Cycling News & Blog Articles

Council candidate Sarah Silkie hears an answer to her question from BHH regular Melissa Kostelecky. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

If you missed Bike Happy Hour last week, you missed hearing from three more Portland City Council candidates. That brings the count of candidates we’ve heard from this election cycle up to 11.

Last Wednesday candidates Deian Salazar (D1-E), Jesse Cornett (D3-SE) and Sarah Silkie (D4-W) hopped on the mic. We got to know a little about each of them and heard what makes them tick.

At just 23 years old, I was really impressed with Salazar. In true Bike Happy Hour form, he made an effort to meet every single person in the room. His remarks focused on how he wants to get homeless Portlanders into job training programs to, “get the skill sets and they need in order to stay out of poverty, and to have a decent living wage.” Asked how he moves around the East Portland district, Salazar replied, “I’m not rich enough to be able to afford a car. So I often walk and take the bus. I’ve been considering getting back into cycling… what I really want to do is build a lot of new bike infrastructure, because I think we should not be requiring cars for everyone to be able to move around the city.”

Cornett described himself as being an advocate for the vast majority of his career. He shared tales of shadowing U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and said the “proudest moment” of his work so far was being a legislative lobbyist for an effort that resulted in 55,000 Oregon migrant farm workers getting health care coverage. Cornett is currently the policy advocate for Oregon Recovers, a nonprofit that advocates and provides services for people suffering from addiction. When it comes to transportation habits, Cornett has a bike but rides it infrequently and mostly gets around by car or his own two feet.

— This is a guest article written by Andrew Lindstrom, who writes about infrastructure, transportation and urban spaces on his City Hikes blog.

TriMet has a problem, but it’s not the one you’re thinking of. Safety and rider comfort is still a big deal, and they are certainly struggling on that front – but I want to focus on a more pressing issue, the nuts and bolts of schedules and service changes. This all began with a supposed upgrade of part of the #17 to Frequent Service (“every 15 minutes or less most of the day, every day”) which resulted in no additional buses being run. It bugged me then, and it bugs me now so let’s take a look at the history, mystery, and wonder of the scheduled service on the 17-Holgate/Broadway.

To begin, we should understand what the service was back in the ancient days of 2021. The simplest way to do this is looking at the schedule, so let’s take a peek.

The location of a bicycle crash in 2019 that led to a lawsuit against ODOT. Note the patched pavement in the lower right (smoothed over in this Google Maps image).

I have long urged people to avoid the trap of bad-faith arguments about whether or not a particular bicycle ride is for recreation or transportation. The suggestion that some bicycle trips are less important because a person is recreating has always struck me as a sneaky, paternalistic attempt to marginalize cycling.

We often hear people point out that a bicyclist in spandex is less important than other road users because they’re just training or on a fun ride; but we never hear people frame car trips in the same way. People driving cars are always doing serious things, the thinking goes, and people on bikes are just out on a lark. It’s a distinction with a difference, because trips made for “recreation” will always have much less political power than those made for “transportation.”  And in that context, once you cede this semantic ground, bad things are more likely to happen.

An example is a legal case that involves the State of Oregon and a man who crashed while biking on the Historic Columbia River Highway in 2019. This case was brought to my attention in October 2022 by a local attorney named Charley Gee. Gee had seen a story on BikePortland about Oregon’s Scenic Bikeways program and wanted to warn me that the Oregon Department of Transportation might use the status of certain bike routes as a way to shirk liability for maintaining safe roads.

Gee shared a lawsuit he filed against ODOT on behalf of a client (who asked to remain anonymous) who was riding on the Historic Columbia River Highway on April 24th, 2019. His client crashed while riding over a depression in the road that was left after repair work by an ODOT contractor. The crash happened about 200 feet west of the Stark Street Bridge (see photo above) and resulted in a fractured right femur (that required surgery), major bruising, and a torn rotator cuff. Gee sought $1.04 million for his client.

It’s brutal out there. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The gravel put out by PBOT to help cars and trucks get around for a few days during the storm, has created a massive and dangerous mess citywide: Bike lanes and road shoulders are a mess and millions of tiny little pebbles are creating slip hazards for bike tires. As we work to convince everyday folks to give biking a try, these conditions work against our transportation goals by telling Portlanders, “We don’t care about people who use bike lanes.”

Tired of waiting for the city to do its job and concerned about the safety of cyclists, this is the year Portlanders are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to getting the gravel out of bike lanes. Thanks to an innovative product and can-do attitudes, local bike advocates are leading the charge.

Since we shared in August that nonprofit advocacy group BikeLoud PDX would partner with California-based Bike Lane Sweeper creator Pierre Lermant, the two have become close collaborators. BikeLoud’s “sweeper” Slack channel has 44 members and it’s active with feedback and knowledge-sharing that appears to be pushing the product forward.

Lermant and his design and engineering partner Cedric Eveleigh have moved onto Version 2.0 and are currently designing V3. In late September, Lermant and BikeLoud Vice-chair Kiel Johnson met with PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller to discuss ways the city could help. They agreed to do run a trial where volunteers leave bags full of gravel along streets, then city trucks come through and pick them up.

Holes in the pavement where a Road Closed sign once stood. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Vandals have destroyed a neighborhood traffic safety project in Rose City Park. Apparently angry about a plan to limit driving access to one direction on NE 72nd Drive through Rose City Golf Course, someone sawed off two metal poles that held up a large “Road Closed” sign and discarded them a few yards away near the trunk of a redwood tree.

Based on what I saw from a visit to the park this morning, it’s clear someone used a high-powered saw to cut the poles and bolts. They were also in a hurry because I found bolts and washers hastily strewn about the area.

According to posts on Nextdoor and photographs sent to BikePortland, the suspects took multiple trips to the intersection to complete their job. They also sawed off bolts that held up a “Left Turn Only” sign and a sign that was posted nearby that reads, “72nd Drive Closed at Tillamook, Use 82nd.” The signs were thrown down a ravine and discovered yesterday.

BikePortland has asked the Portland Bureau of Transportation for comment, but has yet to hear back. Someone who posted on Nextdoor shared an email from a PBOT staffer who confirmed the vandalism on January 23rd. “We are aware of the issue and are looking into mitigation options,” the staffer wrote.

Jonathan’s post last week about the DA in Polk County reversing his decision and deciding to pursue criminal charges against the driver who struck and killed Adam Joy was bittersweet. On the one hand, it looked like BikePortland’s coverage might have had some influence on the decision. That’s to be noted, and several commenters did.

On the other hand, nothing is bringing back Adam Joy, so any sense of accomplishment is tempered by that tragedy. That’s a hard note to hit, but one commenter found appropriate and moving words to mark the turn of events.

This is what Cooper wrote:

This situation is a prime example of effective, appropriate advocacy. A journalist, attorney and Adam’s family didn’t give up or give in to their grief. Sadly, this confluence of individuals speaking out is not present in many situations. It is difficult for everyone involved, but not giving in is the core to a moral, just society.

Welcome to the week.

Here are the most notable stories our community came across in the past seven days…

Carbon admissions: Never one to shy away from controversy, Eben “Bike Snob” Weiss says that only pro racers fully benefit from carbon fiber bikes and regular folks like you and I should never buy them. (Outside)

Thank you, San Francisco: In a bid to reduce traffic deaths, a California state senator has introduced a bill that would require speed governors in new cars that prevent the vehicle from going more than 10 miles over the speed limit. (SF Standard)

Next Saturday (February 3rd) Portland will welcome two members of the Navajo Nation who will be in town to promote a screening of the new documentary film, In the Dirt. The film tells the story of a group of Native American cyclists who bring mountain biking to a reservation in New Mexico, and then watch how a community flourishes around it.

A local screening is being organized by Ruandy Albisurez. Roo is founder of Warpaint, a nonprofit that fosters community for Black, indigenous and people of color who love the outdoors. Roo is also community manager for Northwest Trail Alliance, an off-road cycling advocacy group based in Portland.

In a recent interview (watch below or on our YouTube channel), I asked Roo to update us on what he’s been up so since we last checked-in with him about a year ago, how he got connected to the Native American MTB scene, to share more about the documentary and the people behind it, and what he’s got planned for the big screening event next Saturday.

Check out our interview below and scroll down for links about the film and to grab tickets to the local screening.

Tell us about Rezduro:

Local bike advocate Joe Perez rolled up to Bike Happy Hour Wednesday night flying his flags and towing the Bike Lane Sweeper. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Happy weekend everyone! I love putting these guides together because nothing builds community like rides and events. Just want to remind you that I try my best to track everything, but I always appreciate an email or other message about the event you’re hosting or ride you’re leading.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Rain Coat Ride – 9:30 am at Lents Park (SE)
Join Portland Bicycling Club’s wonderful Ann Morrow as she leads you on an intermediate-paced journey of a large swathe of the city. More info here.

Forest Park Off Road Ride – 10:00 am at Fat Tire Farm (NW)
Join the FTF crew for a casual loop on Leif Erikson through Forest Park that will get you in the dirt and in a great mood for the rest of your weekend! More info here.

Detail from PBOT’s new gravel clean up map. View it here.

Gravel in bike lanes has been a thorn in the side of Portland cyclists for many years. I realized today that as far back as 2007 BikePortland has shared stories of woe from Portlanders concerned that the gravel sprayed onto the road by the Portland Bureau of Transportation after snow or ice storms becomes a hazard long after the storm (and the need for the gravel) has passed.

One of the issues we struggle with is a lack of transparency about how long it will take PBOT to sweep it back up, and where they are focusing efforts to do so.

I’m happy to report that this year, PBOT has taken a great step forward in not only transparency, but in having focused attention on clearing gravel from bike routes. They’ve published a new map that shows a live view of where gravel pick-up is happening. As of 10:30 am this morning, PBOT had swept 299.4 miles of roads. Of those roads, 17.9 miles of protected bike lanes have been swept.

Makeshift memorial on Wallace Rd in Polk County where Adam Joy died. (Photo sent in by a reader)

“He said, ‘I have been troubled by this case and have been thinking about it and I’ve decided the right thing to do is to present this case to the grand jury.'”

The driver of a large truck who had several prior speeding tickets and hit and killed Adam Joy while he and his young son were on a bike ride in rural Polk County last summer would have gotten off with only minor traffic citations if not for the work of the family’s lawyer, a story on BikePortland, and a change of heart from a district attorney.

Joy, a beloved teacher who lived in Portland, and his 15-year-old son, were bicycling on Wallace Road about 10 miles southeast of McMinnville on June 10th, 2023. The pair were training for the Seattle-to-Portland bicycle ride. Robert Weeks was driving his 2011 Ford F-350 truck behind them and was involved in a collision with Joy. Joy died at the scene.

The initial police report claimed Joy, “fell over into the travel lane” and that, “even though the [driver] slowed when passing, the rider of the bicycle was run over” — phrases that Oregon State Police Communications Director Capt. Kyle Kennedy told me during a phone call on June 22nd were, “intentionally vague on the details, but not misleading or inaccurate.”