OK pals, we’re about to close this factor down for a number of days so we will join with household and luxuriate in a break for the vacation. Taylor is again house in Denver (and on the brink of shove off to Europe for the month of January), and I’ve obtained household on the town for Christmas and it’s my daughter’s twentieth birthday on Friday. However earlier than we go, I wished to ask one query:
In the event you may put only one cycling-related factor in your wishlist this yr, what would it not be?
Don’t take the simple means out on this. I need you to consider it and share just one, very particular factor. The extra sensible the want is, the higher. Like, wishing for a selected bike mission is best than simply saying, “I need Portland to have 30% bike mode share.”
And be trustworthy! In case your thoughts and coronary heart goes towards one thing for your self, like a brand new bike, then share that. It doesn’t should be advocacy-related. And we’ll assume all of us need extra houses for the homeless and extra meals for the hungry, so should you don’t should want for these issues even when they’re first in your coronary heart. On an identical notice, please learn all responses with an open and sort thoughts. This might be a judgment-free zone.
I’ll go first:
My want from Biking Santa can be 5,000 extra bikes for our bike share fleet.
I believe Biketown is the closest factor Portland has to a silver bullet on the subject of rising bicycle mode share and hastening the cultural and political shifts crucial to maneuver the needle on ridership after years of stagnation and declines. PBOT has finished an admirable job managing the system with their companions from Lyft and Nike and it is vitally irritating that we haven’t doubled-down on our funding to present Biketown what it wants most: extra bikes. We proceed to increase the service space and increase entry to the system for low-income riders; however the general variety of bikes has solely grown by 500 bikes (to 1,500 complete) because it launched in 2016. That’s nowhere close to sufficient bikes. If PBOT desires to beat again the haters and get extra return on their admirable current investments in infrastructure initiatives — particularly in east Portland — they should flood the streets with Biketown bikes.
So Biking Santa, I’ve been an excellent boy, stuff your sleigh with bike share bikes and unfold the enjoyment of driving to all!
What’s your want?
Have an incredible vacation everybody. Please observe PBOT and different authorities alerts in regards to the incoming storm and don’t use the roads until you need to. Barring any main emergencies, we’ll see you again right here on Monday the twenty sixth.
A lot love and cheer from the complete BikePortland crew!
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