Author: Chris Smith

  • Bookshelf: The Long Emergency

    Link to book at Amazon.com Link to book at Powell’s Link to book at Multnomah County Library List Price: With all the discussion of Peak Oil this week, it seems very appropriate to add this to the bookshelf this week. Kunstler convincingly makes the case for our proximity to peak production, then goes on the…

  • Sting!

    This hit my inbox today: 2005 Pedestrian Crosswalk Enforcement Action The Enforcement Action was very successful in raising awareness about the ‘Stop and Stay Stopped’ Oregon Crosswalk Law that requires motorists to stop for pedestrians when they are in the motorist’s lane, the lane right before the motorist’s lane, or the lane immediately after the…

  • Urban Design and Obesity (or lack thereof)

    Over at Bike Portland, Jonathan is reporting on an AP story that suggests that our urban design may be one of the reasons that Oregon, unlike other states, did not show an increase in obesity in the most recent reporting period. The article features our own Linda Ginenthal from the Portland Office of Transportation!

  • The Portland Bicycle: Gearing

    A few weeks ago we introduced the idea of “The Portland Bicycle”, an entry-level commuter bicycle that would appeal to folks first entering the bicycle commuting realm, designed and manufactured here in our region. The discussion identified the need for commuting bikes at a variety of price/feature points, but we’d like to focus on the…

  • The Future of PDOT

    When Commissioner Adams was assigned the Portland Office of Transportation (the real name for the bureau we affectionally call PDOT), he took charge of an agency with two key staffing vacancies. The director position is open, vacated as part of the Mayor’s ‘Commissioner of Everything’ period. Perhaps equally important, the Division of Transportation Planning is…