We have gotten a very late start in our bike commuting this year.
Which is to say, we have not yet started. But, tomorrows the day!
Most all the stuff we will need once we get to work has been brought in, and the equipment is arranged and ready. We really have to get started commuting. I have a list of reasons for bike commuting I will post later, but the current reasoning is that we need to start getting in bike shape for the summer, and May is bike to work day/week/month time!
The League of American Bicyclists has info on bike to work week.
Sustainable Life has a great story on bike commuting in Portland.

The Oregon Safe Routes To School Program is offering free weekday training workshops in April and May to schools, local agencies, parents and interested parties who would like to know more about the SRTS program, the required Action Plan and the soon-to-be announced funding program for funding Engineering projects and Education, Encouragement and Enforcement programs. The workshops should cover SRTS partnerships and best practices, eligible projects, and how a SRTS School Team should evaluate the barriers and hazards to children walking and biking to K-8 schools. Workshops will take place in Albany, Ashland, Bend, Eugene, John Day, LaGrande, and Portland. The working agenda is attached. Registration is required
The Oregon SRTS Action Plan Template, Student Tally and Parent Survey may be downloaded from the Transportation Safety Division website.
For a draft agenda…. Continue reading →

Brett Kelver, Assistant Planner for the City of Milwaukie sent me this:
We have an opportunity to comment on and make corrections to a bicycle map that is being prepared as part of a larger, Metro-region SmartTrips program. The Portland Office of Transportation has sent us a draft version of the map and we have posted it on the TSP website for your review. Please take a look and send me an email with any comments or corrections by 5:00pm on Thursday, April 19th. A cursory glance shows that some of the parks are mis-identified, and you may see routes that are inaccurately labeled. Please let me know what you see that needs correcting, as this is a great chance for us to help develop a useful resource.

You can follow the link to the bicycle and pedestrian site

You can follow the link to their map.

(The map image is currently a little bit fuzzy—they will try to get a sharper image up on the web ASAP.)

Comments Update.
JC asks: Thanks for posting this. Do you happen to know if Main Street [right past ODOT] currently connects to the Springwater Trail or is that planned?

Yes, JC they do connect.  To get on the Springwater on the east side of McLoughlin… From Milwaukie center take Main St. North, past the old Southgate Theater, (where a Park & Ride is planned), until Main St ends at SE Moores St. Turn left up to McLoughlin Blvd, and get on the sidewalk there at the vacant bright yellow car dealership buildings. Head north along McLoughlin on the sidewalk about a block, but take some care as the walkway is littered with debris. (Maybe Portland or Milwaukie can clean this sometime?) The sidewalk takes you right to the beautiful bright orange Springwater bridge, and immediately after crossing under, the asphalt trail will take you up to the Springwater path. Again, take a little care on that path since theres a sharp turn and a steep dropoff.

And, you can also catch the path at about one block west of McLoughlin,  there is a short access path that puts you on the Corridor just west of the new Johnson Creek Springwater bridge.

Mapquest map.

Jonathan, over at Bikeportland.org reports on the upcoming change to the bike lanes on the uphill approach to the Hawthorne Bridge. Great photos Jonathan. The picture of the TriMet bus whizzing by just a few feet away illustrates the close quarters in which bikes and vehicles operate. In this uphill section, it is very helpful to have a little more room for bicycles to operate. This bridge gets a great deal of bike traffic and there are many times when faster cyclists overtake slower ones. When cycling, it is often a dangerous situation when bikes begin to clog up, and as the lane is currently configured, there is no room to pass without entering the danger areas of the speeding vehicular lanes. This is one more project aided by the work of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Milwaukie is beginning the ambitious project of mapping out the cities transportation plans that will affect how we get to and through our city for the next decades. And, they made great efforts to get the public involved with provisions of input and in decision making. It started late last year as transportation liaison Gavin Hales worked to get the word out and to interview citizens to find out just what issues were important to them.

Then starting on March 24, 2007 the city began holding planning meetings open to the public. After general meetings were held, groups were broken down according to interest. Issues covered are to include biking/pedestrian, bus lines, light rail lines and automobile.

These are important issues. Of course, the biking issues are of significant interest, and any improvements that can be made are beneficial to all. But, Milwaukie is already a pretty good cycling area, so perhaps the greatest impact of all the transportation improvements will be in the determination of how and where we construct the light rail system that is coming in two different directions from Portland, into and through our city.

Goals of sessions include:

• Review the list of problems and solutions developed at Workshop #1
• Discuss specific design solutions developed by staff and the consultants
• Prioritize solutions.
• Share personal experience with pedestrian and bicycle routes in Milwaukie.
• Clearly identify problems with the existing pedestrian and bicycle networks and note the things that work well.
• Brainstorm solutions for the problems identified

A second meeting is to be held Saturday April 7th 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Milwaukie Public Safety Building 3200 SE Harrison Street Milwaukie, OR 97222.
For links to planning documents…….read on.

Continue reading →