It might not feel like it yet, but the lawsuit filed Friday by BikeLoud PDX could be a very big deal once the legal process plays out.
Why is that my hunch? For starters, the lawyers representing BikeLoud are no joke. I sat down with one of then, Scott Kocher of Forum Law Group, on Friday. Kocher rolled over to the BikePortland Shed (our new workspace I can’t wait to invite you to someday!) to talk to me about it just hours after he filed the paperwork at the Multnomah County Courthouse. And Kocher is joined on the case by the three lawyers from Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost — one of the most respected law firms in Oregon.
In our conversation Friday, Kocher says he’s based their approach to the case on precedent set by the Oregon Court of Appeals in the landmark 1995 lawsuit that transformed the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (now The Street Trust) from a tiny grassroots group into a significant player in statewide transportation politics.
In this episode you’ll learn more about why BikeLoud has brought this case, what the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Bill is, why Kocher feels like it has important parallels to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) law, and how he he thinks it should apply to specific projects like the recently “Pave and Paint” project on Hawthorne Boulevard.
Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a smart speaker, just tell it to “Play the BikePortland Podcast.”
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