"See and Be Seen" lights up Portland

A bike light parade on Alberta St. kicked off the campaignOur office began working with staff from PDOT's Transportation Options since October on the "See and Be Seen" bike light safety campaign. The project sprung from a similar campaign the Commissioner and his Chief of Staff Tom Miller saw in Amsterdam called "Licht Aan!" (Lights On!). Upon seeing these advertisements, the cycling and traffic safety advocate in Sam popped up and said, "Hey, Portland could use something like that!"

From here, we began to form a stateside bike light project to bring awareness to the increased dangers that arise when cycling after dark. The message speaks as much to motorists as cyclists because too many bicycle collisions occurring after dark are the result of motorist error. The project is the first public service announcement (PSA) Portland Office of Transportation has organized in over 10 years. To compliment the PSA, we have planned "See and Be Seen" events where we distribute free bike lights and discount vouchers.

"See and Be Seen" kicked off on November 30, 2006 at Last Thursday on Alberta Street. About 60 creatively lit cyclists gathered at dusk at the Community Cycling Center for a bike light parade. The next "See and Be Seen" event will take place on the PSU campus in January 2007 and the Tri-met advertisements will run into February 2007. We plan to make this an annual winter event to increase the bike light use and decrease nighttime collisions in Portland for good.

Related Documents

• Bicycle Bridges Count Data 2006
• Pedestrian Walking and Biking Resources

Community Partners

• Tri-met
• Bicycle Transportation Alliance
• Community Cycling Center
• Portland General Electric
• NW Natural Gas
• Hoffman Construction
• Alliance for Community Traffic
• OHSU

Media Mentions

• KATU News 2
• KOIN News 6
• bikeportland.org
• The Portland Mercury
• KBOO FM 90.7

Weblogs

• "See and Be Seen" Bike Light Safety Campaign

Milestones

• Campaign kicks off with Bike Light Parade on Alberta St. , Nov. 30
• Public Service Announcement begins with advertisements on Trimet bus back, channel cards, bench backs, and bus shelters, app. Dec. 16

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