Spring 2010 LC Bicycle Commuter Forum, Apr. 19

April 14, 2010

Who: Anyone in the LC Community interested in biking to/from campus
When: Monday April 19th at Noon
Where: Council Chambers in Templeton Student Center

Please join your fellow commuters for an informal meeting to discuss the issues we face when commuting to and from campus by bicycle.

Recent conversations with the city, River View Cemetery, and the BTA have presented us with two unique opportunities: to help preserve access to the cemetery bike route, and to begin working on a solution to the safety issues at the intersection of Terwilliger and Primrose. (See detailed descriptions below).

Of course, many of you will have your own ideas, obersvations, and concerns with regard to bike access to the college. This forum will be the place to bring those concerns to the larger bicycling community on campus!

Please join us as we work towards our goal of making it safer, easier, and more appealing to bike to campus.

Thank You,
Damian Miller
Matthew West

Safety of Terwilliger and Primrose Synopsis:

The steep grades and unkempt roads at the intersection of Terwilliger & Primrose present serious safety issues for bicyclists. This intersection is a key link connecting the college to SW neighborhoods and nearby transit connections; many of us navigate it every day. It was the site of a very serious bike-car collision last summer that gravely injured an LC staff member. We are looking for ways to resolve this major barrier to safe bike access to the college. In conversation with Roger Geller, bicycle coordinator for the city, we have come up with at least one proposal that we’d like to present to the community.

A short video describing the proposal is up in moodle, at:

    https://moodle.lclark.edu/course/view.php?id=20&username=guest

River View Cemetery Synopsis:

When bicycle commuters in SW Portland want to ride down from the SW Hills, or Lewis & Clark, to the Sellwood Bridge and SE Portland, the safest cycle route travels through River View Cemetery. The cemetery is private property and we, the bicycling community, are fortunate to have been allowed access to this route. Over the years, that access has been strained. Incidents between fast-riding cyclists and cemetery visitors and staff have resulted in conflict over usage and potential closure to bicyclists.

Today, we have an opportunity to work with River View Cemetery to keep the route open for public use during their hours of operation. This is a fantastic outcome, but we have one important issue to address: as neighbors and cyclists, we need to help River View Cemetery purchase the signs and pavement markings they need to allow cyclists on their property.

Lewis & Clark, River View Cemetery, the City of Portland, and the BTA have met and agreed upon a route that will maximize safety for cyclists as well as cemetery visitors and staff. To properly mark this route will require around $5,000 worth of signage at entrance gates and thoughout the cemetery grounds.

Please consider making a generous gift to this project today:

Now it is time to help make the route a reality. Thanks to a generous commitment from Lewis & Clark, every dollar we give towards this newly marked cycle route will be matched 4 to 1 by the college. In other words, for every $10.00 donation, Lewis and Clark will donate $40.00, in essence turning your $10.00 donation into a $50.00 donation! With your help, we hope to meet our goal and open the route in time for summer.

Checks should be mailed to:

River View Cemetery Foundation Fund

c/o “Bicycle Fund”

8421 S.W. Macadam Avenue,

Portland, Oregon 97219

Or, you can stop by the River View Cemetery office during business hours and leave your donation. Be sure to indicate on your donation that it is for the “bicycle fund” and whether you would like to receive a receipt. Thank you in advance for helping make this project a reality.