Page A3
A p ril 30. 2008
City Promotes Bike-Truck Safety
On sharing
the road
continued
City o f Portland transportation
and maintenance w orkers are step
ping up to educate bicyclists and
drivers about the im portance o f
sharing the road.
At a recent truck safety educa
tion event, bicyclists interacted with
individuals who drive trucks and
large equipm ent for a living. The
aim was to educate bicyclists and
m otorists about the unique chal
lenges truck drivers face. It is im
portant to recognize blind spots
and use caution around big trucks.
The bicyclists had the opportu
nity to clim b into the cab o f a large
w orking vehicle and sit in the
driver's seat to view the roadway
from the driver's perspective.
Even with additional mirrors and
some em erging technologies, large
trucks still have blind spots to the
front, rear, and sides o f the truck -
especially along the passenger side.
W hile we m ay think th at a
d riv er may see a cy c list, add in
the p o ssib ility o f g rea ter noise
from the larger en g in es, low er
Portland adds safety messages to some of its maintenance vehicles warning bicyclists to beware
g earing, and h eav ier suspension.
o f blind spots where truck drivers can't see them.
P rofessional driv ers m ay also be
listen in g to w o rk -rela ted ca lls
eye contact with the driver and
M any large tru ck in g co m p a do not see th ese signs.
The city is installing bike guards signal their intentions for the safety
co m in g ov er a tw o-w ay radio. nies post stickers on the back o f
O ftentim es, driving up a cu rb or th eir trucks w arning o th e r road on fleet trucks and placing bright «fall.
even running o v er a m etal item , users that the truck m ay m ake green stickers on the rear and right
For more information about these
like a bicycle, can feel like a sm all w ide turns and to avoid passing side o f the trucks where bicyclists education events, contact Barbara
pothole or nothing at all to a large on the right o f the truck at in te r are m ore likely to notice them. The Plum m er, T ransportation O ptions,
sections. But m any b ic y c listsju st stickers encourage cyclists to make at 503-823-4584.
vehicle.
Dear Deanna!
I had a divorce party celebrating
the end o f my marriage. My ex-
husband cam e to the party with a
girlfriend half his age, his fam ily
started a fight and the party was a
disaster. Things were great until
someone got drunk and started talk
ing about the bad things in our
marriage that caused our divorce.
Initially my husband agreed to help
pay for the party but now that we
have dam ages. I'm stuck with the
bills. Is it wrong to take him to court
to get my m oney? -Happily Di
vorced; Washington, D.C.
Dear Divorced:
Y our husband obviously d id n ’t
give you much w hen you were
married so you should expect even
less now that y o u 're divorced. You
were foolish to make a m ockery of
marriage and di vorce with this party,
and in essence, you got w hat you
deserved. Y ou're going to face fur
ther em barrassm ent, airing o f dirty
laundry and hum iliation if you take
this clown show to court. Suck it
Tough Road Lies
Ahead for TriMet
Ask Deanna !
Real People,
Real Advice
up, count your loss and keep it
moving.
Dear Deanna!
1 believe you can love two people at
once. I have tw o girlfriends and
need to be open and honest with
both o f them. I get certain things
from each w om an that helps me
have a w hole relationship. W hen I
want seriousness and structure, 1
go to the left and when I want to be
laid back and free, I go to the right.
I w ould never disrespect either
w oman and truly love each one.
How do I approach this with these
ladies with respect and hopes o f
keeping them both? -Mason; Okla
Dear Mason:
With the growing issues o f infidel
ity and HIV, you’ re playing a sloppy
gam e o f Russian roulette with your
life. No m atter how much you love
these ladies, you’re selfish and liv
ing as a liar, a cheater and being
deceptive. You can approach them
separately with direct verbal com
munication. If they have low self
esteem and are willing to share a
man, more pow er to you. However,
you may get slapped in the face and
dum ped, which may be a blessing
in disguise.
Dear Deanna!
I'v e been so in love with one o f my
best friends for six years. He doesn ' t
pay me any attention and I poured
my heart out and told him I want to
date him. He laughed at me, rubbed
the top of my head and told me that
my confession was cute. I feel em
barrassed and it seem s as if our
friendshipisn’tthesam e. Did I make
a m istake by sharing my feelings
fro m Front
track record with the tim eliness,
cost and d iversity hires for Max
co n stru c tio n p ro jects, and the
room y light-rail cars have a per-
riderexpense significantly low er
than buses. O verall p referen ce
for trains, how ever, becam e im
p eriled last fall w hen the B lue
L ine tow ard G resh am e x p e ri
en ced a series o f v io len t in c i
d e n ts.
"The fact that there are 120
gangs operating in East County
is one o f the real concerns that are
out there, and that com m unity
may use our service, oftentim es
m aybe not for illegal activity, but
th ey ’re there,” says Hansen.
U niform ed police now patrol
at least 70 p ercen t o f th o se
trains, w hich calm s things dow n
and in sp ires co n fid en ce for rid
ers in the problem area, ac co rd
ing to H ansen. T riM et took an
o th e r step last w eek fo r safety by
allow ing em p lo y ees to kick riders
o ff o f the sy stem fo r “ u n rea so n
ably loud" b eh a v io r, harassm en t
and in tim id atio n . A recent O r
egon C o u rt o f A p p eals ruling on
the d efin itio n o f free speech a l
low ed the m ove.
Seeing that m any w ant to pay for
Max rides, T riM et has prioritized
fixing the fare m achines, adding
backup printers and keeping an eye
out for the advancem ent o f smart-
card technology to recognize entry
in the trains' w ide doors. C uts have
com e in the form o f not being able
to m ove forw ard on other projects.
TriM et has so far found savings
internally to offset gas-price in
creases, but H ansen warns "we
ca n n o t do that fo r very m uch
longer.”
"From our standpoint, it (diesel
price) is a killer," Hansen says. "W e
ca n ’t address it with a silver bullet,
but more with silver buckshot.”
L egal N otices
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The Portland Observer
and is there a w ay I can fix this? I
w ant things to go back to being the
way they were. -Michelle; On-
Line Reader
Dear Michelle:
Y our friend v iew s you o nly as a
pal esp ec ially sin ce he rubbed
the top o f y o u r head like a dog.
You d id n ’t m ake a m istake b e
cau se you at least know that you
d o n 't have a ro m an tic ch an ce or
h o p es fo r a relatio n sh ip . L ook on
the bright side and be glad you
d id n 't throw yourself at him sexu
ally and m ake a bigger fool o f your
self. G et over it, be thankful you
have a good friend, and be a good
sport as you look back on this expe
rience and have a good laugh.
Ask Deanna is written by Deanna
M. Write Ask Deanna! Email;
askdeanna I @yahoo.com or 264
S. LaCienega Blvd. Suite 128.1
Beverly Hills. CA 90211. Website:
www.askdeanna.com
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 11AM - 3PM
PCC CASCADE CAMPUS GYMNASIUM
• All job seekers welcome
• Free admission and parking
• Prepare before the fair
Go to: w w w .p c c .e d u /c a a c a d e jo b fa ir
PCC Cascade Campus Gym
705 N. Killingsworth Street, 1-5 exit #304
Served by Tri-Met #4 and #72
N. Killingsworth MAX station
A Special
Thank You to
our Supporting
Sponsors:
City of Portland. Bureau
of Development Services,
Hoffman Construction,
Pacific Coast Fruit
Company and UPS.
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Portland
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contact the Office tor Students with Disabilities at
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Minority Entrepreneurs
Registrations are underw ay for
booth space at the 2()th-annual En
tre p r e n e u rs h ip L u n c h e o n and
Trade Show. Thursday, May 8 at
The Oregon Convention C enter
O ver 3,000 business people from
the public and private sectors and
the general public will visit the
event which is designed to help
m ajority businesses by creating
networking opportunities with mi
nority-ow ned com panies and to
sam ple their diverse products and
services.
It is also an opportunity for m i
nority w om en and em erging small
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ucts and services and to network.
Register now by taking advan
tage o f this great opportunity to
prom ote your business and in
crease you buying and selling op
tions.
For m ore inform ation, call 503-
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