bikes – Daily Journal of Commerce /news/tag/bikes/ Building and Construction News in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:57:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.6 /files/2023/08/favicon.webp bikes – Daily Journal of Commerce /news/tag/bikes/ 32 32 Bicycling builder hits roadblock at metal recycler /news/2012/12/05/bicycling-builder-his-roadblock-at-metal-recycler/ Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:52:23 +0000 /?p=91605 The owner of a construction business that only uses bicycles for travel was turned away from a Portland metal recycling business because he did not have a motor vehicle.

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Chris Sanderson cuts a piece of wood on a workbench that also serves as his bicycle trailer while working on a home in North Portland. Sanderson, the owner of Builder by Bike, uses a bicycle to transport himself, tools and materials to job sites. (Photo by Sam Tenney/91Ƶ)

Many people in Portland use bicycles for work. Few of them are construction contractors.

Not having a car or truck does have disadvantages, said Chris Sanderson – but not the obvious ones.

Hauling big loads is not a problem. Sanderson has a trailer behind his bike for that. Besides, he said, large suppliers are usually willing to deliver for free if the order is large enough. Clients also provide their own materials from time to time.

In fact, he said, the only major problem being the owner and peddler of is the one he encountered Nov. 26 when he rolled up to a metal recycling business in North Portland. The company refused to receive an old basketball backboard he hauled away for a client. The person he dealt with said it was because he didn’t have a car.

Sanderson was flabbergasted and contacted his state legislators, Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, and Sen. Diane Rosenbaum, D-Portland. An aide in Bailey’s office said the legislator just returned from out of town and is still reviewing the situation. Phone calls made to Rosenbaum’s office were not returned by deadline.

The owner of the recycling business refused to comment, and referred all questions to the Portland Police Bureau.

Sanderson said he can still hardly believe he was turned away just for being on a bicycle.

“They wanted nothing to do with me,” he said. “They told me the law is the law. This is the first time I’ve ever had a problem. If anything, recyclers turn material away because it has lead-based paint.”

The law cited to Sanderson is Senate Bill 570, a metal theft bill passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2009. Among its many provisions designed to curb metal theft, it stipulates that people buying scrap metal must do what they can to keep a record of the transaction.

That includes “a photocopy of a current, valid driver’s license, passport or state identification card” and “a description of any motor vehicle and its license number used in the delivery of the property.”

Sanderson said “of any motor vehicle” suggests there may not be one at all. It certainly doesn’t seem to be a requirement, he said.

“I should read into it a little further, or they should read into it a little further,” he added.

Metal recyclers were reluctant to discuss the issue. A Rivergate Metals representative, who refused to be identified, said anyone bringing in metal would need a valid Oregon driver’s license.

Gary Bachman of Bachman and Son said they take metal only from large and recognized companies.

“Don’t come to my yard to sell anything because I don’t want to deal with stolen material,” Bachman said.

Builder by Bike owner Chris Sanderson cuts putty before removing a sink in a North Portland home. He was turned away from a metal recycling business last week because he was on a bike and not in a motor vehicle. (Photo by Sam Tenney/91Ƶ)

Mike Marshman, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said the situation – at least at first blush – appears perplexing.

“I could see some forms of metal being more questionable than others, but a basketball (backboard)?” he said.

He recalled how he and his wife assisted a scrap metal drive for charity. He had to fill out a lot of paperwork, he said, but there was no problem getting the metal recycled.

Of course, he said, this case might involve unknown circumstances.

“I would have to talk to the contractor, but I can’t see any possible issue with the metal itself,” Marshman said.

Sanderson said he just wants to keep his carbon footprint light.

“I started this business in 2011 with the intention of going without a car,” he said. “I want be as ecologically minded as possible.”

He rarely deals with recyclers, he added. In this case, a client was removing a basketball court and putting in a garden. She asked him to get rid of the backboard because the recycler was a five-minute ride away. Sanderson obliged.

“Apparently tweakers will use a bike when they’re stealing metal,” Sanderson said. “It can be perceived as sketchy, but I’m just trying to run an honest business.”

Sanderson worked for a marketing agency in San Francisco before starting Builder By Bike LLC in Portland in February 2011. He knows of at least one other builder, in London, who conducts business on bicycle.

“I am not inventing the wheel here,” he said. “There’s probably some guy in Bangkok who’s been doing it for 30 years, and his father did it before him.

“You just have a trailer and pedal it around. Before bicycles, people probably used horses. They would just crack a whip and get going. It’s not hard if you have a good bike, a big trailer and a strong pair of legs.”

A ride to the Kenton neighborhood in Northeast Portland once took Sanderson an hour and a half. Another time, to reach the Skyline neighborhood, he dragged his trailer full of tools up West Burnside Avenue. He has since discovered more efficient routes.

Sanderson uses a Yuba Mundo Cargo bike capable of pulling 450 pounds, or a standard bike that pulls a trailer. He recently used the trailer to haul 450 lineal feet of tongue-and-groove boards from North Mississippi Avenue to Kenton.

He confessed that it has been a long road since selling his truck in California five years and becoming Portland’s biking builder.

“I never thought I’d be doing this in my life,” he said.

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Bike-spending tracking system ‘flawed,’ PBOT officials say /news/2012/08/24/bike-spending-tracking-system-flawed-pbot-officials-say/ /news/2012/08/24/bike-spending-tracking-system-flawed-pbot-officials-say/#comments Fri, 24 Aug 2012 23:00:42 +0000 /?p=87089 The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently changed how it tracks spending for bike-related transportation projects so that it can inform the public in "a more thoughtful and articulate way," said PBOT Director Tom Miller.

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Portland residents in recent years often asked how much money is being allocated for bike-related transportation projects.

As it turns out, city officials gave them inaccurate answers.

“We ended up providing information that is flawed actually and ultimately counterproductive to a conversation about what the right level of expense is for what we do,” said Tom Miller, director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

For years, the bureau broke down its spending by transportation mode. So, percentages were given for budget amounts devoted to bicycles, motor vehicles, pedestrians or transit. Last year, for example, 5.53 percent of the bureau’s money was devoted to , according to ‘s 2011-2012 budget.

This methodology was flawed, according to Miller, because project expenditures, such as bike lanes, could end up benefiting multiple transportation modes. As a result, the bureau recently started using a different system that will track spending by outcome, rather than mode.

“When we try to talk about expenditures by mode, the devil is in the details and the methodology is flabby,” Miller said. “(The new system) is a more thoughtful and articulate way of portraying what we do and how we benefit the broad cross section of transportation interests in the city.”

Bureau officials said the change came when Miller took over as director in early 2011. The change is reflected in the bureau’s latest budget, which was released in spring, and will be used for all funding reports, including capital improvement plans.

PBOT’s change matches philosophies held by most independent bike organizations in Portland, according to Gerik Kransky, advocacy director for the . He said that transportation expenditures should benefit all road users. A green biking box, for example, provides three benefits, he said: certainty for where motorists can look for bicyclists, an advanced stop bar for pedestrians and a safe space for cyclists.

“It’s impossible to determine for whom that treatment exists, because it’s for safety overall,” he said. “When we look at where is all the money going and where all the money is being spent, it’s pretty safe to say that if we spend a dollar paving one of our streets that it’s going to benefit both cars and bikes.”

Now, PBOT shares individual project costs along with a list of the modes they will benefit. So, for an intersection project, for example, the bureau states its price and whether the project benefits drivers, pedestrians and/or bicyclists. Additionally, the bureau ranks projects according to safety level and cost-effectiveness.

The new system provides city officials and residents with less hard data; however, it’s much more accurate, Miller said.

“The knee-jerk reaction is the bike box is intended to accommodate the bikers exclusively,” he said. “Well, let’s stop and think about that: Who really benefits? Even something that is seemingly clear as a bike box really accommodates multiple modes.”

PBOT’s system change comes amid disagreement over the amount of money being devoted to bike-related projects. Some Portland residents believe more money should go to other capital improvement projects, such as pavement for dirt roads or improvements for battered streets.

Conversely, some residents believe too little money is being spent on upgrades to make roads safer for cyclists.

“It’s an issue that is thrown back and forth often,” Kransky said. “It’s safe for us to say that every dollar you spend encouraging someone to ride a bike, you’re actually saving money in the long term.”

The issue came to a boiling point last year, when Mayor Sam Adams increased the amount of gas tax and parking revenue for bike projects by nearly 16 percent and decreased the amount for motor vehicles by 22 percent, according to PBOT data.

But the bureau no longer stands by those percentages, Miller said, adding that residents should focus on how expenditures are benefiting their transportation system as a whole.

“I appreciate why the question would arise in this community, but we’re trying to create a system of viable travel modes and conditions that support all those modes,” he said. “People want choices. They want to feel like their system supports their ability to travel about in a variety of ways.”

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Bike counter installed on Hawthorne Bridge /news/2012/08/09/bike-counter-installed-on-hawthorne-bridge/ /news/2012/08/09/bike-counter-installed-on-hawthorne-bridge/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:24:56 +0000 /?p=86465 The city of Portland has installed a bike counter on the Hawthorne Bridge. The counter, the first of its kind in the U.S., according to city officials, will visibly show the number of people on bikes who ride past.

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Portland now has another reason it can call itself one of the bike-friendliest cities in the country.

On Wednesday the city installed a bike counter on the Hawthorne Bridge. The counter, the first of its kind in the U.S., according to city officials, will visibly show the number of people on who ride past.

The idea for the counter came together last year, when the awarded with a $20,000 grant. That money was used toward the creation and installation of the counter, which was built by Canada-based company Eco-Counter. Cycle Oregon then donated the counter to the city.

“It’s an important step to really get a realistic view on bicycle transportation,” said Jerry Norquist, executive director of Cycle Oregon. “A lot of money gets spent on counting cars and trucks, but the only way they’ve counted bikes in the past has been to put people out there and have them count for a couple hours.”

The counter will promote biking in general by visibly showing how many people use it as a form of transportation every day, Norquist said.

At the moment, no plans have been made to install counters on any of the city’s other bridges. However, Norquist hopes that each bridge will have one in the future, which would require more grants or possibly the involvement of private businesses.

“It can really determine what bicycles are contributing to in getting cars off the road,” he said. “Without bicyclists, the bridges would be overcrowded, and we would be in trouble.”

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Transportation bill jeopardizes fate of bike, pedestrian programs /news/2012/02/07/transportation-bill-jeopardizes-fate-of-bike-pedestrian-programs/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:04:57 +0000 /news/2012/02/07/transportation-bill-jeopardizes-fate-of-bike-pedestrian-programs/ A new federal transportation bill unveiled by House Republicans last week elicited resounding opposition in Oregon, including objections to its emphasis on new highway construction, the elimination of money dedicated for projects to aid bicyclists and pedestrians, and reduction of long-term planning for public transit.

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A new federal transportation bill unveiled by House Republicans last week elicited resounding opposition in Oregon.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s chairman, John Mica, R-Fla., last week introduced the . It’s a $260 billion proposal to repair U.S. infrastructure, reauthorize transportation programs for five years and increase opportunities for domestic oil drilling.

File photo/91Ƶ

Cyclists’ perspective on House Resolution 7

“This bill reverses decades of progress we’ve made to create safe routes to school and encourage safety on our streets for all users of the roadway,” said Gerik Kransky, advocacy director for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, a Portland-based nonprofit.

“It’s time to kill House Resolution 7,” he said. “It eliminates dedicated funding for biking and walking, slashes funding for transit services, and the way we see it – will actually make streets less safe.”

According to Kransky, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week that the highway spending plan is “the worst transportation bill” he’s seen in decades.

The bill would eliminate the Transportation Enhancements program, which sets aside money for pedestrian and bicycle projects not normally required on highway or transportation projects. The program, since its creation in 1992, has generated 190 Oregon projects worth a total of $97 million.

Projects approved in last year’s Transportation Enhancements program were awarded a total of $15.99 million in federal money. Including local matches, $19.13 million was spent on Oregon projects. They included:

  • Completion of The Dalles Riverfront Trail – $1.55 million federal award;
  • Pedestrian access to Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood schools on Southeast Holgate Boulevard and Ramona Street in Portland – $1.48 million federal award; and
  • Construction of the second phase of the Middle Fork Willamette River Path between Springfield and Eugene – $1.6 million federal award.

But in a committee vote last week, every Democrat and even one Republican opposed the bill. Lawmakers, however, are expected to search for a compromise before the present law expires on March 31.

Opponents have a slew of objections to the nearly 900-page bill, including its emphasis on new highway construction, the elimination of money dedicated for projects to aid bicyclists and pedestrians, and reduction of long-term planning for public transit.

“This bill says it’s a waste to spend highway trust dollars to protect cyclists, pedestrians or children, (and that) all of that money should just go into highway projects,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who represents Southwest Oregon and is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “It takes us back to pre-1980 in terms of the federal government’s participation in transit. It’s quite radical stuff.”

The bill would eliminate the Transportation Enhancements program, which requires states to set aside a percentage of federal money for bike and pedestrian programs. Instead, those allocations would be left entirely up to each state.

Mica and the bill’s supporters hail the proposal for cutting red tape and addressing critical transportation needs without earmarks.

But Travis Brouwer, federal affairs advisor for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said that even without mandated spending, Oregon is likely to continue investing a portion of its federal money in biking and pedestrian programs now being paid for via Transportation Enhancements.

“(The bill) wouldn’t have a major impact on bike and pedestrian projects,” Brouwer said. “We’d have to modify our Transportation Enhancement program, but we’d still be allowed to continue funding those projects.”

Andrew Cotugno, a policy advisor for , is not as optimistic that active transportation would trump other infrastructure projects for funding if federal mandates were eliminated.

“There is a strong level of support in Oregon around a comprehensive transportation system, but we don’t know if it would remain once new flexibility is provided,” Cotugno said. “In other parts of the country that are antagonistic toward these programs, advocates are saying that spending on bike and pedestrian programs will go away in an instant.”

Supporters of public transportation investments also are concerned about potential impacts of the bill.

“If transit is not part of the highway trust fund, it seems like a very dangerous place to be,” said Alan Lehto, director of planning and policy for . “My concern is that there wouldn’t be as much available at all, no matter how forward-thinking we are about what kinds of infrastructure we need.”

While states would have more power to decide how to spend federal money, some programs would be eliminated entirely. The bill, for instance, would prohibit federal money from being used on the Safe Routes to School Program, which provides infrastructure improvements, education programs, and safety training to encourage kids to bike or walk to school.

Oregon receives an annual allocation of approximately $2 million, according to Brouwer.

“I’ve visited a number of schools in my district that participated. The parents are thrilled; the kids are away from dangerous intersections … it’s a great success nationwide,” DeFazio said. “That program was created when Republicans were in charge … but this is a much more mean-spirited bunch.”

By a narrow 29-27 margin, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week voted against restoring money for Safe Routes to School and Transportation Enhancements.

The bill is expected to go to the House floor for a vote by the end of the month, although if it were to pass in its present form, it likely would not be signed into law, according to DeFazio and several others.

The Senate drafted a transportation reauthorization bill with bipartisan support, and a temporary extension of the present law likely would pass in order to allow more time for negotiations.

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Foldable, electric bike targeted at commuter niche /news/2011/08/24/foldable-electric-bike-targeted-at-commuter-niche/ Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:59:52 +0000 /?p=75959 The founders of Conscious Commuter Corp., a startup based out of both Portland and Los Angeles, next week plan to launch a new search for funding as they gear up for commercial manufacturing of their folding, electric bicycle.

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The founders of , a startup based out of both Portland and Los Angeles, next week plan to launch a new search for funding as they gear up for commercial manufacturing of their folding, electric bicycle.

The folding e-bike is not designed for long-distance rides, but rather as a gap-filler within a city’s public transportation system. Gabriel Wartofsky and Bob Vander Woude, the company’s founders, say the niche market is people who say they would use public transportation if it were easier to access.

Born out of Wartofsky’s thesis at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., the folding e-bike aims to solve the “first-and-last-mile problem” that faces commuters who don’t live directly near a bus or train route.

The prototype is being tweaked to optimize the bike’s ergonomics. This second iteration will have 20-inch wheels, use 12-gauge steel, and include features like an adjustable handlebar system to accommodate taller riders.

When folded, the Conscious Commuter e-bike is 25 inches long, 11 inches wide and 25 inches high. The commercial version of the bike will be made out of recycled aluminum, which will reduce the weight to the 20-pound range, according to Vander Woude.

“We carried one through on an airplane before,” Vander Woude said. “That’s the key design concept – getting to a smaller size form factor than any of the other competition so it can easily be carried on and off the bus or train.”

Conscious Commuter has so far been funded by Vander Woude, who was a software industry investor before he focused on the e-bike. But on Sept. 1 the company is launching a grassroots funding campaign through online funding platform Kickstarter. Then officials will seek out angel investors.

A major car company that the partners declined to identify has already expressed interest in being a go-to-market, investing and incubating partner, according to Vander Woude.

Conscious Commuter plans to release 100 limited edition , followed by full-volume production early in the first quarter of 2012. Manufacturing will be outsourced to a Portland company that already manufactures motorcycle frames and other electric bikes.

“We have a lean, mean manufacturing concept and (a) way of running the company,” Vander Woude said. “We decided from the word ‘go’ to keep our overhead low, but we still want to help the local economy by hiring in Portland. I mean, we are focusing our manufacturing efforts here because it has the infrastructure and the ecosystem already in place.”

But distribution will be one of the major challenges for the e-bike, according to Vander Woude and Wartofsky, who joined forces as Conscious Commuter Corp. in March.

“The big thing right now is that here in the U.S., we’re laggards,” Vander Woude said. “Electric bikes are very early in the adoption cycle here. It’s strong in Europe, but the lion’s share is in China.”

Going after the “first-and-last-mile” commuter niche, however, will give Conscious Commuter a strong foothold in the market, he hopes.

“We’re still hedging which way will be the best to launch – end user, corporate campus, colleges, or to a bike share program,” Wartofsky said. “Ideally it would be good to do either a bike share or campus solution because we would get feedback in a more controlled scenario.”

As semifinalists in the business competition, Wartofsky and Vander Woude have benefited from professional consulting as they hone their pitch to investors and finalize their business model. Also, Geoff Wardle, the director of advanced mobility research at the Art Center College of Design, joined the company’s advisory board.

Because of the feedback, Vander Woude said the team has shifted its sales plan to target major cities, transit groups, and major companies that would buy a fleet of the e-bikes, which will sell for slightly less than $2,000 apiece.

“We’re going to start by finishing the bike, but the grander plan is to integrate the e-bikes into a citywide bike share system with buses doing the redistribution,” Vander Woude said.

And the e-bike may be suited for very different cities. As an innovative bicycle and a motivator to take public transit, the e-bike could answer the zeitgeist of bicycle-friendly cities like Portland as well as traffic-clogged cities like LA.

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Portland bike share program would increase biking, if that is even possible /news/2011/08/19/portland-bike-share-program-would-increase-biking-if-that-is-even-possible/ Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:22:18 +0000 /dailyblog/?p=74496 Portland City Council announced on Wednesday that the city is looking to fund a slew of transportation projects using federal and city funds, paving the way for better pedestrian, cyclist and freight traffic.

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Found throughout the world's cities, bike sharing could be on its way to Portland. Photo by davereid2 via Flickr

announced on Wednesday that the city is looking to fund a slew of transportation projects using federal and city funds, paving the way for better pedestrian, cyclist and freight traffic.

But what about people who don’t care about cyclists and their copious amounts of self-righteousness? Well, the city has allotted, upon approval from regional government , millions in sidewalk and road improvements. And for those who live free and do not drive? Bike sharing is coming to Portland!

The city council proposed investing 4 million in federal/private seed money upon the approval of the Metro’s council to get a bike-sharing program started here in the capital of all things hip and bike related. The initial bike share area – 74 bike stations with 740 – would follow the downtown streetcar loop and other spots that show bike share potential, like the yellow line MAX station near the Portland Community College Cascade campus.

Bike sharing is praised throughout the world, and according the city, the program would make for 500,000 new bike trips in the program’s first year in operation.

Hyped as it is, bike sharing is not flawless. Last month, after four months of operation, Miami’s private bike share operation “DecoBike” even 20 percent of its advertising revenue goals. How Portland’s bike share revenue pans out remains to be seen.

Check out the full text of the and check out a of the project.

Photo by via Flickr

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Trolley Trail construction begins next month /news/2011/02/11/trolley-trail-construction-begins-next-month/ /news/2011/02/11/trolley-trail-construction-begins-next-month/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:25:09 +0000 /?p=67494 Elting Construction will break ground early next month on the new $3.1 million project to create a biking and walking trail on a former trolley track system that once ran from Gladstone to Milwaukie.

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Elting Construction will break ground early next month on the new $3.1 million project to create a biking and walking trail on a former trolley track system that once ran from Gladstone to Milwaukie.

The Gladstone-based company got news of the contract award from the Oregon Department of Transportation, which is managing the funding, in early February, said Tom Elting, president.

“At the turn of the 20th century there was a trolley line there that used to run from Oregon City to Portland, but that went out of use and the tracks were eventually torn out,” Elting said. “It’s mostly a dirt path now, but that’s pretty much intact from Gladstone to Milwaukie, so we’ll pave it, widen it a bit and add some benches.”

The project is a joint undertaking between the North Clackamas and Recreation District and the regional government .

The trail, when complete, will attach into the , another pedestrian and bike system that runs from Portland through Gresham and into Boring, Elting added.

The company will remove some trees that have grown around the edges of the old trolley path and then pave the approximately six miles of trail, he said.

The groundbreaking is set for March 1, after a few more contract details are worked out, Elting added.

About a dozen employees will work on the project, which is due to be finished by Sept. 30.

“We’re looking forward to working on it,” Eltig said. “We haven’t had a lot of projects lately, so this will be a big help.”

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Bicycle trips on the rise in Portland /news/2010/11/23/bicycle-trips-on-the-rise-in-portland/ /news/2010/11/23/bicycle-trips-on-the-rise-in-portland/#comments Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:09 +0000 /?p=62648 The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced the release of the Portland Bicycle Count Report for 2010, which showed a 12 percent increase of bicycle traffic on bridges and a 7 percent increase in bicycle trips on non-bridges over the past year.

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The throngs of bicyclists pedaling out across the streets and bridges of the Rose City grew once again in 2010, according to the .

The agency today announced the release of the , which showed a 12 percent increase of bicycle traffic on bridges and a 7 percent increase in bicycle trips on non-bridges over the past year.

“One of the goals of the city of Portland is to increase the number of people getting around on foot, on public transit, in carpools and on bicycles,” said Dan Anderson, a city spokesman. “Traveling those ways increases the health of the city, reduces congestion and saves money.”

Officials view growing ridership as a sign the agency has been successful in making bicycling in the city easier, more comfortable and more accessible, he said.

Overall, the total number of trips increased 8 percent in 2010 compared with 2009 counts, according to the report.

The bureau has counted bicycle traffic at various spots in the city since the early 1990s, and almost every year it has noted steady increases, Anderson said.

“Population growth is a part of that, but we’ve seen huge increases in the past 20 to 30 years that have risen much more than could be accounted for by just population growth,” Anderson said.

In the past 10 years, bicycle traffic across the city has risen about 190 percent.

That said, 2009 was a different story – and a bit of an anomaly. That year, agency saw a dip in traffic, likely because of layoffs and the bad economy, he said.

“People just didn’t have the same places to go to when unemployment doubled,” Anderson said.

The 2010 numbers are back where they should be, and show traffic rising once again, he said.

Southwest Portland had the highest increase in number of cyclists, with an increase of 19 percent. East Portland also had a strong increase of 9.4 percent, according to the report.

Counts are done manually by volunteers and bureau officials standing at street corners or on bridges during different time periods throughout the day. They collect data several times a year, Anderson added.

The full report is available online at .

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City funding helps Gateway Green’s chances /news/2010/11/16/city-funding-helps-gateway-greens-chances/ /news/2010/11/16/city-funding-helps-gateway-greens-chances/#comments Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:41:04 +0000 /?p=62252 A city of Portland promise of $198,110 per year for a planned bike park and recreational area near the Gateway area is giving the project the sure footing to move forward. The funding would pay for maintenance and operation, which project organizers say is the chief hurdle in getting the park completed.

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(Photo by Dan Carter/91Ƶ)

last week approved a forecast budget package that includes ongoing funding of $198,110 per year for Portland and Recreation to operate and maintain a planned bike park and recreational area in east Portland.

The funding marks the first financial commitment to the project, which would be developed on the 35-acre Oregon Department of Transportation-owned site where Interstate 205 and Interstate 84 meet. But the funding is contingent on other public and private sources footing the initial $5 million price tag.

“It’s great to see the city take a lead on this, but as they made it clear, they are only taking the lead on the condition that other stakeholders step up and make major commitments as well,” said Linda Robinson, chairwoman of , the grassroots nonprofit organization that conceptualized the project. “It’s a major milestone, though, because finding the ongoing funding is the hardest part of a project like this.”

Phase one would include shared trails for bikers and walkers, downhill mountain biking trails, a biking skills area with jumps and a natural play area for children, said Emily Hicks, a policy coordinator for Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the parks department. The park also would serve as a demonstration of sustainable practices, with lighting powered by alternative energy and water for landscaping supplied by an on-site, storm-water runoff system, she said.

Although the $5 million hasn’t been secured yet, Hicks said, the project is scheduled to be completed in late 2013 or early 2014. The city’s ongoing funding would begin in 2013.

Following completion of the project’s recreational portion, plans call for building a bike access ramp from the current trails along Northeast 102nd Avenue and building a land bridge over Interstate 205. The bridge would eventually connect with the unbuilt Sullivan’s Gulch Trail as well as 40 miles of mountain biking trails that already exist around Rocky Butte.

“It’s a unique opportunity from the city’s perspective because it has the potential to have a regional draw around two of the city’s priorities – biking and sustainability,” Hicks said.

The project started when Robinson, a retiree who now focuses on local parks activism, was a member of the advisory group for the nearby . Robinson and local real estate developer Ted Gilbert believed that Gateway’s attractiveness required something unique. The area they targeted was the one north of the URA.

Robinson
Linda Robinson

“At first someone had suggested a demonstration garden, but it’s hard to get cars to the site so that idea was thrown out,” Robinson said. “Then Ted (Gilbert) had the idea of doing something with biking on the site.”

The two approached ODOT, but the organization wasn’t interested at first. As a compromise, ODOT let Robinson and Gilbert conduct a site inventory analysis. Then they got permission to also conduct a visioning plan.

“The more we got into this the more we realized that biking was a really good fit for this site,” Robinson said. “When we brought all our work back to ODOT they were much more receptive.”

Shelly Romero, community affairs manager with ODOT, said the organization is often approached by people interested in developing its land. But because federal rights-of-way are frequently involved, deals can be difficult, she said.

ODOT was willing to listen – and work toward a deal – but the group needed to find a public partner to take the lead on the deal. Much to the group’s surprise, city officials responded favorably.

The city, ODOT and the group have teamed up with several bicycle organizations, businesses and other interested citizens. The group has since worked through , a state program that helps connect private and public partners to help facilitate grassroots projects.

“This commitment by the city is the catalyst for everything else,” Gilbert said. “Within the next 30 days we will have a declaration of cooperation signed by about a dozen of the stakeholders that will specifically outline what the responsibilities of each party will be.”

Once the document, similar to a memorandum of understanding, is signed, Gilbert said the group will focus all of its attention on fundraising. The group will explore both private and public opportunities, he said.

“It’s just amazing to see this grand vision of turning a surplus piece of property into a visible showplace and branding tool finally coming together,” he said. “And it’s remarkable to see how fast it’s coming together now after nearly five years of little progress.”

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TriMet opens first ‘Bike & Ride’ facility /news/2010/07/29/trimet-opens-first-bike-ride-facility/ /news/2010/07/29/trimet-opens-first-bike-ride-facility/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:01:29 +0000 /?p=57125 The first Bike & Ride facility from transit agency TriMet opened today to provide a secure parking structure for 74 bikes, TriMet announced today.

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Thomas Le Ngo/TriMet took the photo of Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten demonstrating TriMet's new secure Bike & Ride. Let me know if this photo works.

The first Bike & Ride facility from transit agency TriMet opened today to provide a secure parking structure for 74 bikes, TriMet announced today.

The facility, at Sunset Transit Center at Southwest Barnes Road and Oregon 217, is the first of three planned facilities to open. The facilities are an effort by TriMet to provide parking for cyclists who wish to utilize bus or light-rail transportation on part of their bicycle trips. It was built on eight vehicle parking spaces in the transit center’s 630-car garage.

In addition to using cameras as a security measure, the parking structure also features access by key card, on which cyclists can pay for time like they would pay on a parking meter. The cost for a key card is $20, which is good for approximately 10 weeks of daily parking.

TriMet plans to open two more facilities by October: one at Beaverton Transit Center that would offer 100 bike parking spaces and one at Gresham Central Transit Center that would offer 30 spaces.

The new bike parking facility cost $275,000. The facilities are being built with $1.1 million in federal stimulus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Some of the money will go toward fixing 174 existing bike lockers and adding 380 bike parking spaces throughout the Portland- area.

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