Sen. Merkley: Triathlete.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

This past Saturday, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley accomplished a major goal: He completed an Iron-distance triathlon. That’s a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run. That’s major. He was so psyched about it, he tweeted a blurry photo of himself near the finish line (see it below).

According to his Deputy Communications Director Courtney Warner Crowell, the 56-year-old Senator competed in the PPD Beach 2 Battleship race in Wilmington, North Carolina. Wearing bib number 561, Senator Merkley was one of 630 competitors in the field that completed the full, Iron-distance event.

Merkley completed the course in 15 hours, 30 minutes, and 22 seconds (his biking leg was 7 hours and 40 minutes). That time put him in 401st place out of 415 finishers.[Read more…]

Senator Jeff Merkley (L).
(Photo © J. Maus)

Oregon’s rookie Senator Jeff Merkley continues to live up to his potential as active transportation’s greatest hope in the U.S. Senate. The Livable Communities Act (S.1619), which he introduced in the Senate back in March, passed out of a key committee yesterday and will now head to a vote in the full Senate. The bill includes an amendment authored by Merkley that significantly strengthens the role of biking and walking.[Read more…]

Senator Jeff Merkley.
(Photos © J. Maus)

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley wants to help Oregon become a mecca for bicycle tourism.

Merkley and his policy aide Jeremiah Baumann, spent nearly an hour in a video conference with staff of Travel Oregon discussing steps Congress can take to help make bicycle tourism a larger part of Oregon’s economy. Kristin Dahl, Travel Oregon’s sustainable tourism director, said the meeting came about as a follow-up to discussions started during a meeting at Merkley’s D.C. office during the National Bike Summit.[Read more…]

Jeff Merkley.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Today on Capitol Hill, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) had some good news for Oregon advocates — he plans to introduce a bill in the Senate that will act as a companion to House Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s Active Community Transportation Act. The ACT Act (H.R. 4722) would create a competitive grant program to fund active transportation projects to the tune of $400 million a year for five years.

Merkley’s bill should give the potential legislation a much-needed boost in the Senate — but the bill still has a long path to roll down before becoming law. While the $2 billion program would be just 0.4% of the total estimated cost of the next transportation bill, that bill is running on empty budget-wise. In addition, the bill also suffers from a bit of a perception problem.[Read more…]

Senator Jeff Merkley at his office in
D.C. during the National Bike Summit.
(Photo © J. Maus)

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is one of five Democrats in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that have introduced a new bill that looks to integrate housing, transportation, and environmental policies.

Dubbed the Livable Communities Act, a statement about the legislation says that it is intended to “Help towns and regions across the country plan and implement development projects that integrate their community’s needs for transportation, housing, land use, and economic development.” [Read more…]

Metro Pres. David Bragdon
unveiling the new logo.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last night, at the headquarters of Keen Footwear in the Pearl District, Metro Council President David Bragdon unveiled the new name and logo that will serve as the umbrella for a bi-state effort to build out our regional trails and parks system: The Intertwine.

Formerly known as Connecting Green, the effort launched over two years ago with an ambitious goal — to create the world’s best system of parks, natural areas and trails. The idea was to help focus and organize the efforts of the many community leaders and agencies who were already working that goal.[Read more…]

Jeff Merkley
(Photo: JeffMerkley.com)

Jeff Merkley (D-Portland), the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, is turning to Portland’s bike community for help in his race to grab a seat in the United States Senate from incumbent Gordon Smith.

I received an invitation yesterday for a fundraising event in September that will take place at the Bike Gallery store in downtown Portland. The event is being hosted by Bike Gallery owner Jay Graves, his wife Alison Graves, and friend Mary Roberts. [Read more…]