Street roots
June 10, 2011
Bike sharing could be coming to Portland: Do you believe?
BY MARGAUX MENNESSON
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
nyone can ride a bike in Portland.
That’s the idea behind the proposal
for a new bike sharing program aimed
at increasing the number of bicycle trips
and providing
low-cost access to
bikes for
H i i r a w
residents and
STR111B11T visitors in the
central city.
Bicycle
Bike sharing
Transportation
would open up
Alliance
the central city to
new riders as
well as people
who otherwise may not own or be able to
ride a bike because of limited mobility,
commute distance or financial barriers.
If funding comes through for city’s
proposal, bikes would provide a convenient,
low-cost connection between transit hubs in
the central city and inner eastside. (The
network would include 740 bikes at 74
kiosks located throughout the downtown
and inner eastside commercial districts,
mimicking the streetcar loop.
Last week, the chair of Portland Streetcar
Inc, Michael Powell (owner of PoweH’s
Books) wrote a letter to the U.S. ‘
Department of Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood urging the federal support of a
bike-sharing program in the central city.
Powell wrote in the letter:
“Bike share systems have proven
successful at increasing the number of
■
<A>
Healthy Streetbeat is a
monthly column for
Street Roots written by
the Bicycle
Transportation
Alliance (BTA), Our
contributors are Rob
Sadowsky, executive
director, and Margaux
Mennesson,
communications
director.
bicycle trips taken in cities across the globe
by providing access to bicycles at a low cost,
increasing the visibility and presence of
bicycles on downtown streets, and providing
a transportation option that connects
residents, employees, and tourists to work,
home, transit and attractions.”
The letter shows that Portland has
private backers lined up to support a
program that is up and running in Europe
and many larger cities in North America,
including Chicago, Minneapolis, Montreal,
Boston, and coming soon, to New York City.
It means that leaders are rethinking the
definition of transit and getting creative
about ways to expand options to more
people.
In April, Portland Streetcar manager Rick
Gustafson suggested that if TriMet
eliminates Fareless Square, bike sharing
could provide free or low-cost transit options
to th e central city (not just downtown) while
helping the city achieve climate and
transportation goals laid out in the Portland
Plan.
The city of Portland estimates that in the
first 12 months of th e program,, it will
generate 500,000 bicycle trips and serve, up
to 50,000 households, 40 percent of which
are low-income. :
The program, which would be funded
through a mix of public and private
financing, creates opportunities for business
and the tourism industry. In Portland and
other cities considering bike,sharing, the
market is growing for “mobility-driven”
i business models in which a private backer
develops the operation, often partnering
with a mobility-focused nonprofit, geared
toward attracting more riders.
This type of model has proved more
sustainable than the advertising-driven
model, which comes with the risk of lost
revenue if advertising space goes
unoccupied. .
Riders use their credit or debit card to
unlock a bike. The first half hour is free;
return the bike to any bike share station in
the system within 30 minutes and your card
won’t be charged. If you keep the bike out
longer, you’ll be charged for every 30-minute
increment after the first Most bike-share
programs also offer users the option of
signing up for a monthly or annual pass.
It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it will convert
even the nonbelievers..
In 2008,1 took a trip to Paris to,visit
family members and had a chance to fry the
first-generation Velib program. The silver
bikes were dazzling, and they seemed to be
everywhere - a bike station on every Comer
and a bike for everyone who wanted to ride.
For all the scrutiny Velib has com eunder
- the system is based on the old advertising-
driven model as opposed to th e newer
mobility-driven model; theft has been a .
problem; the kiosks could not read the
magnetic strip in American credit cards -
what I saw reflected in all those shiny silver
bikes was a message that said, “Yes, anyone
can ride a bike here.”
I believed it.
It’s time for Portland to ,share that
message with the world.
Moving on: Life and family beckon from Chicago
A n open letter to friends a t Street Roots,
KBOO, prisoners and their loved ones, and all
the folks who support issues o f concern that
have become my focus fo r the more than 20
years that I have lived in Portland:
FROM THE
DISK OF
Ruth Kovacs
R uth Kovacs is a
Portland activist, form er
teacher an d the host o f
P r iso rijip e litie o n
KBOO, 9 0 .7 fin, She
writes regularly about the
issues surrounding the
m illions o f individuals
a n d fam ilies affected by
the U.S. prison system.
—Ä-
’
W
*
of activism, I
~ JL-/ heard a story
.
i
that has stuck with me
for many years. It
HHH h SHB takes place in the days
of The Roman Empire,
when the rich had
, slaves, and the poor
(or the prisoners taken during conquests)
were the slaves. There was no middle class.
If you were not rich (and a slave owner) or a
slave, you were from the poor working class'
— whether it be as farmers, struggling to
live off the land, exploited by high taxes, or
in a service position where you were
overworked and underpaid, and exploited by
high taxes.
The period during which the story takes
place, was a society of the “haves” and the
“have nots” which, at thè time, reminded
me of life in the United States. And
although there was a middle class, it always
seemed to me that the wealthiest of the
middle class were “rich” and the folks who
saw their bank accounts go down to zero
every month as the struggled on salaries
that were within a few dollars of their
budget, seemed “poor.“
Many of us thought we had a good year if
we could get into an old car and drive away
from tfre city to a cabin in the woods for a
week of fishing, escaping into the fantasy of
lives portrayed in movies and television.
The so-called middle class families that were
portrayed wallowed in the joy of family love,
which they believed was more valuable than
the material things they could not afford.
Thè story was about the slaves in Rome
who could no longer bear their oppression
and figured out that if they united, they
could revolt and even if it cost the lives of
some, those who could survive would find
freedom and peace. Such a life would bring
I
the reunion of families and it would not
matter if they did not attain thè possession
of the luxuries of the élite.
But their plan was discovered and the
council of the royal powers m et to decide
what should be done to prevent such an
outrageous revolution.
“Brand the slaves with an owners crest, ?
so we will always know where they belong,”
said some. “Force them to wear armbands ,
that will bé -the symbol, easily recognized, of
their enslavement,” said others.
Finally, the wisest old men of the council
said, “No, if we do that, it will be easier for
them to find each other and organize. Let
them imagine that they are the only ones
with these ideas. Instead, work them
harder, feed them less and beat them more.
Then they will not have fhe time or the
strength to organize, and these foolish
thoughts will disappear.”
And so the uprising of the slaves never,
happened.,
As years went by, I often would feel so
very much alone as I pursued a way to
change the oppression of the middle class
and the poof. But the story would remind
me that the oppressors didn’t want me tó
know how many comrades and supporters
surrounded me. So I would talk to, write to,
and listen to others, and discovered that I
was not alóne. Knowing that gave me
strength to continue to work for a country
that provided for the needs of all instead of
just a few. It helped me keep my values and
priorities in place. I put my trust for
survival into the hands of my family and
friends — and they never let me down.
Recently, I’ve made some decisions that
will significantly change my life. I’m going
back home to Chicagobecause my family
needs me. My 84-year-old sister has poor
health and needs someone to live with her.
Whèn we are together, we laugh (and
sometimes cry)g lot. We give each other
strength, and the many years of bonding
provide ah understanding of what was and
is. We share a love of family, music and life.
In Chicago, four generations of my family
frequently celebrate holidays, birthdays,
weddings, births, graduations and the lives
of those who pass. Since 1965,1 have
visited Chicago about ohce a year to be a
part of these very special évents. I plan to
bring my computer and grand piano and I’ll
be able to devote much time to writing.
Those who know me well are happy for me
because they have been listening to stories
and seeing pictures of my loved ones for
many years. I hope the wonderful folks in
Portland will understand that I am not
leaving them, but going home.
But aS I leave Portland, and plan my
gôodbÿes, I realize how very fine th e family
and friends that I have here are and that
they have been my greatest treasures. I
sincerely hope that everyone I have ever
encountered knows how much I have
appreciatedthem. But more importantly, I
hope they know about each other. Once I
learned that I was not alone, I knew that
nonè of us is alone.
After living in Portland for more than 20
years, this is what I believe:
Love and support from family and friends
gives me strength.
We are all sisters and brothers. This is
the Oneness Of Man.
Those who have gone before me give me
courage.
My mistakes teach me and help me
understand others.
My pain and sorrow has given me
compassion.
My frugal life style teaches me values.
My music soothes my soul.
My age gives me urgency to do it now.
As long as I wonder why, I will continue
to learn.
., As long as I teach I will continue to
le a rn .'
As long as I continue to learn, I will grow.
- As long as I give, I will receive.
Thank you, my teachers, my strength and
my courage.
With warmest wishes to Portland friends
and family,
You will all be in my heart forever. Thank
you.
Ruth has supported
Street Roots for eight
years, as a volunteer,
a columnist, a
copyeditor and a
board member. All o f
us at Street Roots will
miss her generosity,
wisdom and
commitment to the
causes o f social
justice and prison 1
reform.
T h a n k you, Ruth.