Portland Walking

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Comment by Kim Cottrell, FeldenkraisTeacher on October 7, 2011 at 9:58am

Thanks for the links, esp about the updates to the Crosswalk Safety Bill. And, I have a ton of bumper stickers left over from my days on the Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee that say "I BRAKE FOR PEOPLE." I'd be happy to share. Just let me know!

Comment by Mark McClure on October 7, 2011 at 7:24am

Rob and Kim, welcome to our group. It is great to have a regular contributor to Walk About in our group, Kim. I'm a subscriber. In a few of my earlier posts, I referenced some articles from the magazine, as well as the excellent online walking events calendar. I'll be on the watch for your future articles.

Now that we are experiencing dark and rainy days, I encourage everyone to wear easily seen clothing apparel when they are walking. If you do not have clothing that has reflective stripes or piping sewn in, you can wear a retroreflective vest, belt and ankle bands. I wear a belt and ankle bands regularly during the winter months and can attest to how effective they are. Motorists and bicyclists definitely see me! I've used products from Reflect-a-Life and Night-Gear.

You can also "accessorize" your backpack with reflective stick-ons. I recently purchased a new backpack for my work commute, and immediately put reflective cloth tape strips on it. Jogalite and Lightweights are two popular brands that use the 3M Scotchlite reflective materials. The reflective stick-ons can be purchased at local bicycle and sporting goods stores.

Finally, for those that did not see my Tweet yesterday, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the new Oregon Crosswalk Safety Bill that was passed earlier this year. The Bill includes some important updates that every pedestrian, motorist and bicyclist should be aware of.

Off to work so all for now.

Comment by Kim Cottrell, FeldenkraisTeacher on September 30, 2011 at 2:38pm

Hello......great stats about who is a walker. I don't fit in either the youngest or oldest category, but at 53 I've been walking all my life. Not to commute, more to replenish, maintain good mental health and to exercise myself and my dogs. I'm a regular contributor to Walk About Magazine, based out of our very own Portland, Oregon. I might not have read back far enough in the posts to catch a mention of it, but I saw many/most of the other great local publications. 

Fun to be here, will look forward to reading more!

Comment by Mark McClure on September 25, 2011 at 6:51pm

Two snapshots from the Northeast Portland Sunday Parkway event today. In spite of the rain and wind, lots of folks participated. Thanks Portland!

 

Comment by Mark McClure on September 24, 2011 at 9:18pm

A reminder that tomorrow is the LAST Portland Sunday Parkway event. The event will run from noon - 5 pm along an 8-mile route through NE Portland. There will be two loops, connecting Woodlawn, Alberta, Fernhill Parks, plus Rigler School and Cully Blvd. Although the Google weather forecast calls for "Rain in the morning...then showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon," I think the event will still be a lot of fun. After all, we're Oregonians and we love to walk and ride our bicycles in the rain, right? If you can make it, please stop by the Info Booth at the Rigler School "Marketplace" and say 'Hi'.

 

I also wanted to pass on the following excerpt that I found in the September 2001 National Walking Survey by America Walks.

“The profile of frequent walkers is somewhat distinctive. They tend to be found more among the youngest (18-24 year olds) and the oldest (65 and over) age categories. Eighty-two percent of the youngest group and eighty- four percent of the oldest group are frequent walkers. In the middle age categories there is a diminution in the percent of frequent walkers” (p. 8).

Comment by Mark McClure on September 18, 2011 at 4:37pm

My "office" (under the tree) the past two mornings for PBOT ped/bike counts on N. Portland Willamette Greenway path. Great experience.

 

Comment by Mark McClure on September 17, 2011 at 5:03pm

The view from my PBOT pedestrian/bike count location this morning. Will do again tomorrow morning.

 

Comment by Mark McClure on September 16, 2011 at 8:09am

First, I want to welcome our group's new members: Paula, Fatoumata and Roberta. Please use our group to ask questions and share your thoughts and experiences about walking in the Portland metro region.

 

And thanks to Paula, I learned that Metro and Kaiser Permanente recently released a new Walk There! iPhone app that you can download for free. Yesterday on my walks to and from work, I checked out the Portland Irvington Neighborhood loop tour, which is one of the ten walks currently supported by the app. What fun!

 

September and October are among my favorite months for walking because of the cooler weather and beautiful fall colors. The fall season is also a popular time for organized walks. Check out this list of Nortwest walks in the September/October issue of Walk About....

 

Earlier this week, I received my September issue of Portland Afoot newsmagazine. I enjoyed reading the article, Warden of the West, which profiled Don Baack, a SW Portland trails advocate. See "Six tips for urban trail building" to learn more about Don's work. If you do not receive Portland Afoot but would like to, please see my earlier post on how you might be able to obtain a free subscription.

 

This week, I also received my September issue of footnote, the newsletter published by the Willamette Pedestrian Coa.... The feature story in the newsletter, Governor signs Crosswalk Safety Bill (online version), explained key provisions of the legislation and the important role that the WPC had in ensuring passage of the bill.

 

For those that are interested in knowing more about the Crosswalk Safety Bill and pedestrian rights, I strongly recommend Ray Thomas' Oregon Pedestrian Rights: A Legal Guide for Persons on Foot.

 

Did any of you participate in the final Ten Toe Express Walk (Going to the River) last Saturday? If so, please let us know how it went. I have already bookmarked my calendar a year in advance to remind me to be on the watch for the 2012 Ten Toe Express walk schedule. I think the 2012 walks will be in SE Portland neighborhoods.

 

Although I was not able to help out at the Ten Toe Express walk last Saturday, this weekend I will be conducting pedestrian and bicycle counts in the mornings on the North Portland Willamette Greenway path in back (riverfront) of the Water Pollution Lab. If you happen to walk or ride by, please stop and say hello.

 

inally, I'd like to close with another question: Are any of you participating in the Bike Commute Challenge this month? If so, what do you think about recording your walking commute miles in lieu of your biking commute miles? For my part, I did it last year and I am doing it this year (just don't tell my team leader). At a future date, I'd like to see the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (WPC) work together to organize a work commute challenge that recognizes pedestrians as well as bicyclists.

 

 

 

Comment by Mark McClure on September 3, 2011 at 9:33pm

Below are two snapshots that I took during the Ten Toe Express walk last Thursday night. What a beautiful night for a walk!

During the walk, Laura Foster shared historical trivia about the Lloyd District, Sullivan's Gulch and the Kerns Neighborhood. Be sure to check out Laura's blog and books for more Portland historical trivia.

In addition to Laura's talks, other walkers shared interesting tidbits of information about Portland's history. This is one aspect of the Ten Toe Express walks that I have enjoyed throughout the summer. Until last night, for example, I did not know the history behind Portland's street naming and numbering system. And I had no idea that the ceramic numbers on my house were the result of the 'great renumbering' that took place in Portland 80 years ago. Now I do, thanks to one the walkers.

 

 

Comment by Mark McClure on September 3, 2011 at 12:10pm

I was just informed that some of the snapshots that I have posted do not resolve properly with certain web browsers (they appear squished). If you click on the photos, however, you will see them properly. Sorry about that...

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