Wednesday's Packed! Penalosa Talk, OBPAC and ODOT Bike Plan Meetings

And packed with gravel, too.

February 19th it turns out is a big day for bicycling in Salem, but you'll probably never notice it if you look at the bike lanes. They're gutters, full of crap, not people on bike!

Bronze Bike-Friendly:
Gravel from February 7th - 9th
(reader photo)

A reader sent this image of the bike lane on Liberty at Superior, and it's a sight - and vibratory feeling in the handlebars - we know all too well.  All the road hazard gets swept to the edges, to the bike lanes treated as gutters, and it is weeks, sometimes months, before it gets cleaned up. (This particular spot is one of the most dangerous in Salem, as well.  The road here is cambered incorrectly:  Rather than sloping up on the outer edge of the turn, it slopes down, and the gravel really intensifies the probability that your wheel will go out from under you.)  We don't have a good policy yet for making sweeping bike lanes a priority; the City responds more than initiates too often on this.  So make 'em respond!

Cel phones are great for reporting gravel. Pull over into a safe parking spot or up onto the sidewalk and give 'em a ring! I have two City of Salem numbers: (503) 588-6333 and (503) 588-6211.

Ring early and often - the squeaky wheel gets the sweep!

State Bike and Ped Committee Talks Lottery Projects

Buy a lottery ticket,
Support a path

On Wednesday the 19th, the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OPBAC) meets to talk about the lottery-funded ConnectOregon applications (here's a list of local project applications):

SALEM – The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Feb. 19 in Salem at the Oregon Department of Transportation's Mill Creek Building, 555 13th St. NE, in the Mt. McLoughlin Room. Agenda items include discussions about the bicycle/pedestrian projects under review in the ConnectOregon V program and about criteria for projects in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The committee will not be ranking projects in ConnectOregon until its next meeting.

If you want to comment or anything, they always welcome the public:

Those who wish to testify are encouraged to sign up on the public comment sheet provided at the meeting. General guidelines: provide written summaries when possible and limit comments to 3 minutes. If you bring written summaries or other materials to the meeting, please provide the chairperson with a copy prior to your testimony.

Here's the full agenda. (For more on Salem's Salvation Army path proposal, see here and here.)

Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Policy Advisory Committee Talks Vision

Needs updating!

Immediately afterwords, at 2:30pm on the 19th, the Policy Advisory Committee for the new State Bike and Pedestrian Plan meets to formulate a vision, goals, and objectives.

They'll be meeting from 2:30pm - 5:30pm at the Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry, 626 High St, Rm 102.

Here's the full agenda. You may remember that our local representatives are Steve Dickey from Cherriots and Peter Fernandez from Public Works.  The new Chair of OBPAC, Jenna Stanke, is the only representative from OPBAC on the Policy Advisory Committee, and presumably she'll be scurrying over along Union Street from ODOT's Mill Creek building to the Chemeketa building.

Execrable Biking and Walking on the east/north side of 12th
where it curves to become Union

It is perhaps telling that there's no sidewalk along the north side of 12th as it curves to Union, and only a brave person would bike that same stretch of 12th Street during the day.

Gil Penalosa has Vision

Finally, don't forget about Gil Penalosa's talk at 6:30pm! His talk should be cheerier and full of real vision - not the bureaucratic pabulum!