City Council Tonight; Rivercrossing Meetings Tomorrow

More interesting, really, than City Council this week is the revivification of the Rivercrossing Task Force and Oversight Team. They have been dormant for many months, but the activity in preparation for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, delayed until July or so, calls them out of hibernation! (Or maybe it's zombie sleep...)

• The next Oversight Team meeting has been scheduled. It will be held on March 1, 2011 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Mid Willamette Valley Council of Governments, 105 High Street, SE


• The next Task Force meeting has been scheduled. It will be held on March 1, 2011 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Broadway Commons, 1300 Broadway Street, NE (Room #205)

It will be interesting to learn more about the status of things.

Council agenda this week is much less exciting. Most interesting is a Pedestrian Safety Grant application.

The City appears to have won a $3850 grant to fund "overtime enforcement of traffic laws that are intended to protect pedestrians and bicycles on roadways."

Councilor Clem proposes that an undeveloped park property adjacent to Eola Drive be developed concurrently with the Eola Drive road project in 2014-15. This looks like a terrific idea!

The City's Legislative Committee took positions on two rail-related bills: It opposes House Bill 2370 and supports HB2860. The split is a little interesting on the surface - any rail advocates want to comment on its significance?

The City's going to get a chunk of 12th Street right-of-way between Fairview and Vista for road widening.

There's further movement on the downtown "Economic Improvement District" administrator selection.

And vacancies on the Budget Committee and Planning Commission. Apply by March 11th, if you're interested.

Legislative Update - Week 4

The big transportation news this past week was that Governor Kitzhaber named former Chair of Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Lynn Peterson, "sustainable communities and transportation policy adviser." It's too early to know in concrete terms what this appointment will mean, however.

What's new?

Senate Bill 846 would regulate standards for bicycle trailers. BikePortland reports there's not a lot of support behind it.

On Monday hearings on local control for speed limits are scheduled. (Details below.)

Oregon Bike Summit Rebrands in 2011: Active Transportation

As many know, the Oregon Bike Summit has been renamed the Active Transportation Summit.

It will be held in Salem this year and if you are curious, or interested in attending, here's the list of speakers:

Kristin Dahl, Travel Oregon (State of Oregon)
Rob Sadowsky, BTA (Portland)
Andy Clark, League of American Bicyclists (National)
Scott Bricker, America Walks (Portland, National)
Lynn Peterson, Chair, Clackamas County Commission (and now State)
Tim Blumenthal, Bikes Belong (National)
Gail Achterman, Chair, Oregon Transportation Commission (State)
Mia Birk, Alta Planning and Design (Portland)

And here's the list of breakout session leaders:

Legislative Priorities:
Gerik Kransky, Bicycle Transportation Alliance (Portland)
Ray Thomas, Swanson, Thomas & Coon (Portland)
Steph Routh, Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (Portland)

Politics – The Reality of the Legislature:
Randy Tucker, Metro (Portland)
Olivia Clark, TriMet (Portland)

Funding – Road Finance Reform:
Bob Stacey (Portland)
Gail Achterman (State)
Chris Rall, Transportation for America (National)
Andy Clarke, League of American Bicyclists (National)

Transportation Health Equity:
Mara Gross, Coalition for a Livable Future (Portland)
Dr. Philip Wu, Kaiser Permanente (Portland)
Lake McTighe, Metro (Portland)
Alison Graves, Community Cycling Center (Portland)
Noelle Dobson, Oregon Public Health Institute (Portland)

Infrastructure:
Sheila Lyons, Oregon Department of Transportation
Roger Geller, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Andrew Singelakis, Washington County Dept. of Land Use and Transportation
Lynn Weigand, Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (Portland)

Social Marketing Programs:
Lindsay Selser, City of Eugene
Jessica Roberts, Alta Planning + Design (Portland)
Alison Graves, Community Cycling Center (Portland)

Tourism Benefits of Active Transportation:
Scott Bricker, America Walks (Portland, National)
Kristin Dahl, Travel Oregon (State)
Alex Phillips, Oregon Parks and Recreation
Veronica Rinard, Travel Portland
Jerry Norquist, Cycle Oregon (Portland)
Chris Bernhardt, International Mountain Bicycling Association (National)

Bike Sharing Programs:
Mia Birk, Alta Planning + Design (Portland)
Tim Blumenthal, Bikes Belong (National)
Rob Sadowsky, Bicycle Transportation Alliance (Portland)

Regional Updates:
Lake McTighe, Metro (Portland)
Nathan Broom, Rogue Valley Transportation District

Folks can register here.

On Kuebler Project, Lone Oak Crossing Deserves More Love

Kuebler Boulevard's a tough nut to crack. On the one hand it's set up to be a parkway. Next to an interstate or other freeway it's the most auto-centric kind of road we have. The Transportation System Plan defines it as a

High capacity, high speed, roadway that primarily serves regional and intracity travel.

There are no driveways, no businesses fronting it, and it leads only through, never to anywhere. It doesn't do much more than pretend to be multi-modal; it's designed for single use.

At the same time, because Kuebler cuts off streets and disconnects neighborhoods, people on foot and on bike might have to use it. There might be no other way to get there.

So it has to be a little multi-modal.

Then what kinds of facilities for people who walk and bike are appropriate and really useful to significant numbers of people? And when the road is deficient, as it most certainly is, how cranky do you get? Solutions need deep, structural thinking, and paint or dainty squirts of concrete cake decoration won't solve the connectivity problems. So it's probably not worth getting too upset over in the near term. There's no low-hanging fruit here.

This is the general striping plan for Kuebler on the section for this summer. Six-foot bike lanes and transitions across right-turn lanes. Standard stuff. Meets current engineering standards (though the 2010 draft AASHTO Bike Guide recommends wider lanes on "high speed" and "high volume" roadways, p. 72), but really addresses needs of only confident cyclists. These are not facilities that will attract new people to bicycling or will make families feel comfortable going by bike.

The intersection at Lone Oak is more interesting. (This picture is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, so north is to the left.)

Lone oak connects to several schools and is striped with bike lanes on the north side of the intersection. It is also the best lowish-traffic north-south connector across Kueber.

Kuebler here is about 90 feet from curb-to-curb and adding in sidewalks and crosswalks the crossing distance is well over 100 feet. This is a long intersection.

All of the other crossings of Kuebler are very busy: Skyline, Liberty, Sunnyside, Commercial, and Battle Creek, rated "arterial" or more. As the only "collector" street, Lone Oak should get more attention to make it more comfortable for people on foot and on bike.

This intersection deserves additional treatments so that kids and families who wish to walk and bike across Kuebler have a more inviting and comfortable crossing.

Breakfast on Bikes Cancelled for Snow!

We bike when it's freezing and dry, and we bike when it's wet and cold, but the prospect of freezing and wet makes for a perfect time to use Cherriots!

It looks like Friday morning will be too icy and slick for fun. Take the bus and relax!

We'll catch you next month.

Super-Size Me! Open House on Wallace at Glen Creek Project

Tomorrow night learn about the intersection widening for Glen Creek and Wallace Road.

It might be the most important City road bond project (background analysis here) for people who walk and bike. This is an $11+ million project that will significantly enlarge the intersection and put more cars through it.

If you think it's difficult to cross the roads now, just wait until Wallace has 7 travel lanes and Glen Creek has 6. Getting to Roth's, the Post Office, the Library, the Transit Center, or the Union St. RR Bridge will be that much trickier for people who live in West Salem. It really makes the moat much deeper and wider.

(Click to enlarge)

5 car travel lanes will be added to 3 directions of travel through the intersection.

Breakfast on Bikes this Friday

UPDATE: we're taking a snow day!

Breakfast on Bikes turns three this Friday! Thanks for joining us as we start the fourth year of sharing bikey cheer!

We will be at 12th & Chemeketa on the Promenade just east of the railroad tracks on Friday, February 25th. We'll have free coffee, pastries, and fruit for bicyclists between 7am and 9am.

Please support our generous sponsors!
Cascade Baking Company
Coffee House Cafe
LifeSource Natural Foods
Salem Bicycle Club
Willamette University.

Mechanics from Santiam Bicycle will also be available for quick check derailleur adjustment, lube, and tire inflation!


View Larger Map

Special thanks to Robert, Doug, & Gary, who've been with us since the start! Thanks also to Debbie & Jeff for helping out with many shifts! And to Guinne & Jill and anyone else who've helped with a shift or two! We rely on volunteers, so thank you, thank you!