions: brave huge puddles, slippery gravel, branches and clumps of snow — or share adjacent lanes with other road users.
One of our readers, Carlosb_music, shared via an Instagram comment today that, “I was forced out of the bike lane and into the traffic lane due to the gravel and ice and was almost side-swiped twice this morning.”
Portland bike riders like Carlosb_music, Iannarone, and many others are so desperate for cleaner and safer travel lanes that one local activist went so far as to tell us about the sale of an old PBOT street sweeper at auction. Turns out it’s the same Ravo sweeper I wrote about on here 10 years ago when PBOT first added it to their fleet. In that story I shared how PBOT purchased it specifically for its small footprint and ability to sweep inside narrow, protected bike lanes.
PBOT’s old mini sweeper listed at an auction site.
When I saw it pop up over the weekend, some local riders said they wanted to purchase it. The current bid is $1,300 — a fraction of what a similar model would sell for (new or used). According to the listing, the sweeper has 34,291 miles on it and its sweeper has been run for 1,958 miles. Whether someone wins the auction and whether they follow through with using it to clean public right-of-ways (which would open up a whole other issue and not be appreciated by PBOT I’m sure), remains to be seen.
For their part, PBOT says the old Ravo sweeper is “at the end of its usable life” and they’ve already got a replacement ready to go. Hopefully, once they’ve caught up with the vast amount of work created by this major storm, they’ll get the new one out on the road to suck up all the gravel, twigs, and other debris that makes riding in bike lanes more dangerous than it should be.
Whatever happens, from the look of some of our city’s bike lanes, I’m not surprised folks are putting in bids to buy an old sweeper. Every time PBOT lays down gravel, it takes a very long time to clean it up. The gravel is deployed just to make sure drivers can continue to use the roads for a few days — but the impact to bicycle (and other mobility device) users can last months.
This year, I plan to more than just watchdog PBOT’s response. Like other Portlanders who’ve literally taken this issue into theirown hands, stay tuned for BikePortland to help organize some mass deployments of citizen sweeping brigades citywide. Got a broom?
Attorney (and BikePortland advertiser) Chris Thomas of the Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost law firm, shared his expertise on liability in the comments section of our recent post about a case involving Oregon’s recreational immunity law: “In fact, recreational immunity is alive and well,” wrote Thomas.
Thomas reminds readers of the meat-and-potatoes of how civil trials work, and explains what is happening behind the scenes.
Thanks Jonathan for your coverage here. This is a complex issue and I want to share a few thoughts and points of clarification.
The plaintiff in this case, Ms. Fields, has not received any compensation for her injuries. Her case is set for trial, and she will lose if a jury decides either 1) she was walking for recreation, not transportation, at the time she fell, or 2) she was more than 50% at fault for causing her injuries.The appeals court in Fields said that a jury, not a judge, should decide whether Ms. Fields was using the trail for recreation (creating immunity) or transportation (no immunity) at the time she fell.
Based on the Fields case, an insurance company for small towns in Oregon, CIS, put a memo out declaring that the court had “effectively ended recreational immunity.” In fact, recreational immunity is alive and well, but CIS wishes that the judges had decided Ms. Fields was recreating at the time she fell and thrown her case out on that basis. In our civil justice system, questions of fact are decided by juries, not judges, which is why the Fields court said the issue should go to the jury. Again, a jury could still decide that Ms. Fields was recreating and she would lose on that basis.
Unfortunately, the CIS narrative that recreational immunity no longer exists has gained traction, causing many small towns to close trails.
Why does Ms. Fields’ purpose in using the trail–transportation or recreation–matter? Imagine she was walking to the beach not to enjoy the scenery, but rather to work at her job as a lifeguard (or picking up trash, or as a park ranger, etc.). If she fell on an extremely slippery bridge on a City-owned path, and that was the only way for her to access her job, shouldn’t she be entitled to bring a case against the City for poor infrastructure? Of course, she could still lose that case if a jury found the City acted reasonably, or that she didn’t walk carefully enough, but should her case be tossed out at the outset because she happened to be walking on a public trail where people often recreate?
An analogy for Portland bicyclists: If I am riding to work on the Springwater corridor, and a City worker accidentally left a big pile of lose gravel on the path, causing me to crash and sustain injuries, should I not be allowed to sue the City because I was on a path commonly used for recreation? Again, if a jury later found that I rode for recreation, or that I wasn’t riding carefully enough, I could still lose for either of those reasons.
I agree that private landowners who open their property up to the public for recreational use should not have to worry about being sued. But there are many public facilities, like the Springwater corridor, where I think it is good for the City to have an incentive to keep them safe, as they are not only used for recreation but are also an important part of our transportation network. And I worry that the reaction to Fields case will be to say there is immunity on any “recreational” facility, regardless of why or how it was being used, which could have unintended consequences that uniquely affect vulnerable users.
Thank you Chris Thomas! This is the first of several comments Chris wrote, he also responded to a couple of other commenters. We’re so grateful to have subject-matter experts contributing to our comment section. Read the whole thread here.
Here are the most notable stories our community came across in the past seven days…
Timur talks: One of the candidates I’m most excited about is Timur Ender who’s running in Dist 1 (East Portland). Don’t miss his recent interview on a local podcast. (Progress Portland)
‘Cross props: Portland’s very own Clara Honsinger (who nabbed bronze at a race in Belgium over the weekend) is featured prominently in this fun story on cyclocross from a major mainstream outlet. (Washington Post)
Crisis vs cautious: What is behind the (often) generational split between pro-housing and anti-housing environmentalists? It often comes down to age, economic status, and the urgency one feels for the threat of climate change. (The Atlantic)
Safe streets funding: Advocates in Los Angeles — where there were a whopping 330 traffic deaths last year — got a measure on the ballot that would fund bike and safety infrastructure that’s been too slow to get built. (LA Times Editorial Board)
NTOR is coming: Another mainstream article details the reasons for right-turn-on-red bans and why a lot of cities are contemplating them. We hear PBOT is considering it too, so stay tuned. (CNN)
Universal basic mobility: Los Angeles is giving 1,000 residents $150 to spend on transportation — but none of the money can go toward owning or operating a car. It’s similar to PBOT’s Transportaton Wallet program and the article says the idea is catching on “like wildfire”. (Next City)
Hop on one of these: A good rundown of 10 solid electric cargo bike options for folks that need to cart kids around. (Bike Mag)
Not just emissions: Latest numbers show that despite a shift away from gasoline, America’s driving habits have caused transportation emissions to go up — and a big contributor to the bad number is the carbon required in the manufacture of the (ever-larger) vehicles themselves. (Streetsblog USA)
Suck it, speeders!: The reasons folks in Bologna, Italy cite for being opposed to a new 30 km/hr speed limit are hilarious — “it makes me late” and “I’ll crash if I have to worry about the speedometer” — and help reveal why anti dangerous driving laws and enforcement are so desperately needed worldwide. (The Guardian)
Give up your keys: There’s a lot of ink spilled on old politicians these days. But older Americans behind the wheel of big cars is just as scary. A new movement to make it easier for folks to stop driving when they lose mental and physical acumen could be one answer to getting folks to give up the keys. (Washington Post)
Most walkable: Portland nabbed 5th in this ranking of the top 20 most walkable cities in America (behind Seattle!) according to a report from Smart Growth America. (Conde Nast Traveler)
Eva Frazier and I are back with another episode of “In The Shed.” This episode was recorded earlier today in the BikePortland Shed, as we just barely began to thaw from the Big Deep Freeze of the past week.
As per usual, Eva and I had a fun chat about a wide range of stuff:
The Deep Freeze of 2024
Why are people still on the roads?
Eva brought me an amazing beer she and a friend made (dubbed the “Overlooked”) with hops and barley grown in their backyards!
Jonathan has started reading the famous book on Robert Moses, The Power Broker
Food trucks in downtown Portland
Is Portland even a real big city?
The best view to enter Portland from
Why Eva loves freeway overpasses with peeling paint
How cities are like “free jazz” music
Update on Eva’s “30 days of minimalism” challenge
Getting the bike lane complaint tone right in light of PBOT crews
Exciting new off-road trails in Cascade Locks in the works
Thanks to Brock Dittus of Sprocket Podcast fame for our fantastic theme music. Listen in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!
Jesse Cornett is running for District 3, which encompasses (roughly) southeast Portland from the Willamette to 82nd, and I-84 to the southern border. He’s an intriguing candidate, not just because he was a “body man” for Senator Bernie Sanders and worked on his presidential campaign, but because of his long political resume here in Oregon. In 2008 he narrowly lost a race for the Oregon State Senate and in 2010 he ran for Portland City Council. I interviewed him during that campaign, so it was fun to sit down with him again today — 14 years later.
Our conversation touched on a wide range of topics, from policing to homelessness — to whether or not Portland’s goal of 25% cycling mode share by 2030 is possible.
Check out a few of our exchanges below:
If you’re on council would you support the idea of reducing space for driving so that we can put other things in its place?
“Yes. Absolutely. I think to the extent that we find opportunities to reduce lanes, we absolutely should… SE 31st Avenue is shut down right now north of Hawthorne for a block for construction. And I’ve long had this perspective — seeing this all around inner Southeast Portland where we’re building these condos — we’re shutting down entire blocks for months years. In some cases it’s been well over a year this block has been closed. I think we’ve proven as the city we don’t need that block, let’s start shutting down some of those blocks and making community spaces out of them.”
How would you respond to people who would oppose that idea due to concerns about diversion?
“I think if that were a primary concern of theirs, you would have imagined they would have been saying something over the past year and a half while this street was shut so somebody could make a profit selling condos. That’s okay? But keeping it short for community use is not okay? No, I think it is.”
How will you lead an electorate that is as split and divisive as ever?
“If you look at who’s even given me money, so far, there are some names on there that people would think, “Wow, [real estate developer] Homer Williams gave $350 to Bernie Sanders guy,’ and there are some other names that are maybe less brand names, who aren’t considered politically liberal, are supporting me despite my personal politics. And that’s because I think I’ve started to prove that I have a particular brand of collaborative politics… Let’s look at the issue of housing and homelessness. I think that we’ve created the scenario in Portland where if you dare to speak nice of somebody living in a tent and their rights and our responsibilities as a society, the homeowner who they’re five feet away from is feeling ignored, as if their concerns aren’t valued. Well for me, for that person and their wife, that [home is] probably their major lifetime investment. Do I think that the care of the person in the tent matters? Yes. Do I think the concerns of the homeowner are valid? Absolutely. It’s not one or the other. And I think that helps me bridge a political divide…”
What are the “good old days” in Portland to you? What should we be striving for as a city, to get back to, or to move forward toward?
“I don’t want to get back to anything. That’s not what I’m here to do. What I am is a bridge to the future that we want to see in the city… In terms of who we are as a city? We’ve changed, we’ve grown, diversity has shifted — I don’t want to get us back to anything. I want to help folks that liked it in 1997, to love it in 2027.”
Local nonprofit BikeLoud PDX has made it their central mission for Portland to reach 25% bicycle mode share by 2030. Do you think that’s a reasonable goal?
“I don’t think it’s my job to tell a group of volunteers what’s reasonable, but I’ll say, had the US government not set a goal to get a man on the moon within 10 years, we would have absolutely never sent somebody to the moon. You have to have goals that are lofty. If your ridership is at 8% and you get it to 10%, you can take a victory lap and probably raise some money on that. But was that going to happen already? Maybe so… Who cares if it’s unreasonable? Let’s go for it.”
My necessities for a recent housing search in Portland… and the front rack bag I crammed it all into. (Photos: Erin Bailie)
Hi! I’m Erin Bailie, and I’ll be moving from Seattle to Portland (Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood) in February. By day I work a tech job in product/research, and I love using bicycles as my primary means of transportation. In my 30-something years I’ve lived a lot of bike lives: I’ve been bike commuting since second grade, sometimes I do track racing or go bikepacking, and I love Pedalpalooza. Reading BikePortland has been part of my morning routine for years, and I can’t wait to chronicle some of my thoughts as a newcomer to town.
Though my husband Jonathan and I will be new to Portland, Portland won’t be new to us. Over the past few years, we’ve found any excuse we can to visit for the weekend. We’ve driven, taken Amtrak, and once we even rode the whole way to Portland (thanks, STP!). When the opportunity knocked for Jonathan to take a job in Portland, we couldn’t say “yes!” fast enough.
The month before our move, we spent a week in Portland with the sole purpose of finding housing. Each day played out in a chaotic frenzy: I crammed my necessities and laptop into a front rack bag and rode from our lodging in Richmond, to rental showings across northeast and southeast, to co-working spaces to dial into meetings — and tried to find a gluten-free lunch somewhere along the way.
While I didn’t record my GPS during this ride, I tried to recreate my confused meandering between Sandy Blvd and the Blumenauer Bridge. Still getting my bearings, clearly.
I thought I was clear to ride in my “girl clothes” at one point. Mother Nature proved me wrong. I get the hype around cycling capes now.
And here’s the thing: I had the time of my life. Before rolling off, I’d memorize key details for my route: the cross streets of my destination, or which bridge I wanted to use to cross I-84. From there, I could zig-zag as I pleased on neighborhood greenways to get from A to B. That’s not to say there weren’t hiccups. While riding from Tabor to Lloyd, I knew I needed to find my way to northbound 7th Ave to cross I-84 on the Blumenauer Bridge. Except… all the bikeways kept turning south, away from the highway. A quick stop to check Google Maps got me on Ankeny and back on my way.
As I crossed the bridge and found my co-working space just in time for my meeting, I reflected on how infrequently a piece of infrastructure is named for a person who’s still living. (I look forward to learning more about Earl Blumenauer’s legacy on Portland, seems like a required part of becoming a True Portlander.)
A recurring theme of that week was clothing. January weather did what January weather does: it rained, it was windy, it was cold. I have plenty of clothes from REI to keep me warm and dry in those conditions, but I don’t love showing up to house showings or work calls in a dripping-wet jacket. I met with a friend for dinner and she rolled up in a waxed canvas cycling cape, and I silently wondered how long I would hold out before buying one for myself. We giggled about how nice it was to wear “girl clothes” under a rain layer, something I only wish for with my cycling jacket.
We’ve signed a lease and are back in Seattle to pack our things before fully moving in to Portland in early February. I can’t wait to ride more streets, meet more people, and learn how to call Portland home. Hope you’ll follow along as I share my perspective as a new Portland biker.
A trail near Boiler Bay on the Oregon Coast. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
A law that was created to shield land managers and property owners from liability claims is under fire and public trail access — including bike trails — across Oregon could be in jeopardy. That’s the state-of-play due to a decision in July 2023 by the Oregon Court of Appeals in a case that hinged on the legal concept of, “recreational immunity.”
Oregon’s recreational immunity law (ORS 105.682) states, “an owner of land is not liable in contract or tort for any personal injury, death or property damage that arises out of the use of the land for recreational purposes.” The idea behind this law is to encourage landowners (government entities or private companies/individuals) to keep trails open to the public without fear of being sued if someone is hurt using them.
Challenges to this law have happened before, but one if its biggest tests yet began when a woman slipped on a trail and broke her leg while walking near Agate Beach on the Oregon Coast in 2019 and sued the City of Newport for damages, saying the law shouldn’t apply because she wasn’t recreating at the time of her fall. Nicole Fields claimed the city was negligent because they failed to maintain a footbridge on a trail that led to the beach. Her lawyers argued their client was using the trail as an access route to her recreation — and was not technically recreating — when she fell. A local judge didn’t accept that argument and ruled in favor of the City of Newport. But last summer, the decision was reversed by the Court of Appeals. When the Oregon Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to the case in October, it raised questions about how to apply this important law.
Some cities and land managers are confused and worried that they will no longer be shielded from lawsuits if they keep trails open. According to the Salem Statesman Journal, several coastal cities have already closed trails and paused trail projects already. The Journal also reports that some legal experts feel closures are an overreaction, spurred by insurance industry scare tactics.
While the issue is debated and everyone waits for clarity from the Oregon Legislature, trail advocates are not sitting on their hands.
The Oregon Trails Coalition, a statewide nonprofit, sent an action alert to members last month that warned, “Oregon’s trails are under threat!” The organization’s top priority for the 2024 short session is to seek a legislative fix. “Oregon Trails Coalition is helping… to bring attention to the issue and encourage lawmakers to Protect Oregon Recreation by restoring recreational immunity in Oregon with new language that provides clear protections for land managers that open their lands to the public,” reads an OTC blog post published December 15th.
Observers say a fix to the law is imminent in the 2024 session that begins Monday, February 5th. If a bill is introduced, stay tuned for opportunities to testify. You can also make plans to join OTC and other advocates at their Trails Day at the Oregon Capitol event on February 12th.
After several days holed up at home and frozen, the thought of biking through the city with friends, gazing at creative light displays, and being entertained by people holding fire sounds mighty fine right about now.
If that sounds cool, you’ll be happy to know that the program for the annual Portland Winter Light Festival (PDXWLF) was announced today. What is PDXWLF? The nonprofit Willamette Light Brigade, the organization that hosts the event, puts it like this:
“PDXWLF brings art, technology, and inclusivity together, invigorating Portland in the winter. With free admission, the festival fosters community and showcases captivating light installations, projections, and interactive displays, creating an immersive experience for all attendees.”
The event is a collection of over 200 illuminated art displays throughout the city — and a bicycle is the best way to see them all! In fact, cycling is such a good match for this festival that organizers have released seven routes curated specifically for riders, put together by ride leader and BikePortland contributor Tom Howe.
The seven bike-friendly routes that take you to illuminated art installations. Get links to maps on RideWithGPS here.
And because many folks prefer to illuminate their bicycles as a way to connect with the event, there’s an event before the festival opens to help get you and your bike ready.
This year, the Light Your Bike event is one of several official pre-festival workshops. Show up to Lloyd Center on Saturday, January 27th, to sparkle-up your rig and get it tuned up to make sure you can enjoy as many installations as possible. Expert illuminologists will be on hand to help and a limited number of lights will be available on a pay-what-you-can basis. Learn more about the event on Facebook.
The fest begins February 2nd and runs through February 10th. Watch our Weekend Event Guide and social channels for upcoming ride details and check out PDXWLF.com to plan your attack.
Slide shown by PBOT right-of-way manager at City Council this morning.
“This will increase the walkability of the Central City Plan District and decrease the need for auto-oriented transportation.”
Mingus Mapps, PBOT commissioner
Portland City Council voted unanimously at their meeting this morning to green light a new pilot program that will bring more mobile food trucks to the the central city. The program is expected to help revitalize downtown, the Lloyd, and the Central Eastside, by allowing food truck operators to park adjacent to sidewalks and do business in the public right-of-way — a practice current city code prohibits.
The program will be operated by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) as an expansion of their Healthy Business permit program that was launched during the pandemic as a way to help businesses expand operations into the street. That program also began as a pilot and was recently made permanent.
The ordinance means PBOT receives a nearly two-year waiver from having to comply with existing city code 14A.50.040 which states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or attempt to sell any merchandise or services in or upon any sidewalk, street, alley, lane, public right of way, or under any bridgeway or viaduct within the Central City Plan District.”
Hopefully, flexibility in vending rules on transportation right-of-way will lead to a similar shift in Parks-owned properties like Waterfront Park which is currently a dead zone just waiting for food and drink vendors. (Left photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
At council today, PBOT Commissioner Mingus Mapps said the pilot program will, “Increase the walkability of the Central City Plan District and decrease the need for auto-oriented transportation.” Mapps lined up supportive testimony from leaders in the local food cart and mobile food scene, as well as a representative of a major downtown property owner who has used food trucks to lure workers back to offices.
I was very happy when Commissioner Rene Gonzalez asked a question about how this program might influence Portland Parks & Recreation to allow carts on their properties. The lack of vendors in Portland’s parks has long been a thorn in the side of urbanists and anyone who understands how to create dynamic public spaces. PBOT right-of-way specialist David McEldowney told Gonzalez he’s already spoken to a high-level Parks staffer about it: “The vibe I got from him was that Parks staff really don’t want the food trucks in the park. So if they could come next to the park and vend in there, that was much more exciting for them… So, we’re looking forward to having a great relationship with Parks on this.”
And Mapps Policy Advisor Jackson Pahl added, “If Parks does want to come forward and partner with PBOT on activating streets along their parks, we are ready, willing, able and very, very excited to activate both public and private property.”
A stronger partnership between PBOT and Parks on activating public spaces (or on anything for that matter!) would reap huge benefits for our city, so this back-and-forth was great to hear.
The only concern fielded during discussion of this agenda item at the council meeting came from Commissioner Dan Ryan. Calling it a “good problem” to have, he said when downtown is busy again and there’s a lot of foot traffic and demand, some business owners might not like the idea of losing parking spaces. “Imagine the day when there is a lot of traffic… and the food truck is taking up a couple parking spaces and… you hear from small brick-and-mortar tenants downtown they want to have readily available parking… how we will be flexible when we want to do all we can for our small businesses?”
PBOT’s McEldowney responded by pointing out that the current pilot program will only allow one food truck per activation. “So that’s only two parking spaces off any one blockface within several blocks of each other. So as far as taking up existing parking this won’t have a big impact there.”
In comments before voting, Parks Commissioner (and mayoral candidate) Carmen Rubio didn’t say anything about vendors in Parks; but with the pilot ending after Rubio, Ryan, and the rest of current Council are no longer in their positions, there will be an excellent opportunity to expand the program in 2026 if it’s successful.
In comments before sharing his “yes” vote, Mayor Wheeler rattled off a list of positive trends he sees in downtown’s resurgence, then added. “I saw a great quote the other day in The Atlantic from a city designer in San Francisco who said, ‘If people don’t have to be in the Central City, what you need to do is make them want to be in the central city’.”
The code waiver goes into effect immediately and PBOT has until end of calendar year 2025 to run the program. Read the ordinance here.
Jason’s bike in a photo taken on the Smith and Bybee path, April 2023. (Right) Jason and his dog, Eddie Spaghetti. (Photos via Jason’s Facebook page)
Four months after 43-year-old Rose City Park neighborhood resident Jason Ruhmshottel was killed in a traffic collision, his family is still searching for closure and answers.
According to his sister, Christina Cuanalo, Jason spent his free time playing video games, collecting Funko Pops, and reading. He loved 80’s horror villains such as Freddy Kruger and his favorite author was Stephen King. He ate healthy, but had a weakness for See’s Candy and ice cream. He loved coffee and would rave about a new ground he tried.
Jason lived in Portland his entire life. He attended Jefferson High School and moved to an apartment near NE 53rd and I-84 in 2016. With a degree in Criminal Justice from Portland Community College, Ruhmshottel worked for the Transportation Security Administration at the Portland Airport before switching jobs in to work as a security officer at the Columbia Sportswear warehouse off of North Marine Drive.
Estimated view of driver on N Portland Rd. Jason was coming from the right.Looking northwest at the collision point with bike path on the left.
Jason worked the graveyard shift at the warehouse, which is located adjacent to the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area. When he began that job, he commuted via TriMet bus and walking — a journey Google Maps says takes one hour and 37 minutes. But four years ago, a close family friend gave Jason a bicycle and he began to ride it every day.
Jason could get to work by bike about 30 minutes quicker than taking the bus on a route familiar to many BikePortland readers: the Columbia Slough path between North Vancouver Avenue and Portland Road, then the final two miles along the path that skirts the northern edge of Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area.
“Jason found he enjoyed biking a lot,” Cuanalo shared in an email to BikePortland. “He loved the Smith Bybee trail and often took pics and shared dog treats to passing dogs on the trail.“
Like many of us, Jason’s bike soon became more than just a tool to get to work. “He began adding lighting and features to it, and he bought a manual and did all his repairs himself,” Cuanalo recalled. “He was proud of his bike and told family and many coworkers how much he enjoyed biking.”
Photos on Jason’s Facebook page feature his bike (beaming with lights laced into his spokes) parked on the trail and his main header photo is a view of the wetlands. I could pinpoint the location instantly since I’ve spent many days staring into the trees at the exact same spot.
I also know the the intersection where Jason was hit; but probably not as well as he did. He would have crossed it twice a day to get to work and back.
On that fateful Thursday morning of September 19th, Jason was biking home after a long graveyard shift. It was about one hour before sunrise when, according to an investigation by the Portland Police Bureau, Jason rolled out from the carfree path onto North Portland Road, just as a driver was heading southbound at around 45 mph.
Jason came in contact with the passenger side of the driver’s car (a 2012 Mazda CX7 small SUV) and likely died instantly. A Portland Police officer who responded to the scene, noted in the police report that he saw a, “small, crescent-shaped tire mark that, based on my training and experience, had been deposited by the front tire of Ruhmshottel’s bicycle.”
Jason’s bike was found 85 feet away. The front wheel and forks were completely sheared off.
It’s the conclusion of the PPB crash reconstruction experts that the Mazda driver could not have done anything to avoid hitting Jason. They based that on testimony from the driver and another witness who was driving a car directly behind the Mazda. They say the driver wasn’t impaired or distracted, and that he was driving around 45-50 mph (posted speed limit is 45).
The driver told PPB officers that Jason emerged from the bike path, “Out of nowhere and without warning.” The police report notes that, “The multi-use path has streetlights but they are not functioning. This makes it very difficult to see pedestrians and cyclists as they approach the roadway from the northwest.” The report also notes that, “The cyclist was dressed in mostly black clothing, accessories, and riding a mostly black bike.”
Below is an excerpt from the conclusion of the police investigation:
… Ruhmshottel entered the roadway in front of him there was not enough time and distance for [the driver] to avoid a collision.
According to the Oregon Bicycling Manual, when riding on paths, you should “slow down and be sure drivers see you” when crossing a driveway or street. If Ruhmshottel had adhered to these state recommended guidelines and adhered to ORS I believe this crash could have been avoided.
I find the primary causation of this crash is Ruhmshottel failing to yield to vehicular traffic on N Portland Rd and riding out into traffic. I find a secondary causation to this crash is visibility issues related to lightning and Ruhmshottel’s clothing not contrasting with the background.
That version of events doesn’t seem plausible to Jason’s sister.
“I do not believe my brother would run out in front of traffic,” Cuanalo shared. “This is not who he was.” She said Jason’s co-workers have told her he would always talk about how fast people drove on streets in the area and that he was aware of the risks of riding at night. Now she’s seeking legal advice and is working with BikeLoud PDX to erect a ghost bike to add to the framed picture and flowers she’s maintained at the site since her brother’s death.
Jason is survived by his beloved dog, “Eddie Spaghetti,” as well as his mom Jill Ruhmshottel, nephew Jordan, nieces Michelle, Melissa and Mindy, and his best friend Richard Bigelow (among other distant relatives).See more photos and remembrances at his memorial page.
