Cycling News & Blog Articles

Tonight!

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past year or so, you are probably aware that the 2025 session of the Oregon Legislature will be very consequential for transportation funding. Seven years after the multi-billion dollar HB 2017 passed, lawmakers will once again take on the Herculean task of putting a big funding package together that — hopefully — carries us into a better future.

An event happening in northeast Portland tonight will build even more buzz for next year’s debates as advocates, elected officials, and nonprofit leaders gather for the Rumble on the River Community Forum. This is the 15th Rumble and it’s organized by a wide range of volunteers from a coalition of environmental advocacy organizations. Tonight’s event will be the “Transportation Episode” and will include a presentation from Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham and a panel discussion that features Abby Griffith from OPAL/Bus Riders Unite, Indi Namkoong from Verde, and Chris Smith from No More Freeways.

Rep. Pham, a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation that will develop the 2025 bill, will lay out what’s at stake and how Portlanders can influence the process. In addition to her speech, the panelists will have a moderated discussion on a wide range of topics. Rumble organizers emphasize networking at these events, so rest assured there will be lots of great folks and organizations to connect with. Come early to peruse tables set up by local orgs.

The Rumble is free and doors open at 5:30 pm, with the panel kicking off at 6:30. It will go down at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 806 NE Alberta Street.

Feels so good to be back in The Shed.

I’m back in the The Shed after two weeks of an unexpected break. Before I dive head-first back into BikePortland, I wanted to share what happened and share a heartfelt thanks for your understanding and support while I was away.

Two weeks ago while celebrating the one-year anniversary of Bike Happy Hour, texts from my brother started to light up my phone: Dad had to be taken to the hospital. As it became clear how serious the situation was, I decided to drive down to Grants Pass (about four hours south on I-5) that same night. I expected to be gone for a few days. I was there two weeks — one in Grants Pass, and then one in Medford after he was moved to a larger hospital with better specialists. I spent about 12 hours a day in the hospital for the past two weeks trying to make dad as comfortable as possible.

And yesterday, we finally broke out! I dropped my dad at a rehab home in Grants Pass and finally got back home late last night. It has been a life-altering journey for both of us (and as anyone who’s been through this knows, the journey isn’t over).

While I dealt with this emergency and the days turned into weeks, I worried about keeping the BikePortland flame burning. It took a huge load off my shoulders to have Lisa Caballero step up with a few articles, and I’m very grateful for everyone who answered my call and shared a guest article. And the folks who sent in financial contributions to help offset meal and motel expenses — thank you so much! It was also wonderful to see photos of folks having fun at Bike Happy Hour these past two weeks. I can’t wait for next week to see all your beautiful faces again.

This is going to be another wonky post about development and transportation. If you aren’t interested in development, or if you live in a Portland neighborhood that benefits from a lot of capital projects — public money — you probably don’t have to slog through all this, it’s not of immediate concern to you.

Everybody else, Portland is poised to get a new bureau!

With the proposed creation of Portland Permitting & Development, the city has reached an important milestone in the intense reorganization underway to prepare for our new form of government. This new bureau also marks a significant shift for the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Once the change is adopted by City Council late next month, PBOT will no longer oversee the transportation piece of the development review process.

It’s all a part of what City of Portland Chief Administrative Officer Michael Jordan says is how the city is, “Committed to common-sense improvements that make our government effective and efficient.”

the transportation piece of the development review process is being moved out of PBOT and into PP&D [Permitting and Development]. And that’s a big deal.

(Photos courtesy of the author)

The writer of this essay asked to remain anonymous because they did not get prior approval from management to contact media. It was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

I’ve seen the sun rise more in the last six months than I have in the preceding 46 years of my life. Most days I wake up in the 4 o’clock hour to start my shift as a bus driver for TriMet. The pre-dawn risings began on the first day of training, when I rode my bike to Center Garage, TriMet’s main bus depot off Southeast 11th and Holgate, for a 6:00 am report time. This newfound appreciation for dawn isn’t the only thing I’ve learned in the last six months.

On day three, I was behind the wheel of a bus on public streets with real cars, real pedestrians and real responsibility.

The training program for bus drivers is truly incredible. TriMet is a national leader in operator training, regularly receiving visitors from other agencies. Over seven weeks, trainers teach greenhorns to safely and efficiently navigate a 30, 40, and even 60-foot bus through narrow and often unknown streets, making turns in unfamiliar intersections in the dark of the night with rain-blurred visibility. The learning curve is steep: On day three, I was behind the wheel of a bus on public streets with real cars, real pedestrians and real responsibility. For the first few weeks, I would come home from a day of driving completely mentally and physically exhausted. Suffice to say: When you see “TRAINING BUS” on the overhead display, give that bus some extra room. Even after drivers are on their own, trainers conduct regular “check rides” to ensure they are following safe driving practices. That’s what’s happening when you see a person in a yellow vest standing near the driver.

(Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

— By BikeLoud PDX Board Chair Aaron Kuehn and Oregon Walks Executive Director Zachary Lauritzen

Fixing Our Streets, the measure to renew Portland’s gas tax (Measure 26-245), will be on the ballot this May. As the leaders of BikeLoud PDX and Oregon Walks, we are voting YES and encourage you to do so as well. 

We know that our current car-centric transportation system is unsafe, harmful to our climate, unpleasant to use and live near, and is financially unsustainable. We believe these funds, by improving multimodal routes, will be part of the solution that our community needs. Both our organizations have frustrations with a number of decisions made by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and we suspect many of you do as well. We have a long way to go to prioritize walkers, bikers, and transit users. And yet, we believe starving PBOT of these funds will only sacrifice some of the best programs they offer. 

For the past eight years, this 10-cent per gallon tax funded over $150 million in basic infrastructure improvements for Portlanders to bike, walk, and roll throughout the city, and this renewal will continue to fund multimodal improvements. Some of the main priorities include investing in Neighborhood Greenways with diverters and smoother pavement, Safe Routes To School, and safety improvements to our dangerous busy streets. Plus, PBOT will fill potholes, something every traveler can appreciate. 

Metro problems, Metro solutions? (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

[Hi everyone! I’m still in a hospital in southern Oregon with my dad, but I started looking into this story a few days ago and just started typing. I’m not back and working normal hours quite yet; but I hope to be back to Portland by Tuesday night! – Jonathan]

Councilor Rosenthal (Metro)

Two budget amendments proposed by Metro Councilor Gerritt Rosenthal last week would more firmly ensconce Portland’s regional planning agency as a key player in transportation funding talks that will be a top priority for state lawmakers during the 2025 legislative session.

Rosenthal, who represents Metro District 3 (portions of Washington and Clackamas counties and the cities of Beaverton, Durham, King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville) wants Metro to fund two new staff positions and related consulting costs to study what a regional vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax and tolling plan would look like. Those topics have traditionally been the realm of the Oregon Department of Transportation and state lawmakers, but Rosenthal believes since Metro represents the part of Oregon with the most congestion and largest megaprojects, his agency should play a larger role. He also doesn’t trust ODOT, members of the Oregon Transportation Commission (that oversees ODOT), or state lawmakers to uphold Metro’s values.

Has everyone else been enjoying the week of guest posts? I have, and I noticed that having the variety of authors brought out some new, or at least infrequent, commenters.

One of them was Ilya. (How’s that for dumb luck, maiden comment selected for “Comment of the Week?”) I liked Ilya’s comment into Sarah Risser’s guest post, because they point out something we’ve probably all noticed, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen stated so simply in the BikePortland comments sections.

Don’t we all know that person who drives the kids to school, and then drives to a nearby park to walk a few miles? Here’s how Ilya describes it:

I see people from my block driving to the little shopping strip in Hillsdale, which is about 0.2mi away, to get a cup of coffee or a loaf of bread. It literally takes longer to drive there. This does not comport with the view that it’s a “useful tool.”

Happy Monday everyone. I’m still in southern Oregon at a hospital (day 11!) while my dad recovers from a few surgeries and other issues. Should be home any day now and am able to do a bit more work now that he’s on the other side of this emergency. Can’t wait to get home and out onto the streets… might even be at Bike Happy Hour this week which would be so nice.

Here are the top stories our community has come across in the past seven days…

But first… If you’re looking to get away and do something really fun, check out the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival, May 17-19th. Now, on with the roundup…

Practice your slow-riding and waving skills before you get there. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Ever wondered what it would be like to walk and roll down 82nd Avenue without those pesky drivers getting all up in your business? On Saturday, biking, walking, and transit advocates will unite to create a multimodal float for the annual 82nd Avenue of the Roses Parade.

The float is organized by nonprofit Oregon Walks, a group that’s working closely with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to develop a plan for how best to invest part of the $185 million set aside to upgrade 82nd Avenue from a state highway to a civic corridor.

Volunteers and staff from Oregon Walks will join members of Bike Loud PDX, TriMet, local bike bus participants and others will meet at Eastport Plaza Saturday morning wearing blue and yellow. To spice things up, the Boom Bike will be the center of the float and local blues musician Steve Cheseborough will play a live set as the pedal-powered sound stage rolls down the street.

There’s still plenty of room to join the float. Just show up at the north lot of Eastport Plaza at 9:00 am and look for all the smiling faces wearing blue and yellow. If you go, be ready to ride at parade speeds (very slow!) and put your foot down a lot. I would not recommend SPD cleated shoes. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Oregon Walks via this online form.

Written by Portland resident and road safety activist Sarah Risser. You might recall Risser from her work on ghost bike installations or from a recent episode of our podcast. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

It is objectively and indisputably true that people who choose to walk, cycle, scooter, skateboard or negotiate urban roads in a wheelchair are vulnerable to being killed or injured by vehicular traffic. Portland’s roads are dominated by vehicles that are often driven too fast and embody more kinetic energy than any other mode aside from public transit. In Portland, sidewalks and many bike lanes — if they exist at all — merely separate users from vehicles without offering actual protection in the form of physical barriers. In a distracted or angry heartbeat, a driver could veer off the road and onto a sidewalk or bike lane, and the result would be grim. Feeling vulnerable makes traveling outside of a vehicle stressful and less enjoyable at times.

Leaders and advocates should continue to protect the most vulnerable road users with smart infrastructure investments, but they should think equally or more about reducing the danger itself.

But let’s be clear; it’s not the simple act of walking, biking, or otherwise rolling that evokes feelings of vulnerability. I feel powerful and particularly alive when I’m hiking to Angel’s Rest. And walking along the beach at Nehalem Bay or strolling through fields of spring wildflowers at Catherine Creek is peaceful and grounding. Cycling on the Springwater Corridor elicits a deep and pure sense of happiness. Feelings of vulnerability only arise in the presence of danger; there cannot be vulnerable road users (VRUs) without the presence of vehicular traffic. This may seem obvious, but it begs the question: why, when our roads are dominated by vehicles heavy and powerful enough to kill, do we use language that centers attention on the vulnerability of some road users rather than on the danger that threatens all road users?

Writing and photography by Abdulrahman Alkhamees. Abe was born and raised in Kuwait, but now lives in in Portland. He’s the founder of The Paperclip.cc, a cycling publication where he shares stories and photos from the saddle. This is his first contribution to BikePortland.

Our Mother the Mountain (OMTM) rides and the community they’ve created are cherished by cyclists throughout our region. They’ve also inspired me to look for new routes and even create my own. When I build routes it feels like I’ve gamified my hobby. Thanks in part to excellent tools like (locally-based!) Ride With GPS, with just a few clicks I have access to detailed maps, previous route attempts, and like-minded riders. Route-building has became an irresistible pursuit and helped me venture far beyond my usual cycling spheres. 

To learn more about what goes into making a great route, I tagged along on a recent ride with OMTM founder and master route builder Ron Lewis and observed his methods in real time.

In this post, I’ll use that McMinnville ride as a case study to share what I’ve learned about what it takes to create a great route.

To set the stage, consider this quote from Lewis:

The author and his knee at the Ladds 500. April 13th, 2024. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Written by Cameron Crowell, a Portland resident whose work has also appeared on Eater PDX and Portland Mercury. This essay was submitted as part of a community project to keep BikePortland going while BikePortland Editor & Publisher Jonathan Maus is tending to a family medical emergency out of town and unable to work as normal.

Springtime in Portland means cherry blossoms, brief glimpses at sunny days in between the rainy ones, memories of the Blazers being in the playoffs (RIP Dame), and finally, after waiting all winter, bike rides to play pickup basketball at neighborhood parks.

Every town with seasons has a culture of pride around how their springs are better than everybody else’s, but ours really is best. Despite the doom and gloom about the state of Portland over the past few years — that has coincided with a decline in bike and transit ridership — when the weather is nice and people are biking around outside it feels like there’s grounds for hope. Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes. 

Just like I’m sticking with the Blazers even when it seems like they are trying to lose, I’m sticking with our community’s particular blend of blooms, basketball, and bikes.