PBOT’s speed camera on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway was installed in 2016. (Photo: PBOT)
One line in a recent Beaverton Police Department press release caught my eye: “Between 07/01/2015 and 07/01/2016 over 94,000 drivers were traveling 11 mph or more, above the speed limit.”
I’m well aware that most people drive faster than they should. But 94,000? That’s a lot of speeders! (And don’t even get me started about the standard practice of only citing for 11 mph or over the posted speed.)
Thankfully there’s a silver lining. The release also announced that BPD would start issuing citations to some of those people this coming Tuesday, October 16th (warnings have been mailed since September 15th). The way they’ll manage this sudden influx of enforcement activity is by using photo radar cameras thanks to a law passed in 2017 that allows them to cite speeders using cameras that have until now only nabbed red light runners.
Portland will take advantage of the same law, but it will likely be at least several months before our cameras are ready. Here’s why: [Read more…]
A packed room for the OMBC Summit held last weekend in Bend. (Photos: Gabriel Amadeus.
Oregon is home to some of the best off-road cycling anywhere. From mountains to deserts, the coast, and rivers — the diversity of terrain is matched only by the amount of the hard-working groups that tend the trails and make sure the best places to ride stay open and accessible.[Read more…]
On the evening of April 7th, Alex Hubert was crossing to the MAX platform to catch a northbound Yellow Line train back home when he was struck by a car. There was no police alert on Twitter. There were no news reports. But I was there.
This post is about my attempt to learn more about the safety issues at the intersection and find out why they haven’t been fixed.[Read more…]
View looking west on SE Division at crossings of 138th and 139th.
Portland Police have arrested two drivers and are looking for a third in relation to a collision that left another person trying to cross SE Division Street dead last night.
So far the investigation has revealed that an adult female was killed while crossing at SE 138th just after 10:00 pm. [Read more…]
Nothing like the sight of a PBOT maintenance worker installing protection on a bike lane in the morning! (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Something great is happening as I type this: A day after the City of Portland took some heat from Bicycling Magazine about not providing enough protected cycling space, I noticed Bureau of Transportation crews installing some in my neighborhood this morning. [Read more…]
What is Kate Brown’s transportation vision? (Photo: ODOT)
This post comes from BikePortland subscriber and contributor Kiel Johnson. He previously wrote about his grassroots effort to garner neighborhood support for the Lloyd to Woodlawn Neighborhood Greenway project.
In the latest Oregon Governor’s race poll Kate Brown is ahead by 4% with a margin of error of 5%. There have been alarms going off that Governor Brown is in trouble and many commentators are pointing to a lack of a compelling vision. Last year she helped push through HB 2017, one of the largest transportation budgets in Oregon’s history. Yet this additional money is not doing her many favors for saving her job. She has hardly mentioned her victory on the campaign trail. As people who spend time reading about the importance of transportation, it is crucial for us to figure out why transportation is not a topic of interest in this race.
I encourage you to leave your ideas in the comments below. Here are a few of my thoughts:
Get out there and enjoy our fall splendor. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The weekend is near and we hope you have a chance to escape and enjoy the pleasures of a bicycle ride. If so, here are some suggestions of things to do… [Read more…]
PBOT visualization of new markings coming to NW Nicolai.
You’ve heard of rails-to-trails, how about rails-to-cycle-track?
That’s what in store for a defunct railroad bed on a 0.6 mile section of NW Nicolai Street that’s been paved over in the northwest industrial area. The Portland Bureau of Transportation plans to add some markings and a few other finishing touches to make this a two-way bikeway between Highway 30 and NW Wardway. It’s one of 18 projects that will be built will receive funding in the coming year thanks to $2,085,000 set aside for small-scale projects identified through programs in the city’s Transportation System Plan (TSP). [Read more…]
Did you know the Hub Building on N Williams used to be a bicycle-making factory? (Photos: Tom Howe)
This post was submitted by BikePortland subscriber Tom Howe.
Everyone who regularly visits BikePortland knows its value as a source for bicycle-related news in the Portland area. I can’t count the number of things I never would have heard about if not for visiting this site a few times a week. But something that’s easy to overlook is the value of BikePortland as a research tool for bike news that has taken place in the past.
Jonathan has been at this for over 13 years now, so learning about or reviewing anything that has happened since 2005 is as easy as typing a search into the box under the magnifying glass at the top of any page on the site*.
This value was really driven home to me recently when I came to the site looking for some historical information. Not only did I find what I was looking for, but I learned a lot more about a past bike controversy a dozen years ago that I only remembered a little about. I started my search with the word “Kinesis” as I had recently acquired a new bike frame from the Taiwanese company and I remembered these frames were once built right here in Portland. So all I really wanted to know was where that assembly facility was located, but once down the rabbit hole, I learned a lot more. [Read more…]
It’s a frequent topic of conversation in local advocacy circles that Portland has lost some of its swagger when it comes to being a leader for cycling in America.
PBOT concept drawing of protected bikeway on SE Hawthorne at 6th.
October 31st*. That’s when the Portland Bureau of Transportation plans to present their Central City in Motion project to Mayor Ted Wheeler and the rest of city council.
The Junior T’s (children of Team Lazy Tarantulas) showed up in force!
What better way to escape for a few hours than attempt to ride a bicycle on mud as slick as ice? That’s what many people did yesterday at the second race in the Cyclocross Crusade series held at Alpenrose Velodrome in the hills of southwest Portland.
It’s been a while since I focused on capturing images of a cyclocross race, and I picked an epic one. After a dry opening day on Saturday, rain returned on Sunday and soaked the top layer of dirt on the technical, hilly course. As late morning rain fell, it became difficult to even walk on some in some areas (I slammed on my butt several times just getting these images). [Read more…]
Here are the most noteworthy stories we’ve come across in the past seven days…
Do our part: A major new climate report paints a dire picture and reminds us that everyone in the transportation universe needs to stop placating auto abusers and start aggressively transforming our system into one that is cleaner and more efficient.
The Dutch example: Saying that, “using a phone is just as dangerous on a bike as it is in a car,” the infrastructure minister for The Netherlands is pushing for a cell phone ban for bicycle riders.
Now you can get some of this without having to drive. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Love riding the trails at the Sandy Ridge Trail System; but don’t love the hour or so drive it takes to get there?
Or maybe you’ve wanted to ride there but don’t have a car and/or are philosophically opposed to driving to ride?
You’re in luck, because the great Fat Tire Farm bike shop in northwest Portland has launched a new shuttle service. And to make it even better, they’ve got a fleet of awesome rental bikes you can use on the trails.
Blatant attempt to inject something beautiful into the news cycle. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
After what transpired in Washington DC this week I’m feeling a horrible mix of emotions: Sadness, disgust, frustration, paralysis, hatred, and anger. [Read more…]
Islabikes are a common sight at local schoolyard bike racks. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
It’s been a tough year for Portland’s bike industry.
In May, local cargo bike maker Metrofiets called it quits. Then in July, bike shop and community gathering spot Velo Cult announced it would no longer have a retail location. And on Tuesday of this week we reported that UK-based Islabikes decided to close the local office and warehouse that housed their North American headquarters. And yesterday we shared the messy road that led to the end of Renovo Hardwood Bicycles.
I don’t enjoy reporting these type of stories, but I do think the community deserves to know a reasonable amount of detail about them. Given Islabikes’ popularity and large role in our community (as a sponsor and partner of many local events), I felt like their official statement wasn’t enough. Earlier this week, I reached out to Islabikes General Manager Tim Goodall and asked him to share more about why they’ve decided to leave.
Goodall cited Brexit (the UK’s decision to leave the European Union) and a pesky US federal government regulation as two of the main reasons. [Read more…]
Renovo founder Ken Wheeler in his booth at the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Sacramento. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The ride for Renovo Hardwood Bicycles is over.
The website is gone. No one responds to emails. The building at SE 8th and Ash that has housed its factory since 2008 is for lease. And there’s a lien notice posted to the front door.
According to the notice, Kenneth Wheeler of Renovo Designs LLC owes $34,864.53 in rent that hasn’t been paid since May.
This is a sad ending to a company that was once one of the bike industry’s shining stars.
Wheeler launched Renovo at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) in Portland. With experience and success making hardwood lighting fixtures and airplanes, Wheeler figured out how to make bicycle frames with a CNC machine. When I first visited his shop in February 2008 he proudly watched his CNC machine at work and said it would be done with the frame in five minutes. Not only were the frames beautiful and relatively easy to produce (or so it seemed), Wheeler said they tested stronger than high-grade aluminum.
Things could get a bit crazy at Alpenrose this weekend.
The weekend is near. We hope you’ll have the time and ability to indulge your love of cycling. The fall colors are peeking out and we’ve got some season-appropriate suggestions in this week’s guide.
