Man remains hospitalized after collision at Cully and Killingsworth

Looking southwest at the intersection of Northeast Cully and Killingsworth.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

51-year-old northeast Portland resident Alberto Canche-Mukel remains in the hospital with serious injuries after a traffic collision late last night.

This collision is just the latest in a spate of traffic crashes in the past week — including five fatalities.

Canche-Mukel was biking northbound on Northeast Cully Boulevard and was in the intersection of Killingsworth (map) when he and 34-year-old Ramon Benton collided. Benton was driving a 2004 Honda Accord eastbound on Killingsworth prior to the collision. Police say Benton stayed at the scene and, “did not display any signs of impairment or distracted driving.”

Information released by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) so far does not say who had the right-of-way or whether or not Benton was traveling over the 35 mph speed limit.

As per usual in these situations, no citations have been issued because the crash is still under investigation. Once the Mutlnomah County District Attorney’s office has reviewed the case, the PPB will re-examine the circumstances before handing out any citations.

This intersection is no stranger to collisions. Three years ago Ryan Egge died from injuries he sustained after being struck by an auto user while crossing here.

And just last year PBOT held a “Safe Streets Fair” at this same location.

The view northbound on Cully just before Killingsworth.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation says this section of Killingsworth is part of its High Crash Network. Speed limits on both streets are 35 mph and the cross-section is multi-lane and relatively wide. By 2018 PBOT plans to build more sidewalks and add buffered bike lanes on Killingsworth east of the Cully intersection.

According to PBOT’s Vision Zero Crash Map, four motor vehicle users were seriously injured at this intersection between 2005 and 2014 (in addition to the Egge fatality).

This latest collision is just the latest in a spate of traffic crashes in the past week — including five fatalities. Here’s a rundown of PPB headlines between June 27th and July 4th:

Drunk Driver Crashes into Power Pole in Southeast Portland (Photo) – 06/27/17

Driver in Stolen Car Arrested After Ramming Police Car to Evade Capture (Photo) – 06/28/17

Drunk Driver Crashes into TriMet Bus Shelter on Powell Boulevard (Photo) – 06/29/17

Fatal Crash Investigation Underway on North Columbia Boulevard – 06/29/17

Major Crash Team Responding to Fatal Crash on Marine Drive – 06/30/17

Major Crash Team Responding to Investigate Pedestrian-Involved Crash on Southeast 122nd Avenue – 07/02/17

Pedestrian Critically Injured in Crash on Southeast 122nd Avenue [now a fatality] – 07/04/17

Major Crash Team Responding to a Fatal Crash on Southeast 96th Avenue – 07/04/17

Fatal Crash Investigation Underway on Airport Way – 07/04/17

Portland has made a valiant Vision Zero effort. But it’s clear not enough is being done. It will take a much more aggressive mix of policies, programs, and projects if we ever hope to get there.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Subscriber Post: The Seven Bicycle Infrastructure Wonders of Portland

Here is my list, in no particular order:

The Steel Bridge lower deck/floating Esplanade. Created thanks to the Bike Bill and Street Trust lawsuit, this is the most spectacular of the crucial bridge and waterfront connections that made Portland’s eye-popping biking boom of the 2000s happen. The floating section of the Esplanade is one of the city’s most wonderful public spaces.

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Clinton Street’s traffic diverters. The old one at Chavez improbably turned a busy commercial collector into a bikey commercial street and also created the single most bike-friendly crossing of Chavez; the new ones, created by direct activism in the face of city staff opposition, turned the bikey commercial street into a truly comfortable commercial bikeway.

The dedicated bike signal phases at Broadway & Williams. This happened before my time so I don’t really know the story but the care with which this was done, I think the illegality with which it was done, and the indisputable rightness of it, all make this little detail extraordinary IMO.

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The Go By Bike valet at SW Moody and Whitaker. It’s a simple idea that most cities would have drowned in bureaucracy. It’s been growing each year by double digit percentages. It makes acres of parking lots unnecessary, saving OHSU millions. It’s the most visually spectacular testament to the city’s bikeability. It boosts bike use despite not being in any transportation demand management handbook, because nobody has ever bothered to calculate the psychological effect of just seeing other people use bikes and making it stupidly simple to join them.

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The 11 mph green wave on downtown streets It’ll never recruit the uninitiated for the same reason it’s so effective: it’s invisible. The traffic signal timing on downtown’s one-way streets makes the entire downtown comfortable for riders who are confident enough to discover it, and without a single moan from anyone in a car. That’s not to mention the fact that it makes most downtown traffic nonlethal, saving countless lives and limbs.

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The first 100 bike corrals. This is the only item on this list that might be unique by international standards. The quality of bike parking in central Portland’s streetcar-era commercial districts is, as far as I can tell, unmatched. The program was designed by city bureaucrats who used existing materials creatively for the audacious goal of making bike parking plentiful and convenient. Their successful application strategy of just waiting for businesses to ask for them is almost as audacious.

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…And the number of bikes parked around the bottom of the Portland Building. Not the terrible wheel-grabbing parking machines, but the number of them that are used by city employees from every bureau … and, along with it, the number of car parking spaces on site at the Portland Building. (Almost zero.) More than any other single factor, this might be the driving force behind Portland’s relative bike-friendliness.

If I were still writing regularly for the site I would pitch Jonathan on a series where we looked at each of these and told the story of how it happened. Anybody (including Jonathan) want to do that?

And what items are on your list?

— Michael Andersen, @andersem on Twitter.

This post was submitted as a Subscriber Post, one of the benefits of being a paid supporter of BikePortland. Learn more here.

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Event planned for South Korean bike tourer victimized by theft in Portland

Portlanders are rallying to the aid of a man whose bike — and all of his belongings — were stolen last week.

“My dream has gone.”
— Kim Minhyeong

Kim Minhyeong is from South Korea and was passing through Portland on a once-in-a-lifetime bike tour from Canada to Argentina. Just a few weeks into his trip he stopped into the Fred Meyer on Southeast Hawthorne for supplies. On Friday (6/30) he locked his fully-loaded touring bike to a rack and went inside for 10 minutes. When he came out, everything was gone. “Laptop, a tent, clothes, panniers, camping gears, and food. Someone cut my lock and stole my bicycle. I couldn’t believe, I thought that I mistaken for a different entrance. I got a shock, and I got into a panic,” Minhyeong wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

He called 911 and talked to the store managers about security camera footage. So far he has no leads.

“I really regret why I couldn’t be careful, and I have cried and I felt guilty, anger and sadness, I haven’t slept well so far,” he wrote. “I had worked and saved money for 1 year for this journey… My dream has gone.”

Minhyeong’s bike. Please be on the lookout.
(Photo: Bike Index)

As his story spread on social media, Portland’s bike theft avenger Bryan Hance of Bike Index got wind of the story. Hance immediately swung into action to help find the bike and support Minhyeong. Local television news reporters from KGW and KATU picked up the story.

As more people heard about the situation, more people wanted to step up and help. Now Hance has organized an event to make that happen.

“As a Portlander and cyclist, this kind of theft drives me absolutely crazy,” Hance wrote in the event description on Facebook, “and I want to help Kim get back on the road! A lot of other people do too!”

Here’s more from Hance:

“There’s not a lot of time to run a Gofundme or similar effort, so I figured the easiest way for people to help Kim would be to come do it in person. Let’s show Kim the real Portland – the one that takes care of fellow cyclists and bike theft victims. (Also, beer. Yay!)

So: Come help support Kim Minhyeong and help him get back on the road for his epic journey!”

The event will be Thursday (7/6) at Apex Bar (1216 SE Division) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Check out full details on the BP Event Calendar or on Facebook. Show up to show Minhyeong that Portland isn’t a place where bike dreams die — it’s the place where they can be restored.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.

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Happy Fourth Of July

Hope you all have a wonderful day full of family, friends & fireworks.
Be safe… and have a great day.

I know that there are corn dogs, lemon shake-ups, cotton candy & homemade pie
in my path later today! Can’t wait to celebrate Independence Day!

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Guest Post: Recap of my second ‘Joyride’

This is me on a flat stretch of road where I remembered how to ride with no hands.
(Photos and words by Abby Koonce)

This post was written by 14-year-old Sellwood resident Abby Koonce.

My name is Abby Koonce and I am sharing my story of the 2017 Joyride as a way to encourage other people to join us for next year’s edition. I am 14 years old and I am going to Benson High school this year. My parents are cycling fanatics so I suppose it kind of rubs off.

This was my second year doing Joyride with my mom. The ride is organized by Cycle Oregon, the organization mostly known for their big week-long ride.

This year’s Joyride was really fun because it was more familiar and didn’t seem as busy. My mom and I did it again, but this time we met a group of people and rode with them. Two of the people in our group were the same age as me, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Cycle Oregon organized the same route as last year, but this year they reversed it. I saw a lot of things that I recognized, including the large grassy area that this year was being used for a wedding.

The first rest stop was next to a barn.

The sign in tents were very busy.

Damaged tire. As you can see there is a large hole in it, and Susan Koonce (my mom) could see her finger through it when she checked for the cause of the flat.

This year the snacks were a little more varied; but very similar to last year with yogurt and granola (not pictured) and ‘brownie brittles’ with fresh strawberries and chocolate covered nuts. Yum!

Once again, we did the 60-mile route and survived. Our average speed was about 12 miles per hour, and 5 minutes in we had a flat tire. One of the girls in our group had a very worn out tire, to the point of it needing a tire boot. Luckily Bike Gallery was at the first stop and they were happy to help us.

This year’s routes were based from Stoller Vineyards east of McMinnville.

The first rest stop was the most memorable, because it had the most people and lots of bikes. The volunteers were friendly and offered second and third helpings of everything. There was even a cat. The site was an old open air barn with even older farming equipment. The lands around the barn had no animals, and there was no house that I remember. We leaned our bikes against the old equipment, and there was a massive line for the toilets. The rest stop had no music, sadly, but lots of food. After the rest stop, we had about 20 miles to the next one.

The next stop was just a water stop, so we weren’t there long. After that there was another rest stop, but we didn’t stay at that one very long either. When we finally reached the end there was a sausage-chicken dish, salad, some sort of salmon thing, and dessert. The dessert was a shortcake biscuit with berries, jam, honey and whipped cream. The music was by a band called Corner and I thought they were really good, and there was one large group of ladies who were dancing.

I have to say that this is a great ride for women of all levels of experience as there are different lengths of the ride. I would definitely recommend it for everyone even though few of my friends actually ride bikes often. Cycle Oregon’s Joyride is a great way to get on your bike with a group of friends, and it’s also a good way to make friends.

— Abby Koonce

Cycle Oregon is a BikePortland advertising partner. Stay tuned for more coverage and photos from their Weekender ride July 7-9th.

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Sour Cherries

So fun to see my pottery in use… this time it’s my cousin Kim gathering sour cherries! They look amazing together. I told her that the only they would look better is as a PIE!!! And better still… she already has a handmade ceramic pie dish to bake them in. Bring it on Kim… you bring the pie, I’ll bring the ice cream!!!

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Big Sky. Big Fun.

Big sky drama even better with big sky photos!

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