Think about those times you're sitting at a stop light, waiting for it to turn green.  It can feel like an eternity.  Now imagine sitting there and the light never changing.  It often happens to people biking if they aren't sure of how to get the green.

Now PBOT is installing signs to help people biking become the master of the signal.

The trick is to roll your bike over the stencil PBOT paints on top of the "loop detector" at many intersections.  If you're driving, your car's mass of metal will trip the detector if you're just about anywhere in the vicinity.  But because your bike's mass is not so, well, massive you need to be in just the right spot.

So, in addition to the pavement markings PBOT is putting up signs in some select locations.

The smart bikers over at bikeportland.org have already published a how-to.  We're hoping that the new signs will help people that aren't quite sure what to do.

Keep an eye out for them and let us know what you think!

Our friends at the Westside Transportation Alliance just posted a fun and informative video about TriMet's WES train. Although the WTA is promoting WES for Beaverton-area commuters, it's also a great choice if you live in Wilsonville, Tualatin or near downtown Tigard and commute to downtown Portland.

Commuting by WES provides passenger rail amenities (more space, Wifi, etc.) and a predictable ride that isn't slowed by I-5 traffic (ditto when you transfer at Beaverton Transit Center to MAX).

Ever notice how we always seem to get a streak of sunny and mild days in February?

Well, January is done and right on cue, the forecast is for a week of balmy weather. Sure, March and April will rain like cats and dogs, but let's enjoy this respite from winter's lash.

Bulbs have begun sending their green shoots skyward and the fragrance of blooming viburnums greeted me on last night's ride home. 

If you consider yourself a fair weather cyclist, why not pick a couple of days to bike commute while the weather is good? You'll get a mini-shot of vitamin D and the spring-like weather will be good for your spirits.

If you're sticking to transit, why not hop off the bus a few stops early and enjoy the scenery while getting a bit of extra exercise?

Let us know if you need help with a transit or bike commute route plan.

Seven day forecast image courtesy of KATU

LeBron James, dubbed the King due to his last name and presumably superior regent abilities, chose the quickest way to get to work on Sunday - he bicycled. 

I imagine it's not James' usual commute vehicle but (In this video clip, James says he bikes "all the time." - hat tip to bikeportland.org) Because of Miami Marathon traffic James decided he'd get to American Airlines Arena quickest by hoping on his bike.  Check out the full coverage, via the NBA's All Ball blog.

Apparently, his 35-point performance was directly attributable to his 3.5 mile ride.

image: ohio.com

Free lecture

Sustaining a Transportation Legacy from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games

Dale Bracewell, Manager of Active Transportation, Vancouver, B.C

Friday, January 27, 2012

PSU, Distance Learning Center Wing at the Urban Center

Room 204

How do you plan for traffic when the world's largest winter sporting event comes to your city? 

This was the challenge of the city of Vancouver. Attend this free lecture and learn about their success and its legacy on how people in Vancouver get around.

Read the presentation abstract for more information.

For those who need another way to find out real-time arrival info on your bus or train (in case Transit Tracker, auto-reply text message, TriMet's Mobile Site, and third party smart phone apps aren't enough options) TriMet's How We Roll blog reports that many of their bus stops offer another way for people to check real time availability on their smartphones.

Beginning last fall, TriMet began posting QR ("Quick Response") codes - those abstract black and white dot matrices that are popping up in print ads and posters - at is bus shelters.

By scanning the QR codes with your web-enabled smart phone, you can view schedules, an area map and real-time arrival information.

Aside from the smart phone with Internet service, one also needs to download QR software.

Do transit stations increase crime levels? That was the question asked by academic researchers at the University of North Carolina.

As reported in the Atlantic Cities blog last week, the researchers looked at crime levels at four proposed locations for the Charlotte area's LYNX light rail system. Transit stations were eventually built in late 2007 at two of the sites. 

Published in the Journal of Urban Affairs December issue, the researchers then looked at crime levels before and after the initial station site proposals. In addition, study authors examined crime after stations were eventually built at two of the four proposed locations. 

All four sites saw crime significantly drop after the proposed stations were announced in 2000. Levels creeped up a bit afterward, but they stayed below pre-announcement levels.

After the Lynx line opened in late 2007, crime levels dropped at the two light rail stations. This led to researchers to conclude:

"While controlling for overall crime trends in the city utilizing two control transit corridors, our analyses indicate that the announcement of rail transit actually leads to a decrease in property crimes. Once the stations open, the crime decrease is maintained, and does not return to preannouncement levels. This dispels rail transit opponents’ notion that light rail breeds crime. In fact, we offer counter evidence that suggests light rail may actually impede crime."

 

This Saturday at Rosa Parks Elementary School in North Portland, families and students can get their bikes tuned up for free!  Plus, exhibits on home weatherization, water and energy savings, and yard and garden care.

Free professional childcare and lunch is provided at all fairs.

If you haven't been to a Fix-It Fair, you owe it to yourself and your pocketbook to go.  This is great opportunity to connect with many great community resources all in one place.

Here's the Fix-It Fair home page. 

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Rosa Parks Elementary School

8960 N Woolsey Ave

map and directions

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Jefferson High School

5210 N Kerby Ave

map and directions

All Fairs occur from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Picture this: You're driving down the freeway at a crisp, clean 55 mph when you spot a few break lights ahead.  Naturally, you slow down to 40, 30, 20, and now you're stopped.  Bummer.

But what if you and all your fellow highway travelers knew that the traffic congestion was coming and all of you slowed down a mile before the choke point? You'd just hit the bottleneck 30 seconds later right?

Wrong.  In fact, if everyone slows down far enough before the congestion point the bottleneck might magically disappear.  As KATU explains in this article, vehicles and traffic are like rice moving through a funnel.  Pour the rice really fast and it backs up and overflows, pour the rice slowly and the kernels will pass right through and in less time.

Image: Brent Wojah/Oregonian

In hopes of turning I-5 traffic into free-flowing rice kernels, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will be installing variable traffic speed signs in a number of locations in the urban core.  If people driving follow the signs it should help ease congestion, reduce crashes, and shave some time and stress off the morning and evening commutes.  During less congested times the new signs won't operate.   This will be ODOT's second application of variable traffic speed signs; the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is doing the same thing for a Seattle stretch of I-5.

It's a great idea that ODOT claims can reduce collisions and increase roadway capacity.  Considering the many costs (not just financial) to expand freeways or institute a congestion pricing project, variable speed limits signs could be a low-cost option that helps save a time, money, and headaches for highway users.

In his 1990 classic "U Can't Touch This," MC Hammer told his millions of listeners to "Stop - Hammer Time." And while that makes no sense it reminded me of riding the bus.

Because when you get to your stop and it's time to transfer things can get a little, well, funky - especially if you're not sure about the rules.  Luckily the rules are pretty straightforward and TriMet has a webpage describing them.

Here's the quick version: Look at the time printed at the top of your MAX ticket or bus receipt - that's how long your fare is valid for.  Generally, you get two hours to transfer which should be plenty of time unless you have a Doctor Jeff-like commute. Make sure you keep your bus receipt or validated MAX ticket to show when you board your next bus or train.

That covers most transfers, but if you are going between C-Tran and TriMet it gets a little tricky (funky?).  The image below is from TriMet's website.  It lays out how fares work between the two transit agencies. 

Applications will be accepted until February 10, 2012 at 5 p.m.

The BEST Awards recognize companies that exemplify ambitious and creative solutions for sustainability while promoting social, economic and environmental equity for thePortlandcommunity.

The BEST Awards accept applications in three separate categories:

1. Overall sustainability practices (broken down by very small, small, medium and large organizations)
2. Sustainable products or services
3. Sustainable food systems

Applicants respond to a series of questions using narrative and data to describe their achievements. A jury of regional experts will select up to ten businesses or organizations to be announced as BEST Award winners at the evening celebration, which will take place April 25 at the Nines in downtownPortland. Ticket sales and event details will be available in February.

Companies within the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) are eligible to apply. The

PMSA includes these seven counties: Clackamas,Columbia,Multnomah,Washingtonand Yamhill counties inOregonand Clark and Skamania counties inWashington.

BEST Awards are presented by Sustainability at Work, a program of the City ofPortland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability in partnership with Energy Trust of Oregon, Metro, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Water Bureau and the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Please visit http://sustainabilityatworkpdx.com/recognition/best-awards/ to find out more and enter your business in this prestigious competition.

One of the most successful City programs for cost-effectively adding miles to the bikeway network is called “Missing Links.” The program, funded at a modest $50,000 per year has opportunistically and efficiently developed city bikeways in conjunction with other projects, particularly working with regularly scheduled pavement overlays. Between 2000 and 2007 the Missing Links program built 41 miles of city bikeways and added countless improvements to the bikeway network.

Just this week, PBOT engineer's are putting the finishing touches on a Missing Links project at 41st and SE Division.  The intersection is part of the 40's bikeway, which includes bike lanes, Neighborhood Greenway treatments, and even a bridge and stretches from the southern boundary of the city all the way up to the Hollywood District.  The 40's was one of the city's early attempts to use neighborhood streets near a major arterial (Cesar E Chavez Blvd) to give people bicycling a more comfortable alternative to the major traffic street.

41st and Division is one of those quirky intersections in Portland that doesn't line up.  That's not usually a big deal on a Neighborhood Greenway, but because Division has so many cars the intersection jog makes it difficult to cross. 

That's where Missing Links stepped in.  Working with the City's Bicycle Coordinator, Missing Links was able to pay for the engineer and street treatments that were just installed.  The improvements shave more than 10 feet off the distance a person bicycling will need to travel to cross the two traffic lanes and increases visibility for people biking and driving. 

This intersection is just one of several projects Missing Links is working on.  Many of them aren't quite as glamorous, such as a project to mark about 20 traffic signal loop detectors with guide stencils to help people biking activate a signal phase (for more on that, check out BikePortland's article). 

What's your missing link?  What crossing do you find difficult?  Where could a little bit more of a bike lane make a big difference?  Leave a comment or head over to our Facebook page and join the conversation.

41st and SE Division before intersection improvements	Intersection after improvements (click to see larger image)

And here are some more shots of the new intersection design:

It's January 5th and hopefully most of us have not given up on our 2012 resolutions yet.

Your transportation choices can be an excellent way to achieve your New Years Resolutions. Let's look at some of the most popular New Years Resolutions and see how transportation can provide a roadmap to success:

*Improve Health (get fit/lose weight, stop smoking and quit drinking): Your commute choice probably won't help you quit drinking or smoking, but it can definitely help you lose weight. In fact, an article the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that men who drove less lived longer.  

If you want to lose weight or become more active, you can go to the gym, but between 37% and 80% of Americans quickly stop going. Instead of creating something else you need to do during the day, why not just change something - going to work - that you're already doing?

A study published in the American Journal of American Medicine found that those in Charlotte who began riding light rail lost weight. And if you really want a cardio workout, try biking to work (contact us for a free bike route plan).

*Get out of debt/save money: The average American drives 13,476 miles a year. According to the American Automobile Association's 2010 Your Driving Costs report, that translates to $13,058 a year. You could save over $12,000 by switching to TriMet (TriMet's All Zone Annual Pass costs $1012), not to mention the money you'd pocket by selling your car. Portland has Zipcar and Getaround for hourly rentals when you really need it. Not ready to give up your car? No problem. At over $3.75 a gallon, every drive-alone car trip you switch is cash in your pocket.

*Enjoy Life: Most of us do not find being stuck in traffic to be a life affirming experience. What if your commute involved reading a book, walking through your neigborhood or catching up with a neighbor? Transit and walking offer you that choice. You never know, you might even find love.

*More time with family: Walking, biking and riding transit with your loved ones is a great way to spend quality time together. Try shopping and going out to neighborhood spots that don't require a car trip. Watch this video for a little inspiration.

Portland may not have invented on-street bike parking, but I'm pretty sure we coined its name: bike corral.  Simply put, bike corrals are groups of bike racks installed on the street instead of the sidewalk.  While they come in all different sizes and styles, they've really caught on in Portland - we have 73 locations in the city (and Vancouver's got one too!)

Can bike corrals stop this from happening? Image: Streetsblog.org

Now New York is getting into the on-street bike parking game (Brooklyn, aka "Big Portland," to be exact.)

Streetsblog.org posted a video story today about the new Brooklyn corral, explaining that the city's transportation department not only wanted to increase bike parking but wanted to improve visibility to tackle a crash-plagued intersection.

According to the article, the city thought about several different solutions to the problem but settled on the bike corral because it dramatically increased visibility for road users.  It probably didn't hurt that bike corrals are very inexpensive compared to other transportation infrastructure projects.

If you want to learn more about Portland's 73 and growing bike corrals, visit the website.

I read Tara Parker-Pope's New York Times Magazine article The Fat Trap with great interest.  We recently blogged about new research that suggests that even small amounts of daily exercise (such as a walk to the MAX station or a 5 mile bike ride) can overcome the so-called "fat-mass and obesity genes."  Parker-Pope's article shows just how difficult maintaining weight loss can be for obese people.

The Bridges Family, featured in the article Image: Davis Enterprise

Jan and Adam Bridges are featured in the article. There are a number of factors that contribute to the couple's constant battle against obesity.  But what caught my attention was The Bridges' exercise regime.  They bicycle - a lot. 

That makes sense.  Bicycling is a good exercise and low impact on the body.  But I didn't think about where they bicycle until I checked out the pictorial slideshow that accompanies the article. 

The Bridges live in Davis, CA, which is widely considered one of the best places to bicycle in the U.S.  While the Bridges don't refer to Davis' bike-friendliness, I believe that the city's various trails and bike-dedicated infrastructure helped the couple find an exercise routine (which, by the way includes using the bicycle for trips to the gym to work out!) that contributed to their amazing story.

I highly recommend the article.  Parker-Pope's ability to intertwine her personal story with the Bridges' history and current scientific research trends illuminates the human side of our country's obesity epidemic.