Explore this updated interactive map of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, created by Paul Fyfield, cartographer and BTA volunteer, and check out what bicycle access improvements are planned for your neighborhood. What will it mean to BUILD IT where you live?

Click image to download pdf file

Currently, 57% of areas zoned for residential and mixed commercial/residential use are within one quarter mile of bicycle facilities. With the construction of funded projects, access will expand to 66% of all residential and mixed commercial/residential use areas. Much of the Portland Bicycle Plan remains to be funded, but when it’s fully built out, 97% of all areas zoned as residential or mixed commercial/residential areas will be within one quarter mile of bicycle facilities.

To access the map, you will need to download Adobe Reader 9.

What do your streets stand to gain when all projects planned are funded?

Click View> Navigation Panels>Layers.

From here, you can click on the

icon next to the choices for each map layer to either display or hide the labeled routes. Hide all future projects and notice the difference in access between the projects on your everyday routes that are currently funded and what the future has in store!

Bring bikes to your streets–BUILD IT!

Portland residents: Tonight’s community budget hearing is a key opportunity to share your input on the Mayor’s proposed budget released last week. Please attend.

Thank you,
Gerik Kransky
Portland Advocacy Manager

In a letter to the Portland Bureau of Transportation last week, the BTA thanked PBOT for responding quickly to safety hazards on the new East Burnside/Couch couplet and invited engineers to meet on site and discuss alternatives for long term solutions in the corridor.

Read the full letter below.

May 12, 2010

Dear Ms. Keil,

We at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) would like to work with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to improve bicycle access and safety on the Burnside/Couch Couplet project. We appreciate your swift response to recent bicycle crashes and would like to discuss some additional engineering improvements with you and your staff.

Thank you for the quick fix of re-striping all travel lanes to add width to the bike lane and for buffering the bike lane at the final curve.

We believe that the sweeping curves on Couch leading up and onto the Burnside Bridge as currently configured still present a safety risk for bicyclists. We would like PBOT to consider physically separated bicycle facilities as a long-term fix that is both safer and more comfortable for morning rush hour commuters.

We are also concerned about the high volume of cars and buses entering and leaving the right travel lane on NE Couch, increasing the likelihood of a right hook crash. We ask the city to explore ways to improve safety and security by making sure drivers are aware of bicyclists as they prepare to make a right turn.

While we understand that the feasibility of specific suggestions may not be possible at these locations, we strongly encourage PBOT to consider these recommendations along with any other innovative safety improvements. We would also like to work together to analyze the entire corridor in order to provide safe routes for bicyclists of all abilities.

Site tour and review

Thank you again for your swift response to these safety concerns. The BTA would like to partner with PBOT to conduct a safety evaluation and assessment of long-term solutions for the Burnside/Couch couplet. We ask that you and your engineers take us on a site tour to experience and discuss alternative solutions directly. We suggest a meeting at the Burnside Bridgehead project area during morning rush hour to see what is happening and discuss how best to address our safety concerns.

The BTA believes that together we can continue to make Portland a world-class bicycling city where 25% of residents commute by bike, as envisioned in the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030. We look forward to working with you to ensure that our major arterials are safe and comfortable for bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike.

Sincerely,

Gerik Kransky
Advocacy Campaign Manager
Bicycle Transportation Alliance

Download this interactive map created by Paul Fyfield, cartographer and BTA volunteer. Here are the basics:

Existing facilities come to within a quarter mile of 57%, or approximately 45.6 out of 79.5 square miles, of areas zoned residential or mixed commercial / residential.

Existing and funded facilities: 68% or 52.2 miles

Existing, funded, and planned facilities: 97% or 77 miles

Click to download PDF (17.7 MB – large!)

Note: This is a geospatial PDF. Acrobat Reader 9.0 or later is required to take advantage of its features. Click Tools >Analysis >Show Analysis Toolbar to access location and measurement tools. Click View >Naviation Panels to access layers.

Jonathan Nicholas testifies in support of the Bike Plan for 2030 at the February 4th hearing.

Jonathan Nicholas from BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE on Vimeo.

If you missed Filmed by Bike last weekend, check out this contribution from BTA’s own, Carl Larson.

The Street (BUILD IT) from Carl Larson on Vimeo.

Just a quick reminder, the City of Portland is holding a series of open houses to collect public input on the first 15 miles of bike boulevards in the Portland Bicycle Plan.

Northeast Holman Street Bicycle Boulevard:
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Concordia University (Luther Hall Room 211)
2811 NE Holman Street

Northeast Klickitat Street Bicycle Boulevard:
Thursday, April 8, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Alameda Elementary (Cafeteria)
2732 NE Fremont Street

If you live in the neighborhood, please show up. These meetings are very important and guide the final bike boulevard designs. Remember, the world is run by the people who show up!

Learn why Oregon’s and Washington’s governors recently received a letter from fourteen public interest groups, including the BTA, addressing serious concerns with the Columbia River Crossing Project.

Local elected officials from Portland and Vancouver have made several specific requests to address major flaws in the project, but Governors Kulongoski and Gregoire have failed to propose a solution that addresses questions relating to transportation needs, community impacts, and the rigid project timeline.

Watch this video, read the letter, and call or write Governors Kulongoski and Gregoire and ask them to listen to local concerns or stop the project.

Wednesday morning around 11:00am, Portland City Council will vote on Mayor Adams’ proposal to kickstart funding for the Bicycle Plan. To see the types of projects that will and won’t receive funding, take a look at the details of the Council agenda item.

Please join us at City Hall. There will not be public testimony, but you can print off a Build It sign and show your support for this innovative initial investment in Portland’s bike network.

The BTA sent the following letter of support to City Commissioners regarding tomorrow’s vote.

Dear Mayor Adams and Members of Portland City Council,

We write to you today in support of the proposal to build Green Streets and fund them through cost savings on the Big Pipe project. This ordinance is a win-win for clean water, city ratepayers, and livable communities. Here’s why:

Clean water – Green Streets take stormwater out of the pipes under our roads and keep urban runoff out of our rivers. They also help reduce pollution from cars and trucks on our roadways by encouraging active transportation. Green Streets are an integral part of Portland’s transportation network and sewer/stormwater system.

City ratepayers – The ordinance proposed by Mayor Adams protects ratepayers by ensuring that only Green Street features that add value to Portland’s sewer system are eligible for funding from sewer revenue.  All signs, stripes, signals, and speed bumps will be funded from other local sources.

Livable communities – By spending our limited city resources efficiently, and meeting the needs of two programs at once, we create safer streets, more transportation options and better neighborhoods while saving money in the long run.

Slowing down traffic and reducing stormwater drainage in our sewer system is a win-win. The Green Street program is a cost-effective way to do it. In the past, we just built expensive pipes underground that only managed our stormwater. Today, we can build natural areas to manage stormwater with the added benefit of safe and pleasant neighborhoods.

This is precisely the kind of forward thinking that we need in Portland’s City Council. Please support the proposed ordinance for the benefit of all involved.

It’s great to see the Portland Trailblazers embracing Portland’s culture and having fun at the same time. That seems to be the purpose of their new, “on the go with G.O.” series, featuring Greg Oden, the team’s popular 22 year-old 7′ tall center.

In their first video segment, Oden hops on Light Rail (of course) to meet “a guy who knows a lot about Portland.” Hint: his initials are BUD CLARK!

Their conversation (and visit to Waterfront Bicycles) end up addressing a triumvirate of Portland’s favorite things: Bikes! Weirdness! Facial Hair!

Watch it for yerself:

So he’s not exactly sold on biking but it seems like he’s found the right mentor. Perhaps he should save it until the season’s over, though. Wouldn’t want any injuries…