Call for Board Members
As 2023 starts, we are looking for more folks to join the Bend Bikes Board of Directors!
- Do you love to ride your bicycle to work or for errands?
- Do you wish there were more opportunities to safely get around Bend by walking, biking, or rolling?
- Do you want to roll your sleeves up and help advocate for the safety of people who bike, walk, and roll in Bend?
- Does an overnight bike tour board retreat sound like your kind of fun?
We are a grassroots, all volunteer, nonprofit organization that advocates for the safety of people who ride bikes and for a comprehensive network of bike-friendly routes in Bend. The full Board meets every other month and board members typically work on other projects as their schedules allow.
We are searching for people of all ages and backgrounds who are passionate about getting more people on bicycles in Bend. Interested? Please complete our application by March 15th and we’ll be in touch shortly after! We plan on doing interviews in late March with new board members starting in April.
City of Bend Happenings
Action Alert!
Portland Ave Go Bond Project
The Transportation Bond Oversight Committee will be discussing the upcoming Portland Ave project at their next meeting on Tuesday, February 28th. We are concerned that the NW Portland Ave Scoping Considerations prepared for TBOC does not go far enough in providing safe facilities for people of all ages and abilities who walk, bike, and roll. The proposal includes painted buffered bike lanes down the length of Portland Ave, filling in some sidewalk gaps on the south side of the street, adding more speed limit signs, adding a flashing stop sign at 9th and Portland, and adding lighting and some of the intersections.
We believe the most important actions for Portland Ave will be to slow vehicle traffic down and separate that traffic from people who walk, bike, and roll to make a safer and more comfortable street for all people. We are asking that you write to the Bond Oversight Committee to voice this concern TOMORROW, February 27th. (We know this doesn’t give you much time, sorry for this last minute request!) An example of what you could write is below:
Vehicle traffic speeds on Portland Ave are too high. To make a street that is safer and more comfortable for people of all ages and abilities, we need physical separation between people who walk, bike, and roll and vehicle traffic. I am asking that physical separation along the whole length of Portland Ave be included in the Portland Ave GO Bond project.
Please put this comment in by emailing it to [email protected] before their meeting on February 28th.
Timber Yard Master Plan
Plans have been submitted to the City for the development of the area between SW Bond Street and SW Industrial Way near the box factory. This development is planned to be a connected and walkable mixed-use neighborhood with 1,600 dwelling units (including 250 affordable senior housing units), a 180-room hotel, 120,000 square feet of office space, and 70,000 square feet of retail space. We’ll be keeping an eye on this development as it is projected to build out streets in the area and we’ll want to make sure that they are the safest they can be for people that walk, bike, and roll. We are excited to see the preliminary bicycle and pedestrian plan and will look out for an open house in the future!
Regional Happenings
ODOT is currently working on a planning study for building a multi-use path from Lava Butte to La Pine which would connect with their planned path from Bend to Lava Butte. If you’d like to find out more about this project and leave comments on what areas they should focus on please visit their Online Open House which will be open until March 5th.
Bikey Book Club
March 27, 2023
Do you want to learn more about how bike infrastructure can improve our city? Come to Bend Bikes’ “Bikey Book Club” inaugural session on Monday, March 27, 7:00-8:00 pm, at the Bend Downtown Library, upstairs in the Meyer Room. There’s plenty of bike parking out front!
At our first meeting, we’ll just be watching a short video and getting organized. To start with we’ll be reading a book every two months. In the first meeting, we’ll watch a video related to the book we’ll be discussing the following month. After a few months, we’ll reevaluate and adjust as the group decides how best to approach the enormous subject of active transportation with an emphasis on bikes.
Our first book will be Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives by Melissa & Chris Bruntlett. This is the story of a Canadian couple who moved to the Netherlands with their two young children and how the family learned to live without a car in one of the most bike-friendly countries in the world. Their children gain independence, seniors don’t lose independence, people with disabilities can travel independently, and healthy adults can maintain good health. In March, we’ll watch a video about bike infrastructure in the Netherlands and in April we’ll discuss the book. So get hold of the book and get started! The Deschutes County Library has one copy and all the local bookshops will be thrilled to order a copy for you.
Please let us know if you’ll be attending by emailing Jim Elliott ([email protected]) or David Green ([email protected])!
Transportation Stories
Spotlight Cassie Doll
Our board is all-volunteer and we rely on the efforts and expertise of our dedicated volunteers to help us meet our project goals. Recently a small group of volunteers have been supporting the design and creation of the City of Bend Bike Map and helping us ground-truth and assess key routes. Earlier this month we gathered with our supporters to celebrate their contributions.
We want to spotlight Cassie Doll, who supports our Map and Key Routes teams, and hear her transportation story.
Why do you commute by bike?
No traffic concerns, no parking worries, and way lower stress. With my e-bike I can be just as fast as a car.
What are some challenges you have had while commuting?
Gravel and ice in the bike lanes. Multi-use paths that don’t connect.
What do you enjoy about it?
There’s nothing better than leisurely pedaling a multi-use path on a sunny day next to the river. Biking can change an errand from a chore into a delight.
Want Bend Bikes to Present to you?
The Bend Bikes Outreach Team has developed a presentation on safe streets and the
opportunities for active travel in Bend. We would be excited to present this 15-minute presentation to your audience. After the talk, there is time for questions and answers on active
transportation, safe streets, and how community members could get involved in improving Bend’s transportation network. Interested? Contact us at [email protected] for more information!
Get Involved!
The City of Bend has 13 Neighborhood Associations which are neighbor-led groups designed to interact with the city government on all topics of neighborhood life. Information on the associations, their role in the City of Bend and a map of their boundaries can be found on the City of Bend’s website.
The topics discussed at Neighborhood Association meetings include land use and development, street safety, sidewalk repair, and other issues. Each Neighborhood Association has an assigned member of the City Council that is their liaison. The NA is a good forum for the discussion of changes that members would like to see in their neighborhood. You do not need to own a house to join! Neighborhood Associations are open to all people who live, whether you rent or own, and people who operate a business in a neighborhood.
One of the important roles of the NA is in the identification of streets, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings that need to be improved. The Neighborhood Street Safety Program allows each
Association to submit problem areas that they have identified to be evaluated by the Engineering Department of the City of Bend. All submissions are then ranked and, as funds become available, changes are implemented.
Through participation in your Neighborhood Association, you can play an active part in improving your neighborhood for all those who live in it. We encourage you to join yours!