Dave Knows Portland

National Train Day (7-May-2011)

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National Train Day 2011National Train Day 2011 takes place this Saturday, May 7th from 10am to 4pm – the Portland event is at Union Station (800 NW 6th).

National Train Day marks 142 years of connecting travelers coast to coast and commemorates the day the first transcontinental railroad was created. On May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, the “golden spike” was driven into the final tie that joined 1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, transforming America by creating the nation’s transcontinental railroad.

The Rose Festival Character Clown Corp and train artist J. Craig Thorpe will be in attendance, along with representatives of organizations dedicated to trains, railroad history, and more. Giveaways will occur all day, including a Grand Prize trip to Vancouver, BC on the Amtrak Cascades with two night stay at the Westin Grand and $125 credit to use on attractions, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.

The star attraction again this year is the 110 foot long, 10 foot wide, and 16 foot tall SP 4449. One of three locomotives owned by the city of Portland, the 4449 weighs 433 tons and can reach speeds over 100 mph with its 5,500 horsepower engine. In the 1940s and 50s it pulled the Southern Pacific Coast Daylight coaches from LA to Portland. In 1958 it was put on display at Oaks Park, but was restored in 1974 so that it could pull the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train. (Visit the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation website for more information about the other locomotives and learn about the foundation’s efforts to build a permanent home for these historical locomotives and other rolling stock.)

This free event is one of my favorites – check out my posts on the 2010, 2009 Train Day events to get a taste of what’s in store!

2011 Sunday Parkways

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Sunday ParkwaysPortland Sunday Parkways are your opportunity to spend a summery Sunday morning and afternoon winding your way on bike or foot through mostly residential streets free of car traffic. The routes take you from one park to the next, where you can check out the vendors and demonstrations, or just sit down and relax.

And now the 2011 Portland Sunday Parkway dates have been announced:

May 22 – East Portland

June 26 – North Portland

July 24 – NW/Downtown Portland

August 28 – Southeast Portland

September 25 – Northeast Portland

From May through September, 2011 the fourth Sunday of each month is Sunday Parkway Day. All the parkways go from 11am until 4pm except September’s, which goes from noon until 5pm.

Portland Afoot TV!

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Portland Afoot – Your guide to a low-car lifestyle in Portland from t.a. barnhart on Vimeo.

Portland Afoot is a great little news magazine (I’m a subscriber) covering the low-car lifestyle in Portland. Follow publisher Michael Anderson multi-modally around town as he talks about the print product in this short video produced by T.A. Barnhart.

Subscribe for only $14 a year!

Portland Afoot is a multi-modal media project too: the website features an editable online guide to the low-car life in Portland and a blog. And you can follow @PortlandAfoot on Twitter!

February 1, 2010: Streetcar Tracks Laid on Portland’s Eastside

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Portland Streetcar LoopPortland’s Eastside has not seen streetcars since the 1950s, but on February 1, 2010 the first tracks were laid east of the river for the Portland Streetcar Loop Project, a 3.3 mile extension to Portland’s existing streetcar route.

Stefan Kamph reported at Blogtown, PDX:

Exciting news! Or bad news, if you hate streetcars! Today the first rails went in for the Eastside extension of the Portland Streetcar. The rails are being welded together in a staging area up the hill on Lloyd Boulevard, and installed on NE Grand Ave. The stretch directly in front of Metro headquarters is already in place.

Construction began in 2009 and will mostly be complete by the end of 2011. One last piece to close the loop, a new bridge across the Willamette between the Marquam and Ross Island bridges, will have to wait for the Milwaukie light rail project.

Six new streetcars for the expansion will be manufactured locally by United Streetcar, LLC.

Book Review [and Giveaway!]: Joyride – Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet

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Mia Birk has written a book about her travails and travels working to make bicycling an integral part of the transportation system and culture of American cities and towns: Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet.

In the book she relates personal stories and struggles of her several decades experience convincing first herself, then bureaucrats, planners, engineers, and the public at large (including her own family) that bicycling is not just kids stuff. The stories are inspirational; relating both tiny and big steps forward through the morass of politics and public opinion.

Portland is the setting for many of her stories, as Birk was the Bicycle Program Manager for the city from 1993-1999. Portland’s bicycle culture and infrastructure are now regarded as shining examples of what is possible in American cities. One wonders where we would be now if it weren’t for Mia Birk’s work. Any one interested in Portland’s bicycling history and culture will enjoy this book. Activists and bicyclists from anywhere will enjoy the inspirational stories and possibly learn a thing or two about promoting bicycling in their own cities.

See Mia Birk talk about her book at Powell’s Books (1005 W Burnside) on Tuesday, January 4 2011 at 7:30pm!

Giveaway!

For a chance to win a copy of Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet, share one thing you like about bicycling in the comments below. On Friday, January 7 2011 at noon I will draw the name of one commenter randomly and send them a copy of the book for free!