By and large, I applaud the protesters here today and how they handled themselves.
Wow, to think I'd see the day when protesters are actually trying to sway public opinion without pissing them off....

If you're really that surprised by his comments, you need to get our of your Mercury bubble more often.

There is a pretty wide gap between what elderly americans want from roads and what millenials want, but the joke will be on the old's when they can't drive anymore and they are stuck with the transportation system they built.

^ From the article: Ted was incredulous. He'd taken off work just to come down and watch the protest, he said.

Charlie Hales talks about taking control of the city's "orphan highways" while simultaneously noting that the city does not have the resources to take care of the streets it does control?? It seems to me that ODOT should be taking control of more of Portland's streets if the Mayor admits the city lacks the funds to properly maintain them.

HH: You're missing Hale's point. Portland's taking over these Orphan Highways is essentially transferring a liability from ODOT's books to Portland's. ODOT hasn't shown any interest in helping to fix the problem with these roads that it created.

Not sure how I feel about this. Bikes are good. Having safe roadways is good. Activism is good. Still though, I can't help feeling like road safety (or lack thereof) is something that we as a society living in a modernized world are simply going to be forced to deal with. Automobiles (and their drivers) hurt/maim/ people/kill people, not intentionally but because automobiles are fast, heavy, and not entirely reliable. Individually we all have to take responsibility for our own safety and the safety of others. Much like gun control and being a 'responsible gun owner', until we either do away with automobiles entirely, we will have accidents and some people will irresponsibly hurt and abuse the privilege of driving. I'm just not sure pointing fingers at bureaucrats will accomplish the desired results.

ThatOneBrownGuy, there are twice as many fatalities caused in car collisions in the US as in Europe, so it doesn't have to go hand in hand with modernity. Road design can reduce the incidence and severity of collisions. In the incident this week, for example, two road users were in conflict because there isn't a protected left when turning from 26th onto Powell; if they weren't trying to get through the intersection at the same time, it would be a lot less likely that they would collide.

eldepeche, I agree its a poorly designed intersection, but that's a result of old infrastructure, its not a system designed to hurt anyone. The bureaucrats just didn't have a magic eight-ball to predict that Portland would become a haven for bike riding liberals 50 years ago or whenever the dang road was designed. Besides, as far as I've seen the City and ODOT have been more than willing to gut and re-route roads for the safety of bicycles; a sentiment that the City and State so far have NOT done for issues like say.... Police accountability. I would say these bicycle advocacy activists seem more like a special interest group than any sort of social justice cause and I am continually offended when groups work to phrase themselves that way.

I don't see it as an either/or proposition. Groups of people that feel that government agencies are indifferent to their lives and safety should demonstrate in front of those agencies.

I think the city has been pretty responsive and forward looking, but ODOT, the target of this protest, hasn't. Powell and Barbur are among the most-discussed streets in bike transportation circles precisely because ODOT is in charge, and they see these streets as serving one purpose only: moving motor vehicles quickly along. This has been an issue over at least the last decade.

Looking at the statistics though, people on bicycles don't account for most of the injuries at this intersection, car passengers do. The status quo puts everyone at risk.

I'm not sure you can blame ODOT for car on car accidents, no matter where they occur. I agree 'personal accountability' is scapegoated for a lot of fucked up things, like say people who are murdered by Police during an arrest but this is not really one of those type scenarios because a stoplight is not an agent of the state, its a machine that suggests when people should or shouldn't stop. We all assume the same risk when we get into a car.

Also aren't there like at least 5 of those blinkey cross-walk-bike lights on Powell between the river and SE 39th? Those things halt all of traffic for as long as a pedestrian or bicyclist would need to cross.

I'm sorry I just don't see bicyclists as an oppressed class of people.

As it is ODOT is in charge of highways that are also supposed to allow access to large trucks used in interstate shipping.... That's how we get our food and basic necessities delivered to the grocery and specialty stores we are so dependent on. But also some of that shipping includes goods like $2,000+ Cannon bicycles being delivered to specialty bicycle shops on say.... Clinton Street? Lol. Maybe Cannon CEOs should just ride every bike they make to every shop they deliver them to in SE PDX.

next time someone wants to argue that we should prohibit freight traffic from our city streets, I'll pass your comment along to them

Why not just get Cannon or Schwinn to lobby the State for better road funding for safer thoroughfares? I'm sure it'd help them sell more expensive bicycles.

And how does Whole Foods get its food? Magic Carpet?

Seriously, there's like $15,000 worth of bicycle equipment in this one picture. Award for most bourgeois protest in town goes to bikeloudpdx

Hey TOBG, low income people are MUCH more likely to walk or bike to work. Safe bike and Pedestrian routes are critical for helping low income people get to work and school.

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/05/08/low-…

Just want to point out that protests can be an effective way to advocate for a cause, especially if well-organized and thoughtfully executed. That's how the Netherlands dramatically reduced traffic related deaths and injuries:

https://youtu.be/XuBdf9jYj7o