Induced demand: You can’t solve traffic with lanes
In the late 1990s the Katy Freeway in Houston faced a problem. It was severely congested, and congestion lasted for hours each day. Everything is bigger in Texas, so when …
The Latest
Progress on the North-South Key Bike Route
City Council set a Transportation and Infrastructure Goal for the 2023-2025 biennium to “Implement near-term multimodal and safety projects to capitalize on the existing system, including building one connected and …
September 2026 Newsletter
It has been a busy month for Bend Bikes. We hosted our first Kidical Mass ride with nearly 200 participants, led a bike tour of sustainable buildings for the Environmental Center Green tour, educated students about our organization at the OSU Beaver Block Party, hosted a social ride to Bevel Brewing, chimed in at the Neighborhood Connections open house, and received the Hero Award from the Deschutes County BPAC.
What do YOU want our transportation system to look like? Let the council know at their November 4th meeting!
In the midst of so many issues affecting our city –homelessness, housing affordability, trees, natural gas appliances and electrification, city expansion or densification, dark skies, and wildfire protection and evacuation–one …
Should Bend Reduce Speed Limits Across the City?
We see it in the news everyday, fatalities and serious injuries on our roads caused by speeding drivers. It is a nationwide problem, but also one that is felt acutely …
The Week Without Driving: Experiencing Life Beyond the Automobile
The Week Without Driving, October 1-8, is a national event meant to focus attention on the transportation needs of the over 30% of those in our country who are involuntary …
Election 2026 – City Council Candidates
How we’re able to move around in Bend has an enormous influence on our quality of life. Our City Council controls the philosophy used by the engineering department to build …
The Business Case for Bike Lanes: Why Active Transportation is Bend’s Best Economic Bet
Every time Bend debates a road project, the conversation defaults to the same instinctual reaction: If traffic is bad, add lanes. It’s an intuitive idea, but it’s also one of the most expensive mistakes a growing city can make.
Our Favorite Bike Routes to Drake Park
Skip the hassle of finding parking and waiting in traffic and turn your Thursday evening journey to Drake park into a leisurely adventure. Rolling up to Munch & Music on …
June 2026 Newsletter
In this month’s newsletter we highlight the intersection of design, housing and transportation with a recap of our YIMBY social and an article on the Happy Cities presentation hosted by Build a Better Bend. We also add another favorite route to our popular routes to the new Bend Central Library.
Farewell Bend Park to Central Library and Back
For those on the southwest side of town who are looking to bike to/from the central library, check out the route below!
May 2026 Newsletter
Building Advocacy Capacity in Central Oregon This past month Bend Bikes supported and participated in three bike buses and a walk and roll event at local schools, hosted a social …
Olney Project Over the Finish Line
It was a long haul, but construction is finally complete on the Portland–Wall–Olney corridor. Now that the dust has settled, we can start to see the project in its full context—and overall, the results are encouraging…
Oregon’s 1971 Bike Bill: A Law Worth Fighting For
More than half a century ago, a Republican state legislator from Jacksonville, Oregon, named Don Stathos, was run off the road while riding a tandem bicycle to Medford with his daughter. Gravel flew. Cars swept past. He and his kids had to swerve to survive a routine ride.
Out of that frustrating, dangerous moment emerged one of the most forward-thinking pieces of transportation legislation in American history.
Living in Bend Without a Bike
I’m a bit compulsive and have been conducting an uncontrolled experiment for the last 10 years to find out if I could live without a car…