View looking east at East Burnside where I think the collision took place.
A collision Thursday night (11/12) in the Hazelwood neighborhood resulted in the death of a male bicycle rider. It happened at the intersection of 122nd and Burnside. The incident was reported by the Portland Police Bureau without any reference to what type of road users were involved. When I mentioned the crash in a story yesterday I didn’t know the victim was a bicycle rider.
East Portland News was on the scene and was first to report details of the crash. According to their report, a responding PPB officer said someone driving a Chevrolet SUV eastbound on Burnside collided with a bicycle rider “somewhere in the intersection”. Photos posted on East Portland News show both vehicles stopped near windows at the MAX station area about 155 feet east of the intersection (see map image below). A damaged bicycle is on the ground and there’s major front-end damage to the right side of the SUV’s hood and windshield.[Read more…]
Front page of the Portland Tribune’s business section on October 25th. How many readers know Brendan Finn is the director of ODOT’s office of urban mobility and lead on the controversial I-5 Rose Quarter project?
Traffic victims were represented by empty pairs of shoes at a 2016 World Day of Remembrance event in Portland. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Late Thursday night someone died while using 122nd Avenue. They were the 46th person whose life ended while traveling on a Portland road so far this year, putting us on the same grim pace as 2019 despite a major reduction in travel due to the pandemic.
There have been four fatal crashes in a one mile stretch of 122nd Avenue in the past year alone. In 2018 I attended a press conference marking the completion of new crossings and other updates to the notoriously deadly street. Standing just one block from one of this year’s deaths, Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, PBOT Director Chris Warner, and other transportation bigwigs gave glowing speeches about their dedication to Vision Zero. Eudaly said the recent changes they made were an example of “transportation done right” and how she wasn’t willing to accept the constant carnage on 122nd. [Read more…]
Congressional colleagues Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Earl Blumenauer at a digital town hall event last month.
After Trump won in 2016, Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer told us he was both appalled yet assured. He said the presidential election was “grim” but that wins for transit and other issues he cares about gave him hope. At the 2017 National Bike Summit just three months after Trump moved into the White House, Blumenauer said cycling might be one way for America to heal its divisions.
Fast forward to 2020 and a Democrat is headed back to the White House. I spoke with Blumenauer on the phone this morning to hear his perspective on the last four years and what might lie ahead. I’ve edited our conversation below for clarity and brevity.[Read more…]
President-elect Joe Biden. (Photo: Biden Harris Transition)
Even without official acknowledgement by the Trump Administration, President-elect Joe Biden is already moving towards the White House. Fresh off declarations of his win finally coming on Friday, he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have begun their transition process in earnest.
In our little corner of the internet, the buzz is about who Biden will pick to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation and what transportation policy might look like in the next four years.
The buzz is especially intense in Portland because one of the names being floated as possible DOT pick is Congressman Earl Blumenauer, the former Portland city commissioner who’s represented the best cycling city in America for the past 24 years. On Saturday, Politico included Blumenauer as the most likely pick after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who most people see as the frontrunner. [Read more…]
An Urban Arrow Tender 1500 like this one is coming to Portland. It should be handy for Parks staff to reach maintenance jobs on local paths. (Photos: Saris Infrastructure)
