Brav-OH! So what was the reaction from the crowd?

Thanks, boss. Well, they laughed in the right places, and clapped in the right places, and sat in surprisingly stunned silence in the surprising places. So I was pleased.

I think the most interesting part, for me, is that a lot of what I was saying appeared to be new to many in the audience. I think Portlanders tend to get focused so much on the day to day that they forget the big picture when it comes to our values as a city.

I just hope Sam Adams continues to return my phone calls!

Fantastic. As you may know Matt, I'm not the biggest fan of government "solutions" but you've really hit the nail here. Good job and I could not agree more.

Thank you, Matt. Well done.

Right on Matt. We have to keep the pressure up on this, and on the county as well.

Bravo, Mr. Davis. Great work, and well put.

@bloodonmytires

What are you even doing posting here?! Shouldn't we all be trying to figure out how to end the war in Iraq, or busy curing cancer?

Cancer is the number one cause of death, yet what have you done to fight cancer today!?

Yet here we sit, reading an INTERNET BLOG!?

THERE IS BLOOD IN YOUR INTERNET BLOG!

Yep, bravo for promoting solutions that might have prevented these tragic and horrible deaths. Really well done on that front.

But making bike infrastructure out to be the bad guy, and in the process giving more ammunition to those who already piss all over bike transport? A means of transportation that can actually be seen as a net positive for communities that support it? Not all that helpful.

And describing bike infrastructure as a luxury? Like yoga classes you can take your dog to? Not based in reality.

Bike infrastructure is just trying to catch up to what's available for cars; or even just some fraction of that. Get around exclusively by bike one week, and then hop back in your car, and tell me in which mode is your convenience and safety best served. Do it outside of SE Portland for a real dose of reality.

And what about the other dead? The ones killed because they chose not to haul several thousand pounds of armor out on what should be public thoroughfares, and then found themselves pinched to death in some pretty crappy bike infrastructure.

And how about the people who get run down intentionally?

http://bikeportland.org/2010/04/01/family-…

I really do support the positive side of your message, but did you have to make bad guys out of people who promote the use of bikes as transportation? We get enough of that crap already.

But of course, if you want to get your City Clubbers all riled up, that's the path of least resistance. So yeah, real nice job there.

Comparing mental health budgets with the city's paltry investment in bike infrastructure is at best, ignorant, and at worst, contrived.

Many folks support increased funding of mental health services, AND the increased funding for safer, people-friendly streets. You don't have to ride a bike or suffer from mental illness to benefit from adequately funding either department. It is NOT one over the other, and putting that idea forward is intently divisive. I think many of us stand on the same side of both issues, and I don't think that sort of messaging helps either movement.

The real shame is that we've been made to believe we have to choose one over the other. We have to be grown ups and do big adult things like raise taxes and create new revenue streams to support all of the programs we critically need.

@anylandingisagoodlanding - To say he made bicycle infrastructure the bad guy is missing the point and reading over the explicit disclaimer - "It's not that I begrudge bike riders..."

Matt has said out loud what many of us have felt to be the self-aggrandizing ribbon-cutting priorities our city government has had for 15 years. And it's not getting any better. As for the hyperbole, IT WAS CALLED THE CITY CLUB RANT! It's a RANT! It's SUPPOSED to be hyperbolic.

Really great speech, Matt. And you put a succinct statement to something that has been bugging me about Portland for years:

"The hypocrisy is that the bike paths and the Pearl District yoga classes you can bring your dog to, these are luxuries which, to newcomers, leave the assumption that other, more vital services have been provided for. When we have the luxuries but not the vital services underneath, then our leadership has misunderstood their role - as stewards of the city. Stewards - not salesmen."

One of the little things that has always epitomized Portland's approach to me is the fact that many streets in Portland are still unpaved. Unpaved streets in a semi-major American city in 2010! Before the city managed to finish that basic foundational task (rich with metaphor), they decided to build a flashy and almost useless aerial tram. I'm not saying that paving streets is near as important as ensuring the safety of our most vulnerable residents, but if we can't do the former, how could we possibly be capable of addressing the latter?

And it shocks me that people don't seem to have very much interest in what goes on in city hall, despite the fact that we have a relatively transparent and accessible government.

Also, bloodonmytires is a buttlicker.

@Ted

That's Forest Park. You should stop driving there.

Sign the recall petiton, Matt. Isn't it obvious, after a year, that all Sam cares about is saving his political ass?

He's a lying, unethical moron.

^^^ This old canard? There's still a Recall² effort?

Matt, it would be interesting to research and report back on other cities, even outside the US, that have a more effective mental health system. Pretty dramatic speech, are you running for office?

BackToBasics,

"To say he made bicycle infrastructure the bad guy is missing the point and reading over the explicit disclaimer - "It's not that I begrudge bike riders...""

Yeah, I caught that. When does a disclaimer like that ever end well? "It's not that I've got anything against (insert social group here), but..." That kind of disclaimer just doesn't do much in the midst of a rant that's just brimming with begrudging.

"...the self-aggrandizing ribbon-cutting priorities our city government has had for 15 years."

I get what you mean by that, and kind of agree. But when I think, "self-aggrandizing ribbon-cutting priorities," the first thing that pops into my head is the South Waterfront. How about playing the cost of that mess against that of mental-health funding?

But something as pragmatic as bike infrastructure? Not a worthy target.

Good job Matt. Good job.

Thank you. I caught just a few minutes of this and rushed home to find it on the computer-- it took some doing since I didn't know what I was listening to, or who said it. Your words were powerful, and I hope they get much attention. We have had similar shootings here in Corvallis, OR. It's shameful, tragic and avoidable.

Great speech, Matt. I've been reading your stuff for a while now, and you do a great job of working the city beat. I grew up in New York City, and you remind me of the newspaper greats I used to read (and hear stories about). Keep up the good work.

Great job, Davis. You knew exactly what you were doing.

I'm offended, though, at pitting mental health against bringing dogs to yoga. Scruffy's vinyasa work has really opened up her heart and helped root her consciousness to the earth, thank you very much.

Generally, I think Matt makes pretty well reasoned arguments but when I gotta call shenanigans, I gotta call shenanigans. Question 1: How many of the mentally ill were killed by cops last year? ____ Question 2: How many bicyclists were killed in the road last year? ____

Now notice a total lack of statistics in Matt's argument. Transportation safety isn't a luxury. We'll have safer streets by working on both issues. The either-or argument is total, fact-less junk. I can't believe anyone buys it.

As expected - self congratulatory claptrap. What's much more troubling are the ditto-heads. Don't the facts matter any more?

"The hypocrisy is that the bike paths and the Pearl District yoga classes you can bring your dog to, these are luxuries which, to newcomers, leave the assumption that other, more vital services have been provided for..."

Matt...you know I like you, but COME ON!!! There is blood in your hyperbole. Sometimes, I can't tell if you are serious or just trying to stir up shit. I mean...you ride a bike, you know people get hit on their bikes. There are probably 4 ghost bikes w/in a mile of my house. People are dying yearly here on bikes and many people getting seriously injured as well.

On the other hand, when I lived in Holland and Belgium, where bike lanes were similar to what is proposed here, I knew no one who had been hit (including myself). Creating good bike lanes in a city with tight streets and tens of thousands of bike commuters is not a luxury, it is a safety issue. Are stop signs and left-turning lanes "luxuries" to you as well?

This speech is a big FU to people who have been injured (and their families/friends) due to lack of a bike-safety infrastructure and there was NO REASON at all to tie it to the issues b/w police and mentally ill. The only reason is for shock, which is why you heard it from someone yelling rather than from a serious conversation about problems.

I know you are aware of the dangers of bicycling and so I can only conclude you are just trying to use this issue to insert yourself in the fight b/w bike riders and cars. The reason why you want to do that is unclear, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt to get all that traffic from young, internet-using bike riders & tax payers who don't use bikes and are angry about the funding.

Lastly, the under-funding of mental-health in this country is quite sad and a serious issue. I wish we didn't have to go all "BLOOD IN BIKE LANES" to have a serious conversation about it. In fact, I think this hyperbole adds to why we are not having one.

All You need is a T-shirt that says,

"I'M NOT CRAZY! PLEASE DON"T SHOOT"

That was spot on Matt. This was a moving piece and a good reality check. I like the luxury vs. critical necessity argument, but how do you compel people to act? Our generation has a serious case of lack-tivism.

Very good. Brilliant. The Northwest is watching.

There's a glaring factual mistake in your speech: NONE of the $20 million dollars in BES spending is paying for bike lanes. The money is going to be spent on bioswales for water runoff treatment. Bioswales also apparently slow traffic, which is what makes the budgetary move a "win-win." Also, describing bike lanes as a luxury really misses the point. If you ride regularly, you would find that the lanes are a lot safer than sharing a lane with fast moving cars. So, if we're willing to "sacrifice" a few more bike riders (remember that cycling deaths have gone DOWN in the years since Portland has focused on rider safety), then maybe we could "save" a few homeless persons with mental illnesses. Your zero sum approach on this issue basically would have us do such. I ride a bike, please don't kill me!