We had two job listings posted this week. Learn more about each one via the links below…

–> Director of Bureau Planning and Sustainability – City of Portland

–> Mechanic Part or Full Time Seasonal – RecumbentPDX

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PBOT shared this concept of 122nd Avenue at a recent open house.

A new program from the Portland Bureau of Transportation has quietly emerged as the agency’s latest attempt to make progress on our deadliest streets.

I stumbled across the East Portland Arterial Streets Strategy (EPASS) while on PBOT’s website a few weeks ago and have now learned a bit more about what we can expect from it.
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Old, exposed rails on NW 15th Avenue are just one of many barriers to biking in northwest PBOT wants to remove.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has released a list of 20 projects they’d like to build in northwest Portland and now it’s your turn to visit the online open house and give them feedback.
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The silhouette comes into focus as you shift views.
(Drawings by PSU School of Architecture)

50 years after a Portland State University professor helped spark a statewide cycling movement, a new sculpture will be erected to celebrate his work.
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The proposed elements of the I-5 Rose Quarter project. Yellow lines are new freeway lanes.

A coalition with concerns over the State of Oregon’s planned $450 million expansion of Interstate 5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter have requested more time to consider the project’s environmental impacts.
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There are over 20 yard signs like these on 7th Avenue.
(Photos: Kiel Johnson)

BikePortland supporter and contributor Kiel Johnson (owner of the Go By Bike valet) has been working to create more support for a neighborhood greenway on 7th Avenue as part of PBOT’s Lloyd-to-Woodlawn project. This is his latest post in a series.

You don’t need to change the world to make a difference.

That’s what I’ve learned from these past few months of hunkering down on my advocacy for a NE 7th Avenue neighborhood greenway. If built as proposed, the project would transform 7th — from I-84 to Woodlawn — into a street where safety of all users is the priority.[Read more…]

New path funded by a tax on heavy trucks.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The 40-Mile Loop is now slightly larger thanks to a new path near the entrance to Kelley Point Park.[Read more…]

Just a few yards beyond this sign is where Calum Breitenberg lost control of his car and killed someone.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Just after 11:00 pm on November 15th, 23-year-old Calum Breitenberg got into his Volvo sedan and drove northwest on Willamette Boulevard toward St. Johns. He had been drinking. A lot.
[Read more…]

Time for another batch of BikeCraft vendor spotlights. We want to share the excitement of the upcoming event by giving you a taste of what to expect. Thanks to Elly Blue for writing these up and sharing all the images…[Read more…]

Me and my boys shortly before I removed the front kid seat and raised my saddle two inches.
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

‘Tis the season for giving and receiving new bikes. With that in mind, I want to share a few tips on how to comfortably settle into a new rig.
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I love bike racing. Last year I got hurt and had to stop, so I picked up my camera and experienced cyclocross through the lens of a camera rather than from the seat of a bike.

This season, I have been fortunate enough to be given access and opportunity to photograph cyclocross outside of Oregon. It was the first time I stepped outside the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) cyclocross bubble and I could finally put it all into context. What I have come to realize is that, while there are vibrant cyclocross scenes in pockets around the country, what we have in Oregon is special. [Read more…]

Welcome back from the long holiday weekend. I’ve been out of town for a week and I’m eager to get back to work!

Here are the most notable stories we came across in the past seven days (thanks to all the readers who sent in links)…

Light rail parking fail: Sightline’s Michael Andersen dissects the absurdity of TriMet’s plans to spend $168 million on free auto parking along the SW Corridor light rail line — twice as much as it will spend on affordable housing.
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I don’t like grocery shopping with kids, but I love Cranksgiving shopping with kids.
(Photos: Madi Carlson)

Cranksgiving is a bike-based food-and-supplies drive, treasure hunt, costume contest, and bike race. This is the sixth year for the event in Portland, but it started back in 1999 in New York City. It’s fun for participants fast and slow, and whether you’re equipped to carry a lot or a little, it’s definitely something to bring the kids to.

Our Family Biking column is sponsored by Clever Cycles.

➤ Read past entries here.

This year’s edition is on Saturday, November 24th from 12:00-5:00 pm at Nomad Cycles PDX (5820 NE Sandy Blvd). Here’s the blurb from the event page, “Cranksgiving is a tradition. You come, you ride, or volunteer. We provide a manifesto of locations, supplies, and tasks that must be completed. You make it happen with your team.”

This year’s beneficiary is Portland Street Medicine — whose donated bike fleet we featured here on the Front Page two weeks ago.

In addition to purchasing items to donate (expect to spend $20), teams are eligible for prizes in several categories:
➤ Fastest
➤ Most donated
➤ Best costume
➤ DFL (dead…uh…festively last)
Form your team (of any size this year) ahead of time or find teammates on race day.
[Read more…]

It’s time once again to get excited for BikeCraft, Portland’s bike-inspired holiday gift fair.

Our friends at Microcosm Publishing have assembled a stellar lineup of vendors. From artists to authors, makers of all kinds will share their wares on December 15th and 16th at Taborspace in southeast Portland. All this week we’ll feature spotlights of the vendors here on the Front Page.

Here’s the first batch…
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The sun is about to set on scooters.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

It was fun while it lasted.
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(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

[This essay is by Go By Bike owner and Portland transportation activist Kiel Johnson, who was in City Hall when council passed the Central City in Motion plan on Thursday.]

Thursday’s passage of the Central City in Motion plan will be remembered as a crucial moment in Portland’s history. I was sitting in the back of council chambers on Thursday with Ryan Hashagen from Better Block and during the testimony we both reflected on the passage of the Portland Bicycle Master Plan eight years ago.
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Here are the most notable stories we came across in the past week…

Fewer cars = more business: New research from London (once again) proves that businesses on streets with bikeways do better than those located on streets dominated by auto users.

Plazas for whom?: Public plazas are sought-after amenities, but cities that have them are struggling to manage the presence of homeless people who sleep in them and sometimes make others feel uncomfortable. (You can bet this is one reason why Portland hasn’t created more of them.)
[Read more…]

Need a change of pace? Or maybe looking to get your foot in the door? Check out our freshest job listings.

Learn more about each one via the links below…

–> Senior Associate – Urban Planning & Sustainability – Urban Land Institute
[Read more…]

Eighth grade is not an easy time for many young girls. As a father of one of them, I can vouch for that. Getting them to challenge themselves, try something new, and make themselves vulnerable is often like harder than pulling teeth.
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Susan Bladholm, president of Frog Ferry, at the Oregon Transportation Commission this morning.

The ‘Frog Ferry’ has taken a major leap forward this week. The passenger ferry concept is making its first major public debut with media coverage and a spot on the agenda at today’s meeting of the Oregon Transportation Commission (the governor-appointed body that sets transportation policy for the State of Oregon).

Spearheading the effort is Susan Bladholm, a former director of Cycle Oregon and corporate marketing professional who spent 10 years each with Business Oregon and the Port of Portland. Bladholm has spent two years researching and building support for her plan to establish a ferry service on the Willamette River that would shuttle customers between Lake Oswego and Vancouver.

Flanked by Portland Spirit Owner Dan Yates and Metro Project Manager Chris Ford (fresh of his win as project manager for the SW Corridor, which was approved by Metro Council last night), Bladholm said, “It’s time for a new mode of transportation to be introduced.”
[Read more…]