Portland Bicycling News/Discussion - Page 7

MarkDaMan · #**121** Posted **Jul 31, 2012, 1:15 AM**

Downtown Portland's new 'Bicycle Capital' mural: Will it become as famous as 'Keep Portland Weird'?
Published: Monday, July 30, 2012, 4:36 PM Updated: Monday, July 30, 2012, 4:47 PM
By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2012/07/downtown_portlands_new_bicycle.html

Quote:

Visitors from around the world seek out Portland's "Keep Portland Weird" murals. So why not blast the city's love affair with bicycle from the aging bricks of a downtown building?

Todd Roll, owner of Pedal Bike Tours, said the iconic black-and-yellow "Weird" murals inspired him to pay to have "Welcome to America's Bicycle Capital" painted on the side of a downtown building.

That and the fact Portland is the nation's Big Daddy of two-wheeled commuting.

"We've been here looking at a four-story blank wall," Roll said of the building that houses his bicycle tour business at 133 S.W. Second Ave, about a block from one of the city's two "Keep Portland Weird" murals. "We went with (Pedal Bike Tours') tag line."

Featuring chunky white letters and a cool minimalistic bicycle symbol, the billboard is an eye catcher. Ironically, it also towers over one downtown's busy parking lots.

Roll declined to disclose how much he paid for the mural, but said it would stay up for as long as the building's owner allowed it.

"It's intended to be a piece of civic pride," Roll said.

This year, Portland reclaimed Bicycling magazine's coveted Bike City U.S.A. crown from Minneapolis. So what happens if the Rose City drops in future rankings?

Doesn't matter, Roll said. The mural's up. The paint's dry. "It's one of the things that Portland is famous for," he said. "Chicago is known as the city of broad shoulders. No one's going to take that away from them. No one's going to take this away from Portland."

PacificNW · #**122** Posted **Jul 31, 2012, 6:23 AM**

On the subject of bicycles...I thought some of you might enjoy some history:

http://vimeo.com/39401575

NewUrbanist · #**123** Posted **Aug 8, 2012, 7:37 PM**

"It's one of the things that Portland is famous for," he said. "Chicago is known as the city of broad shoulders. No one's going to take that away from them. No one's going to take this away from Portland."

Hilarious! I almost dropped my cheese and crackers.

audiomuse · #**124** Posted **Mar 5, 2013, 5:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by electricron

I don't think bikes will ever be as popular where there are hills and mountains to climb.

There are electric bikes like these that people can use:

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/3...=_IY1UbPxDJP8qAGMtIHoBw&ved=0CJcBEPMCMAM

It gives people an extra boost when going up hills and in windy conditions

audiomuse · #**125** Posted **Mar 5, 2013, 6:08 AM**

Any updates on bicycle infrastructure in the Portland area? I've read that the bike mode share is around 7% now. That's amazing

audiomuse · #**126** Posted **May 6, 2013, 10:18 PM**

Check out these bicycle traffic pics on NW Broadway this morning! It's amazing to see so many people commuting by bicycle!

http://bikeportland.org/2013/05/06/bike-traffic-on-nw-broadway-shows-need-for-re-design-86376

tworivers · #**127** Posted **Jul 10, 2013, 6:09 AM**

Maybe we need a sticky for bicycle news/discussion?

This article is worth a read; Portland is discussed extensively.

The bike boom (+video)
Americans are using bicycles for transportation and recreation in record numbers as the fitness and green movements, as well as high energy costs, spur a two-wheel revolution.
Christian Science Monitor

"Bicycling is part of the solution to every problem our society faces be it health, environment, economic, or social." -- Dr David Waters, quoted in article

hat · #**128** Posted **Oct 15, 2013, 10:44 AM**

http://vimeo.com/76207227

Time to start to consider claiming streets for bikes only downtown.

Here's a start: carless Yamhill/Morrison, and carless Park Ave.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101004589@N07/10288868266/

hat · #**129** Posted **Oct 27, 2013, 6:33 AM**

Site I created to promote a Park Blocks bike lane.

http://greenbikeloop.weebly.com/#/

urbanlife · #**130** Posted **Oct 27, 2013, 2:50 PM**

For the most part the park blocks are very bike friendly. I use to ride up them on my way home from work when I was too tired to push myself hard going up 3rd Ave.

audiomuse · #**131** Posted **May 13, 2014, 12:13 AM**

Portland has 10 times more people cycling to work than the average U.S. city:

http://qz.com/207683/portland-has-10-times-more-people-cycling-to-work-than-the-average-us-city/

zilfondel · #**132** Posted **May 14, 2014, 7:19 AM**

I totally forgot this thread existed.

Anyway, Portland's bike boom ended in 2008.

source: census, snagged from bikeportland.org

Old article from 2013: http://bikeportland.org/2013/07/02/what-caused-portlands-biking-boom-89491

2oh1 · #**133** Posted **May 14, 2014, 6:29 PM**

Doesn't your own signature here suggest otherwise?

Quote:

Portland Bike Bridge traffic:

2009 - 15,749 | 2010 - 17,576 | 2011 - 18,257 | 2012 - 18,794

RainDog · #**134** Posted **May 14, 2014, 6:52 PM**

The graph is displaying percentage of people commuting by bike. Those numbers (in his signature) show the total number of people crossing the bridges downtown by bicycle. It would stand to reason that if the city grew in population each year and the percentage of bike commuters stayed at the same level that the total number of cyclists would still increase.

2oh1 · #**135** Posted **May 14, 2014, 11:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RainDog

The graph is displaying percentage of people commuting by bike. Those numbers (in his signature) show the total number of people crossing the bridges downtown by bicycle. It would stand to reason that if the city grew in population each year and the percentage of bike commuters stayed at the same level that the total number of cyclists would still increase.

Yes, but Portland's increasing population is nowhere near as rapid as going from 15,749 crossings daily to 18,794 daily in a stretch of 3 years. That's nearly a 20% increase (ok, it's actually a 19.3% increase) in daily crossings, whereas Portland's population only increased by 6.5% in the same timeframe (2009 to 2012). Crossings are increasing at 3X the speed of population growth.

I don't buy the idea that Portland's bike ridership plateaued in 2008 and has been stagnant ever since.

RainDog · #**136** Posted **May 14, 2014, 11:57 PM**

The discrepancy may have something to do with an increase in recreational/none work related riding? I know I cross the bridges into downtown several times a week for errands or to visit friends and sometimes just for fun.... but I don't bike to work (I live two blocks from my job, so it is faster to walk

) So I would not count as a "Bike Commuter" though it is my primary mode of transportation for anything other than work.

...or the Census data could just be wrong.

JG573 · #**137** Posted **May 19, 2014, 5:15 AM**

I feel though portland has stagnated when it comes to bicycle infrastructure for proclaiming it is america's bike capital (wall is painted over now so it is gone). I know the new transit bridge is a huge step forward but to me where are the bikeways and protected bike lanes that we should be getting.

Other cities in the country are quickly going to leave us in the dust when it comes to progressive bicycle infrastructure and the growth of the people using such.

Seems like it has mostly grounded to a halt and the only thing we have been getting are a few lines of paint while cities like Cambridge, Chicago, DC and New York are all moving forward with separated infrastructure and are getting things done.

I know we are far better than most cities but it seems like we haven't been doing much noteworthy in bicycle infrastructure lately. All the plans I have seen in the short term are just painting lanes and that is it.

urbanlife · #**138** Posted **May 20, 2014, 1:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JG573

I feel though portland has stagnated when it comes to bicycle infrastructure for proclaiming it is america's bike capital (wall is painted over now so it is gone). I know the new transit bridge is a huge step forward but to me where are the bikeways and protected bike lanes that we should be getting.

Other cities in the country are quickly going to leave us in the dust when it comes to progressive bicycle infrastructure and the growth of the people using such.

Seems like it has mostly grounded to a halt and the only thing we have been getting are a few lines of paint while cities like Cambridge, Chicago, DC and New York are all moving forward with separated infrastructure and are getting things done.

I know we are far better than most cities but it seems like we haven't been doing much noteworthy in bicycle infrastructure lately. All the plans I have seen in the short term are just painting lanes and that is it.

You might think that, but Portland has a lot of big things in the works when the city council passed the $600million bike plan to dramatically expand the bicycle infrastructure in Portland.

Here is a map with where the bicycle infrastructure is going for Portland by 2030.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597?a=379068

And here is the rest of the links about this.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597

hat · #**139** Posted **May 20, 2014, 3:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbanlife

You might think that, but Portland has a lot of big things in the works when the city council passed the $600million bike plan to dramatically expand the bicycle infrastructure in Portland.

Here is a map with where the bicycle infrastructure is going for Portland by 2030.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597?a=379068

And here is the rest of the links about this.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597

The last time PBOT did their "One year update" was in 2011. I think this is quite telling. Look at the stats from 2009 to 2011 on this doc. Four bike lanes were put in. Zero off-street trails. Very little has been done since then.

Zero new bike paths have been made downtown. The 20s bikeway has little to no chance of giving bicyclists their own ROW on 28th. The city has prioritized car storage over bikeways at almost every decision process, from Williams to the 20s to 50s to Foster road.

I just returned from DC and Boston, both of which have a far superior bike infrastructure than Portland.

What of the 2030 plan? Keep in mind the expanded greenways have no funding at the moment. Bike paths have been put in on Division, Multnomah, and... that's about it. Also, even if funded they can paint sharrows and call them greenways. For example, the Michigan Greenway has no divertors. Often during rush hour, I have seen commuters in cars cut through this at high speeds. Without divertors, greenways are useless for the 8-80 year olds (includes me).

The mayor and city have done little for biking safety during the last few years and it is not surprising the numbers have remained stagnant, while other cities have increased their share quite a lot. I would be very surprised if I voted for the current mayor in the next election.

JG573 · #**140** Posted **May 20, 2014, 6:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbanlife

You might think that, but Portland has a lot of big things in the works when the city council passed the $600million bike plan to dramatically expand the bicycle infrastructure in Portland.

Here is a map with where the bicycle infrastructure is going for Portland by 2030.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597?a=379068

And here is the rest of the links about this.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597

The final nail in the coffin with that plan went in when Sam Adams left and they spent so much time bickering about how to fund it. It is nothing but a plan and I haven't seen any indication of it being implemented in a while or moved forward.

Mayor Hales besides getting my vote has shown pretty clearly it seems that he is not that interested in any progressive bicycle infrastructure for that matter or anything to show we are america's bike capital.

I often travel to Boston to visit my parents which Cambridge has a separated bike lane and more planned that would put the half-assed Multnomah paint job to shame. I also visit DC to see my brother and for work related to contracts now and then. I am equally impressed with how there leadership seems to be moving forward with bicycle infrastructure.

I honestly can not say it better than Hat I have been involved quite a bit and kept track on the bicycle infrastructure improvements around the city. I have read the 2030 plan myself also and like Hat said the problem is it hasn't been touched in years and there is really no funding in place.

Williams and few other streets in the works are nothing more than paint when instead we should be focusing on separated protected bicycle infrastructure that would encourage more people to feel safe and comfortable traveling by bike that otherwise wouldn't.

Sorry to be the debbie downer here but I have not been impressive with our cities leadership and investment in bicycle infrastructure lately. Especially not Mayor Hales.