Bricker on the steps of the Capitol in 2007.(Photo © J. Maus) The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is working feverishly to garner more support for the Idaho Stop Law (HB 2690) with legislators in Salem. According to BTA Executive Director and lobbyist Scott Bricker, the Chair of the House Transportation Committee has given him a … Read more
Tim O’Donnell’s widow, Mary O’Donnell, had these buttons made for the hearing. Last Friday, just two days after he relieved former BTA lobbyist Karl Rohde from his duties, executive director Scott Bricker was down in Salem filling his former role as the organization’s chief lobbyist. Bricker presented the BTA’s position on their proposed Vehicular Homicide … Read more
The letter from Eugene’s bike program coordinator in opposition to the Idaho Stop bill.(Download PDF) Last week, when the Idaho Stop Law bill — which would allow bikes to treat stop signs as yields (adopting a law similar to one already on the books in Idaho) — was in its first hearing down in Salem, … Read more
[Update, 10:50am: According to a comment from Karl Rohde of the BTA, the work session has been delayed for a few weeks.] The BTA’s Karl Rohde, seen here on the steps of the capitolearlier this week.(Photos © J. Maus) The House Transportation Committee has scheduled a work session for the Idaho Stop law proposal (HB … Read more
“And you’re scratching your head wondering when was the last time you saw one actually stop.”— Harry Esteve, The Oregonian It’s the BTA’s worst nightmare. They’ve spent months preparing for the smooth passage of the Idaho Stop Law (the proposed bill, HB 2690, would allow bicycle operators to enter a stop-sign controlled intersection without stopping … Read more
Through those doors, the laws are made.(Photos © J. Maus) Tomorrow I’ll make my first trip down to Salem this session — and what a full day it’s shaping up to be. My day will start with a meeting of the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). The OTC is the five-person, governor-appointed cabinet that sets transportation … Read more
Rep. Wayne Krieger is one of the bill’s sponsors. Four members of Oregon’s House of Representatives have put forward a new bill that would require all bicycles in Oregon to be registered. House Bill 3008 would establish a “bicycle registration and licensing system.” The bill would also create new offenses for altering bicycle serial numbers … Read more
She would have gotten a lower traffic fine had Bailey’s bill moved forward.(Photo © J. Maus) Last week we reported on State Representative Jules Bailey‘s proposed bill to create a new vehicle weight class that would include bicycles and to base traffic fine amounts on the weight class of offenders’ vehicles. If passed, the law … Read more
State Rep. Jules Bailey Newly elected Oregon State Representative from Southeast Portland, Jules Bailey, has introduced a bill into the legislature that would create a new vehicle weight class for non-motorized vehicles weighing under 50 pounds — such as bicycles (we think that weight might be too low with some of today’s new cargo bikes, … Read more
When it becomes a bill in front of state lawmakers in January, Governor Kulongoski’s Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 will include language to expand the Oregon bike bill (ORS 366.514) and put into law a requirement for the Oregon Department of Transportation to spend at least 1.5 percent of its funding for highway projects … Read more
Libby Tucker [Editor’s note: This is the first article in our new section, BikePortland.org: In-Depth. The main contributor to this section will be Libby Tucker. Ms. Tucker is a freelance reporter whose articles have been published in a myriad of outlets including the Associated Press, MSNBC.com, The Oregonian, and others. She was most recently a … Read more
An elderly couple crosses NW Lovejoy at 9th.(Photos © J. Maus) The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition are teaming up on a new bill that will seek to improve public safety by rewriting and expanding on Oregon’s crosswalk laws. The new law proposal will amend ORS 811.028 (Failure to stop and … Read more