North Portland Sunday Parkways just two days away (All bikes welcome)

Posted on June 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Veteran bike commuters and new-comer cyclists alike– what’s not to like about a goofy event to remind us of the elemental pleasure of biking? This Sunday from 11am-4pm, the City of Portland will turn a stretch of its North Portland streets over to bicyclists for the North Portland Sunday Parkways.  Come explore some of the neighborhoods adjacent to Swan Island–without car traffic.  Don’t have a bike? Pedal Bike Tours, 503.243.2453 will rent one to you!   Described by  PBOT’s Transportation Options Division, the North Portland Sunday Parkways is “A 2-way route of city streets open to walk, bike, roll, run, jump and skip – without having to watch out for cars!”

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Posted in Active Transportation, Bike/Walk, Events

Pedalpalooza: 2 + weeks of bikey goodness

Posted on June 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Feel like cheering now that we’re out of weather purgatory? Then let’s just ignore the “Spring” the Pacific Northwest served up this year and scoot along to summer in Portland (starts in one week, folks).  What’s at the heart of summer joy? Biking! And the wellspring to satisfy your bike yearnings?  Pedalpalooza 2011! Already off to a rolling (ahem) start, this 17 day, citywide festival checks off every bike niche box you can think of.  For example:  Bike maintenance classes, North Portland Sunday Parkways, unicycle basketball, ukelele karaoke ride, bike rides to birdwatching,  kid-focused bike rides, bike swaps, bike yoga (wow, really?) and the famously infamous “World Naked Bike Ride.” I rest my case. Only in Portland. See the entire Pedalpalooza calendar of events here.   See the ten day weather forecast here…

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Posted in Bike Resources, Bike/Walk, Events

Swan Island Transit: the quick report from TriMet

Posted on June 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

Relax, Swan Island transit riders– breathing into a paper bag this Fall won’t be necessary for a reputable source informs us that neither the TriMet 72 or 85 schedule will face the chopping block this September. For those of you who’ve found your bus riding groove, this is happy news.

And for those of you who haven’t found your transit groove, we can help. Did you know that the Swan Island TMA will customize a transit trip plan just for you? Did you know that the map collection in our office would make Lewis and Clark blush? And while we’re on the subject, did you know you could read all about Lewis and Clark’s remarkable cartography skills if your hands were free to hold a book on the bus and not the steering wheel of your car?

Oh, and another thing: the PDX Bus iPhone App. It’s life changing.  (Next post forthcoming)…

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Posted in Swan Island TMA, Transit, TriMet

Bike to Work Month underway

Posted on May 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Look hard, for soggy Portland is drying out, leaves have emerged on the trees  and while it’s still cold enough to confuse the falling cherry blossoms for snow, the calendar says that Spring is here.  What does this mean for you? It’s time to (re) befriend that bike of yours sitting in the garage/basement/locked to the bike rack  because May is Bike to Work Month! Check out these helpful resources to get you off the couch and back in the saddle:

-National Bike League

-Bike to Work Month Kit

-City of Portland Bike Tips

-Cycling is Good for You Blog

-Learn About the Bicycle Commuter Tax Provision

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Posted in Alternative Transportation Benefits, Bike/Walk

Why you should be thankful Swan Island isn’t an island

Posted on April 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

Not all industrial regions are created equal in this town and the act of getting to these areas is rarely simple either.  Now imagine if Swan Island actually lived up to an island’s definition: lest a ferry shuttle appeared overnight, odds are good that carless Swan Island commuters would be less chipper about their transportation options.  As it stands now, Swan Island has the best transit access of any industrial region in the city of Portland. Intrigued? Neighborhood Notes gives the full scoop here…

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Posted in Swan Island in the News, Swan Island TMA, Transit

Final design for Waud Bluff access path gains traction at ODOT

Posted on April 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

Patience, ever the requisite ingredient to getting results in city planning, at last pays off for those invested in the construction of the Waud Bluff trail: six long years after the idea emerged to develop the quarter-mile path connecting N. Willamette Boulevard to North Basin Avenue on Swan Island, the final design began to Continue reading →

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Posted in Alternative Transportation Benefits, Bike Commute Challenge, Bike/Walk

UPS got it right. Now life for UPS employees on Swan Island just got better

Posted on March 8, 2011 | 1 Comment

While the FedEx hub on Swan Island was busy relocating hundreds of its employees to Troutdale (a long mile from any public transit), UPS was charting an opposite tact:  to stay put, double the capacity of their Swan Island hub and make getting to work even easier for their growing number of employees on the Island.  The fresh paint on their newly expanded facilities drying apace with hiring, UPS, as of March 1st,  took the next bold step:   Swan Island UPS employees can receive a transit subsidy that knocks the cost of a monthly TriMet bus pass down to just $22 (pre-tax) per month.

Time for TriMet to fire their engines and FedEx to get some hankies.

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Posted in Economic Development, Swan Island Businesses, Transit

Portland grabs first place for best public transit…Or does it?

Posted on March 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last month the Oregonian’s “City ranked tops in country for public transit” article gave Portlanders another reason to be proud. Based on a February 2011 online U.S.News magazine study, the report gave Portland the take home prize for best public transportation in the U.S.   It may be heads above much of the nation when it comes to urban planning, but does Portland really deserve a place at the top where public transit is concerned?

When local transit guru, Michael Anderson of Portland Afoot, tracked this story more closely, he didn’t seem to think Continue reading →

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Posted in Transit

“Going to the River” no longer just a dream (and Going Street no longer a nightmare!)

Posted on March 4, 2011 | 1 Comment

The latest great news for Swan Island bike commuters now using Going Street to get to work: PBOT just announced that the Oregon Transportation Commission will fund “Going to the River”, a multi million dollar grant proposal that bundles bicycle, pedestrian, transit and transportation demand management to improve access to Swan Island in North Portland.  Sidewalks, paths and neighborhood greenways will be built to improve Continue reading →

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Posted in Alternative Transportation Benefits, Bike/Walk, Events, Going to the River Project

Get it in your calendars now: open houses for Portland/Milwaukie Light Rail Project start rolling in March

Posted on March 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you’re curious about how the civic process works in this town, Portland is a great place to find (and use) your voice when it comes to weighing in on local issues.  Perfect timing for TriMet–no stranger to public discourse–to provide such a forum. Throughout March,  TriMet will host a series of open houses in neighborhoods throughout the city to engage the community in the design process on the Portland-Milwaukie light rail project.  Each evening will open with a brief presentation from project staff before soliciting input from area residents on station area and alignment design. Event Details

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Posted in Events, Transit