Bike Poddery and Update on ConnectOregon V Projects

What, you're not interested in administrative rulemaking and street engineering details???

Here's a slightly more interesting update on the ConnectOregon applications, the lottery-backed multi-modal fund. The State has published a list of all of them, and here are the local ones:

ConnectOregon V projects for Marion County
ODOT full list by County

The "Bike Pods of Oregon" was unfamiliar, and it turns out they're a project to locate water, repair, and shelter around the State's Scenic Bikeways:

Bike Pods of Oregon locator map - Oregon Parks and Rec
Notes, map, and elevation rendering from presentation to
Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee

Deluxe Bike Pod

The pods would provide:

needed amenities for the long distance cyclists including water, cell phone charging, maps and wayfinding information, shelter, bike parking, and seating in the State Park setting associated with popular hiker biker camps. 7 Bike Pods are to be located along the Oregon Coast Trail on State Park's property. One Pod will be constructed in Champeog State Park in the summer of 2014 and will be funded by OPRD as a portion of the ConnectOregon V match funds. Two Bike Pods will be located along the Historic Columbia River Highway Bike Route in Ainsworth State Park and Viento State Park. Two additional Pods are planned to be located along the Old West and Transamerica Trails at Bates State Park and Clyde Holliday State Park.

Additionally, the project will fund the construction of 7 Bike Hubs in and around communities along popular destination cycling routes....These hubs will allow local communities to capitalize on the recreation lands they are surrounded by and the economic benefits bicycle tourism provides by welcoming the bicycle tourists into their communities. Each Pod and Hub is located along designated bikeways which represent the "best of the best" road bicycle riding in Oregon. Every type of rider can find the ride that fits their style and mood- from family friendly to remote and challenging.

So, they're an interesting project, but outside of the proposed installation at Champoeg, they don't have much to do with Marion County.

In conversation with local planning staff, it turns out the Salvation Army has written a letter in support of the Kroc Center connector path. (Apparently they felt the issue with benefiting from gambling wasn't relevant.  It'll be interesting to see how that all turns out.)

On the statewide picture and balance of bike/ped to other projects, BikePortland has more:

ODOT announced they received 108 applications for this year's round of ConnectOregon funding. Of the $129.4 million total requested funds, $47.5 million are categorized as "Bicycle/Pedestrian" — more than any of the other four eligible modes and more than the requests for Aviation, Marine, and Transit projects combined.