A bill that would change the legal status of electric bicycles in Oregon is up for its first public hearing in Salem later today, and cycling and road safety advocates disagree on whether or not it’s the right path forward.

There are two e-bike bills up for consideration in the Oregon Legislature this session: House Bill 4067 and House Bill 4103. HB 4067 would create a task force on “electric micromobility,” a catch-all term that includes e-bikes and other small, battery-powered vehicles. That bill has broad support and is likely to pass.

But the more substantive of the two, HB 4103, has created a bit of a stir in advocacy circles. Some say it could hinder e-bike adoption, adds too much regulation too soon, and is overly punitive; while others say it’s a step forward for safety. Most notably, the bill is being opposed by Portland-based nonprofit, The Street Trust.

Here’s what’s going on…

HB 4103 is championed by Representative Emerson Levy, a Bend lawmaker who dedicated herself to the issue following a traffic collision last summer that killed a teen who was riding an e-bike. Dubbed “Trenton’s Law” in memory of 15-year-old Bend High School student Trenton Burger, if the bill became a law, it would do four things:

• Change current definition of “electric assisted bicycle” and add Oregon to the list of 39 states that have a three-class system of e-bike classifications: Class 1, 20 mph max with no throttle; Class 2, 20 mph max with throttle; and Class 3, 28 mph max without throttle.
• Allow anyone 15 and under to ride Class 1 e-bikes. (Current Oregon law makes e-bikes illegal to that age group.)
• Prohibit anyone 15 and under from riding an e-bike with a throttle (Class 2 and Class 3). (Already technically illegal, but not enforced.)
• Create a new Class D misdemeanor traffic violation of “unsafe electric assisted bicycle riding” punishable by $115 maximum fine. (Note: Bill was introduced as a Class E misdemeanor but amendment filed Wednesday would raise it to Class D.)

The bill comes in response to concerns that arose long before Burger’s death around the rise of “throttle kids” in several Oregon cities. Burger’s bike was equipped with a throttle, but it’s unclear if that led to the crash. The collision happened when a driver turned into Burger as she attempted to pull her minivan onto a busy arterial highway from a slip lane. Burger was on the sidewalk prior to the collision.

In an email to Rep. Levy Thursday, The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone said she appreciated the intent behind HB 4103 and was glad to see the provision opening up Class 1 bikes to young riders, but was, “apprehensive about the imposition of Class D Traffic Violations for parents, as this could create unwarranted obstacles for low-income and BIPOC individuals.” (The Street Trust launched an e-bike program last fall that expands access for low-income and BIPOC individuals.) Iannarone also expressed that many of the most affordable e-bike models are Class 2 and she feels Oregon should align its laws with the 42 other states that currently allow these bikes to be ridden by people under 16.

The Street Trust recently took over leadership (from electric vehicle advocacy group Forth) of an ad hoc group known as the E-Bikes for All Working Group (EB4A). EB4A has been meeting monthly since 2019 and includes about 80 people from a wide variety of people on its invite list with several dozen regulars who attend the meetings. The Street Trust recently installed a contracted staffer (through a partnership with Portland State University) to lead the meetings.

In a statement to BikePortland this morning, Iannarone said, 

“The E-Bikes for All Working Group has not been able to get traction from Rep. Levy on our proposed amendments, despite the breadth and expertise of people assembled, which is a shame given the high caliber of business, public policy, and academic achievements among that group. Further, we have seen time and again how the transportation needs of teens in particular are regarded as a nuisance or PR problem in the public discourse, especially in more affluent communities – whether it’s scooting, or skateboarding, or now e-bikes. Our hope is that the true threat on our streets – motor vehicle operators behaving dangerously – can be the focus of transportation conversations and that we are educating and empowering our youth to move independently and safely through the world without needing access to a private automobile, which we know is hugely regressive for our lowest-income Oregonians. We also hope that these policy discussions can be undertaken more systematically in the future via the Electric MIcromobility Task Force (HB 4067).” 

The EB4A group released a statement and petition this week opposing the bill that has already garnered support from 275 individuals and organizations.

The Street Trust Mobility Programs and Policy Fellow Frank Stevens (the aforementioned staffer who leads EB4A meetings) submitted testimony of his own to the Joint Committee on Transportation where the bill currently resides. “I am frustrated by the short sightedness exhibited by HB 4103,” Stevens wrote. “[The bill is] a one-sided incomplete bill that will focus solely on rider enforcement as a deterrent” and it, “does not in any way address the need for youth education.” “Teens getting around town by e-bike instead of a car builds on the potential for a generation of kids to envision a life getting around in something other than single occupancy cars,” Stevens added.

Cameron Bennett, a Portland State University graduate who wrote his Civil Engineering masters thesis on e-bike use in North America is neutral on the bill. In written testimony, he shared the same concerns as The Street Trust and said the bill as written leaves out a key provision: that Class 2 e-bikes should be required by to have pedals. Bennett also thinks if e-bikes are going to be classified, there needs to be a cargo bike class for freight delivery vehicles.

Iannarone, Stevens, and Bennett want to further discuss these and other issues in the new task force that HB 4067 would create, and then make any necessary changes to e-bike laws at subsequent legislative sessions.

But others want change now and feel HB 4103 should pass.

Brian Potwin, executive director of Commute Options, a nonprofit that promotes alternatives to driving, said in written testimony, “HB 4103 increases student access to e-bikes for their travel needs. We believe these bills will support our community’s efforts to encourage bike riding by adding enforcement to our engineering, education, and encouragement programs.”

And testimony submitted to the legislature ahead of tonight’s hearing from Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler, states that she supports HB 4103 because it, “limits acceleration rates,” of young riders and “simplifies operations.”

Trenton Burger’s father David Burger has also shared his support of the bill. In a letter to transportation committee chairs, he wrote, “Regulating e-bikes in a way that makes sense age-wise is an appropriate next step… We want parents, children and community to know that this law can’t change what has already happened, but could serve in adjusting the culture and awareness around e-bike risks and contribute to safer use of e-bikes.”

The bill is up for a public hearing today at 5:00 pm.

— Note: I’ve asked Rep. Levy for comment and will update this post when/if I hear back.

Caroline Fitchett calls the Salmonberry Trail “Oregon’s next big adventure” and considers it the most ambitious rail-to-trail project in the nation. Fitchett is executive director of the Salmonberry Trail Foundation, the nonprofit that’s leading a coalition of government agencies in development of an 82-mile trail that would connect Washington County to the city of Tillamook on the Oregon Coast.

Imagine biking or hiking through wild river valleys and across abandoned timber settlements along a historic railroad line.

I first wrote about the project 11 years ago and it has captured my imagination ever since. Now more than a decade into the planning process, the project has matured nicely. In the past year or so, volunteers have begun to rip out the old railroad tracks, cut back ivy and blackberries, and parts of the trail are even open for guided hikes. This past summer, US Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici hiked the trail and Fitchett says visits from Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley will happen this year.

In my interview with Fitchett, she shares the story about how the project first came about. I had no idea it began with one mom and dad in Tillamook who just wanted a safe place for their kids to ride bikes! We also talk about a few current projects in Rockaway Beach, Tillamook, and Buxton (north of Banks) that will result in the first official pieces of the Salmonberry that will be open for riding and hiking.

One notable moment in this interview is when I asked Fitchett how she talks about the trail in front of communities who might have some inherent skepticism about it. “I really let them talk about it,” she replied. “We listen… we also share information so they know what our plans are and they have a chance to change those plans.” Fitchett she sees the trail as a neighbor to the communities along it. “We are a neighbor to hundreds of people, to school districts, to watersheds, to the fish and the birds that are along the trail. And so we have to do the best we can to be a good neighbor.”

One ace up the Salmonberry’s sleeve is that all the land needed for the trail is already banked and dedicated to this use. So that saves the organization from having to acquire any rights or easements. “The only thing in our way is planning it appropriately… and raising the money to build it — and figuring out how to maintain it.”

“Only” is doing a lot of work in that sentence for sure. But with the massive political support behind this project and its obvious benefits to Oregon, hopefully we can shorten the estimated timeframes.

When I asked Fitchett the classic “When will this thing be done?” question, she admitted she doesn’t have a good answer. “I tend to say either between 20 and 50 years, or as soon as we have raised the first $50 million I’ll have a very clear answer for you.”

So that’s our marching orders straight from the top, folks. Help the Salmonberry Trail Foundation raise its first $50 million through the federal RAISE grant they plan to apply for in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to SalmonberryTrail.org to get involved, support the grant, sign up for guided hikes, and more.

— Watch my interview with Fitchett above or on our new page, BikePortland.org/YouTube. I’ve also uploaded this interview as a podcast episode that you can listen to below or wherever you get your podcasts.

Biking was up in Portland in 2023 about 17% of riders were on e-bikes. Those are two findings of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s latest bicycle counts.

PBOT has conducted manual counts of bicycle riders since at least 2000. The annual exercise has become an important and reliable bellwether of cycling’s overall health in the city. The 2022 counts, released last March, revealed a precipitous drop that led to countless headlines and soul-searching among many local policymakers and bike advocates. Last year’s numbers were expected but were nevertheless a difficult pill to swallow.

The 2023 counts were tallied during peak commute times for two-hour intervals at 272 locations citywide. 114 volunteers took part in the process between June and the end of September.

According to a preview of the report that will be made public for the first time at the PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting tonight, the number of people bicycling in Portland in 2023 was up 5% over last year. That’s still down 32% relative to 2019, but it’s still a notch in the right direction. The Northwest district saw an increase of 15% over 2022 and East Portland was up 12%.

“Biking probably bottomed-out about 2021,” said PBOT Planner Sean Doyle at the BAC meeting tonight. “And then increases to 2022. And now our counts are showing us that it continued to increase into 2023. And I’d expect that the Census data that comes out later this year will will reinforce that.”

The report also tallied electric bike and other micromobility vehicle riders for the first time ever. Counters tallied an average of nearly 17% of all riders on e-bikes last year. Skateboard and electric scooters made up significant portions of the traffic in the East, Northwest, and Central City districts.

PBOT says a full report should be completed by early March. Check out the preview report for yourself here, and refresh this page for updates from the BAC meeting that I’ll make between now and 7:30 pm Tuesday (2/13).

An arcane study first undertaken by the Oregon Department of Transportation in 1937 is suddenly the subject of unprecedented scrutiny. The 2023-2035 Highway Cost Allocation Study (HCAS), published last year for the 23rd time and authored by research firm ECOnorthwest, is completed every two years in order to determine if road users are paying their fair share of taxes based on what ODOT spends on highways. If the balance is off, lawmakers and a study review team can use HCAS findings to lobby for changes in vehicle taxes and fees.

Its findings never made much news until now, because for the first time ever, it has revealed a significant imbalance.

ODOT splits vehicles into two main classes: light and heavy (over 10,000 pounds, which is essentially all large commercial freight trucks). The past two HCAS reports (completed in 2021 and 2023), have raised eyebrows because the numbers show light vehicle operators are not paying enough for what ODOT spends on them, and heavy vehicles operators are paying too much (see slide at right). “For the 2023-25 biennium, under the existing tax structure and rates,” reads page 45 of the study, “light vehicles are expected to underpay their fair share by 12% and heavy vehicles are expected to overpay by 32% relative to the projected distribution of project spending.”

The numbers validate concerns from trucking advocates who say they’re getting fleeced by taxes (that went up as part of the 2017 transportation funding package) and they’ve used the study to justify a lawsuit against ODOT filed earlier this month asking for a refund.

Why am I sharing this on BikePortland? Because the HCAS findings will likely have strong political impacts and ODOT spending on bicycle-related projects have already been singled-out as one of the reasons for the imbalance.

What ODOT chooses to spend its highway fee and tax revenue on (the “investment mix”) is how the HCAS determines whether or not road users are paying their fair share. The economists who work on the HCAS assign each type of expenditure — whether it’s highway maintenance, administrative and engineering overhead, or bike and pedestrian projects — a specific allocation percentage based on its benefit to light or heavy vehicle users.

What the latest HCAS shows is that ODOT has spent more money on things that benefit light vehicles owners, while the amount of taxes and fees paid by those vehicle owners has gone down — while the inverse is true for heavy vehicle owners.

On page 58 of the study, its authors write,

“Most notable is the shift toward increasing expenditures on bike and pedestrian-related projects… Bike and pedestrian investments have been increasing over recent years and the current HCAS includes nearly 400 bike and pedestrian projects, compared with approximately 250 projects in each of the previous two biennia.”

Given the oft-politicized transportation debates at ODOT and among trucking advocates at the Oregon Legislature, it’s easy to see how this factoid will be leveraged. And what’s at stake on a larger scale is how lawmakers respond to the current HCAS imbalance. Will they see it as a reason to cut fees on large trucks? Scale back investment on bike and ped projects? Charge more for car drivers and other light vehicle owners?

According to Joe Cortright, a Portland-based economist and co-founder of No More Freeways, blaming the imbalance on bike and pedestrian projects is one of three major “flaws” in the latest HCAS.

In a new post on City Observatory, Cortright says the imbalance is primarily caused by ODOT’s decision to spend less on maintenance (like repaving and pothole repair) and more on freeway widening projects in the Portland metro area. This is because the planning and engineering costs for freeway expansion projects (which have gone up in recent years) count toward light duty vehicles in the HCAS formula, and maintenance projects (which have gone down) count toward heavy vehicle expenditures. Spend more on maintenance and repaving roads, and less on expanding freeways, Cortright says, and, “ODOT could reduce or resolve the cost- responsibility problem.”

Cortright also thinks ODOT’s use of federal funds in HCAS project expenditure calculations goes against Oregon’s Constitution. “Nothing in the law or constitution directs or authorizes including federal funds in the HCAS calculations,” he writes. ODOT also tallies major federal funding for bike and ped projects in the HCAS (see slides above), which Cortright says is not only illegal, but further tilts the balance of blame.

Findings from the HCAS have already led to the aforementioned lawsuit by the Oregon Trucking Association. And now two Republican lawmakers in Salem have sponsored bills to decrease the weight-mile tax charged to trucks. House Bill 4165, sponsored by Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-15)*, requires ODOT to complete a report and recommend legal changes that would balance the “transportation responsibility cost” between light and heavy vehicles. Senate Bill 1519, sponsored by Senator Brian Boquist (R-12), seeks to lower the weight-mile tax, issue refunds to taxpayers who overpaid, and would set specific limits on how highway funds could be spent.

Both bills have their first public hearing in front of the Joint Committee on Transportation this Thursday (2/15) at 5:00 pm.

*Rep. Boshart Davis is a member of the family that owns Boshart Trucking, Inc.

— Learn more about the HCAS in the interview with Cortright below, which I recorded last week.

I have some very good news for anyone Portland who breathes: the Parks bureau says they’re committed to building a bridge over North Columbia Blvd at Chimney Park — a key element of the 40-Mile Loop and link in the North Portland Greenway that will connect St. Johns to Kelly Point Park and beyond.

Back in November, trail advocates were dismayed to learn that Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) claimed a $3-4 million funding shortfall meant they could only build a standard, at-grade crossing to get trail users over the busy, high-speed, industrial truck traffic on Columbia Blvd. The bridge had been planned for years, much of the funding had been secured, and design was well underway when the announcement was made.

The official shift in stance came via the City of Portland’s Freight Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday, February 1st. Portland Bureau of Transportation Resources Manager Mark Lear told committee members he talked to PP&R Trail Planning Manager Brett Horner and learned that he was “feeling pretty positive about a grant they’re going to apply for.”

Specifically, PP&R plans to apply for a grant through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal grant program administered by the State of Oregon.

Asked to confirm this news, a PP&R spokesperson told BikePortland today that, “Our staff have taken the necessary steps with ODOT [Oregon Department of Transportation] and Metro to resume the design effort and will continue looking for supplemental funding sources as the project moves forward.”

Stay tuned and watch the official project website for opportunities to support this project and provide feedback on the design.

We can’t say it enough: comments are an integral part of BikePortland, and tending to our comments section is something we care deeply about.

Our goal is to provide a space that encourages expression of a range of opinions, where people feel they can discuss and disagree (or agree), but with guardrails in place that keep the threads from nose-diving into a lowest-common-denominator sewer, like has happened with comments on so many other news sites.

We do this by moderating the comments. In other words, either Jonathan or I read and approve each comment before it gets published.

It takes a bunch of time, but we are all rewarded with being one of the best places to go to share experiences about riding in Portland, for serious discussion of transportation issues, and yep, some politics.

A few weeks back, I commented about what I do to keep the site clear of “soft trolls.” A few people reading that comment thread had no idea of the work involved in keeping our threads clear, or the extent to which some actors will go to manipulate them.

Jonathan wanted to elevate that discussion out of the comment thread and onto a front page post. So here I go.

For about a year and a half, I’ve noticed that BP has one, or a small handful, of commenters who use multiple identities to post a barrage of comments all with the same point of view. You might recognize some of these identities: Happy Guy PDX, Yoko Chen, Mary Vasquez, Mauri Rocco, Ralph Chang, Randi J, Arturo, Marika S, Jim Knox, SeaTacgoride, Jimmie Green, Romy G, Jerry Perez, Susan Portier, Jeremy Pascal, Jenny Parto, RationalcycleGuy, Priscilla B, Priscilla T . . .

Read enough yet? because I can keep going.

What all of those names have in common is that they have posted from the same handful of IP addresses (often the identities will rotate between IP addresses), with similar political talking points, and often the same writing style.

Comments like these three, which were submitted a couple of weeks ago:

None of them stand out as being offensive. They had no swear words or blatant hate speech. But they are part of a barrage of similar comments from multiple IDs. Let’s look more carefully at what’s going on here.

First HappyGuy posted Thursday evening, with a veiled swipe at city council candidate Angelita Morillo. We didn’t publish it. So that same IP address tried another comment with a different user name, Priscilla. Still not published. Finally, the commenter returns to the HappyGuy identity, but uses a different IP address, one that connects this person to the Margo J identity, who is connected through yet another IP address to at least three other identities . . . Get it? Chains of identities which can be linked through IP addresses. I have been loosely keeping track of this in a folder for about a year and a half.

So why is this person or persons doing this? My guess is that they are trying to flood the public sphere with a certain political stance, and to make it appear as if it is widespread. The comments always hit a disciplined set of talking points: what a mess Portland is; how the commenter doesn’t feel safe; mentions the need for more police; takes a swipe at liberals; takes a swipe at elected officials, especially women (former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was a favorite target).

I’m not going to guess at who is doing this, but we thought we would let people know it is happening. Again, it is not the opinion that is the problem, it’s the sneaking around with multiple IDs, among other things, that raises suspicion. What is the result of this barrage? It creates fertile ground for a strongman autocracy — or on a lesser scale, a tilt towards the “law and order” approach more popular with conservative or right-leaning politicians. The comments also stoke cynicism. They wear you down. Some people might be swayed by a narrative of general disorder when they fill out the ballot.

I’ve gotten sick of it, and I recognize the writing. So I’m comfortable just not posting it without having to perform IP traces to justify the trashcan treatment. But I expect this activity to increase because of the elections, as I expect the flow of legitimate comments to pick up.

So you hang on to your hat, and we’ll do our damnedest to keep the ride from getting too wild. Jonathan always says if you care about keeping this comment section productive, the worst thing you can do is quit on them when something rubs you the wrong way (but by all means do so, if if it feels right). The best thing you can do, however, is tell us if you see one that looks suspicious and leave great comments of your own to drown it out.

Business owner and nonprofit leader Keith Wilson has thrown his hat into the ring to become Portland’s next mayor, and you can meet him in person at Bike Happy Hour this week (Weds., 2/14 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at Ankeny Tap).

I’ve seen Wilson operate in political, business, and advocacy spheres and have come away impressed. He not only has interesting ideas, he does the hard work it takes to give them legs. This is not an endorsement of Wilson, I’m just relaying my experience covering and working with him since 2020.

In 2020 he got a nice round of applause at a transportation-focused candidate forum when he answered a question about how to make streets safer by saying the number one problem is distracted driving. But he wasn’t just throwing out an answer, Wilson had proven results to back it up. As CEO of Titan Freight Systems (a company that operates 45 trucks and 120 trailers across three states), Wilson pioneered technology in his cabs that uses AI to track driver movements and then sent alerts back to the office. According to a trucking industry media outlet, “In 10 months of use, Titan reduced the number of daily unsafe events by 77% with the exterior cameras enabled.”

Wilson hosted the director of the Oregon Department of Transportation to his company for a close-up look at the technology and wants to help implement something similar in city and state fleets. “Call me and let me give you a run through,” he wrote in an email to me in 2020. “You will be amazed and walk away knowing that the solution to Vision Zero is near.”

After Pliner was killed on SE Powell Blvd, I called Wilson to have him help me understand the trucker’s perspective for a story I was working on. Wilson’s detailed analysis of the crash and his obvious care about what happened, is something that stuck with me. He also became a member of the SE Powell Blvd Working Group that formed to hasten safety improvements after Pliner’s death. But he didn’t just attend meetings and offer insights, Wilson went above-and-beyond and came up with a fully fleshed-out design proposal for how the lanes on SE 26th can be reconfigured in a way that provides more room for bicycling and still allows trucks to use the intersection.

[Read a BikePortland interview with Wilson from the 2020 city council race.]

In a recent email, Wilson shared that he’s been to Amsterdam twice in the past two years to learn more about homelessness and drug decriminalization policy. “Every time I went out onto the street,” Wilson shared. “I was so impressed with their modal mix, which heavily features bikes. I want to make their reality — and our dream — actualized in Portland.”

Another European transportation staple Wilson wants to bring to Oregon is high speed rail. He’s an advisory board member of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association and in 2022 sampled several HSR lines in France and Italy.

Wilson has experiences beyond trucks and transportation. He’s traveled to Portugal to learn about drug decriminalization and he founded Shelter Portland, a nonprofit that builds temporary, overnight shelters and helps get people off the streets. Wilson is also a leading voice in his industry about the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from truck fleets.

It will be a tall order for Wilson to crack into the top of the mayor’s race. When he ran for council in 2020, he received just 5.2% of the vote and finished fourth with just one-fifth the support of eventual winner Mingus Mapps. Now Wilson faces a surging Rene Gonzalez who has broad support and is a master at getting media attention.

In the new form of government, the mayor will no longer serve alongside city council members. While councilors focus on developing policy, the mayor will have authority over all city business and will oversee (and hire) the city administrator. Whoever is elected to this position will have a tie-breaking vote on council measures and will hire our next police chief and city attorney.

If you want see if Keith is up to the task, a good place to start will be at tomorrow night’s Bike Happy Hour. He’ll arrive around 4:00 pm and we’ll get on the mics around 5:00 and then open it up to audience Q & A. And yes it’s Valentine’s Day, so there will be even more love than usual to go ’round. Bring your date before your special night, or come find a special friend at BHH!

— KeithWilsonforMayor.com

This is the second post in my “New to Portland” column. In my first post, I shared my thoughts as a visitor to town. Now that I’m here and settling in, I’m excited to share a few tales from my first few weeks as a Portlander. 

I moved to Portland at the end of January, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge that I’m lucky to have completely dodged the ice storm. It’s clear the storm has been a hardship on the city, and that residents, businesses, and infrastructure are recovering from its impacts. On my first day in town, I encountered bike lanes filled with gravel and thought about complaining about the inconvenience; but when street sweepers quickly cleaned the bike lanes in my neighborhood, I realized the disruption was only temporary.

In the few weeks I’ve been in Portland, I’ve prioritized bicycling as my form of transit as much as I can. The unseasonably warm and dry weather has made it easy to make this choice. My destinations have included the mundane — the gym, my office, the grocery store — as well as more unique trips like IKEA, several furniture stores, and Bike Happy Hour. When I can remember, I track my riding with a tool called wandrer.earth which lets me know if I’ve ridden any new-to-me stretches of road. According to Wandrer, I’ve ridden 54 new miles in the first week!

I’ve made a goal to navigate using neighborhood greenway signs instead of programming a route into my GPS computer, and for the most part, it’s worked well. But, there have been a few mishaps. Occasionally I “lose” a neighborhood greenway. The greenway will zig-zag, and I’ll fail to see the signage, finding myself on a street that doesn’t have protected crossings. I usually realize this when I try to cross Cesar Chavez or Sandy Blvd and don’t have a protected crossing. My most annoying moment of being lost took place on Lloyd Blvd near the Steel Bridge. For the life of me, I couldn’t find the entrance to the Eastbank Esplanade from NE Lloyd Blvd, and rode back and forth along the sidewalk until I spotted a bicyclist using the entrance. I’m not sure I would have found it otherwise! 

The only time I departed from the neighborhood greenway strategy was when I went to IKEA. (No, I didn’t plan to carry my furniture home on my gravel bike — my husband met me there after work, and we drove home together with our purchases and my bike.) I planned a route to IKEA via NE Cully Blvd and Lombard, but when I shared my plan with some friends, they suggested I take the “scenic route” via 33rd and Marine Drive instead. I’m so glad that my friends intervened. Not only was my ride along the river relaxing, but after driving home on Lombard, I now realize it would have been a stressful ride during rush hour. 

I’m still having some culture shock, specifically related to how drivers interact with me as a rider. Every city has its own unwritten traffic rules. In Pittsburgh, drivers making a left-hand turn do the “Pittsburgh Left” and turn through the intersection before oncoming traffic or pedestrians have a chance to get in the way. I’ve discovered Portland’s quirky traffic habit: the “Portland Wait.” A Portland Wait is what happens when drivers stop for cyclists even when the driver has right of way. 

[ Being “nice” is dangerous and could make you at fault in a collision ]

I need to be careful writing this, because it does feel great to be seen and yielded to. But it’s not great when one driver is stopped and anxiously waiting for me to roll forward, but other drivers in the intersection continue to follow right-of-way rules. Sometimes drivers will even wave me on, when I can see there’s oncoming traffic that has not stopped for me. If I were to follow their guidance, I would surely be hit! The worst instance of this happened while crossing MLK near the Morrison Street Bridge. I waited what felt like ages (it was probably a minute or two) while one lane of traffic stopped to allow me to cross while other lanes of traffic continued past. Eventually the driver got fed up, kept driving, and a break in traffic allowed for a safe crossing.

I’m curious; how do BikePortland readers handle these situations? 

It’s been a wild week with lots of chores and errands, and I’ve been longing to join rides from the Shift calendar. Now that the boxes are unpacked and the furniture assembled, my evenings and weekends are free for more social rides. I can’t wait to join a few, and get to know other riders in town. 

A clean energy advocate, bike lover, and fabricator in northeast Portland has launched something that will change Portland streets forever: the Boom Bike — a 100% human-powered mobile soundstage, pedaled behind a trike that can carry 500 pounds of cargo and broadcast live music to a massive audience.

Cully neighborhood resident Mike Cobb built the Boom Bike based on a design by Xtracycle co-founder and carfree musician Kipchoge Spencer. Cobb is no stranger to pedal-powered projects as you might recall his role as an organizer of the Disaster Relief Trials or how he hooked up pedal-powered generators for Dakota Access Pipeline protestors at the Standing Rock Reservation in 2016.

I got an up-close look at the Boom Bike during a visit to Cobb’s workshop last week.

Cobb has known Spencer for years and once worked as a mechanic on his global, bicycle-powered Pleasant Revolution music tour back in 2010. Cobb reconnected with Spencer in 2020 to build five Boom Bikes as part of a massive parade in support of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

Cobb says his latest creation is, “The pinnacle of bicycle powered sound.”

The heavy-duty Coaster Cycles trike has a custom cargo bed that serves as a platform for the stage. Bolted to the stage is an off-the-shelf, Rock The Bike blender generator that can generate up to 100 watts at 120 volts — plenty to power the JBL loudspeaker and various electronic components that allow the music magic to happen.

Very low gearing allows Cobb (or whoever else operates it) to pedal relatively easily at slow speeds on a flat surface. Note that the Boom Bike does not use electric battery power — all the power is generated by the person who pedals right behind the trike operator. If hills are on the route, Cobb will call up two additional team members who will ride skateboards alongside and then quickly stow the boards on-stage while they push from behind.

While almost anyone produce the 50 watts needed to power the speaker, and most regular bike riders can easily create the 100 watts for full power, driving the trike will take more strength and skill. To help with that task, Cobb designed a handlebar with multiple leverage points and holding options for maximum rider input and comfort.

Dan Kaufman (of Disco Trike fame) is a local musician and friend of Cobb. To get on the stage where he sings, and plays his harmonica and guitar, Kaufman must walk up a ladder. Then he leans on a backrest and straps in with a sturdy buckle, similar to the set-up on a parade float. Once his helmet is on and wireless mic is in position, he’s ready to go.

“It was a bit off-putting at first because you’re pretty high up,” Kaufman said. “But I think a lot of performers are going to want to get on the back of this once they see how cool it is.”

Kaufman and Cobb are eager to try the Boom Bike at events like Sunday Parkways, protest marches and bike bus rides. They’re working on hooking up to an FM transmitter so other people can link up on a group ride for even more sound.

Rachel Freifelder, another Boom Bike team member who lives nearby and has known Cobb for many years, said she loves it because it helps her feel like a kid again and is a beautiful demonstration of the potential of bicycles. “My whole life I’ve been hearing people say, ‘Oh, but you need a car so you can do this or that,’ buit I think this is just such a beautiful example of things you can do with a bike.”

“And when we did our trial run last week and we’re riding around the neighborhood,” Freifelder continued. “I just couldn’t stop smiling when I saw how many neighbors we were making smile. And people in cars who are like, ‘Whoa, that’s amazing!'”

Watch for the Boom Bike at Portland bike events soon!

The relation of land use to transportation was in the air last week. On different threads, from different starting points, last week saw many conversations arrive at a discussion about density, what is needed to have a transit network that works well enough, for enough people, in enough areas, that it can replace car trips—and if that is even feasible.

There were a lot of strong comments. I wish I could just bundle them. My favorite ones noticed that there seems to be a disconnect between this site’s heartfelt debates about the density/transportation conundrum and what our elected leaders are actually doing.

And it’s more than just debate and talk, Portland eats volunteer time, and the time of city employees too, on its plethora of advisory committees whose advice frequently winds up on a shelf collecting dust. What gives?

This pithy comment from Watts captured the absurdity and frustration of the present moment. Plus, and this is a once-in-decade-phenomena, Fred, Damien and Prioritarian all seemed to agree with him. Think about that!

Watts’s head-in-hand comment came in response to our post about the 2024 legislative session. In particular, about a bill that is afloat to weaken the urban growth boundary established by Oregon’s signature land-use accomplishment, the 1973 Senate Bill 100.

Here’s what he had to say:

HB 4048: The last thing we need is to make it easier to expand the UGB. Between Portland and the state, there seems to be a real fever to roll back environmental regulations around where and what you can build. It seems to be one of the few things Democrats and Republicans can agree on.

Thank you Watts for this, and all your comments. You can read Watts in the context of other regular commenters actually agreeing with him here.