Just got home from a wonderful weekend in Minneapolis for NCECA 2019…. the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. A lot of pottery, inspirations, shopping and meeting up with a lot of other pottery friends!! More photos & stories to come!!!
As an added bonus… it was a BEAUTIFUL weather weekend in Minneapolis! So I made sure to get outside to see some of the sights outside of the Convention Center too!
Gun Safe Recalled Over Lock Failure
For further info go to Mr. Locksmith Calgary.
A gun safe has been recalled because of a malfunction that allows it to be opened without a key or combination. The recall is for the Stack-On Sentinel model safe made by Alpha Guardian.
According to the Consumer Product and Safety Commission, a bolt malfunction can cause the safe to open without the use of a key combination. That lock failure allows access to any firearms stored inside, posing a safety hazard.
The black steel safe has the name “Sentinel” on it. The style number FSS18-64-MB-E-S can be found on the shipping packaging.
A gun safe sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide in November and December 2018 is being recalled due to an issue with the safe’s locking mechanism, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
Alpha Guardian has received one report of the safe opening without the use of a key or combination, which would mean someone could access the guns stored inside without authorization, the CPSC said.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that Alpha Guardian has announced a recall on its Stack-On Gun Safes due to a possible bolt malfunction which could result in failure to lock and possible injury and said consumers should immediately stop using the safe and contact Alpha Guardian for information on receiving a replacement safe or a full refund.
The mishap causes the safe to open without a key or combination.
The style number is FSS18-64-MB-E-S and can be found on the shipping packaging.
The safes were sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide from November 2018 through December 2018 for about $700.
Consumers are asked to stop using the safes immediately and contact Alpha Guardian at 833-255-9827, at dcsg@alphaguardian.com or online for a full refund or replacement
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith TrainingFor Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to http://mrlocksmith.com/locksmithfranchise-opportunities/
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Lids and mere 'lip service' to the community are sticking points.
(Photo of Betsy Reese by Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Looking back at yet another eventful week here on BikePortland, I was struck by how many solid comments we had. I couldn’t pick one, so I’ve decided to highlight three.
Riding in River View Cemetery
The first comes from axoplasm in response to our story on River View Cemetery:
“Oh geez do I have Opinions. I lived for a decade at the top of Riverview & it continues to be a major part of both my commute and leisure rides. I almost said “training” rides but then I realized this is part of the problem. A cemetery is an acceptable place for (low-key) leisure. It’s maybe not an acceptable place for “training.”
Although I’ve never had a crash in the cemetery, I have definitely been The Jerk in this story. And as I routinely ride through here with my kiddos — who do tend to drift across the center line, even at the apex of turns — I’m also Rachel in this story.
But listen, I get tired of saying this: the real bad guys here are the City of Portland, who think that Taylor’s Ferry (!) is an acceptable bike route into the greater Lewis and Clark/Tryon/Burlingame neighborhood, and who continually leans on a private property to cover for this negligence.
I’m a Strong and Fearless Jerk and yet I seldom ride down Taylor’s Ferry, and never up it.
The City owns an adjacent property (Riverview Natural Area) that could (in theory) be transformed into a bike nirvana for Jerks and Rachels alike — providing both needed transportation infrastructure, and awesome recreational space. Instead of hollering at each other, let’s ask our elected officials why it isn’t.”
Racial dynamics in inner northeast Portland
Reader Keviniano was dismayed by the response to our story on the Lloyd to Woodlawn Neighborhood Greenway:
“It’s striking to me that so few posters here are taking this as a humbling moment for bicycle advocacy in Portland.
I recognize that BP comments are largely an in-group forum, so I expect some venting. Even so, it appears that urgency around climate change and traffic violence is leading to some hubris and many folks here being unwilling to check their blind spots around the continuing impacts of Portland’s profound and shameful history of institutionalized racism. While PBOT’s decision may bring some regained trust with PBOT in segments of the Black Portland, if the comments here are representative of the sentiments of the bicycle advocacy community at large (I hope they aren’t) then, as much as it hurts to say this, I think the lack of political power of bicycle advocates in the city may be well-earned.
I’m surprised and deeply saddened to see how many folks are doubling down on the wrongness of this outcome and the righteousness of their position rather than seeing this loss as an opportunity to reflect on and learn from the deficiencies of a movement that clearly failed to seize an opportunity for a coalition.
I didn’t know Ron Herndon at all, so I googled him after reading bikeninja’s comments above. Wow, that guy is amazing — he seems like the kind of leader ALL of Portland should be deeply proud to have. It’s just striking that for some the takeaway is that bike advocates just tangled with the wrong person, rather than “how can we learn from this leader?” or “how is that we failed to effectively cultivate the relationships and trust that would have lead to better infrastructure for everyone?” For me it’s less a question of how can bike advocates can get folks like Ron Herndon to come to their side and more one of how bike advocates can effectively come to the side of a civil rights leader and advocate for head start?
I think we need some spaces where leaders from Black Portland and bicycle advocates can meet and some sustained understanding and trust can develop. I think it would need some actual funding to create. Some pre-work within the advocacy side is probably in order. This “we’ve got a project so let’s do some outreach to the Black Community” business just isn’t going to cut it.”
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I-5 Rose Quarter project
And Betsy Reese feels like ODOT didn’t fulfill their end of the bargain when it came to promises made around the I-5 Rose Quarter project:
“My husband and I own the property known as Paramount Parking that is being taken by ODOT to create the new Hancock/Dixon.
My decades of bicycle and pedestrian safety advocacy, much of it specifically surrounding the notoriously dangerous Broadway/Flint/Wheeler intersection, apparently made us an easy mark for cooperation in the original design phase of this project. Allowing a bicycle and pedestrian ROW to be acquired through our property was represented as the fix to one of the most dangerous intersections in the city for bikes and peds.
Several aspects of the project that we were led to believe would improve our city are now missing or negatively altered on the current plan.
The new bike infrastructure was to be two-fold, promising:
– 1. The new Hancock-Dixon street that would run through our property would provide a safer, lower-stress route from N. Portland to the Broadway Bridge.
Instead, the new Hancock-Dixon St. will be an auto thoroughfare with painted bike lanes at a 10% grade that is now acknowledged by ODOT as likely being so unappealing to and unused by cyclists that they are not even indicating it on the maps they use in presenting active transportation infrastructure upgrades.
– 2. Additionally, the original plan showed two new MUPS running on ODOT property connected by the new Hancock/Dixon lid over I-5 that would effectively replace Flint Ave. The new off-street bike/ped paths were to connect the stubbed-off Flint at Tillamook to Broadway west of I-5.
Instead, of the two proper MUPS, one is completely missing, although ODOT said at March 4th meeting that it is still a “possibility”, and the other is not a MUP, but what I call BS. – BS stands for Bikes on Sidewalk – what engineers do when they can’t figure out what to do with bikes. This one is an elaborate and cramped 5%-grade switch-back MUP that will pit pedestrians and bicyclists against each other, and that few cyclists will use more than once.
This plan of passing through our property was represented as the solution to the need for a safer more comfortable bicycle route from North Portland to the Broadway Bridge.
Instead, it’s, ‘No. Sorry. It’s the Vancouver/Broadway/I-5 Freeway intersection for you, bicycle riders.’
– Yes – this is the route we are left with that most bicycle commuters will opt for. It includes a shift of the bike lane from the right side to the left side of the Vancouver, funneling cyclists into a “jug-handle” staging area for a right turn from Vancouver to Broadway across the freeway off-ramps. Given the number of daily bike commuters on this route – the highest in the city – I think it highly unlikely that the 90-degree turn into the jug-handle and waiting for the light in the staging area will feel like an improvement over the right turn onto Broadway from Flint that we have now.”
Just FYI, all three of these commenters are BikePortland subscribers and supporters. Thank you to them — and to everyone who contributes to the productive dialogue on this site.
Remember, you can nominate great comments by replying with “comment of the week”.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post Comments of the Week: Rose Quarter bait-and-switch, a lesson for bike advocates, and jerks in River View appeared first on BikePortland.org.
Oregon’s largest active transportation advocacy group is the latest to request that the Oregon Department of Transportation complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for their I-5 Rose Quarter project.
In a letter dated today, The Street Trust’s Executive Director Jillian Detweiler says an EIS is needed, “So that project impacts and mitigation can be better developed and understood by the public.”
“The Street Trust is alarmed by the likely impact on walking, biking and transit during the construction period.”
ODOT’s project, which seeks to significantly expand I-5 through the central city and add new travel lanes in a bid increase capacity, has come under heavy fire in recent weeks. The Portland Public Schools Board, Oregon Walks, the Portland Bureau of Transportation Bicycle Advisory Committee, the PBOT Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and others think ODOT needs to take more time to assess the environmental impact of the project.
As far back as last year, advocacy groups were concerned that ODOT was taking a shortcut by completed only an Environmental Assessment instead of a more rigorous Environmental Impact Statement. Both are elements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process.
In joining the chorus of opposition The Street Trust is sounding a note of stronger opposition than the past. In 2017 The Street Trust supported the legislation that funded this freeway expansion (and several others). They did so out of a political compromise, Detweiler said at the time. The Street Trust opted to not sign onto the No More Freeways PDX opposition statement in order to, “Remain consistent with the compromises reached with legislators and stakeholders in the bill,” Detweiler said at the time. “We just think it demonstrates integrity to not take a lead throwing pot shots at an element in the overall package we supported. We don’t oppose those who do and and in fact we encourage it,” she added.
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In 2017 The Street Trust was cautiously optimistic about the project, saying, “We would love to see this project successfully set a new precedent for how we address urban highways in Portland.” (Also of note back then was a PBOT staffer who said, “This is an innovative project that really makes a freeway project something that is about place-making and that improves conditions for all modes.”)
The Street Trust Executive Director Jillian Detweiler.
But their tone has changed since then. At the ODOT-hosted public hearing on March 13th, Detweiler testified against the project. “The EA demonstrates very little improvement on any measure — including auto travel times — for a tremendous amount of money,” she said. “We believe congestion pricing could provide more benefits to all parties and to really create the type of bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities we need to face our future.”
In their letter sent to ODOT today, Detweiler takes aim at specific elements of the EA they say fail to live up to promises made in the 2012 I-5 Broadway Weidler Facility Plan that informed the current project: the design of the lids, the new ramp at NE Weidler, decreased travel times for transit, and a lack of quality and detail in the proposed bicycling and walking facilities.
Detweiler is also concerned about construction impacts, how the I-5 project integrates (or doesn’t) with the Albina Vision proposal, and the project’s impacts on Tubman Middle School.
“The Street Trust is alarmed by the likely impact on walking, biking and transit during the construction period and the lack of information in the EA about how this will be mitigated,” states the letter, “Extraordinary efforts will need to be taken to mitigate the huge disruption that will be caused by the construction of the project in an area that sees 8,000 cyclists per day and is the primary portal between downtown and North and Northeast Portland. A five-year setback is not an acceptable outcome for our climate change and growth management goals nor is it acceptable to the individuals who will be impacted.”
According to the NEPA process, the purpose of the EA is to determine if the project will have a “significant impact”. If the EPA makes a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), the project can move to the design phase. If the EPA concludes the project, “is determined to significantly affect the quality of the human environment,” they’ll force ODOT to complete an EIS. An ODOT rep told The Portland Mercury this week that an EA has “the same level of detail” as an EIS. But that’s not accurate. The NEPA website is clear: “The regulatory requirements for an EIS are more detailed and rigorous than the requirements for an EA.”
You can download The Street Trust’s letter here.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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(Photo: PBOT 2018 Biketown Annual Report)
So far, Biketown hasn’t turned out to be the ubiquitous presence or dominant travel mode I hoped it would be. Instead it’s a (mostly) reliable, well-run, affordable and accessible transportation option for people who need it most.
That’s what I came away thinking after I read the 2018 Biketown Annual Report (PDF) recently adopted by Portland City Council.
When Biketown launched in July 2016, I was eager to finally have a bike share system. Even though Portland was late to the party, I assumed the orange bikes would a vast impact on how we get around. Inspired by the systems I’d used and seen flourish in Washington D.C. and New York City, I envisioned orange bikes everywhere. And with bikes everywhere we’d have bike riders everywhere and we’d have bike infrastructure everywhere and my dreams of a cycling city would finally be realized.
But that’s not how things have gone.
Almost three years in, and I find myself not even thinking about Biketown much. Instead of thousands of bikes blanketing neighborhoods throughout the city, the fleet size hasn’t budged since it launched. Biketown hasn’t led to a vast increase in cycling mode share. I’ve let my own membership lapse.
Biketown hasn’t turned out as I expected. And that’s OK.
Now that the novelty of having the system up-and-running has worn off, and given its limited service area, budget, and fleet size, I’ve come to accept the fact that Biketown’s impact will be limited. What I didn’t realize is that there are many other positive ways a bike share system can impact a city. It’s not just about mode share and the number of bikes on the street.
Biketown adds value to our city by servicing small (yet important) niches of unmet mobility needs, and providing bicycle transportation to people who otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t access it.
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Bikes for people with disabilities, for people on low-incomes, and for students. (Source: 2018 Biketown Annual Report)
In their annual report under the heading of “What’s next?” PBOT writes that the system is, “… finding new ways to fill in gaps in the transportation needs of Portlanders,” and that bike share, “provides flexibility for day-to-day activities.” That hardly sounds like a program bent on citywide domination.
What if Biketown is Portland’s secret weapon in doing what PBOT and advocates have been trying (unsuccessfully) to do for years? That is, to diversify the current demographic of Portland bicycle riders?
What if Biketown is Portland’s secret weapon in doing what PBOT and advocates have been trying (unsuccessfully) to do for years? That is, to diversify the current demographic of Portland bicycle riders? PBOT doesn’t shy away from this. In the title to the executive summary of their annual report, PBOT wrote Biketown is, “Broadening and diversifying the city’s bicycle culture.” They’ve done this by revamping their fare structure, keeping the brand fresh and interesting through special edition bike “wraps”, and making bikes available to communities with constrained budgets and options.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation and their operator Motivate have continued to refine programs like Biketown for All and Adaptive Biketown — both of which fill important cycling niches in our city.
According to the annual report, Biketown for All members (whose low-income qualifies them for discounted memberships) are 7 percent of all active annual members but take 20 percent of all member trips. The Adaptive Biketown program seems to have found its stride with 189 rentals for 110 people last year — that’s a 220 percent increase from the first pilot period.
This isn’t to say Biketown is falling behind on other key metrics. Beyond the niches, the numbers are still positive: annual memberships in 2018 were up 87 percent over 2017 and ridership grew 28 percent year-over-year. And we can expect expansions in the coming year. Speaking of which, electric-assist Biketown bikes will be game-changers and they’ll hit the streets soon (a survey showed more than one-third of members would use Biketown more if the bikes had e-assist).
Biketown has proven to be effective at making bicycles more accessible to more people and squeezing maximum transportation value out of a limited budget. That bodes well for its future; a future I still hope includes citywide domination.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post Friday Opinion: Biketown hasn’t taken over Portland like I’d hoped. And that’s OK appeared first on BikePortland.org.
Graphics by Cupola Media via No More Freeways PDX.
With so many inconvenient truths brought to light recently about the Oregon Department of Transportation’s plans to expand the I-5 freeway, one of the most disturbing is the fact that it would cast an even larger shadow over the Eastbank Esplanade.
The Esplanade, opened in 2001 and named for former Mayor Vera Katz in 2004, is a beloved piece of carfree infrastructure that hugs the western edge of the freeway. It runs between the Steel Bridge in the north and OMSI (SE Caruthers Street) to the south and provides a safe option through the Central Eastside Industrial District. Even though it’s carfree and just yards from the Willamette River, the noise and toxic emissions from drivers using I-5 is ever-present.
That’s why it’s so troubling that ODOT’s I-5 expansion plans would increase the freeway’s negative impacts on the Esplanade.
On page 61 of the Environmental Assessment (whose comment period closes at 4:59 pm this Monday April 1st), ODOT informs us that, “The Build Alternative would also require the acquisition of a 0.11–acre permanent surface easement from the Eastbank Esplanade along the western edge of the SB ramp from I–5 to I–84. The easement would be needed to provide potential intermittent access to the ramp by ODOT maintenance crews. Temporary, periodic closures of the park within the boundaries of the permanent easement may be required to accommodate ODOT maintenance activities.” This permanent easement is in addition to “periodic temporary occupation of segments of the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade” during project construction that is likely to lead to several closures of unknown duration.
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Cyan color is proposed new lanes. The floating dock of the Esplanade is in the lower left. Area in animation is circled. (Source: ODOT via Iain MacKenzie)
Portlander Iain MacKenzie (with an assist from lawyer Alan Kessler) added considerable flesh to this information by asking ODOT for detailed engineering drawings of the project. MacKenzie made the request on February 15th, the first day of the EA comment period. After a public records request, ODOT finally released a trove of project files on March 26th, just a few days before the end of the comment period. MacKenzie has made the files available to the public via Twitter.
Using those drawings, MacKenzie and Aaron Brown with No More Freeways PDX hired local video simulation firm Cupola Media to create a graphic that shows how the new lanes on I-5 will impact the Esplanade (see lead GIF image).
And this was just one detail of the project that was broadly exposed this week. Both City Observatory and Oregon Public Broadcasting dug deeper into a very interesting project nugget: That all the project’s key projections about traffic and emissions were based on an assumption that a mega-project to expand I-5 between Oregon and Vancouver (like the Columbia River Crossing) would be built. Not only is a new CRC not even on the table, but the fact that ODOT used it to cook their books to make the I-5 Rose Quarter project look better is sneaky at best, and bureaucratic malfeasance at worst.
The longer this project is exposed to an informed public, the more reasons we have to distrust ODOT.
Please consider sharing your thoughts by commenting on the EA (you can submit as many as you’d like). I no longer trust ODOT enough to send you to their website, so if you want to comment please visit https://nomorefreewayspdx.com/publiccomment/.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post ODOT’s I-5 expansion would cast even larger shadow over Eastbank Esplanade appeared first on BikePortland.org.
Spring hiring season is upon us! If you’re looking for a new gig, peruse the opportunities below…
— Bike Mechanic – Community Cycling Center
— Customer service / Mechanic – North Portland Bikeworks
— Bicycle Tech, service, sales – Southwest Bicycle, LLC
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For a complete list of available jobs, click here.
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These are paid listings. And they work! If you’d like to post a job on the Portland region’s “Best Local Blog” two years running, you can purchase a listing online for just $75. Learn more at our Job Listings page.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post Jobs of the Week: Community Cycling Center, North Portland Bikeworks, Southwest Bicycle appeared first on BikePortland.org.
The walls often displayed bike-related images like these portraits of Williams Avenue commuters by Jim Golden. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Hopworks’ Christian Ettinger pouring pints from the Hopworksfiets (note the bike hub beer taps).
Is it yet another sign of cycling’s decline in Portland? Or just a business wanting to freshen-up their image?
Hopworks announced today that its iconic BikeBar on North Williams Avenue will be relaunched as the North Williams Pub and Beergarden.
No matter the reason behind the change, it’s sad to see “BikeBar” go. It was fun to have a place whose entire brand was devoted to bikes.
BikeBar opened in June 2011 amid a flurry of cycling-centric development on what I consider to be the best bike street in Portland. It was Hopworks’ second location (their original spot was also very bike-centric when it opened in 2008, but BikeBar was next-level) and it was an immediate hit with bike lovers throughout the city. Outside there were stationary bikes that generated electricity. Inside was all manner of bike-themed decor; including a collection of glass bottles held to the wall by water bottle cages, an impressive array of bike frames over the bar, and beer taps made out of bike hub shells.
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Having a “BikeBar” of our own always felt pretty special. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Hopworks Urban Brewery was founded by Christian Ettinger, a bike rider and racer who has been very supportive of our community over the years. His company popularized the idea of a “beer bike” by commissioning the Hopworksfiets — a bike with integrated taps that could carry full kegs and became a scene-maker at events throughout Portland. Hopworks’ original location on Southeast Powell Blvd has played host to the BiketoBeerFest and the Handmade Bike & Beer Festival.
I’ve asked Hopworks to share more about their rationale for the name change. I’m also curious if all the bike-themed decor survived the remodel. I’ll update this story if/when I hear back.
The remodeled space between N Failing and Shaver will open to the public on April 2nd with a party to welcome the new name and the release of three new beers.
For now, let us collectively mourn yet another part of Portland’s illustrious bike culture that has disappeared.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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The post There’s no longer a “BikeBar” on North Williams Ave appeared first on BikePortland.org.
*Photos of the scene by Patrick Mok
North Portland resident and friend of BikePortland, Patrick Mok, had his bike stolen from his apartment building Monday night. What makes this theft notable is that he had it locked with a high-quality lock and it was inside a designated, fenced-in bike room.
Patrick and his favorite commuter that’s currently in the hands of thieves.
Getting a bike stolen is bad enough. Getting one stolen from a place you expected to be secure is even harder to swallow. I wanted to share Patrick’s experience for two main reasons: To remind people that bike theft remains a major issue in Portland (and a barrier to biking for many), and in hopes that his story will lead building owners to invest more to make bike parking facilities as secure as possible.
Patrick says whoever stole his gray, Specialized AWOL road bike planned ahead and knew what they were doing. The bike room it was parked in is located on the first floor of a relatively new, four-story apartment building on North Interstate Avenue. The bike parking room is in the back of a fenced-off parking garage and it’s enclosed by a chain-link fence of its own. Patrick said his recent theft was not the first one they’ve had.
Back in November of last year, Patrick left a bike unlocked inside the bike room and it was stolen along with one other bike. The thieves cut through the latch in the fence to get them. After that incident the property manager repaired the fence but made no other upgrades.
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Be on the lookout for this bike!
This time around, Patrick was more prepared. His bike was not only inside the fenced room but was locked to another bike with a $100 Abus Bordo folding lock and two cable locks. He says the thief/thieves climbed over the wall of the parking garage and cut a large hole in the chain-link fence. At least three bikes were stolen and all the locks were cut. “I found it interesting they decided to cut the lock instead of the cable… I felt safe with the Abus lock,” he shared with me today via email.
As for the bike room, Patrick has recommended some upgrades and more secure designs to the property manager. He posted the incident to Nextdoor and heard from a local bike parking specialist, draw2build LLC (owned by local bike advocate Scott Mizee) who has offered to consult with the property manager on a new design.
Patrick has filed his theft with the police and listed the bike as stolen on BikeIndex.org. He says he no longer trusts chain-link fences as an adequate deterrent and he will only use heavy-duty chain locks on his bikes in the future. He also strongly recommends taking pictures of your bike (especially if you change parts a lot) to make it easier to settle a claim with your insurance if/when it gets stolen.
Sorry this happened to you Patrick! We’ll keep an eye out for your bike and let us know if your bike room gets an upgrade.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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That’s a bike rack that meets our current in-unit code. Not great.
(Photos: Liz Hormann/City of Portland)
Story by Chris Smith, a member of the Portland Planning & Sustainability Commission. He previously wrote about how bicycles and streetcars can co-exist.
After a supportive vote from the Portland Planning & Sustainability Commission (PSC) at their meeting last month, the first full overhaul of Portland’s Bicycle Parking zoning code in two decades is now headed to City Council.
The package is largely similar to the output of a stakeholder committee last year, as refined in the proposed draft (PDF) sent to the PSC, with one big exception: something we’re calling “bike nooks”.
Our current parking code (from last century) allowed bike parking to be located in an apartment or condo, something no other major city allows. Despite efforts to refine this code in 2010, we still saw horror stories like bike racks above beds or couches (see photo).
The proposal for our new code limited in-unit bike parking to 20 percent of all required bike parking in a multi-family building. But the PSC heard from developers — particularly affordable housing developers — who wanted the flexibility to use in-unit parking to keep housing costs lower. We also heard concerns about theft from large bike rooms to which many people have access (even though the new code tightens bike room security standards). We also heard some community members who expressed a preference for storing their bike(s) in their units.
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Slide from PBOT’s presentation to the Planning & Sustainability Commission on 2/26.
Bike rooms (outside of dwelling units) are still important: the code requires 30 percent of bike spaces to be horizontal (for folks who can’t or don’t want to lift a bike onto a wall rack) and 5 percent of the spaces have to be large enough to accommodate a “bakfiets”-style cargo bike or a bike with a trailers.
Bike parking in a storage closet (aka bike nook) at the Osprey Apartments in South Waterfront.
But in response to what we heard, the PSC recommended allowing 50 percent of parking to be allowed in-unit — with a twist. It has to meet new usability standards. Specifically, the in-unit parking must be in “a closet or alcove” (i.e., it can’t be in the living room, bedroom or kitchen) and must be within 15-feet of the front door of the unit. In stipulating this requirement we’ve created a new type of apartment feature: the bike nook.
We have existing examples in Portland, the Osprey apartments in South Waterfront features well-designed bike nooks. We think this is a good compromise: It will allow housing builders more flexibility while also improving the quality of in-unit bike parking.
We’re not exactly sure how bike nooks will be implemented. Will they be the next Portland innovation that will sweep the nation? Or an experiment that doesn’t pay off? What do you think?
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is currently revising their code update draft with the PSC’s recommendations and they expect to bring the final update to City Council this summer. For more details, see the list of PSC amendments to PBOT’s draft proposal here (PDF).
— Chris Smith, @chrissmithus on Twitter
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