If you're looking for a little light reading this weekend, check out the Atlantic Cities blog and a recent posting about the rise of the supercommuter.
Supercommuters are people that are essentially traveling between big cities for work once or more each week. I'm talking about commuting from St. Louis to Chicago or, closer to home, Portland to Seattle.
Any of you intrepid commuters out there traveling all the way from Portland to Seattle - or Olympia or Salem - on a regular basis? We'd like to know how you do it and how it works for you. I get antsy when my #35 gets stuck in a little Greeley Ave traffic. How do you handle 180 miles?
Have a great weekend commuters - it's what we're working for!
Joe Rose over at the Oregonian had a great article on Monday about an often overlooked commute option for the region - Amtrak. Rose highlighted the growing community of Oregon City to Portland commuters who are opting for the fast, comfortable, and inexpensive option.
Check out the video interview below with one of the commuters, Dan Anderson, that Rose features in the article. Kind of makes me wish I lived in Oregon City so I could be an Amtrak commuter.
Portlanders pride themselves on their nerdiness and when it comes to transportation and urban issues, we are the nerdiest! So, I'm happy to report that Portland is having not one but two mayoral debates on transportation issues.
The first debate took place in February and focused on active transportation - walking, biking, and transit. The next debate is coming up on March 14th and will focus on their urban planning perspectives.
This debate is sponsored by, among other groups, the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association. This should be a particularly wonky night of urban planning bliss. Oh, and politics too.
Check out the video below, but before you do allow me to pontificate for a moment. The two-minute video was produced by Virgin America Airlines to announce their new service to Portland International Airport.
What I find most interesting is that a Fortune 500 company chose to use bikes, transit, neighborhood businesses, and parks to showcase our city. These are the things people associate with Portland - and Virgin believes its a great way to market their airlines.
In a year, Portland will have one more quick and convenient way to get around Portland.
Bike share systems let people check out a bicycle to ride from one point in the city to another for a small fee. In 16 US cities, bike share systems have proven popular and successful by giving residents and visitors a fast, inexpensive and easy transportation option.
People use bike share to get to work, run errands, connect to a transit line, visit friends and family or enjoy the city.
Check out the Portland Bike Share web site to learn more. On the site, you can watch videos from other US bike share cities, read a FAQ, and tell the City where you want a bike share station.
If you're looking for a little light reading this weekend, check out the Atlantic Cities blog and a recent posting about the rise of the supercommuter. 