Hales chooses interim transportation director, Toby Widmer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Mayor Charlie Hales has announced that Toby Widmer will come out of retirement to be the interim director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Hales emphasized the need to fix Portland's roads during his winning mayoral campaign, and criticized then-Mayor Sam Adams for choosing Tom Miller to the transportation director without conducting a competitive search.
Hales took over as mayor Jan. 1 and immediately requested Miller's resignation.
Widmer retired as the director of the Bureau of Maintenance in 2002.
Hales said Thursday that Widmer came up through the ranks, can operate every piece of equipment in the maintenance yard and understands that street maintenance will be his first priority.
Widmer will have the job for six months as the city conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Swerving in front of a motor vehicle while on a bicycle is dangerous. Any conscious bicyclist knows that. With the mass/speed ratio disadvantage, the everyday bicyclist knows this is a stupid to deadly move.
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I am flummoxed as to how NWGuy knows that this potentially inappropriate move was " ... because [NWGuy] dared to travel down the road at the posted speed limit..."  It is more likely NWGuy is guessing/expressing an opinion of  what happened.
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The "swerve," if it really happened at all, could have been the result of any of the following:
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The bicyclist swerved because he/she is really really stupid and deliberately put his/her life in danger for a moment of arrogance.
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The bicyclist swerved to avoid a Sam Adams pothole (which can be hard to see in the rain or at night and we don't know the time or the conditions of this incident).
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The bicyclist swerved to avoid a road hazard such as glass or metal shavings (a problem in north Portland). These too can be hard to see in the rain or at night and, again, we don't know the time or the conditions of this incident.
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The bicyclist swerved owing to a mechanical issue (tire problem, hung chain, etc.).
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The bicyclist "swerved" into the lane as, perhaps, they were coming to an intersection. When approaching an intersection, it is a legitimate/safer option is to do a move called "seizing the lane." It is legal and it increases the awareness of other vehicle operators of your whereabouts.
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Bottom line, though, as much as NWGuy did not like the bicyclist in the lane, the bicyclist has a right to be there. If NWGuy doesn't like that, he needs to get state traffic laws amended. It is not something over which Charlie Hales or the City of Portland have jurisdiction.
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I was not a supporter of Hales (or Smith) for Mayor, but now that he's in, I hope this signals a shift away from the bicycle-crazed and imbalanced policies of Adams and toward serving the far greater transportation needs of cars and trucks. Two days ago a bicyclist deliberately swerved in front of me as I passed her on the left because I dared to travel down the road at the posted speed limit rather than follow behind her as she rode slowly along the side of the road. That kind of irrational and stupid arrogance I blame on Sam Adams and the BTA, which he only emboldened.