The winners!
Bikeway art lovers — and yes we know you’re out there — it’s time get hyped for some fresh new additions: the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Multnomah County Library have announced the winners of this year’s Bike to Books design contest. Portlanders can expect to see several colorful new bikeway characters on our streets in the near future, including a bicycle-riding octopus balancing books on its head, a mushroom-and-rainbow-themed bike and a bike with rose petals as wheels.
The Bike to Books program has been an annual tradition from PBOT and the library since 2017 to encourage kids to get excited about riding bikes and reading books. Students across Multnomah County are invited to come up with designs for characters to live on Portland’s greenways and bike lanes, with three lucky winners getting their art etched on the street for everyone to see. (Check out our past coverage to see what awesome designs kids have come up with throughout the years.)
Here’s who came in first place this year from the three age groups, plus some words about their artistic inspiration:
Anita Baldivieso won first place in the Pre-K to 2nd grade category for her design, “Reading Octopus.”
Poppy Davis won first place in the 3rd to 6th grade category for the design “Mushrooms and Why They Matter”.
Liliana Jacobsen won first place in the 7th to 12th grade category for the design “Petals of a Rose Bike.”
The fun new pieces are set to be installed this spring.
Find out more about the Bike to Books program – and check out the students’ book recommendations that correlate with their artwork – at PBOT’s website. And while you’re waiting for these new installations to drop, why not take a tour of the city’s existing bikeway art? This is a standout piece of Portland bike culture that reminds us how fun biking is, so be sure to soak it in.
Taylor has been BikePortland’s staff writer since November 2021. She has also written for Street Roots and Eugene Weekly. Contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
