We greatly appreciate the dedication of our City’s staff. They’ve been able to eke out many modest improvements over the years while dealing with some seriously limited resources. Many people who work at the City are our neighbors and friends, and many ride with us. However, we’re disappointed some people feel the need to be defensive and are choosing to dissuade the voices of hundreds of people who think it’s time to get real about what’s going on with Portland’s streets. Nothing in the City’s 7-page defense of Portland’s Platinum status addresses the conflicts built into our roads, the discouraging response and lack of accounting for traffic crashes, nor our lack of meaningful progress towards the goals in the City’s Bicycle Master Plan. Nothing addresses the fact that Portland falls short of the objective criteria for the Platinum ranking [1] that’s clearly defined by the League of American Bicyclists. In the years since the Platinum rating was awarded to Portland, bicycles have been banned from more parks and streets. The City has redesigned Williams and Multnomah with a confusing mix of traffic zones, forcing people in cars and on bikes into the same space, often in the busiest and most hazardous sections of these streets. The City has also declined to install or improve bikeways on a number of streets that have been repaved, including SE Division and NE 28th. Passing up the chance to remove conflict points from these streets locks us into years of continued headaches and risk until the street comes up for rework once again. The City’s own research has found our neighborhood greenway network is pock-marked by dangerous, overcrowded streets [2]. The City’s own reports have found that a majority of Portlanders, possibly a full 60% of us, want to ride a bicycle more but are afraid to do so [3]. As a matter of policy the City and Police do not record or report crashes unless they result in a serious injury [4], and they do not track near-fatalities [5] or other reckless behavior. Instead of supporting or improving bicycling, the City regularly spends time & money to install superfluous signs chastising people who ride bicycles [6]. Hundreds gathered when a woman died while bicycling in downtown Portland [7] and the city responded by installing more warnings directed at people who ride. More recently hundreds of people have turned out in person to protest the abrupt ban on bicycling in River View, but no change has come. Over the last week we’ve heard people want to do more than sign a petition. We’ve heard the suggestion that we should be pushing harder, or doing something positive. To those ends, we humbly put forth some suggestions of how people can have a positive impact beyond this petition: This May, a group of neighbors is organizing a celebration of the Clinton Neighborhood Greenway turning 30 this year. You can show up to support their work and get special deals at local shops on Clinton Street from May 17 - 21. Each year the Community Cycling Center gives hundreds of children their first bicycle, along with the knowledge and confidence to ride. You can help get bicycles into the hands of more kids by making a donation to the Community Cycling Center today. We’re lucky that our elected officials are more accessible and receptive than officials in many other cities. You can easily contact Portland’s Mayor and City Commissioners to let them know how much you love our city and how you want to see it improve. For example, you can call Mayor Charlie Hales at 503-823-4120, email him at mayorcharliehales@portlandoregon.gov, or reach him on Twitter: @MayorPDX And most importantly, every time you use a bicycle to get around instead of a car you’re reducing the maintenance burden on our City’s streets, you’re limiting your impact on our climate, and you’re saving yourself money that can instead be spent right here in Oregon. (If you or someone you know isn’t confident riding a bicycle in traffic, Sunday Parkways can be an excellent chance to get time on a bike on a low-stress route. You can check out Sunday Parkways this year on May 10th, June 21st, July 26th, August 23rd, and September 27th.) So, whether you agree with this petition or not, we’re urging you to follow the eternal words of Freddie Mercury: “Get on your bike and ride!” --------------------------------- Links: [1] http://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/BFC%20infographic.pdf [2] http://bikeportland.org/2015/03/31/weak-links-city-finds-traffic-hot-spots-neighborhood-greenway-system-136322 [3] https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/158497 [4] http://bikeportland.org/2015/04/10/man-issues-citizen-citation-police-decline-investigate-red-light-collision-139201 [5] http://bikeportland.org/2015/04/15/advocate-safer-barbur-describes-near-death-experience-state-run-street-139399 [6] https://twitter.com/vanlue/status/588066528341426176/photo/1 [7] http://bikeportland.org/2012/05/18/hundreds-gather-to-remember-kathryn-rickson-72007