Portland Goes Platinum!

By Shoshanah Oppenheim

Symbol of our success!The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) and its bicycle community partners earned Portland the “Platinum” Level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists. The coveted "Platinum” designation of “Bicycle Friendly Community,” recognizes those communities that have quality conditions for bicyclists and cycling safety. Portland is the first large U.S. city to gain the designation and joins Davis, California, as the only other Platinum city in the country.

“When Portland received the Gold award in 2003,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League, “we challenged the community to increase ridership to get to Platinum. Bold leadership, community-wide involvement, and a lot of hard work have resulted in a 144% increase in bicycle use since the 2000 Census – impressive results by any standard.”

The League’s reviewers noted that Portland has coupled modestWeather is no barrrier in Portland when you want to ride. but smart investments in infrastructure, with outstanding education, promotion, and encouragement activities to make cycling a practical and safe option for many more Portlanders than ever before. Education and enforcement programs are now helping drivers and pedestrians interact more safely and predictably with the increasing numbers of cyclists on the road. Only 0.7 % of the Office of Transportation's budget is spent on bike infrastructure. However this small investment yields significant ridership. currently 6% of trips taken are by bike.

Acknowledging that Platinum status carries with it the responsibility of setting a high standard for other communities to follow, Adams added, “We are not content to rest on our laurels. Platinum status is just the beginning, and we realize that the eyes of the nation are now upon us to keep pedaling forward.”

For more information on Portland’s bicycle program, visit www.GettingAroundPortland.org.

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Posted Wed, 04/30/2008 - 2:58pm.

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Lipstick on a Pig

Submitted by Damien on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 11:53am.

Sam, congratulations on spending millions of dollars for a plaque. It is nice to see you are gathering awards for you mis-guided spending. I hope you can hang it up in your new home office when you lose the mayorial race.

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scrap value

Submitted by RedFlyer on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 1:44pm.

What is the scrap value the Schnitzer family puts on the “Platinum” award plaque?

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Simple Platinum Fiscal Mathematics

Submitted by Terry Parker on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 8:41am.

A platinum trophy for Sam plus another misaligned frill; the unnecessary $5.5 million platinum plated bridge project for Flanders Street all must equal a platinum tax directly assessed on the bicycling mode of transport.

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hooray!

Submitted by Ron on Mon, 05/05/2008 - 11:13pm.

Thank goodness the crazies have an outlet for their frustrations. Thank you for taking one for us Sam and letting our less enlightened brethren opine. Terry, Red, and Damien, keep pounding those keyboards! And stay out of your cars!

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