Last chance to tell Metro which bikeways to include in SW Corridor project

Metro map of additional bike/walk projects that could be included in SW Corridor Draft EIS.

Metro is moving forward on the SW Corridor, a project that aims to build a new, 12-mile long light rail line that will connect downtown Portland to Tigard and Bridgeport Village.

The project is currently in its scoping phase and today is the final day to submit feedback on which projects should be included. This scoping phase is part of the federally mandated process to produce a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. As part of that statement the project organizers can include complementary projects that the project will be able to address in the coming steps of the process. Put another way, if your favorite project — for instance protected bikeway on Barbur adjacent to the new MAX line — isn’t included in the Draft EIS, it won’t even be on the table.

After years of planning Metro has queued up 36 addition biking and walking projects that are under consideration to include in the Draft EIS (you can review them all in this PDF). Here are a few of them:

Naito Parkway to Hooley Bridge bikeway
This project would create a two-way shared street bikeway on Grover Street, Corbett Avenue and Gibbs Street to connect a light rail station at Naito Parkway and Grover Street to the Darlene Hooley pedestrian and bicycle bridge over I-5.

Chestnut Street Bikeway
This project would restripe SW Chestnut Street to create a westbound bike lane (uphill) and an eastbound shared street bikway (downhill) between SW Vermont Street and SW Terwilliger Boulevard.

Pedestrian/bicycle bridge over I-5 near Custer Street
This project would construct a new crossing over I-5 for pedestrians and bicyclists near the proposed light rail station on Barbur Boulevard between SW Custer Street and SW 13th Avenue. The bridge would connect to SW 11th Avenue and SW Canby Street at the north end of Burlingame Park, and provide a street light in this location. The need to construct water quality facilities is anticipated.

Metro is asking specifically for input on: “What are the most important factors for decision makers to consider when deciding which additional roadway, bicycle and pedestrian projects to study in the Draft EIS?” and, “Are there any additional projects that would provide improved access to a proposed light rail station that should be studied in the Draft EIS?”

You can also make your voice heard by taking a survey. There’s a short and long version depending on your time and level of interest. The short one takes about five to seven minutes and the long one takes about 20 minutes. Email is another option to share your feedback. Send your comments to swclrt.scoping@oregonmetro.gov. Surveys and all other scoping feedback must be received by 5:00 pm today.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Job: Warehouse, Picker/Packer, Product Assembly – HGNR Inc

Job Title *
Warehouse, Picker/Packer, Product Assembly

Company/Organization *
HGNR Inc

Job Description *
Warehouse – Picker/Packer, Product Assembly,
(All Responsibilities)
Available now
Location: St. John’s (North Portland, OR)

HGNR Inc is a specialty distributor of products in the Bicycle Industry. We are looking for an employee to run our warehouse. This position is responsible for running everything in our warehouse. Work load varies from 10 to 30 hours per week November through February and 20 to 40 hours per week March through October. At least 30 hours per week will be required during training. Experience useful, but not required as we will train the right person.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
• Maintain a clean and well-organized work area.
• Daily picking, packing, quality control and shipping of all customer orders.
• Product assembly including quality control.
• Receiving, quality control and stocking of incoming inventory.
• Loading, unloading and occasional driving of company vehicle.
• Assist with inventory management and warehouse organization to improve efficiency.
• Experience useful, but not mandatory, as we will train the right person.

DESIRED SKILLS:
• Efficient, accurate, and timely completion of daily, weekly and monthly activities.
• Ability to lift 50 pounds.
• Must follow all safety procedures.
• Ability to use a scale, box knives, and calculator.
• Proficient in basic math, fractions, ratios and algebra.
• Basic understanding of mechanical systems.
• Computer literacy is a plus.

NECESSARY PERSONAL QUALITIES:
• Attention to detail, organized and cooperative.
• Self-starting, self-directing and able to take initiative.
• Interested and motivated to work for a small business.
•
SALARY and HOURS:
Starting pay: $12.50 per hour during training and acclimation.
Ultimate pay range: $12.50 to $17.50 per hour, based on efficient, accurate, and timely completion of daily activities.

Hours: Mon – Fri, 10 to 30 hours per week November through February and 25 to 40 hours per week March through October, depending on workload. Weekends occasionally required.

How to Apply *
Send a cover letter describing how you would be a good fit for this part time job along with your resume. Send it to jobs@hgnr.com or Fax (503)200-1565

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East Portland kids flock to ‘Mountain Biking Day’ at Ventura Park

The bustling scene at Ventura Park shows the huge demand that exists for off-road cycling in Portland.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

What’s a city to do when it’s national Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day and that city has no fun places for kids to ride off-road? Get creative and turn to a local park.

That’s what the Portland nonprofit Northwest Trail Alliance decided to do this year after previously hosting the free event at venues outside the city.

The location was Ventura Park at Southeast Stark and 115th. The NWTA has already established a presence here thanks to their partnership with the Portland Parks & Recreation bureau on the pump track that opened in 2012.

For Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, the advocacy group relied on volunteer organizers Chris and Susan Rotvik and teamed up with a dozen partners and sponsors to create four different riding areas: the pump track, a skills section, a kid-friendly cyclocross course that wound through the trees, and a special track for little balance-bike riders. Key sponsors included: Abraham Fixes Bikes, Community Cycling Center, Cyclepath PDX, Fat Tire Farm, Legacy Health, Lumberyard Bike Park, Oregon Metro, REI, Western Bikeworks, and Yakima.

About 150 kids (and another 100 parents and supporters) showed up to take part in the riding and festivities. For 20 of those young people, it was an extra special day: Prior to the event the NWTA put out a call to the community for youth bike donations. They refurbished the bikes and passed them out to kids in need at the event (along with a free helmet). One

NWTA Advocacy Director Andrew Jansky said the event is all about the group’s ongoing effort to use off-road cycling to spur the physical and mental development of kids.

Here are a few more photos of the action…

Jeminem Carmona just happened to be at the park with his family for his 7th birthday party. He borrowed a bike and a helmet and rode around for hours!

With the City of Portland’s ongoing Off-road Cycling Master Plan process nearing completion, Jansky hopes scenes like this are far more common throughout the city in the years to come.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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

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Chicken Stew with Tomatillo Sauce

Tomatillos are those green “tomatoes” with the papery skin you often see near the chili peppers in the produce section at the grocery store. They have a bright, tart flavor and form the foundation of many Mexican sauces.

This easy stovetop chicken stew with corn and potatoes uses just such a sauce. It’s a perfect meal for right now – all the fresh flavors of summer, but so warming on a crisp fall day.

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DIY Sun Print Wall Hanging and Tea Towel

Over the last few years, we’ve had a chance to do Sun Prints with kids a few times (first at Crafting Community, then at an event at Ida’s school), and they were so much fun we figured we should try a more grown up version too! If you’ve never heard of sun printing, it’s a process using fabric that has been specially treated to make a photographic print, called a cyanotype, using sunlight. You can make sun prints with almost any object, but we love using leaves, and other botanicals for a jungalicious look.

Materials:

• Cyanotype (sun print) fabric
  • Tea towel
  • Cotton fabric yardage
• Leaves
• Garden shears
• Twine or rope
• Scissors
• Heavy double-stick tape
• Branch, bamboo or dowel

Cyanotype Fabric Instructions:

• Keep your fabric in it’s black bag until you have all your materials and you are ready to go
• Collect leaves from your yard, go on a nature hike and collect some foliage, or find some at your local flower shop
• Figure out where you want your sunny spot to be. (Think about sun exposure and wind)
• Layout your leaves on a table to figure out the placement for your design. (Better to have this near your sunny spot)
• For your Wall Hanging Only:
  • Figure out how large you want to make your wall hanging
  • In a room that has no sunlight, take our your fabric and cut it to your desired size. (Do this quickly so you don’t accidentally expose it)
  • Put your excess fabric back in the black bag and seal it shut
  • Wrap your cut out fabric in another bag or fabric so you can bring it to your desired sunny spot. (Don’t unwrap it until you are ready to start designing)
  • Layout your fabric in the sunny area and immediately begin putting your foliage on your fabric. (Do this as quickly as possible)
•  Tip: The closer the leaf to the fabric the better the design, so weigh down your leaves either with plexiglass, pins, or heavy objects small enough to hid behind the leaves.

• Set your timer for 15 minutes. (Time may be different depending on package instructions)
• After 15 minutes, immediately rinse fabric in cold water until the water runs clear
• Let it air dry

Wall Hanging Instructions:

• Find a stick or a piece of bamboo that is long enough for your wall hanging fabric (If you can’t find one in nature, grab a dowel from your local home improvement store or craft shop)
• Once your fabric is dry, lay it out flat
• Place double sided tape along the top of the fabric
• Place your stick onto the tape
• Cut a piece of twine at least 5 feet long
• Wrap the ends of the twine around the ends of the stick several times to create the hanger
• Voila!

*Thanks to the Cyanotype Store for providing the fabric for this project, and the activity at Ida’s school! For more ideas on how to use sun prints, check out their idea galleries.*

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The Monday Roundup: Racial justice, gift of biking, drugs, cafe on wheels, and more

Before we get started on this week’s best links from around the web, we want to give a special thanks to the Handmade Bike & Beer Festival for their advertising support and sponsorship of the Monday Roundup. The fest, now in its 9th year, happens this Friday and Saturday (10/7-8) in north Portland. Join me at the Base Camp Brewing tent to sample the fresh hop ale made with hops we picked up by bike!

Now, on with the best stories we came across this past week…

Terminator privilege: When it comes to selective enforcement, there’s white privilege and then there’s celebrity privilege. When movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger got stopped for cycling in a train station he got away scot-free by promising to take a selfie with the cop.

Commuting gift: Police in southern California met a teen who walked five hours to work — so they bought him a bike.

Bodies on bikes: Streetsblog L.A. writer Sahra Sulaiman has this week’s must-read on equity. It’s about the imperative need for mobility advocates to shift away from a bike-centric perspective and replace it with one that puts human existence and experience — what she calls the bodies on the bikes — at the top. Oh, and don’t dismiss racial justice when discussing transportation policy.

Cafe on wheels: We get a lot of pitches for bike-related crowdfunding campaigns. This one stood out for its impressive ambition about what a bike-based business can be: a turnkey cafe!

Zero vision, zero access: A proposal from the mayor of London would rate large trucks for safety (based on how well the driver can see other road users) and ban the most dangerous ones from entering the city center.

Driving is for old people: Like it or not we’re entering a new era of driving. Here’s an interesting perspective from young kids who might grow up to never know a world where humans got behind the wheel.

Counting what counts: Our friends at City Observatory put Placemeter, a new road user counting technology, to the test. Their verdict: It looks very promising.

Transit in LA: This seems like good news. A light rail line that goes between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica has been such a smash hit (reaching 70% of its ridership level) that new cars are being added to deal with overcrowding.

Expanded distraction enforcement: 10 years after California passed its first law to battle cell phone use while driving they have now widened the reach of the law.

When infrastructure expansion is good: In New York City a new policy proposal would allow the DOT to expand sidewalks in order to handle the human congestion.

When infrastructure expansion is bad: Then there’s the Oregon DOT, which celebrates the overdue completion of a project that cost $365 million just to straighten 10 miles of a little-used rural highway.

Paris FTW: Paris is the New York City of Europe. They’re not afraid to enact real car control measures. When Paris closed two miles of waterfront highway along the Seine River, it turns out people just figured out other — non-driving — ways to get around. Imagine that!

Progress in NYC: New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio signed several new laws into the books that make his city a nicer place to walk and bike.

Drugged up racers: We’re not sure what was more disturbing; this Deadspin headline about pervasiveness of drug use in the pro cycling ranks, or the tweet about it by former pro Ryan Trebon.

Inspiration from Groningen: Don’t believe the hype that cars are a necessity in dense urban environments. If you need a pick-me-up after battling haters, check out this profile of Groningen and have your faith in bicycling restored.

Change culture, change streets: Here’s a good overview on why car-centric countries like the US and the UK got that way, why it’s so harmful, and how we can start working toward a different reality.

Thanks to readers Paul, Todd, Mark, Steve, Ron and Ted for the suggestions this week.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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

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Pork and Poblano Stew

A fall classic from the recipe archive! ~Elise

Every time I look at a picture of this pork and poblano stew I want to eat it all over again. This is one of those lick-every-last-drop stews, so good!

Early fall is peak chile season, and we have plenty of poblanos in the garden. Every few days I pick a few chiles, char them over direct flame on the gas stove, let them steam a bit in their own heat, and then scrape off the char.

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