Cycling News & Blog Articles

(ODOT renderings of Mitchell Point tunnel portals.)

I can’t believe I’m typing this, but only one section — a mere 1.6 miles! — of the 73-mile Historic Columbia River Highway project remains unfunded.

Yesterday the Oregon Department of Transportation released an online open house to share more about the three remaining segments of the ambitious project that seeks to re-restore the grandeur of the Historic Highway and make it whole after it was partially destroyed and abandoned when Interstate 84 was built. Currently 68 of the 73 miles between Troutdale and The Dalles are rideable and that includes 13 miles of carfree paved paths.

Of the three segments that remain, two of them already and are fully funded and ready to build. From Viento State Park east to just beyond Mitchell Point, ODOT has excited plans in store.

One month after we posted a call for witnesses of a collision during a pro-Trump rally in downtown Portland on August 29th, someone has stepped forward with a video that shows much more context around the incident.

The most widely-viewed video clip of the incident that we shared initially was taken by Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos. Unfortunately it only showed the moments after the driver of a BMW ran over a person’s bicycle at the intersection of SW Washington and 13th.

Now a witness has found cell-phone video posted on YouTube that shows the incident from its outset and the resulting scene on the street. The video was captured by someone named Kenya Robinson who lives on the adjacent block. The collision occurs at around 4 minutes and 17 seconds in Robinson’s video.

In the video you can see someone who appears to intentionally place their bicycle in the crosswalk directly in front of the driver’s BMW SUV. A second or two later the driver accelerates right into the bike and the person. The bicycle owner’s wrist was injured as they moved out of the way, but their bicycle was slammed to the ground and dragged several yards by the driver. The driver then stops and is approached by a Portland Police Officer. The video shows the driver’s face (and license plate number) clearly as onlookers watch the stop take place.
(Stills from video by Kenya Robinson via YouTube)

By Daniel Greenstadt, who previously wrote an article for us about the Off-road Cycling Master Plan.

In early August, the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau decided to implement several one-way travel plans for a number of trails within Forest Park. Pointing to concerns about Covid-era trail users coming into close and frequent contact with each other on popular singletrack trails, the city released a set of recommendations for one-way loops. These restrictions applied only to pedestrians of course, because cyclists are already excluded from the park’s singletrack trails.

Nevertheless, the experiment – still ongoing – begs some questions and implies some answers about how trail users, including cyclists, can best be managed in the park.

Oregon Walks Executive Director Jess Thompson announced Wednesday morning she’s leaving to take a job as leader of a nonprofit in Hawaii. The move will further hasten the organization’s shift away from traditional walking advocacy and toward work that centers racial and social justice.

Thompson was hired in October 2018 to lead Oregon Walks, a group founded in 1991 that was formerly known as the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition.

“It is a bittersweet transition,” Thompson said in her announcement, “because I have learned so much from each of you as we have engaged in the work to center walking as climate, health, transportation, and social justice solution.”

Oregon Walks shifted strongly toward a racial equity focus under Thompson’s tenure. But there transition away from lobbying for traditional infrastructure planning and projects began before she arrived. The group’s embrace of “social empowerment” and working directly with people who live and walk in neglected and under-invested neighobhoods started with former ED Steph Routh (who left in 2013) and continued under former ED Noel Mickelberry (who left in 2018).

Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly is in trouble.

As Willamette Week reported today, she’s well behind challenger Mingus Mapps in both polling and fundraising and there’s a very real possibility she won’t earn a second term on council.

This reality has set off alarm bells within Portland’s transportation reform circles. As the commissioner-in-charge of the transportation bureau, Eudaly has led several very popular initiatives. Most notably her office created the Rose Lane Project which has the stated goal of reducing commute times for people of color. Eudaly’s vision of streets as places for much more than just car and truck users is also evident in the Safe Streets Initiative, a major undertaking to make public right-of-way more accessible and safer for vulnerable road users and small business customers.

Portland has a strong transportation activism legacy; but the issue’s political heft has waned significantly in recent years. As other issues like housing affordability, homelessness, and police brutality have come to the forefront, transportation has been bumped off the list of hot topics in political debates and discussions.

Just over five years after it first hit the street as a low-budget pilot project, Better Naito received official blessing from Portland City Council this morning.

The project, estimated to cost $5 to $7 million, will permanently re-configure northbound lanes of Northwest Naito Parkway from the Hawthorne Bridge to Northwest Davis and add a new sidewalk in Waterfront Park.

It all started as an ambitious vision from nonprofit Better Block PDX and a team of Portland State University urban planning and engineering students. One of them, Gwen Shaw, now a civil engineering consultant at local firm, testified to council this morning. “It’s been so gratifying to see the evolution of this project,” Shaw said, “This design, puts people first and it’s a design that makes Waterfront Park better, and it’s going to continue to transform Naito Parkway.”

Portland based Chrome Industries, a brand known for their iconic messenger backs and backpacks, has installed a mask vending machine in southeast Portland.

The move is part of what company President Steve McCallion says is an attempt to maintain a connection to the community as Covid-19 restrictions have crimped their usual way of doing business.

Chrome calls their stores “Hubs” as a testament to how important in-person gatherings are to their operation. Chrome’s Portland Hub has long been a popular hang-out for professional bike couriers and in 2018 we shared how the company has also helped the local fixed-gear freestyle riding scene.

Chrome opened a Hub in Portland in 2012 and moved their entire company headquarter here in 2017.

Just over two years after the Portland Bureau of Transportation embarked on an effort to double the rate of cycling in northwest Portland, their plan to accomplish that goal is up for adoption by City Council.

This Thursday (10/8) at 2:00 pm, Mayor Ted Wheeler and the four commissioners will hear a presentation on Northwest in Motion. We’ve published eight stories on the plan since May 2018 and now it’s time to get it passed and implemented.

Local bike advocacy group Bike Loud PDX supports the plan and is encouraging their members to testify at council. They sent out the email below to their supporters yesterday explaining why it’s worth getting behind:

PBOT is planning to install 17 new diverters across the district within the next two years, in addition to many crossing improvements on busier streets. With these sensible, inexpensive changes, PBOT expects biking to double within five years, an impressive achievement that shows some ambition. This plan is also piloting several exciting programs for “self-enforcing” streets through district-wide traffic calming measures, a more equitable way to keep our streets safe without the use of law enforcement.

A verbal interaction between two road users in southeast Portland erupted into gunfire Saturday afternoon.

According to neighbors (one of whom contacted BikePortland), the incident took place around 6:00 pm on September 3rd. A bicycle rider was pedaling south on SE 16th between Washington and Alder and had a verbal exchange with someone driving a car. The bicycle user reportedly said something to the effect of “There’s no need to drive like that, we both have a right to be on this road!” Then the driver pulled out a gun, fired two shots, and sped away.

Portland Police officers responded to 911 calls and located two shell casings near the 16th and Alder intersection.

After hearing about this secondhand, I contacted the Portland Police Bureau. They confirmed the incident and said neither party remained at the scene to talk with police. They’re holding the bullets for analysis and the investigation remains open.

When the pandemic hit, there were more kids and families cycling on Portland streets than at any time I can remember (outside organized events like Sunday Parkways). So it makes sense that local school leaders want to tap into the amazing power of bicycles to start this strange year off right.

In the past week, principals from two Portland public schools have hosted bike rides as a way to build community in a time when Covid-19 restrictions make personal connections difficult.

I chatted with the principal of Prescott Elementary in northeast Portland on Saturday and I’ve contacted the principal of Astor K-8 in the University Park neighborhood of north Portland to learn more about how bicycling is playing a role in their communities.

‘Taking up space’ in the streets

Like many people who arrive in Portland alone and without a network of friends or family, Dan Gebhart found his “kindred spirits” via our vibrant and welcoming cycling community.

That’s one reason his death while bicycling alone is all the more sad and tragic.

According to Dan’s mother, Cathy Bickerton, he was riding home from work on Tuesday September 22nd when the accident happened. He worked at a gas station on SE 122nd and Sunnyside in Clackamas and was headed west toward his apartment at 72nd and Foster in southeast Portland. Bickerton says he likely gathered speed on the curvy downhill of SE Otty Road, lost control of his bike, and hit a curb before colliding with a nearby fence. Bickerton said the Clackamas County Medical Examiner checked Dan’s Bike Friday folding e-bike and that, “It was obvious the brake cables slipped and would not stop the bike.” (She also noted he’d been moving the brake cables around recently after installing a front rack.)

Welcome to the week.

Here are the most noteworthy items we came across in the past seven days…

Hard lesson: Quinn Simmons, a rising star on a major professional cycling team, was fired for a tweet that was deemed “incendiary” and “divisive”. He posted a message to show his support for Trump that included a black hand-waving emoji.

Words matter: The steady march of more responsible reporting on traffic crashes continues with a new advocacy group that has released a set of reporting guidelines.

With buzz already strong due to the $5.75 million in major upgrades being built at Gateway Green right now, we’ve just heard more good news: A source tells us the Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) bureau has signed a contract with Velosolutions to build a much larger pump track.

The deal is still working its way through city government but it expected to be official early next week.

I haven’t confirmed details of the design or timeline for the project, but if it’s anything close to what Velosolutions typically builds, it will be the best pump track in Portland by far and cement Gateway Green as a cycling destination for the region.

Last year I visited a Velosolutions pump track at Golden Eagle Park in Hood River and was so impressed I reported back that it’s exactly what we should aspire to and it’s extremely exciting to know we have one of these coming to Portland!

Three recent job listings for you to ponder.

Learn more about each one via the links below…

– Bicycle Mechanic – Arriving By Bike

– Service Department Manager – Vancouver Cyclery

– Full Time Mechanic – Clever Cycles

Northwest Portland is on a roll when it comes to becoming more bike-friendly. The district has projects under construction, a major new plan for more of them headed to city council next week, and now there’s a new funding source for bike parking.

Late last month the Portland Bureau of Transportation launched the Northwest Bike Parking Fund. This new initiative uses money raised from the Northwest/Zone M Parking District (established in 2016) to subsidize the cost of new bike parking facilities. The program is for residential, commercial, or mixed-use building owners who want to create or improve long-term parking such as secure bike rooms.

Once building owners fill out an interest form and meet on-site with PBOT staff, PBOT makes a recommendation and will provide up to $5,000 to purchase the parking equipment. PBOT buys the equipment, then building owners install it and retain ownership once it’s in the ground.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is putting finishing touches on the first phase of the Outer Powell Safety Project — a $20 million rebuild of Powell from 122nd to 136th. The project has added four new crossings as well as physically protected bike lanes that vary between curb-protected in the street and sidewalk-level facilities.

With $17 million from the Oregon legislature and another $3 million from Metro, this project is the first of three phases that will cover all of Powell from Interstate 205 east to 174th (Portland city limits).

ODOT is currently in design for the remainder of the corridor which will be consistent with the just completed section. Construction on the other sections is due to begin in 2022.

Some great events coming up. Don’t forget your masks and keep your distance if you join a group ride!

Also don’t forget that the annual Showers Pass Warehouse Sale starts Monday October 5th. Due to Covid, the sale will go through Saturday (10/10) and will be held online and in person (by appointment only). (Yes, this was a paid advertisement.)

Friday, October 2nd

Community Cycling Center Scavenger Hunt Fundraiser – 4:00 pm (through Sunday)
A multi-day scavenger hunt might be the perfect Covid-safe biking activity. And the fact that this helps raise money for the CCC makes it even better! More info here.

Saturday, October 3rd

Gateway Green Work Party – 9:00 am at Gateway Green (NE)
Be a part of history and help NW Trail Alliance and Portland Parks build the exciting Phase 2 upgrades to Portland’s first bike park. Free tickets and RSVP required. More info here.

When the Portland Bureau of Transportation came out with its evaluation of options for a redesign of Hawthorne Boulevard earlier this month, cycling advocates were crestfallen to say the least.

Bike lanes on this marquee commercial corridor have been a dream for years — not just to improve convenience for bicycle users, but to add some humanity to the beloved street and begin to create the conditions our climate and transportation plans envision.

Unfortunately, PBOT’s analysis (PDF) clearly favored an option without bike lanes. The way they presented the two options seemed to be, “intentionally stacking the deck in favor of a design that deprives Hawthorne of much-wanted, much-needed—and long-planned-for bike lanes,” is how one activist described it to me. Adding salt to the wound was the claim that the addition of bike lanes would be bad on climate change and racial equity grounds.

An 18-year old man was treated by police then rushed to the hospital last week after being stabbed while walking on the I-205 multi-use path south of Portland.

According to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Tommy Smith was walking on the path where it goes under Highway 224 (about 3.7 miles south of the Springwater Corridor) when he had an interaction with another man, 50-year-old Cain Newcomb. “Initial interviews revealed the victim had asked suspect for a cigarette. This question appeared to make the suspect upset. An argument ensued, and the suspect stabbed the victim,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement. Smith was stabbed in the chest.

Another person prevented Newcomb from escaping until police arrived.

Police arrested Newcomb for assault and unlawful use of a weapon. The Sheriff’s Office said he is “well-known” to authorities and has numerous prior arrests. His bail was set at $250,000 and he remains behind bars as of Wednesday morning.

On at least two occasions Saturday, people riding bicycles through a public park were stopped and questioned by armed individuals with no authority to do so. Later in the evening in downtown Portland a man was shoved from his bike onto the ground by Portland Police Bureau officers for no apparent reason.