Streetfilms

Thanks for posting this 30 min vid. I've been hearing so much about Portland, but this was the most comprehensive look I've had. The quality was very watchable by the way.

- Dan (Sacramento, CA)
PS they should be saying "Speed Humps" not "Bumps"...
http://www.trafficcalming.org/

I was interested to hear that per capita VMT in Portland has declined from 23 to 19. Do we have more information on that: is that vmt per day? what time frame has that decline happened in? Is there a reference we can include in a footnote?

This statistic refutes the claim of Randal O'Toole and others that Portland's planning has not reduced auto use, so it would be great to have a good reference for it.

Of course, it is easier to get people to walk and bicycle in Portland than in most places, because you don't have to worry about getting a sunburn in Portland.

thanks for that video, we could need such improvements for bikes and pedestrians here in vienna (austria, europe) too.

and thumbs up for posting with a creative commons license!

Inspirational. Provides perspective on how embryonic things are. Lots of work for everyone.

[...] You’ve probably seen bits of this before, but here it is all together in a 30 minute production. [...]

I have lived in Milwaukie and Hillsboro, OR. for a total of 65 years. I love all of the Pacific Northwest & esp Portland. To me this has always been "The City" . b/c...its very clean and easy to get around to different areas of the city esp when using MAX. Most people are extremely friendly and the views of the mtns. can not be overlooked. Mayor Bud and Mayor Vera did a lot to move the city in the 'green' direction. Kudo's for them as they had a clear vision and made it happen. Now that I have retired to another state the spirit of the city lives within me and I long to return for a visit with friends and to find a fir tree to hug. In my heart I am an Oregonian, proud and liberal.
Barb

Really nice ! I am a french worker in Paris, and my city is experiencing the "Vélib'" bikeshare system for a few weeks, its a big succes which is aimed to change the face of the city, I am glad to see that Portland bikers can have breakfast on their arrival, it would be a great idea to support responsible transportation, especially during the winter, when biking is harder !

As a bike commuter and member of an acitve transportation advocacy group in Columbia, Missouri, (www.pednet.org) we hold Portland as a model community. This film is a great feature of what's happening on the street with individual citizens, and the friendly face of their local transportation officials (they even receive love letters for their work!?!).
Many innovations like what Portland has done can be done to some degree in many other communities, but is great time and effort. But is well worth it. Great film.

[...] number of bikes using the four bridges jumped 21 percent. (Check Clarence Eckerson's StreetFilm, Portland: America's Most Livable City, if you want to see what these heavily-biked bridges look like for [...]

I'm shocked I wasn't in any of the footage!
Seriously, I have been absolutely ecstatic about the increase in bike commuting I have witnessed in the past three years. Having migrated here from Carroll Gardens Brooklyn I was looking for the urban excitement I found in NYC and I have really found it being a bike commuter. Carroll Gardens was very much a Euro sort of feeling, with all the small businesses and deep sense of community, but riding a bike in NYC ( at least back in the nid 90's ) was like dropping into a warzone ( which had it's own sort of fun and allure, but four taxi collisions later seemed a bit life threatening.
Now I drive only when I'm lazy. I ride my bike into the city every day and interact with my fellow cyclists and revel in my non-petroleum dependence. The sense of security and well being this activity generates is beyond value, and I recommend it to everyone. You can advocate for bicycle transportation in your own community, or move to Portland, there's still lot's of cheap real estate!(compared to NYC anyway)

I live in Raleigh, NC and am working hard to promote walkability and the urban living revolution here. I want you to know that this video has provided a lot of inspiration for folks here. I tell people I would pay $100 to see it if it wasn't free. Thank you for your generosity in making it available at no cost.
P.S. Raleigh and Cary had an election yesterday that replaced several anti-downtown mayors and council members with civic leaders who support growth management. That was the defining issue in the elections here, and I am working hard to point out that walkability is the answer to the myriad problems concomitant with urban sprawl.

go clarence! the world is watching!

I moved away from Portland a year ago and watching this video brought tears to my eyes. While there, I biked around 300 miles a month, daughter in tow, to work, to school, to the grocery store, and so on. I miss you Portland!!!

As a Portlander, I too enjoyed looking at what has been accomplished.But, as a city,we bo where close to the finish line.

But don't feel inclined to chuck living where you do and move to Portland for its transportation rep. We still have huge gridlock on the freeways, we still violate clean air standards,etc. Not as freqently as other cities,but still we do. Someone once remarked to me that its not a case of Portland being so great, its just that > sucks so badly.

The challenge is to bring your community into the fold. The economics of transit will do a lot more for that cause than all the activism and attitude.

[...] Portland - America’s most livable city [...]

That was fantastic!

I am wondering is how do cyclists and pedestrians cope with the weather in Portland? I noticed in the video many were wearing special jackets and gloves. I would have liked to see a little section of this video that demonstrates ways you can stay comfortable, warm, and dry without a car.

Great video on a great city. Portland is a model other cities should follow.

That being said, I would like to know if you checked out the suburbs much? Do people outside of the core city bike as much, or ride transit? Or is it just more an inner city thing?

No doubt Portland is a great model. Just one thing I would like to see improve, is the transit situation. Something like only 6%(approx 12% in Portland City) of metro wide work trips are made on transit.
For a city doing great things I am sure they can bring the transit useage up higher.

Keep up the good work.

[...] in Prospect Hts., Brooklyn Portland, Oregon, which has ascended the ranks of cities judged most walkable, bikable, and urbane, benefits mightily from its small 200-foot square blocks, which provide businesses more street [...]

omg @ 12:14 ayleen and sam = hot

This was a great clip! I encountered your video clip on moving by bike on NAU - the collective - loved that too! My sister lives in Portland and I find myself continually impressed with the level of creativity and action that inhabits this city. I am inspired - Thank you!!!

[...] http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/portland-celebrating-americas-most-livable-city/ [...]

[...] from the Berkeley Bicycle Boulevards video) Portland: Celebrating America’s Most Livable City (full version here) was played in the middle of the two interviews featuring Portland’s Mayor Tom Potter, [...]

I live in Portland and it truely is wonderful...if you can just learn to love the rain!

Grew up in P-Town, bought my first serious bike in 1982, Greatest bike town in America. Rode to work rode to school rode for fun. Best form of stress release. I rode right past the traffic. Portland hands down is the smartest city in America. Go Blazers!

I have been reading lots of things on various blogs, newsgroups, bulletin boards, etc. that all is not quite so well in Portland.

There have been stories about cyclists injured or killed by motorists who were clearly at fault, but the district attorney has refused to prosecute. There have been stories of the Portland police harassing cyclists, including one of a cyclist tazed into a heart attack by police officers who never identified themselves as such.

Obviously one side or the other is being less than truthful.