caution: families on the road!

caution: families on the road!
Originally uploaded by xtracycleinc

Love this picture that I saw on xtracycleinc's flickr feed today. We need some of those bike share lane markings around here!

no 35 || eNEWSLETTER : IT'S AN EXCITING WEEKEND!

npGREENWAY Newsletter North Portland Greenway Trail Advocacy 2009 June 19   Issue no 035

npGREENWAY Pedalpalooza Bike Ride  Saturday, June 20th 5PM, North end of Eastbank Esplanade at the lower level of the Steel Bridge We are excited to be leading this ride again this year.  If you are not familiar with Pedalpalooza, you should check it out.  It is the main event of the year for Shift, a loose knit group of folks dedicated to "bike fun."  There are over 200 events planned this year for the 2+ week festival with 25 events this Saturday alone! Last year we received rave reviews of this ride and would love to share the experience with more of you this year.  Note: Dress for the weather and be prepared for some possible rocky/rough terrain. Road bikes are not recommended. This ride will end up at the University Park Neighborhood "Bike-in-Movie." The movie is billed as a "technicolor, swashbuckling classic" and is due to start at dusk. Sunday Parkways is BACK!   Sunday, June 21st 9AM-4PM, North Portland What better way to honor dad than spend the day outside in a 7.5 mile temporary park?!? This all day party in streets opened up to pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders, tricycles and people of all ages is back!  Last year we had an absolutely fantastic time and are thrilled that we get to experience it again.  We will have a booth with drinking water and copies of our 2009 Vision Map available in the same location as last year--right next to the Bike Gallery free repair tent above the Overlook Bowl near N Willamette and N Jessup.  We are also looking for a few more volunteers to staff the booth in the following shift times: 9:00-11:00 am 11:00 am-1:00 pm 1:00-3:00 pm 3:00 -4:30 pm Please e-mail us at info@npgreenway.org if you can volunteer for any of these times.  It is a great opportunity to connect with your neighbors and find out more about the North Portland Greenway.  Sunday Parkways is also looking for volunteers to be "Intersection Super Heroes" and direct traffic at certain locations along this 7.5 mile temporary park. Northwest Trail Alliance - A "new" group with "experience"   Northwest Trail Alliance, nw-trail.org, has recently gone through a rebranding effort and changed their name from Portland United Mountain Pedalers.  We look forward to working with them as we look for synergies between our vision for a hard surface greenway trail and urban "natural surface" trails.  If you would like to become involved in this area, please contact npGREENWAY board member, Mark Pickett.  Mark is also the person to contact if you would like to get involved with trail maintenance and restoration or soft surface off road bicycle projects or trail maintenance on bicycle approved corridors in Forest Park. Creating the Greatest System of Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas! Tuesday, June 30, 2009 6-8PM Keen Footwear 926 NW 13th Avenue  What's in a Name? You're invited to discover…  the new name for our region's world-class network of parks, trails and natural areas, its new logo and how we might use it, and how you can help us connect our communities to their most extraordinary assets Please RSVP by 6/26 to RSVP@ConnectingGreen.us Pass on this invite to anyone else who should be at this important Connecting Green event! * Keen Footwear is located at the Southeast corner of NW 13th and Lovejoy (kitty corner from Safeway) on the second floor.  Parking is limited. Please bike, walk, ride the streetcar or  TriMet's #77 bus to the event.  The bus/streetcar stop is located across the street on 13th Avenue. ** To keep this a low-impact event, please bring your own cup or glass (BYOC/G)!

Cycling Through History

The following is a guest post by North Portlander, Dan Haneckow. Dan writes a blog about Portland history called Cafe Unknown. He lives in the Overlook Neighborhood and is a supporter of npGREENWAY.

Barbara Bartlett Hartwell liked to look back. From 1959 to 1967 she delivered a series of lectures on the vanished Portland of her childhood at the cusp of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a time she described as an "... Indian summer of leisure, freedom from global worry, elegance, manners, that died with Edward VII." In 1975 her reminiscences were collected in a limited edition booklet, Sprigs of Rosemary, published by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Oregon.

In it she describes an upper-class life of mahogany paneled parlors, calling cards and society balls held in the grand Victorian mansions clustered around Nineteenth Street in northwest Portland. But not all of her recollections took place indoors:

"In addition to culture, we achieved transportation. First there was the horse car, then the cable car, and at last the electric trolley; then when we knew we'd gone as far as it was possible to go, until the bicycle took the world by storm, and ladies in bicycle skirts, which were regarded as daring as later miniskirts, whirled along special bicycle paths over to Piedmont and up the Willamette."

It is a rare look at Portland's cycling boom of the 1890s when most of the city took to two wheels. Demand was so great that one merchant, Fred T. Merrill, sold 8,850 bicycles in Portland in 1898 alone, with the largest bike dealership west of the Mississippi.

Of interest to supporters of npGREENWAY, Hartwell looks back to when a network of bicycle trails crossed what was then called the Peninsula. The "special bike paths" she refers to were common in Portland during the boom years, many are said to have become automobile roads at a later date. The path to the new Piedmont neighborhood was one of the most popular in the city. "Up the Willamette" likely refers to a trail along the bluff, analogous to today's Willamette Blvd, as the Mock's Bottom lowlands were swampy or submerged entirely.

Barbara Bartlett Hartwell's description is all too short, but she provides a fleeting glimpse of North Portland before automobiles dominated what few roads existed, and reminds us that projects such as npGREENWAY and Sunday Parkways have deep roots in Portland's past.

We welcome guest articles for the npGREENWAY blog. If you have something you would like to share, send an e-mail to info@npgreenway.org

Portland Bike Rush Hour featured on New York City's Streetfilms

Bike Traffic continues to grow exponentially in Portland. Recently, Clarence Eckerson, Jr. from New York City's Streetfilms.org in was in town. Eckerson worked with Portland's Dan Kaufman of Cranked My Chain CycleTV to produce this great video about cycling rush hour on the Hawthorne Bridge. They showed one brief clip of the busiest greenway in the country in NYC. I look forward to when we can show a video of the North Portland Greenway being used as a busy commuting route as well.

Check it out below:

Portland: Bike Rush Hour on the Hawthorne Bridge

by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. on April 29, 2009

The first time you visit Portland, Oregon, the gaggles of cyclists streaming over the Hawthorne Bridge during rush hour is a sight you will never forget. It's something other cities need to see and be inspired by.

On a recent vacation there, I couldn't resist cranking out a Streetfilms shortie, so I naturally hooked up with Crank My Chain's Dan Kaufman to capture the essence of the PM rush and talk to cyclists about what it feels like to be a part of the mass of cyclist humanity in Southeast Portland, Hawthorne corridor. As Greg Raisman from Portland's Bureau of Transportation pointed out: 20% of all traffic on the Hawthorne Bridge is bikes. And, Portland's number of cyclists has risen 600% in the last fifteen years and shows no sign of letting up.

Note: This video was also featured on BikePortland.org here.

Oregonian publishes article about new sculpture gateway on existing North Portland Greenway Trail

18-foot sculpture hails Big Pipe project

by Michael Bales, special to The Oregonian

Thursday April 23, 2009, 7:00 AM

MICHAEL BALES/SPECIAL TO THE OREGONIANThe sculpture at an entrance to the North Portland Greenway Trail is known as the "Big Pipe Portal."

A new public sculpture on Swan Island frames the Willamette River and city's west side in an 18-foot arch of concrete and steel.

The arch, installed at an entrance to the North Portland Greenway Trail, artistically links the river to what's buried nearby: the Big Pipe project, which reduces sewage and storm-water pollution in the Willamette.

Just southwest of the sculpture, the westside pipe tunnel crosses beneath the river and intersects with the Swan Island Pump Station, most of which is at the bottom of a 165-foot shaft. The eastside pipe tunnel, still under construction, is scheduled to reach the station in 2011.

Click here to read the entire article on the Oregonian website.

Come make your VOICE heard on how Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Funds should or should not be used in the Rose Quarter Redevelopment

Mayor Adams takes comments on Rose Quarter "Redevelopment"
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

From our friends in Overlook neighborhood:

Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Advisory Committee will meet on Monday, April 20, from 6:00-8:30 at Kaiser Town Hall. Mayor Sam Adams is scheduled to speak at 7:30 about the proposed Rose Quarter development and how ICURA could help fund it. There will be opportunity for public comments at 6:15 and 8:00. This development process is speeding along and it's critical that the public weigh in, especially the people who live in the Interstate Corridor. This would be the third time that North and Northeast Portlanders have funded city and regional projects (i.e., the Interstate Light Rail Line and New Columbia). There are many important projects throughout the Interstate Urban Renewal Area that need to be completed; helping to pay for the Rose Quarter development would divert necessary monies away from North and Northeast neighborhoods. Come and participate!

Rose Quarter Redevelopment Plans Must Include Pedestrian & Bike Access through Greenway

npGREENWAY'sFrancie Royce looks on
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

Tonight, the Mayor held a "town hall style" meeting regarding the plans to redevelop the Rose Quarter. The Portland Tribune published a synopsis of the evening here: http://bit.ly/iFK5

npGREENWAY was there and we were pleased to hear several people including our own Francie Royce question the mayor and make known publically the fact that the North Portland Greenway needs to be given thought at the beginning of this project. It should not be an afterthought to be shoe-horned in at the 11th hour.

You can view our photos from the evening here: http://bit.ly/2P2JqO

There were many concerns brought forth tonight. I hope the Mayor and the city staff make the right decision.

Build Less Bridge CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally Map

Build Less Bridge CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally Map
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

Online map helps you find a (bike) ride to Sunday’s Build Less Bridge Rally

Planning to attend Sunday’s Build Less Bridge CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally?

A new online map can help you meet up with other folks riding from your part of town, or organize a feeder ride of your own.

The event is on Sunday, April 5th at noon in Waterfront Park under the west side of the Morrison Bridge.

Routes on the map so far leave from places like Vancouver, St. John’s, Cully, Northwest, [...]

For more information click here to read the BikePortland.org article or
here for the group's Facebook page.

4/18/2009 Cathedral Park 2nd Annual "Earth Day at the Beach" Project

Time: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM Site Address: N Baltimore Ave and N Bradford St Directions: From I-5 North, take exit 305B to merge onto N Lombard St. Continue to follow N Lombard St west for ~2.5 miles. Turn left at N Baltimore Ave and go toward the river. Park entrance is just after Bradford St. Meeting Location: Park in the small parking lot to your left as you enter the park. If that lot is full, park in boat ramp parking lot. Meet at the picnic tables near the large metal sculpture (under the bridge south of the parking lots). Coordinator: Brett Lyon Contact Email: brett@solv.org Contact Phone Number: (503) 844-9571 x332

Project Activities: Join Portland Parks and Recreation and Cathedral Park neighborhood members for a day of litter pick up and general spiffing-up of this beautiful riverside park. Activities include: Cleanup, Illegal Dumpsite Cleanup, Litter Pickup. Snacks will be served and there may be complimentary lunch for volunteers afterward (donation pending) Safety Issues: Water Body on Site, Hazardous Materials/Needles, Homeless Camp Site, Uneven or Slippery Ground. Volunteers To Bring: Litter Grabber, Work Gloves,

Crane Swings Big Pipe Portal Into Place on Swan Island Greenway Trail

A large crane carefully swung the woven metal arch over the trail. It was an early Saturday morning on Swan Island, and mist still hung in the hills across the Willamette River. City of Portland crews and the metal artist, Ean Eldred, guided one end of the arch onto its concrete pedestal. Cautiously, and with respect for the art piece, the crew in hard hats looked like they belonged on an industrial site as they pulled out tools to tightened the pieces together. One crew member motioned to the crane operator to give some slack, others twisted wrenches to tighten the Big Pipe Portal to its concrete base.

The pedestal concrete is made from sections of the Big Pipe, the massive sewer pipe running under the Willamette River from the west to the east, part of the Bureau of Environmental Services Combined Sewerage Overflow project. Some of the metal in the arch comes from rebar also used in the Big Pipe project. Designers with rhiz A+D, a Portland intradisiplinary design studio, successfully created the piece to make the Big Pipe visible. The diameter of the Big Pipe Portal is the same as the pipe under the Willamette River. Other elements of the twisting metal on the arch represent the current and eddies of the river. The sculpture was funded by a percent for art from constuction of the sewerage pump station on Swan Island.

For a dramatic effect, The Big Pipe Portal straddles an entry to the Greenway Trail on Swan Island. The arch will welcome trail walkers with a framed view of the river and west hills as they step onto the trail.

Thanks to the work by Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks and Recreation and designers and artists rhiz A + D. http://www.rhizaplusd.com/ for this signature entry to the Greenway Trail on Swan Island.

Directions: Trail entrance on N Port Center Rd off of N Going St on Swan Island.

npGREENWAY on Travel Oregon Blog

npGREENWAY on Travel Oregon Blog
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

npGREENWAY Board Member, Francie Royce, wrote an article that was published on the Travel Oregon blog today.

Walking the Greenway Trail on Swan Island
By Francie Royce

Swan Island, an industrial hub in North Portland, home to heavy industry and distribution warehouses, would seem an unlikely location for a trail for wildlife viewing on the Willamette River. Those who do walk this flat one mile trail of the future North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail will be pleasantly surprised to find a nice mix between viewing wildlife and a working river. It is one of the few locations for public access to the Willamette River in North Portland.

On a sunny but chilly October afternoon as I walk along and look out on the north flowing Willamette River, black and white ring necked Canadian Geese calmly sit on the water in floating formation, tug boats chug by, and fishermen in small pleasure craft dangle their lines into the water hopefully. [...]

Click here to read the entire story on the Travel Oregon Blog.

Metro Needs assistance with Trail Counting

Metro needs some help calibrating an infrared trail counter.

Robert Spurlock, Metro's Associate Regional Trails Planner, asked if we could round up some folks to assist with the process. He needs to calibrate the infrared trail counters by comparing the tool's data to a hand count. He needs four different trail counts completed. One two hour count during a week day and one two hour count during a weekend at both Smith Bybee Wetlands and Mount Talbert Park.

If you have time to assist, please e-mail Mark Pickett to let him know when you could be available. Mark will relay the info to Robert.

Portlanders are lobbying for Bikes in D.C.

National Bike Summit - Day two-40
Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

In case you didn't know it, we thought we'd let you know that there is a delegation of Oregonians in D.C. right now lobbying for us at the National Bike Summit. I love this photo of Bike Gallery Owner, Jay Graves revealing his 'inner portland' underneath his jacket and button up shirt.
GO PORTLAND!
Between meetings on Capitol Hill, Maus of BikePortland.org
found free wi-fi and an outlet in Union Station.
Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

To read more about the 2009 National Bike Summit, you can follow all the coverage at BikePortland.org.

no 33 || Great News!! $444,800 approved for North Willamette Greenway Plan

npGREENWAY Newsletter North Portland Greenway Trail Advocacy 2009 March 05 Issue no 033

We've been sending a lot of messages to the npGREENWAY community asking for your support. We have already expressed our gratitude for your response supporting the greenway in large numbers. This morning, we are very pleased to announce that progress has been made. One of our volunteers attended a meeting of the Metro Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) this morning where they presented their final recommendation to the Metro Council for projects that would receive Regional Flexible Funds (RFF). After a very competitive process the final recommendation was made; including $444,800 in project development funds for the Willamette Greenway Trail: N Columbia Blvd - Steel Bridge. There are still some formalities to go through, but in our understanding, this was the largest hurdle that was remaining in the process. Metro Council is scheduled to consider the JPACT recommendation at its March 19th meeting, completing the process. Your actions had a direct result on the outcome. This is acknowledged in a memo stating "TPAC considered the comments received during the public comment period. This was reflected by [...] recommending funding of the North Willamette Greenway master plan; the project receiving the most public support from the public comment period." Thank you and have a great weekend!

Go To npGREENWAY.org» or follow us on twitter at: twitter.com/npgreenway»

no 032 || Waud Bluff Trail needs to be part of Fed Stimulus Funding

npGREENWAY Newsletter North Portland Greenway Trail Advocacy 2009 March 02 Issue no 032

Support NEEDED from Mayor, Parks and Metro for Waud Bluff Trail in Stimulus Funding! deadline for input tomorrow March 3rd NOTE: the deadline for submitting public comments may be extended if substantial changes are made to project list. As you have no doubt seen, heard, or read in the news, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is attempting to economically stimulate our economy by distributing funds across the country. "Metro anticipates about $38 million to be available to fund city and county transportation projects in the Portland metropolitan region as part of the federal economic stimulus package. Because the stimulus package is geared toward immediate job creation, the project selection process is on a short timeline."[1] As many of you know, Waud Bluff Trail was originally awarded $1.2 Million after an incredibly competitive grant application process in the fall of 2004. There were projects from all over the state in the running for a fairly small pot...$7 Million or so. Unfortunately due to a number of factors the $1.2 Million is no longer enough to get the trail built and there is a significant funding gap before design and construction can proceed. According to the Portland Parks department project manager's budget, an additional $1.6 million is needed to close the funding gap and get this important project built! That is a small price to pay in exchange for the economic benefits and livability dividends it would provide for our city and neighborhoods. Early this year, we watched the Mayor stand alongside the Daimler Truck CEO at their First Gear Academy Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and proclaim his support for Daimler and this part of the city. The Waud Bluff Trail not only benefits Daimler and its families going to First Gear Academy, but also UPS, Adidas North America, The University of Portland and countless other large and small employers alike. I have heard Rex Burkholder, Metro Councilor and Chair of the 17 member Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, proclaim that Waud Bluff needs to be built and is a great example of a project that should receive stimulus dollars. However, from our understanding, it is NOT currently on the list! Portland citizens voiced their opinion nearly 5 years ago and secured funds that were supposed to have had this project built by now. Please contact Mayor Adams, Councilor Burkholder and Commissioner Fish and ask them to help restore the public trust and put this project on the Federal Stimulus list to receive the necessary funding to be built! This may be the only chance to fill the funding gap anytime in the near future. ...and it would create jobs now! Key Items to remember: Its ready to go, its a key link to jobs on Swan Island, it connects the community to the future North Willamette Greenway Trail, it provides safe passage over Union Pacific Railroad via an already heavily used path, its supported by UPS, US Coast Guard, adidas America, Overlook NA and the Swan Island Business Association. Please contact your elected officials:Sam Adams, Mayor Phone: (503)823-4120 e-mail: Samadams@ci.portland.or.us Commissioner Nick Fish (503) 823-3589 e-mail: Nick@ci.portland.or.us Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder 503-797-1546 | 503-797-1793 fax e-mail: rex.burkholder@oregonmetro.gov Thank you to our friends for all of your support. Your voice is being heard and it does make a difference. We will be sending you more letters soon about upcoming walks and bike rides this summer--and those won't require any letters or public testimony on your part!

Local Architect and Blue Ribbon Trail Committee Member has vision of Portland full of bike paths and trails amongst other things

Over at the Burnside Blog, they published part 3 of a series entitled
"IF I WERE KING OF THE (URBAN) FOREST Here are some excerpts that we wanted to share with you:

Architect Rick Potestio is one of the design community’s most engaging thinkers—the product of a childhood spent basking in the work of masters like Johns Yeon and Storrs, Pietro Belluschi, Zaik and Zimmer. Portland-born, U of O-trained during the ‘70s heyday that also brought us Nancy Merryman, Brad Cloepfil, John Cava and others, Potestio went on to work in the offices of Thomas Hacker, SERA, Mahlum, among others. He’s been described as “an architect’s architect, in the vein of Kahn, Scarpa, etc. Almost the id and super-ego to the ego of Brad Cloepfil.” If you saw his bold, speculative work as part of last year’s PDXplore exhibition at PNCA or if you’ve ever talked with Potestio, the first thing that strikes you is his sincerity and enthusiasm for big ideas—the type of utopian fervor that got us all excited once upon a time about the possibilities of architecture and planning. It’s a welcome reminder that cities can and should remain aspirational.

[...]

Here’s a sampling of some of Rick’s vision of a Portland that might be.

If you had unlimited funds and a full-pass to develop, rehab, or build, what would you do, where, and why?
“Well OK, you asked. . .

a) TRANSPORTATION
* develop a city-wide Streetcar system. (However it may have to be rubber wheeled—bikes and tracks don’t mix well).
* build a bridge connecting NE Fremont with NW 23rd Avenue. I’d complete [the] bike path system, create bike boulevards or a woonerf street system [a “residential yard” where motorists, bikes, peds share a street without boundaries such as lanes and curbs and have access to the whole street, not just sidewalks].
* create a boulevard system, with roundabouts at principle intersections.
* I would create a funicular system for the West Hills.
* cap portions of 405 and all of I-5 from the Rose Garden to the Columbia River. I would tear down or build over I-5 on the East Bank.
* Institute a bike share program as in Europe.
* Ask Trimet to base bus schedules and routes on activities, not just on commutes to the core—i.e. I’d advocate for evening Trimet routes to connect enertainment centers, weekend routes that connect activity areas/parks. I’d also ask them to buy smaller, more friendly and fun buses.
* Remove all the traffic circles (and other traffic calming devices) at intersections lower the general speed limit—and increase enforcement and fines.
* Study, with intent to implement on a test basis in some neighborhoods, a designing of streets as is currently being approached in German and the Netherlands.

Click here to read the complete article at Portland Spaces.

Join the effort to encourage more bike and pedestrian projects

The letter below came from the 1000 friends of Oregon Website. They are spearheading a campaign to get the federal economic recovery act to spend more money on bike and pedestrian projects.

Here at npGREENWAY, we are working dilligently to receive additional funding to build the Waud Bluff Trail. This project has been languishing for nearly 5 years now and needs an additional $1.6 million to construct. According to a recent report compiled by Metro, the Waud Bluff Trail project would create 18 design and construction jobs. The report describes the project as follows: "Leveraging MTIP and local SDC funds, construct a key trail connection and bridge over railroad to Swan Island Industrial Park." To find out more about the Waud Bluff Trail and other improvements in the area, download the Swan Island Trails Action Plan. [2.386Mb pdf]



Please consider sending communication to the Governer expressing your opinion through the form on the 1000 Friends website.

Send an email to Governor Kulongoski

Dear Governor,

The federal economic recovery act allocates $334 million in federal surface transportation program funds to Oregon. We respectfully request you invest these funds in ready-to-go transit, bike and pedestrian projects that will create jobs and make our communities stronger.

Under the State Constitution, Oregon's communities are locked out of the Highway Trust Fund for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities. Please help Oregon's communities access the federal recovery funds for these vital investments.

Oregon has the opportunity to spend federal dollars to make our transportation system more equitable, sustainable, resilient to fuel price spikes, and independent of foreign oil sources while putting Oregonians back to work. We appreciate your leadership and look forward to working with you to ensure these dollars make a real difference for Oregon's transportation future.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Connecting Green Meeting Tonight

This video was created by Metro staff for the launch of the Connecting Green Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails last spring. Tonight, the Connecting Green Alliance will again come together for a "chance to find out what's been going on for the past year, sign up to become actively involved in the Connecting Green Alliance, and keep the momentum up," says Mike Houck. "[It is an] Opportunity To Continue Launching The World's Greatest Regional System of Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas." We hope to see some of you there.

Keen Footwear, 926 NW 13th Avenue

5:30 pm to 7 pm

5:30 pm Check In and Socializing

6 pm Program

Meet the Connecting Green Alliance Coordinator and CGA Core Group

Presentation of the Creative Brief created by Sockeye Creative after meeting with numerous stakeholders since our Connecting Green Meeting. The Creative Brief will guide next steps to a Brand and Marketing Strategy for Connecting Green.

Connecting Green Success Stories From Around the Region:

• Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District’s $100 million bond measure
• Regional Trails Initiatives: New Regional Trail Leadership Position; Blue Ribbon Trail Committee Recommendations; Funding Approval for New Trail Project……….and more
• Refining and Defining The System
• Sharing Success Stories
• Exploring the Petals (Trails, Restoration, Acquisition, Conservation Education, The System)

7 pm Socializing

Baltimore Woods and Old Growth Oak Trees Walk

Several curious people showed on a cold, shivering Saturday morning in February to go on a walk lead by Friends of Baltimore Woods with npGreenway members. Barbara Quinn and Jim Barnas of FBW led walkers on the future North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail along the edge of Baltimore Woods and pointed out precious old growth oak trees. The trees are some of the last remaining stands of oaks along the Willamette River. Oaks with spreading branches provide the best habitat. Other highlights of the walk were a peek at the oldest house in St John's, and talk about a pioneer cemetary that was either moved or built over.

Help us finish strong!

npGREENWAY Newsletter North Portland Greenway Trail Advocacy 2009 February 10 Issue no 031

Help us finish strong! deadline for input February 12th The Regional Flexible Funding process is coming to a close. Please take a moment and let Metro Councilors know that you want to the North Portland Willamette Greenway completed from the Steel Bridge to the Columbia. Your help is needed, again. WOW! There isn't a better word to describe our reaction to the work you all did last time we asked you to step forward in support. npGREENWAY supporters were heard loud and clear at Metro late last year. (See our blog post here.) A heartfelt thanks to the 214 people that made supportive comments. Put those 214 comments up against the 797 total comments for the entire region and you can be sure that your voice helped keep the North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail on an important list to fund project development. However, we aren't done yet and more help from you is needed. Metro and City staff are supportive, but there is sharp competition in the region for these Regional Flexible Funds. The $444,800 Willamette Greenway Trail package is one of the remaining projects still in the running for part of the $21.65 million. The next step is consideration at a joint meeting of the Metro Council and JPACT on February 12, 2009, 4:00 PM. (JPACT is bureaucratic jargon for a group of elected officials and others from around the Metro Region that make decisions on Federal Transportation dollars that come into our area.) After reviewing all input, they will vote to approve projects at the March 5th Metro Council meeting. So, if you haven’t yet, or can again, tell Metro why the North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail is important to you, your family and our community. Help secure funds for project development for the North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail. Click Here to comment online now! or Email trans@oregonmetro.org Mail “Regional Flexible Fund”, Metro Planning, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97232 Fax “Regional Flexible Fund” at 503-797-1930 Testify orally (and submit written comments) at 02/12 Metro Council/JPACT hearing OVERVIEW OF SCHEDULE 01/30 TPAC made final recommendation to JPACT on RFF allocation (included npGREENWAY) 02/12 JPACT/Metro Council joint public hearing on TPAC recommendation 4pm Metro 03/05 JPACT makes recommendation to Metro Council 03/19 Metro Council Approved recommendation (pending Air Quality Analysis) Do you have a talent you can share? volunteers needed Many of you have asked "What's going on with the greenway these days?" Our answer us always, "A lot!" It is often difficult to summarize and distribute this information to you all. Our Website and our Blog are great sources for this information, but they are only as good as the content being put into them. If you have a passion for blogging or writing and would like to help us get our message out, please attend one of our upcoming core group meetings. Any other desires to help will be welcomed with open arms. Our core group meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month, 7:00 AM at the Madrona Hill Cafe, and the third Monday of the month, 7:30 PM in the back room of Anna Bannanas in St Johns. Thanks from your friends at npGREENWAY! npGREENWAY from the Esplanade to the Columbia

From the Streetfilms blog: Earl Blumenauer talks transit, stimulus, bikes and Obama

Contrary to what some politicians would have us believe right now, bicycling and transportation is a non-partisan issue. Or, as Earl Blumenauer calls it in the video below, "a BIKEpartison" issue. We need to continue the momentum to improve our non-motorized transportation infrastructure in this country for myriad reasons. The time is now!

Rail and Trails existing together...another local example

Rail and Trails existing together. Yes, despite what the railroads here in North Portland are testifying, it is possible--and safe!

Here is a great video shot by Michael Irving of his exerience on the Westside Express Service this week. Checkout the great views of all the water and trails. Love the view of the bridge from the train. We experienced it last summer on the bike, but this provides a whole new perspective.

Here today.... gone tomorrow?

Big Kid Fun
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

I am attempting to document Triangle Park as best I can before it is all transformed into a University River Campus. The graffiti and tired, worn out buildings have a strange sort of beauty to them that I will miss.

For those of you who don't know, this property was recently purchased by the University of Portland. npGREENWAY is excited for the opportunity that this provides for the University and for the Willamette Greenway Trail. We are looking forward to a new 12' wide hard surface transportation trail through this area in the future.

inauguration from space | people? or ants?

inauguration from space | people? or ants?
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

One of our npGREENWAY members was at President Obama's Inauguration yesterday. I tried to pick her out in this photo, but I think I'm still going to need a little higher resolution!

Were you there? I met a family on the MAX today who had just returned from D.C. The woman said she had been there for Clinton's second inauguration and this was nothing like that one. I was not there, but I imagine this was unlike any inaugurations we've had for a very long time.

This Bridge Needs to be BUILT!!!

Concept of Waud Bluff Bridge Section from The Swan Island Trails Action Plan
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

There is much talk about "Economic Stimulus Packages" these days and Bike/Bridge projects being fast tracked.
(See: this BikePortland Article )

However, the Waud Bluff Trail bridge has been languishing in the funded but not built category for nearly five years now. We need to get this built!

Click on this image for adjacent images on the flickr page that give a description of the project from the Swan Island Trails Action plan, January, 2004.

Where did Matt ride in 2008?

Portland Biking
Originally uploaded by Matt.Picio

Bike enthusiast and Portlander, Matt Picio recently posted a map that traces all of his biking around Portland in 2008. It is quite the amazing map and really shows how a bike can be used for transportation in this town.

In the future, we hope more of his "red lines" will be along the North Willamette waterfront on the trail alignment envisioned by npGREENWAY.

Matt had this to say about his endeavors on a local e-mail list serve for SHIFT to bikes:

Most of you know I'm rather... obsessive about recording my mileage when I ride - and I put together a map. My GPS tracks where I've been, and my map software automatically imports those tracks and displays them for me.

I rode over 6,300 miles this year, compared to 5,200 last year and 3,400 the year before that. I spent 613 hours actually seated on my bike this past year - that's equivalent to spending 38 days (assuming 8 hours sleep each day) doing nothing but riding.

My goal for 2009 is 10,000 miles (like the Air Force says, "Aim High") -
we'll see how I do.

A little Christmas Cargo Bike Humor...

tip 'o the hat to Clever Cycles and Yehuda Moon.

Update on RFF Comments

Michelle has posted a great story over at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance blog about your overwhelming support in Metro's recent Regional Flexible Funding process. THANK YOU! We have great hope that the decision will come in favor of the Willamette River Greenway Feasibility Study.

Support for bike/ped trails dominates Metro process

Posted by: Michelle
Dec 11 2008, 5:36 pm

For the last two months we've been asking you to let Metro know if you support more funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in this region, and to tell them which projects in particular you want to see.

Well, you sure responded! Comments in support of bike and ped projects dominated in the recent Regional Flexible Fund (RFF) process. Thank you for your help!

Of the 797 comments received, 553 of them (about 69%) were in support of bike, pedestrian and trail projects.

The individual projects that received the most support were overwhelming active transportation projects: the Willamette Greenway Trail (with 214 in support) [...]

Click here for the entire story.

Testify at Planning Commission tonight

Testify at Planning Commission tonight
The River Plan is headed to the Planning Commission tonight. This is an opportunity for you to come and show your support for a multi-use path connecting St Johns with downtown.

BikePortland.org posted a great article this afternoon summarizing whats going on. If you have time tonight, we'd love to see you there!

Willamette Greenway Trail heads to Planning Commission

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on December 9th, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Metro trail planner Mel Huie and
npGreenway core member Pam
Arden at a 2007 meeting.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Tonight, the Portland Planning Commission — a nine-member body appointed by the Mayor that advises the city on all planning issues — will hold a public hearing for the “North Reach” phase of Portland’s River Plan.

The River Plan is a massive planning project for all land along the Willamette River in Portland.

Buried among the many volumes and reams of pages in the North Reach section of the plan is language that would help establish easements and official policy for the northern section of the Willamette River Greenway Trail (which currently ends at the Steel Bridge).

[click here to see the entire article on bikeportland.org...]

Shoreline at Bluff around the University of Portland

Shoreline at Bluff around the University of Portland
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

This image does a good job of showing "the lay of the land" where the trail would need to go around the foot of the bluff at the University of Portland.

Read the caption on the flicker page for more information.

CRITICAL support for npGREENWAY needed http://tinyurl.com/support-npGREENWAY

CRITICAL support for npGREENWAY needed http://tinyurl.com/support-npGREENWAY
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

There is a critical opportunity right now in the lifetime of this project. It is very important that everyone support Portland Parks Bureau's request to fund an updated planning study of the North Willamette Greenway. The study would be funded with federal dollars as part of the regional flexible fund allocation of the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program.

Please go to the Metro website and express your support for this vital transportation link between North Portland and the region:
tinyurl.com/support-npGREENWAY

This study has already made it through the first step in this two step process.
The following is some more information from the Metro MTIP website.

Project and program applications may be submitted by jurisdictions, transportation or transit agencies within the metropolitan region for any transportation category except local street construction.

2010-2013 funding cycle

The 2010-2013 regional flexible funding cycle is now underway. The policy update to the 2010-13 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) directed staff to develop a two-step process for the allocation of regional flexible funds. The first step involved a recommendation of funding for certain regional programs, followed by the solicitation of applications for local projects. The list of projects and programs being considered for regional flexible funds is available for downloading below. Metro has now finished the project solicitation process for local projects and completed the technical evaluation of project applications. A summary of the technical scores and qualitative analysis is available for downloading below. Also, during the public comment period, you will be able to comment on projects and programs through a web comment tool, mail, email, and public meetings called 'listening posts' where testimony will be heard by Metro Councilors and local officials. Dates for these meetings are provided in the schedule below.

Schedule and key dates

August 2008
Draft technical rankings released

October 13 - December 1 2008
Public comment period

Listening post dates and locations:

1. Wednesday, Oct. 15, 5 to 8 p.m.
   

   Gresham City Hall Building
   

2. Monday, Oct. 20, 5 to 8 p.m.
   

   Hillsboro Civic Center
   

3. Tuesday, Oct. 28, 5 to 8 p.m.
   

   Oregon City, Pioneer Community Center
   

4. Thursday, Oct. 30, 5 to 8 p.m.
   

   Metro Regional Center
   

• January 2009 Final recommendation of projects
  
• February 2009 Public hearing - adoption of regional flexible fund allocation
  
• August 2009 Full MTIP adoption with air quality conformity analysis
• October 2009 Obligation of FY 2010 funding begins

River Plan News - October 10, 2008

R I V E R P L A N N E W S
Planning for the land along the Willamette River
City of Portland | Bureau of Planning

IN THIS ISSUE
1. River Plan / North Reach Open House and Plan Release
2. River Plan / North Reach Schedule

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. River Plan / North Reach Open House and Plan Release
The River Team will host two open houses in coordination with the release of the River Plan / North Reach Proposed Plan. Attend an open house to pick up a copy of the proposed plan, view a brief presentation about key recommendations, and/or talk with staff.

Event details:

Monday, November 3, 2008 Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
5:30 to 7:30 PM 12:00 to 1:30 PM & 5:30 to 7:30 PM
BES Water Lab Planning Bureau, Room 2500B (2nd Floor)
6543 N Burlington Avenue 1900 SW 4th Avenue
Portland, OR 97203 Portland, OR 97201

Click here to plan your trip using public transportation: TriMet Trip Planner http://www.trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi.

For more information contact the River Team at (503) 823-2281 or riverplan@ci.portland.or.us.


2. River Plan / North Reach Schedule
The River Plan / North Reach Planning Commission and City Council schedule is as follows (all dates subject to change):

Planning Commission Briefing and Document Release: October 28, 2008
Planning Commission Hearing: December 9, 2008
Planning Commission Hearing (if needed) and Worksession: January 13, 2009
Planning Commission Worksession: February 10, 2009
City Council: TBD

All Planning Commission meetings will be held at the Planning Bureau:

1900 SW 4th Ave, Suite 2500A

Portland, OR 97201

Thank you for your interest in the River Plan!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information about the progress of River Plan, please refer to the updated River Plan Timeline:
http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=122340

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

City of Portland, Oregon
Bureau of Planning
1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 4100
Portland, Oregon 97201-5350
Telephone: 503-823-7700
Fax: 503-823-7800
TTY: 503-823-6868
riverplan@ci.portland.or.us
http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/riverplan

River Plan News - September 10, 2008

R I V E R P L A N N E W S
September 10, 2008

Planning for the land along the Willamette River
City of Portland | Bureau of Planning

IN THIS ISSUE
1. River Plan Presents at the River in Focus Brownbag
2. Planning Commission Briefing
3. River Plan / North Reach Schedule Change
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. River Plan Presents at the River in Focus Brownbag
Bring your sack lunch and join the River Team at this month's River in Focus brownbag sponsored by River Renaissance. The River Team will present the complex issues at play in the North Reach and outline recommendations in the forthcoming draft River Plan / North Reach.
Brownbag details:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Portland City Hall, Lovejoy Room
1221 SW 4th Avenue
For more info contact the River Team
(503) 823-2281 or riverplan@ci.portland.or.us.

2. Planning Commission Briefing
On Tuesday, September 23rd, Planning staff will brief the Planning Commission on background information related to access, riverfront communities, and working with our partners in the North Reach.
Meeting details:
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 (evening meeting)
Planning Bureau, Room 2500A (2nd Floor)
1900 SW 4th Avenue
Portland, OR 97201

3. River Plan / North Reach Schedule Adjustment
The revised River Plan / North Reach Planning Commission and City Council schedule is as follows (all dates subject to change):
Planning Commission Background Briefing: September 23, 2008
Planning Commission Briefing and Document Release: October 28, 2008
Planning Commission Hearing: December 9, 2008
Planning Commission Hearing and Worksession: January 13, 2009
Planning Commission Worksession: February 10, 2009
City Council: TBD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information about the progress of River Plan, please refer to the updated River Plan Timeline: http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=122340
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City of Portland, Oregon|Bureau of Planning|1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 4100|Portland, Oregon 97201-5350|Telephone: 503-823-7700|Fax: 503-823-7800|TTY: 503-823-6868|riverplan@ci.portland.or.us| http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/riverplan

R I V E R P L A N N E W S - August 25, 2008

R I V E R   P L A N   N E W S 

August 25, 2008

Planning for the land along the Willamette River

City of Portland  |  Bureau of Planning

 

IN THIS ISSUE

1.  Planning Commission Briefing

2.  Join the River Team at Riverfest

3.  River Plan / North Reach Tentative Schedule Change

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.  Planning Commission Briefing

On Tuesday, August 26th, Planning staff will brief the Planning Commission on River Plan / North Reach natural resource and economic information.

Meeting details:

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at approximately 8:15 pm

Planning Bureau, Room 2500A (2nd Floor)

1900 SW 4th Avenue

Portland, OR 97201

Click here to plan your trip using public transportation:  TriMet Trip Planner

For more information call the Planning Bureau at (503) 823-7700 or visit the Planning Commission website.




2.  Join the River Team at Riverfest

The River Team will take part in the Riverfest Community Fair at Tom McCall Waterfront Part on August 31st, 2008 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  Staff will be on hand to answer questions about the River Plan / North Reach and launch outreach for the South and Central Reaches.  Visit the Riverfest website at www.portlandriverfest.org for more information about the Community Fair and other events taking place during the week-long celebration of the Willamette River. 




3.  River Plan / North Reach Tentative Schedule Change

River Plan staff are currently in the process of revising the River Plan / North Reach Planning Commission and City Council schedule.  Please pencil in October 28th for the River Plan / North Reach document release and December 9th for a Planning Commission hearing. Confirmation of the revised schedule will be announced via River Plan News. 



Thank you for your interest in the River Plan! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about the progress of River Plan, please refer to the updated River Plan Timeline: 

http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=122340

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To SIGN UP for these River Plan News alerts, please visit http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/riverplan and click on "stay informed" or send an email request to the River Team at riverplan@ci.portland.or.us

 

 

City of Portland, Oregon

Bureau of Planning

1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 4100

Portland, Oregon 97201-5350

Telephone: 503-823-7700

Fax: 503-823-7800

TTY: 503-823-6868

riverplan@ci.portland.or.us

http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/riverplan

npGREENWAY bike ride from the Esplanade through St Johns

On Wednesday night, August 20th, we will continue our series of bike rides along the North Portland Willamette Greenway trail alignment.

Wednesday, August 20th, 5:30pm - 8:30pm

These bike rides have received many positive reviews in the past and are a great way to get acquainted with the trail.

The August ride will meet at the northern terminus of the Eastbank Esplanade near the bottom of the stairs by the Steel Bridge. From there, we will head north.

**Please note that the possibilities of rough terrain and inclement weather on this ride. Prepare accordingly.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

http://npgreenway.blogspot.com
http://www.npgreenway.org

RideCivil Artwork

RideCivil Artwork
Originally uploaded by Hugger Industries

RideCivil™ is a Bike Hugger gift to the cycling community. You are free to remix, re-use, and share the RideCivil artwork as a flyer, shirt, jerseys, socks, thong bikini, tatoo, or whatever works.

The RideCivil mark and artwork are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.link

The artwork was created by Drew Carlson and distributed by Bike Hugger.

300 DPI, PDF version available for download here.

CBS News: Portland "farthest down the road in making itself bike friendly"

CBS News Sunday Morning
COVER STORY
Pedal Power
With Gas Above $4 A Gallon, More And More People Are Trading In Four Wheels For Two
'Blog' Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/27/sunday/main4297624.shtml

[...Several cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis are known for their bicycle facilities. But the one that's farthest down the road in making itself bike friendly is Portland, Oregon.

Mayor-elect Sam Adams is Portland's transportation commissioner. He'll soon preside over the country's biggest bicycling success story.

Remember, less than one percent of Americans cycle for transportation, but here in Portland, that number reaches six percent, and as high as 15 percent in some neighborhoods.

At Clever Cycles, Portlanders can even buy the bike equivalent of an SUV. One model can carry a thousand pounds.

Spend a little time in Portland, and you'll soon be struck by not just the number of bikers, but their variety...]

Bicycle Mania! Video

Americans are soon coming to realize that bicycles are fun and a great green alternative to automobiles. Serena Altschul examines the longstanding appeal, and recent renewed interest, of the bicycle.
Video Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4297826n

Jeff Mapes Oregonian Article | Oregon cities plan more bikeway projects as cycling increases

Sunday, July 20, 2008
JEFF MAPES
The Oregonian Staff

Portland...bike capital of America

Weird road-rage incidents involving motorists and cyclists have dominated the local news lately, but they're just signs of the bigger story: Bicycling has grown into a vital part of the region's transportation system.

The recent run-up in gas prices has only accelerated the decadelong growth in cycling sparked in large part by Portland's decision in the early 1990s to build a bikeway network.

The big increase in cycling -- which has made interaction with cyclists a daily occurrence for most motorists in Portland -- could be just the beginning.

Seizing on the current wave of interest in "green transportation," local and regional officials are pushing major bikeway projects they hope could drive another big increase in cycling.

They hope that creating a dense network of bike and pedestrian trails in the region and low-traffic "bike boulevards" on city streets will provide alternatives to driving while also reducing some of the bike-car conflicts that have frustrated motorists and cyclists.

"There's a fundamental shift going on," said Metro President David Bragdon. For the first time, all levels of government are showing interest in what he calls nonmotorized transportation.

Nowhere is that shift more visible than in Portland, where a survey last year found that 6 percent of residents usually travel by bicycle. Officials expect this year's numbers to be even higher.

Commissioner Sam Adams, who was elected mayor in May with the political support of cycling advocates, is pushing a major street maintenance package that would include $24 million to nearly quadruple the city's network of bike boulevards.

The boulevards are largely residential streets that use diverters, signage and other treatments aimed at providing good through routes for cyclists while discouraging all but local motorized traffic.

Adams says the boulevards are needed.

"Cars are afraid of hitting bikes, bikers are afraid of getting hit by cars, and there are more bikes than ever sharing the road," he said. "This system we have in place here is not adequate to meet the needs of all the right-of-way users."

Adams is trying to pitch his plan as a benefit to drivers by shifting much of the bike traffic off major arterials.

Meanwhile, Bragdon has formed a committee that will give him a list of priority trail projects the Portland region could move on quickly if money comes from new state and federal transportation proposals. Congress will begin work next year on reauthorizing the federal transportation program, a once every four- or five-year effort that sets the nation's transportation priorities. Bicycling advocates have more sway in that effort than ever before.

Sen. James Oberstar, D-Minn., an avid cyclist who says he wants to convert the "hydrocarbon economy to the carbohydrate economy," now chairs the House Transportation Committee. And the bill will go through a House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who represents bike-friendly Eugene and says he is the only former bike mechanic in Congress. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is the first major presidential candidate to promote cycling in his policy platform, and bike industry leaders recently hosted a fundraiser for him.

Meanwhile, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski is working on his own package for the 2009 Legislature to create what he calls the "greenest transportation system in the country."

Two-wheeler highways

Though trails are more expensive than on-street bikeways, advocates say they can act as highways for bicycles, providing car-free routes that are particularly attractive to less-experienced riders. They are also important in the suburbs, which tend not to have dense street-grid systems as in Portland, where cyclists can get to their destinations on quieter roads.

Bragdon said the committee is looking at trails that serve recreational and commuting needs. For example, he'd like to pave the Springwater Corridor Trail beyond Gresham -- taking users to the foot of the Cascades. Another proposal to build a trail from the Gateway District through Sullivan's Gulch could funnel thousands of bike and pedestrian commuters downtown, he said. And he noted that the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District sent a $100 million bond measure to the November ballot that includes money for trails for both recreation and transportation.

The money to accomplish any of this is uncertain, particularly as there are big transportation shortfalls at all levels of government and voters are wary of ideas like raising the gas tax when they already pay so much at the pump.

Adams said he knows his road maintenance proposal will be a hard sell with voters already feeling pinched by high gas prices. He said he will receive results this week of a new poll gauging voter interest in the road maintenance package, which would cost $464 million and be financed by a fee added to water and sewer bills. Homeowners would pay $4.54 a month, and businesses would pay based on their size and vehicle trips they generate.

Adams has already sidelined the package once after opponents threatened to refer it to the May ballot. Even if he doesn't go ahead with the full package, Adams said, he will still push to build additional bike boulevards -- many of which can be done at a minimal cost.

Bicycle diplomacy

While cycling advocates and their allies in government are looking for more money for bikeways, they're also working to improve relations out on the street.

Scott Bricker, executive director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, said the road-rage incidents that receive so much media attention are rare and run counter to the "high level of respect" he sees from motorists when he's out bicycling around town.

Still, his group has launched an "eye to eye" campaign aimed at encouraging motorists and cyclists to be more courteous and to obey the law.

Most do. The disquiet among cyclists and motorists belies the fact that Portland's streets have become safer over the past decade. Greg Raisman, a traffic safety specialist for the city, said overall traffic deaths have dropped from 59 in 1996 to 29 in 2007, and traffic-related injuries have dropped as well.

During that time, the city has done a lot to slow traffic speeds, including expanding the use of photo radar and red-light cameras, and installing more speed bumps. The city, which put in its first speed bump in 1991, now has 1,050 of them, according to Will Stevens, the traffic-calming manager for Portland's Office of Transportation.

Police also regularly conduct stings at intersections to catch both motorists and cyclists who run red lights and stop signs, which Raisman said are high on the list of crash causes.

Tom Vanderbilt, author of the upcoming book "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us," said people fall into predictable habits on the road and find it hard to accept a changing mix of users.

"We're having to make so many decisions at such speed," he said, "there is a lot of room for stereotyping and habit formation just to prevent us from being overwhelmed."

Adams, who will become mayor in January, said part of his job will be continuing to jawbone Portlanders to drive and ride more courteously.

"Sorry, it's trite but true: Share the fricking road, people," he said. "And when it's hot out, understand that everyone is a little irritable."

Jeff Mapes is the author of the upcoming book "Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities," to be published next year by Oregon State University Press.

Jeff Mapes: 503-221-8209; jeffmapes@news.oregonian.com

©2008 Oregonian

Traffic-free travel from the Steel Bridge to St Johns?

061108_BlueRibbon 163
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

Brown Bag Lunch Today:

If you liked Sunday Parkways' 6 miles of traffic-free space, you'll love the North Portland Greenway. Come hear what's being done to build a walk and bike path extending the Eastbank Esplanade from the Steel Bridge to St Johns and on to the Columbia River.

Presenters:
Francie Royce and Scott Mizee from npGreenway (www.npgreenway.org)
*** *** ***
Thursday, July 17th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Portland Building
1120 SW 5th Avenue, 2d floor
(bring your lunch!)

See Bicycle Brown Bag webpage for more information.

Thanks! ||North Portland Greenway Trail and Beach Cleanup

UofPShoreline 042
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

Swan Islanders and friends,

On behalf of the resident geese, white crown sparrows, osprey, swallows, crows, and of course Swan Island employees, many thanks to volunteers from the surrounding community, npGreenway, Swan Island Business Association, City of Portland North Portland Neighborhood Services, McDonald's and Daimler Trucks NA for last Saturday's clean up of the Greenway Trail and adjacent beach on Swan Island.

Over a dozen volunteers removed litter, Styrofoam, tires and other debris left by visitors and the river's high water over the winter. In the 20 plus years that I have walked the trail and observed the beach, I have never seen it so clean and welcoming. Check it out.

Look for a another clean up opportunity this fall as part of the the Greenway Trail art installation. Date TBD.

Again, thanks,

Lenny Anderson, Swan Island Business Association

http://www.npgreenway.org
http://www.swanislandtma.org/pages/projects.htm
http:/npgreenway.blogspot.com

info@npgreenway.org

Barge Launch View from Swan Island

Barge Launch View from Swan Island
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

Greenway Trail | River Bank Clean Up & Ocean Going Barge Launch
Saturday, July 12th 9:00am - 1:00pm

Meet in the McDonald’s parking lot, N Going Street and Port Center Way (left at first light).

As high water recedes, the banks of the Willamette River along Swan Island accumulate a lot of debris. Join your neighbors in cleaning up debris along the bank and litter along the Willamette Greenway Trail on Swan Island. Then take a break and….

* explore the entire one mile of built trail on Swan Island and learn more about npGREENWAY's efforts to extend the trail from the Eastbank Esplanade to St. Johns and the Columbia River.
* catch a view of birds (Osprey, White Crown Sparrows) and other wildlife.
* experience the thrill of a new ocean going barge being launched across the river at Gunderson at 11:00am

Bring leather gloves and wear boots or heavy shoes; sponsors will provide lighter latex gloves and garbage bags. Restrooms and refreshments available.

Sponsored by Swan Island Business Association in cooperation with
North Portland Neighborhood Services and npGREENWAY.

Sunday Parkways a HUGE success!

If you weren't able to make it out to the 6 miles of streets that were opened up to walkers, skaters, cyclists and active people of all ages, you missed out! There were thousands of people filling the streets of North Portland in an unprecedented event in North America. If you WERE there, then you know what I am talking about.

npGREENWAY was there near the Overlook Bowl spreading the good news and earning support for the future connected trail system we see along the Willamette River.

Check out this great video from Streetfilms.org:



and if you'd like window into the original Cyclovia in Bogotá, Columbia take a look at this other Streetfilms video as well!



I LOVE PORTLAND!!!!!

as always, J. Maus at BikePortland.org has a great article with plenty of reader comments as well.

Give us your feedback. What did you think about Sunday Parkways? Should Portland plan more? What could be done better? What was already the best? How does this type of activity effect our regional trail system and Connecting Green?

Also, it is critical to give elected officials your feedback:
mayorpotter@ci.portland.or.us
dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us
samadams@ci.portland.or.us
Nick@ci.portland.or.us
rleonard@ci.portland.or.us

Pedalpalooza Kickoff Parade!-39.jpg

Pedalpalooza Kickoff Parade!-39.jpg
Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

The fun has begun! Checkout Pedalpalooza.org for more information. Pick up one of these great event calendars in the Portland Mercury. See you on the streets!

|| npGREENWAY no 020 || Newsletter :: Connecting Green Bike Ride :: npG at Sunday Parkways ::

 

npGREENWAY Newsletter North Portland Greenway Trail Advocacy 2008 June 10  Issue no 020

Connecting Green Bike Ride Tomorrow! Wednesday, June 11th 4:30pm - 7pm This guided bike ride will depart Metro Regional Center at 600 NE Grand Ave at 4:30pm. Route maps and brochures will be provided.  We will loosely follow the future trail route down the river to Swan Island and on to Metro’s property at Willamette Cove.  This ride is part of Metro Parks & Greenspaces Connecting Green 2008 Summer (walking and bicycle) Trail Tours. To register - or for more information - contact Robert Spurlock at robert.spurlock@oregonmetro.gov or (503) 757-1083.  We look forward to seeing you there! Sunday Parkways coming to North Portland Sunday, June 22nd 8:00pm - 2pm Volunteers are needed to help out at our booth on June 22nd. Sunday Parkways  Six miles of local streets in North Portland will be closed to traffic from 8am to 2pm.  Different shifts available. Contact Francie Royce at froyce@comcast.net for more information or to volunteer. npGREENWAY St Johns to the Esplanade

Go To npGREENWAY.org» or our blog at: npgreenway.blogspot.com» You are receiving this email because you are currently registered at npGREENWAY.org.   This particular message may have been forwarded to other lists to receive wide distribution.  Please accept our apologies if you received it twice. If you would like to be removed from all future npGREENWAY.org newsletters, unsubscribe here.

Wedding by Bike 2008

Wedding 2008
Originally uploaded by mindcaster

When will we see this in Stumptown?

Wedding 2008
Originally uploaded by mindcaster

...and this? Look at that wedding party parade!

Lessons from our Past | More Car Based Infrastructure?

I came across this great video this morning about the defeat of the Mt Hood Freeway. It speaks volumes about what we can learn from our past. It reminds me of the current momentum for the Columbia River Crossing and also how we shape North Portland with the upcoming River Plan. Thanks to Clarence and Streetfilms for consistently producing such great work!

River Plan / North Reach || Discussion Draft Released

River Plan / North Reach || Discussion Draft Title Sheet
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

It has been three years in the making; The Discussion Draft For the North Reach portion of the River Plan was released today.

This is an exciting step as this future document will guide development and conservation along this unique portion of the Willamette River. To download and view the entire document click the link here: (note the large file size may take a while to download)

River Plan / North Reach Discussion Draft (PDF Document, 39,259kb) - May 23, 2008
For discussion at the River Plan Committee Meeting on June 5

Today's issue of the River Plan News had this to say:

The River Team is pleased to announce the release of the River Plan/North Reach: Discussion Draft which is now posted to the River Plan website. The draft includes a wide range of recommendations that have been developed in consultation with stakeholders, topic experts and the community. Recommendations include new and continuing programs, process improvements, partnerships, infrastructure investments and zoning code amendment concepts. The Discussion Draft does not include final code language, but should provide a good understanding of the types of code amendments that will be included in the Planning Commission draft to be released in August. Please visit the River Plan website at http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/index.cfm?c=42227 to view and download the document.

The River Plan Committee wants your feedback!

The River Plan Committee will take public comment on the draft at their June 5 meeting. You can also email comments to the River Team at riverplan@ci.portland.or.us. Public comments are due by June 12, 2008.

River Plan Committee Meeting
Thursday, June 5, 5:00 to 8:00 PM
Bureau of Planning,
1900 SW 4th Avenue (at Hall St.), 7th Floor, Room 7a

More information about River Plan Committee, including meeting agendas and minutes, can be found on the River Plan website by clicking here: http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/index.cfm?c=42556&

Please come to the comment meeting and/or e-mail your comments regarding the greenway trail portion of the plan to riverplan@ci.portland.or.us npGREENWAY, would of course, also welcome your e-mail questions and concerns.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

River Plan / North Reach Discussion Draft (PDF Document, 39,259kb) - May 23, 2008 For discussion at the River Plan Committee Meeting on June 5

Connecting Green

Connecting Green
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

npGREENWAY is excited to be participating in Connecting Green. Connecting Green is a region wide initiative among organizations with overlapping goals to "create the world's greatest systems of parks, trails, and natural areas."
This is a high goal, but given our natural heritage, one that we believe is achievable. Click on the link to watch a video created by Metro staff for the first meeting of the "Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails." Thanks to Metro for creating such a great kick-off video. We are excited to see how the Blue Ribbon Committee progresses.
Connecting Green Blue Ribbon Trails Video.

From Metro:

"Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails

"On April 24, 2008 the Metro Council confirmed members of a Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails of civic, elected and business leaders to propose a funding strategy to complete the region's network of bicycle and walking trails.

"Watch the "Connecting green" video. Portland is known as one of the most bicycle and walking friendly metropolitan areas in the US. The committee will review the benefits that the region receives from this distinction and the benefits that could accrue if the regional trail system were fully built out."

Action Alert! Cleanup our Riverbank this Saturday!

Riverbank Cleanup Map 08
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

This is a great opportunity to come out and see the future location of the North Willamette Greenway as well as giving back to the community and meeting your neighbors. Please see the flyer in the link below for more information.

|||||
http://www.flickr.com/photos/npgreenway/2486255041/
|||||

This event is being organized by the Portland Harbor Master:

WHEN: Saturday, May 17, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m

WHAT: Trash pick up along the shores of the Willamette River in the downtown Portland area. We will be bagging the trash, putting it on boats and sending it to a barge carrying dumpsters. Help is needed in all aspects, pickers, boaters (both to transport trash and to access steep areas), and throwers on the barge.

WHERE: From the Sellwood Bridge to Swan Island

HOW: To participate in this event please call (503)823-3780 or e-mail rpratt@fire.ci.portland.or.us and request an assignment – We need your help to make our river and city healthy and more beautiful !!

New CycleSeen Poster by Emily

Poster by Emily
Originally uploaded by Kevin Wagoner

I'm excited about this event. Hope to see many of you there!
-Scott

From CycleSeen.org:

Bridging communities of cyclists, photographers and artists

We are proud to announce a new event in Portland's prominent bike culture. Cycle Seen is an exhibition of photographs, artwork and documentation representing the bicycle culture in Metro Portland. This project is a celebration of the bike community through pictures. Portland has an astonishingly diverse and unique community of cyclists ranging from daily commuters to bike performance groups. There are various sub-cultures that make up the dynamic mix of PDX cyclists.

The exhibition will include a combination of materials from invited photographers/artists and images selected from a call for submissions. Photographs and illustrations that represent a snapshot of cycling in PDX over the last two years will be displayed through out the city at various locations during the month of June. The locations will allow an intertwining of communities, artists and cyclists. A bike map/route and location guide will be availbe to download and at various location by the end of May.

RIVER PLAN NEWS MAY 9, 2008

R I V E R P L A N N E W S
May 9, 2008
Planning for the land along the Willamette River
City of Portland | Bureau of Planning

IN THIS ISSUE
1. River Plan / North Reach Plan Release
2. Upcoming River Plan Committee Meeting
______________________


1. River Plan / North Reach Plan Release (May 23)

The River Team has been hard at work over the last two years and will release the River Plan/North Reach: River Plan Committee draft on May 23, 2008. The draft will include a wide range of recommendations that have been developed in consultation with stakeholders, topic experts and the community. Recommendations include new and continuing programs, process improvements, partnerships, infrastructure investments and modifications of existing City regulations and code. The River Plan Committee draft will not include final code language, but should provide a good understanding of the types of code amendments that will be included in the final draft.

We want your feedback! The draft will be sent out to the public via River Plan News and posted to the River Plan website. The River Plan Committee will take public comment on the draft at their June 5 meeting. You can also email comments to the River Team at riverplan@ci.portland.or.us. Public comments are due by June 12, 2008.

Next Steps:

The River Team will revise the draft over the summer based on feedback from the public and the River Plan Committee, and present it to the Planning Commission and City Council in the Fall.

Anticipated Timeline (subject to change)

River Plan/North Reach: Planning Commission draft plan release: August, 2008
Planning Commission Briefing: August 26, 2008
Planning Commission Hearing/Worksession/Decision: Fall, 2008
City Council Hearing/Worksession/Decision: December, 2008


2. Upcoming River Plan Committee Meeting (June 5)

The next River Plan Committee meeting has been scheduled for June 5, 2008. The Committee will take public comment on the River Plan/North Reach: River Plan Committee draft released in late May.

River Plan Committee Meeting

Thursday, June 5, 5:00 to 8:00 PM

Bureau of Planning, 1900 SW 4th Avenue (at Hall St.), 7th Floor, Room 7a

More information about River Plan Committee, including meeting agendas and minutes, can be found on the River Plan website by clicking here: http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/index.cfm?c=42556&. Agendas are available one week prior to each meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about the progress of River Plan work, access the updated River Plan Timeline:

http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=122340


City of Portland, Oregon
Bureau of Planning
1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 4100
Portland, Oregon 97201-5350

Telephone: 503-823-7700
Fax: 503-823-7800
TTY: 503-823-6868
riverplan@ci.portland.or.us
http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/riverplan

Bike to Work Day Photos 2008

050708_Bike2Work 029
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

I enjoyed meeting people for breakfast this morning in Pioneer Square. Thanks to PDOT for showing up with great food and drink. It was also a great opportunity to sit inside a city dump truck and get a feel for the blind spots cyclists can fall into while riding. See the video in the npGREENWAY flickr photo stream for a moving viewpoint.

http://www.npgreenway.org
http://npgreenway.blogspot.com

Attention npGREENWAY riders: Allow a wide berth!

The big bakfiets has arrived!
Originally uploaded by limonaia

On your left! Coffee coming through! npGREENWAY could someday see a mobile coffee cargo bike pedaling along the Willamette.

My friend Rick has begun a new bicycle based business here in Portland. He recently imported a new extra large bakfiets from Amsterdam and is brewing Stumptown Coffee at local Farmers Markets.

Although you won't see him on the North Portland Greenway yet, we hope that someday he will be able to provide coffee for us at opening celebrations for our trail.

In the interim, everyone should come out and support Rick and his family in their new venture. We need more small family operated businesses like Ricks!

If you would like to know more about Dutch bikes like this one, see Henry's Workcycles at:
http://www.workcycles.com/workbike/index.html

or here in Portland, visit Clever Cycles at:
http://www.clevercycles.com

Tot Zeins!

What happened to all the Trolleys in Portland?

What happened to all the Trolleys in Portland?
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

I'm saddened to think of the public transportation system we had before the buses took over midway through last century. I don't know when this map was printed, but it appears to be at the height of Portland's Trolley System. It features routes for Street Cars, Trolley Coaches, and Motor Coaches.

Please comment below if you know more about this map.

Enjoy the sunshine outside this morning!

World's Best Bike Paths

World's Best Bike Paths
Originally uploaded by Hugger Industries

"Hugger Industries" posted this video on flickr entitled "World's Best Bike Paths."

Do you think we would need Palm trees along the Willamette in order to qualify for a future episode?

Watch the full version on Youtube here

In the meantime... Enjoy the Spring Rains!

Today!!! Come help your fellow trail users clean up this vital North Portland Link

Peninsula Crossing Trail Annual SOLV-IT Cleanup Day

Route to Kelley Point Park on Penninsula Crossing Trail
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

We need your help! This is a great family activity and opportunity to get together with others who are interested in North Portland Trails.

TODAY! Saturday, April 19th, 2008 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Meet at the Lombard Trailhead
on Lombard between the RR cut and Macrum)

Join the Friends of the Peninsula Crossing Trail as we cut blackberries and ivy, clean up storm damage and graffiti, and pick-up litter. Meet your neighbors and bring your friends!

Dress accordingly - bring work gloves if possible, though some will be provided. Some tools will be available. We’ll make a difference, rain or shine!

For more information, please contact:
Pam Arden at pam_arden@hotmail.com 503-708-4697
or Steve Weir at steve@weirscyclery.com

Help Shape the Master Plan for Cathedral Park Under the St. Johns Bridge

April 18, 2008

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:

Beth Sorensen, Public Information Officer

503.823.5300; cell 503.823.6634

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Share your ideas for the Cathedral Park Master Plan at a community open house on May 21

• What: Cathedral Park Master Plan Open House

• When: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 21

• Where: Bureau of Environmental Services Water Pollution Control Lab6543 N. Burlington(at the river's edge on N. Pittsburg next to the south end of the park) Come share your ideas as we develop a new master plan for this popular North Portland river park located under the St. Johns bridge. We'll discuss the site analysis and gather input on preferred park programming and amenities.

Portland City Council has allocated funds for the creation of four master plans for park development by Portland Parks & Recreation, including Cathedral Park in North Portland, and Beech Park, Parklane Park, and Clatsop Butte Park in East Portland.

The project partners for the Cathedral Park Master Plan include Portland Parks & Recreation, the North Portland Neighborhood Services, the Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association, the North Portland Neighborhood Association, and the St. Johns Neighborhood Association.

For more information, contact Kathleen Wadden, PP&R Project Manager, at 502.823.6152.

Cathedral Park

Cathedral Park is a 23.09-acre developed park site in the St Johns neighborhood of north Portland. The site is challenging because of its size, environmental conditions, waterfront location, intense use, proximity to residential development, programmatic issues, and site constrained potential for redevelopment. The park is one of few riverfront parks in the city and is one of the most popular, especially during the summer.

portlandparks.org

Amsterdam Cyclists have Same Fear as Portlanders

From: "News from Amsterdam"
Exaggerated fear of blind spot accidents

9 april 2008 - Improving traffic safety has suddenly become a top priority for Amsterdam cyclists, a recent study reveals. The municipality suspects that the media hype on blind spot accidents is to blame.

In this year's bicycle monitor, one in three cyclists say improving traffic safety should be the highest priority, compared to just a 'small number' of respondents in the previous issue. This year, safety is the highest-ranking issue.

Johanneke Helmers of the municipal Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure Department thinks that extensive media coverage of so-called blind spot accidents may be the cause of this sudden change in priorities. These accidents involve cyclists being overlooked by lorry drivers turning right.

In 2006, four cyclists were killed in blind spot accidents in Amsterdam, compared to eight in the previous five years (the data for 2007 will be published on 24 April). However, Helmers points out that twenty people were killed in traffic accidents that year. Against that background, the amount of attention given to blind spot accidents seems exaggerated.

The municipality tries to prevent blind spot accidents by putting up mirrors at dangerous crossings (photo) and by allowing cyclists to stand in front of cars waiting for a traffic light, rather than to the right of them. The results of the monitor are not a reason to take more measures.

In the monitor, only 9% of respondents named bicycle theft as the most important issue to be dealt with, compared to 21% in the previous edition.

Helmers says this outcome can be explained by Amsterdam's successful approach to bicycle theft prevention. In the years before 2006, the number of stolen bicycles decreased from 80,000 to 50,000 per year. More recent data are not available.

Want to receive News from Amsterdam? Click here

Greenways article in United Airlines Magazine

Thanks to Matt Picio on the 'Shift List' for pointing out this article in Hemispheres Magazine – the inflight magazine of United Airlines.

Roads Less Traveled

By David Butwin / Illustration by Gina Triplett

An international car-free revolution is under way, as travelers are won over to greenways, those scenic and serviceable corridors that link neighborhoods, cities, parks, and the charms of rural countryside.

When Landon Hilliard goes to work in Boulder, Colorado, he props his bike on the front rack of a city bus. His job: promoting safe, healthy ways for kids to get to school—by foot, bike, skateboard, scooter—any way but car. Many days, he bikes home the seven miles.

In Northampton, Massachusetts, Craig Della Penna and his wife own a Civil War–era B&B beside a popular biking and walking trail built over an abandoned railroad line. As a real-estate agent, Della Penna specializes in selling houses near such green-tinged byways.

In bike-mad Portland, Oregon, an outfit called Shift runs an informal moving service not with fume-belching vans but with trailers pedaled by human beings. Once a month, volunteers serve breakfast to commuting cyclists on bridges over the Willamette River.

These are not fluky samplings. In case you’ve been marooned for 10 years, more and more towns, cities, and rural areas worldwide are being won over to car-shunning modes of locomotion. In the forefront of the revolution (and it is nothing less) are bikeways and greenways—the corridors that link neighborhoods, towns, and villages to parks, parkways, and discrete trails. The beneficiaries are walkers, joggers, cyclists, cross-country skiers. And the message from frontline proponents like American Trails, a nonprofit group in Redding, California, that promotes all manner of trails, is clear: Make these paths part of your life, not just your lifestyle.

Gil Penalosa, a leader in the movement and the executive director of the nonprofit Walk and Bike for Life in Toronto, sees philosophical meaning in greenways. “I love all parks, but park users are homogeneous because they are people who live close by,” he says. “Greenways are the great connectors, whether it’s from one town to the next or perhaps from a high-end to a lower-income community.”

In New York and other traffic-menaced cities, the cry of the cyclist is being heard. I’ve often found myself stalled in a tie-up on New York’s West Side Highway, while cyclists roll blithely by on the West Side Greenway Path, which runs a dozen miles from Battery Park to the George Washington Bridge. The path diverts once to a brief stretch of city streets, where the eats happen to be outstanding. It’s a route I bike in saner moments. And imagine this: One day that gritty/green trail may be part of an unbroken skein from Maine to Florida called the East Coast Greenway, which is itself about 21 percent completed.

It’s no pipe dream, says Chuck Flink, the chairman of the East Coast Greenway and president of Greenways Inc., a company in Raleigh, North Carolina, that works primarily with local governments to design greenways in the U.S. and as far afield as St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands (which has plans for a 70-mile bike path). “It’s amazing to see something that was a mere notion not long ago become a billion-dollar reality,” says Flink, who has helped engineer a hundred greenways in North Carolina, including the 30-mile American Tobacco Trail out of Durham, which runs along an old rail line. “It’s happening everywhere. Grand Forks, North Dakota, has a fabulous system, and Tucson is talking about expanding.”

Latter-day Daniel Boones are slicing deeper and deeper into the country on trails that a few years ago were impassable or nonexistent. James Menzies, a computer whiz and cycling dervish in Washington, DC, loves to bike the popular C&O Canal Towpath, which leads out of Georgetown and up the Potomac River. He’s partial to a scenic, historical stretch between Harper’s Ferry and Shepherdstown, West Virginia, with a side trip to the Civil War battlefield at Antietam. When he’s really driven, he does the C&O’s entire 185 miles to Cumberland, Maryland, then pushes on to Pittsburgh on the Great Allegheny Passage, a trail completed in 2006 mostly over unused railroad lines. Total one-way mileage: 318.

My favorite mode, the so-called rail-to-trail route, is a main component of the movement. At last count, nearly 14,000 miles of abandoned railroad tracks had been converted to some 1,450 high, wide, and handsome pathways, many slicing through otherwise unseen corners of America. These blessed trails have taken me to cranberry bogs on Cape Cod, into the heart of Wisconsin dairyland, and along a leaf-bright path in northern New Jersey.

Of course, Europe long has had a special place in its heart for nonmotorized travel. I’ve hiked the high country in Switzerland, Norway, and Germany’s Black Forest on wide, sign-posted trails connecting villages, small lodges, and snacking posts. In the Netherlands, cycling rules the day, with trails leading to all corners of the country. Forget about driving a car in Amsterdam, a two-wheeler’s town. Copenhagen, too, is thick with bicycles; I’ve marveled at the forest of chained-up bikes beside the main train station, stored for the day by commuters from far and wide. Paris, following the lead of a successful program in Lyon, has installed some 20,000 bikes at 1,450 stations, ready for anyone to commandeer, at about US$5 an hour. Swipe a credit card and you’re off.

Greenways have made big inroads in Spain, England, Germany, and the Danube countries. Perhaps the most ambitious undertaking is the Prague-Vienna Greenways, a 250-mile web of trails and roads that includes an unspoiled segment on the Czech-Austrian border, closed off for 40 years by the Iron Curtain. The project was launched after the fall of the Soviet bloc by a group of Czechs and Americans with preservation in their blood, knowing that the countryside and cultural monuments needed a watchdog in the face of the new free market but also seeing possibilities for green-tinged tourism. The happy result is that you can plot a trip—guided or free-wheeling, tough cycling or gentle walking—along trails that follow ancient salt, silver, and amber routes to castles, medieval churches, ancient Jewish cultural sites, Czech breweries, and Moravian wineries.

England is bullish on greenways, thanks to a nonprofit outfit called Sustrans, which powers the National Cycle Network. Roughly a third of the network’s 12,000 miles of cycling and walking routes are motor-free; the rest follow “quiet or traffic-calmed country lanes and roads.” An early success, the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, runs over the old Midland Railway. Sustrans is also behind a glowing and growing Bike It project, which has inspired kids in certain districts to cycle to school at 10 times the national 1 percent average.

Many cities worldwide are turning to car-free days to give the streets back to the people. Walk and Bike for Life’s Penalosa helped launch a “bicycle Sunday,” or Ciclovia, when he was the parks and recreation commissioner in Bogotá, Colombia, and the idea has spread across Latin America. Says Penalosa: “When we started in Bogotá, there were eight miles closed to traffic, and now there are 70 miles, and a million and a half people are out getting exercise, getting healthy.”

Penalosa also helped set up Ciclovia in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2005. Mexico City and Leon caught the fever in 2007 before passing it across the border to El Paso, Texas, which badly needed a boost, given its paucity of parkland. The Ciclovia it staged every Sunday morning last May was such a success the event may be expanded this year.

Pedal-Power Leaders / The following locales are leading the greenway ranks:

Minneapolis, which is second to Portland in the number of people who ride bikes to work, looks more like a vast, sprawling park than a middle-size city. Cyclists, bladers, walkers, joggers, and cross-country skiers (in the winter) spin in delightful delirium along the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a 55-mile linking of parks, lakes, waterways, and historical sites that was set aside by city seers in the 1880s. For a crosstown beeline, you can jump on the ever-improving Midtown Greenway, a wide 5.5-mile ribbon of macadam.

Trains are writ large in Chattanooga lore (note the 1941 hit song “Chattanooga Choo Choo”), but today the city swings to a burgeoning greenway system. Everything feeds off the RiverWalk, a lively promenade that’s brought vigor back to a dying industrial section on the Tennessee River. Two of the RiverWalk’s nerve centers are the teeming RiverPark and the renovated, pedestrian-only Walnut Street Bridge, the scene of musical festivals, fireworks, a Christmas parade, and nonstop, spontaneous hanging out.

Southwest Missouri is full-speed-ahead with the Ozark Greenways, a trail system that snakes through Springfield and out into the Ozark plateau. Users of the in-town Galloway Creek Greenway can pull up at the rocking Galloway Station, a bar and grill with an outdoor café. Or hop the 36-mile Frisco Highline Trail through quiet farmland; it’s the route Harry Truman took in his private railcar to prep for his ’48 whistle-stop presidential campaign.

Davis, California, a sunny town of 65,000 near Sacramento, calls itself the Bicycle Capital of America. It put in greenbelts and bike lanes back in the 1960s, when the University of California, Davis, was already thick with bicycles. Bike backers have seen a decline in biking brought on by urban sprawl, but the 100-mile web of on-street lanes and off-street paths is still peerless.

Motorists in bike-loving Portland, Oregon, are no more than second-class citizens. The 40 Mile Loop, a plan launched more than a century ago, is a green and sinuous route that connects numerous parks along the city’s rivers and creeks. A spur runs from downtown to Forest Park, the largest wooded park in the U.S., with 70 miles of hiking and mountain-bike trails. Bike-through windows are a staple of Portland coffee bars, and one of the tastiest is the Black Sheep Bakery Cawffeeshop, by the Hawthorne Bridge.

In Denver, where greenway has been a household term since the 1970s, you can’t walk out of a downtown hotel or suburban home without finding a trail to hundreds of miles of freewheeling fun. Jump on the Platte River Trail downtown, ride 10 miles to Bear Creek, then follow the creek all the way to tiny Morrison (population 430), at the foot of the eye-popping Red Rocks Park. Stop for sustenance at the trailside Blue Cow café.

Greensboro, North Carolina’s, 2008 bicentennial present to itself includes a 4.8-mile loop that encircles downtown and ties into a rail trail and trails to outer lakes and the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. The downtown loop is part of a 20-mile greenway that eventually will connect the city to neighboring High Point.

The Rail Truth / As American passenger trains have been trimmed to a dwindling few, the stirring, grass-roots rail-to-trail movement has converted thousands of miles of abandoned tracks into handy, scenic pathways. Some of the more notable of these:

A bucolic 32-mile run between Sparta and Elroy in western Wisconsin was a trailblazer when it opened in 1965. In summer, it’s a lush country lane, shadowed by aspen and birch, adorned with daisies and berry bushes. You pass through three dark, dripping tunnels and find cheese co-ops and trailside cafés such as Gina’s Pies Are Square at Wilton.

Up and running post-Katrina, Louisiana’s 21-mile Tammany Trace links canopied woodlands, ancient timber bridges, horse farms, and the colorful villages of St. Tammany Parish. Covington buzzes with galleries and cafés, Abita Springs is home to the cultish Abita Brewing Co., and Old Mandeville boasts a splendid market.

Near Virginia’s highest peak, Mount Rogers, the Virginia Creeper logging railroad line runs 33 miles from Whitetop Station to historical Abingdon. The 17-mile descent from Whitetop to the Appalachian Trail town of Damascus has become such a draw that a number of outfitters vie to ferry bikers to the top. On the way down, riders favor the Creeper Trail Café in the now-bustling village of Taylors Valley.

Steeped in Minnesota literary tradition, the 46-mile Lake Wobegon Trail follows an old Burlington Northern line between St. Joseph and Sauk Centre. With a wry nod to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon tales, the trail’s chairman, Dave Simpkins, points to “an above-average trail experience with our colleges, churches, and cows.” Sinclair Lewis grew up in Sauk Centre, the inspiration for Gopher Prairie in his novel Main Street.

An hour northwest of Montréal, Le P’tit Train du Nord begins a scenic 125-mile ramble over a rail route that once carried skiers and summer vacationers to Laurentian resort towns. A dozen of the restored, century-old train stations now are convenient cycling stops; a standout is the Café de la Gare in Ste-Adèle. In winter, it’s popular with cross-country skiers.

So it goes in the ever-widening world of no-car locomotion. Biking trails by the Danube, towpaths in Georgetown, rail trails on Cape Cod—the green way looks like the right way.

Details, Details, Details / For the latest and fullest in U.S. trail development, consult American Trails in Redding, California (americantrails.org). An excellent source on rail trails is the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (railtotrails.org). You’ll find descriptions of all the routes and plans for new ones. To plan a tour of the Prague-Vienna Greenways, go to the Greenways Travel Club (gtc.cz) or the Friends of Czech Greenways in New York (pragueviennagreenways.org). For a rundown on plans and progress across Europe, consult the European Greenways Association (aevv-egwa.org).

---

David Butwin, a longtime contributor to Hemispheres and a resident of Leonia, New Jersey, has cycled or hiked in all sorts of high places and even in some low-down ones.

My favorite Bike Costume yet! seen at Filmed by Bike

Filmed by Bike 08-44.jpg
Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

Filmed by Bike is happening this weekend. I wish I was able to attend, but I will have to settle for watching the DVD again this year. I love this photo that Jonathan Maus took. He has some great coverage here:

http://bikeportland.org/2008/04/11/photos-from-filmed-by-bike/

Minneapolis Greenway Ride

Minneapolis Greenway Ride
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

I was in Minneapolis this week for business and had the pleasure of taking a Bike Friday tikit folding bike with me. Minneapolis has a great network of trails and greenways and is something that Portland can aspire to. If you click on the link below, you can see all of the images as thumbnails or watch them as a slide show.



Click here to see Minneapolis Greenway Photos on Flickr

One of the highlights for me was the Hiawatha bridge seen here:

Peninsula Crossing Trail Annual SOLV-IT Cleanup Day

Route to Kelley Point Park on Penninsula Crossing Trail
Originally uploaded by npGREENWAY

We need your help! This is a great family activity and opportunity to get together with others who are interested in North Portland Trails.

Saturday, April 19th, 2008
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Meet at the Lombard Trailhead
on Lombard between the RR cut and Macrum)

Join the Friends of the Peninsula Crossing Trail as we cut blackberries and ivy, clean up storm damage and graffiti, and pick-up litter. Meet your neighbors and bring your friends!



Dress accordingly - bring work gloves if possible, though some will be provided. Some tools will be available. We’ll make a difference, rain or shine!

For more information, please contact:
Pam Arden at pam_arden@hotmail.com 503-708-4697
or Steve Weir at steve@weirscyclery.com

originally posted 4/6/2008
updatged 4/10/2008