Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Committee - Dec. 2, 2025

Agenda

6:30 p.m. – Welcome: Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes and Public Comment

6:35 p.m. – PGE Transmission Line Replacement Mitigation Project  – PGE

7:00 p.m. – Happy Valley E-Bike Ordinance –  Dale Guenther

7:25 p.m. – U of O Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad  – Scott Hoelscher

7:50 p.m. – General Discussion | Project Updates | Hot Spots  | Next Meeting | For the Good of the Order

8:00 p.m. - Adjourn

Staff Liaisons: Scott Hoelscher • Senior Transportation Planner • Dept. of Transportation & Development (503) 742-4533 • scotthoe@clackamas.us | Mya Ganzer • Planner 1• Dept. of Transportation & Development (503) 742-4520 • mganzer@clackamas.us

Minutes

Attendees: Del Scharffenberg, Jim Schroeder, Dale Guenther, Mindy Montecucco, Sheila Shaw, Kelli Grover, Vanessa Dane-Slagle, Bruce Parker, Jennifer Martinez-Medina, and Steve Adams, and Joseph Edge

Scott Hoelscher, Mya Ganzer (Clackamas County), Kenny Gunn, Heidi Bell (PGE), and Nicole Perry (Street Trust)

6:35 p.m. – Welcome: Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes and Public Comment

Kelli: does any motion to approve the November minutes?
Bruce: I motion
Del: I second

Motion Passes, minutes approved

Scott: there is not any public who appear to comment, I will let Vanessa introduce herself since she wasn’t able to be at the last meeting. She has been an advocate for active transportation in the County.

Vanessa: I live off of Oatfield and Hill Rd, I love to walk my dog at Elk Rock Island and Milwaukie Bay Park.

6:39 p.m. – PGE Transmission Line Replacement Mitigation Project  – PGE

Kenny: I work for PGE for protecting historic resources in the State, this is a mitigation project is for the Millikan Tower replacement project.

Heidi: I am the Public Government Affairs person for PGE in Clackamas County. 

Kenny: the transmission line was constructed from 1911 to 1915, it was the first steel lattice constructed in Oregon. It moved the hydroelectric power from the Clackamas River to Portland. The towers have reached their life expectancy and need to be replaced, PGE is replacing the towers in the exact same route, in a monopole structure. These are iron towers. The project is 32-miles, and will run along the Cazadero and Springwater trail, it ends at OMSI. This project will strengthen the grid and involves wildfire hardening. 400 towers will be replaced. 

Getting into my role, Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act, requires that the change will not create greater adverse impacts on Historical Preservation Areas. This was triggered by the Interstate Highways in the 1960s, which destroyed many historical sites. These towers moved power to the City and electrified the city earlier then other west coast cities. This project resulted in adverse effects, so we need to mitigate the impacts, by capturing the history and sharing and preserving it. 

Mitigation Stipulations:

• Historic Research & Documentation
• On-Site Interpretation: Physical Interpretive Panels Designed and Installed Panels Designed and Installed by PGE installed for context near proposed sculptures.)
• Online Interpretation: Webpage dedicated to the History & Significance of the Faraday-Gresham 57kV Transmission Line and the Milliken Transmission Tower Design.
• Public Art Installation - Sculpture(s) designed and constructed by local artist that utilize salvaged steel from the Milliken towers and related materials (Location TBD).

We discussed doing projects with OMSI and other stakeholders, and were running into road blocks. We need to complete the mitigation by 2028. 

Conceptual Discussion Boring Station Trailhead Park

• Theme: Potential interpretation to include Importance of Transmission as part of Growing Electricity Demand.
• Intent: Public Art Project or Abstract Reuse of Tower Materials
• Ideas Discussed:
  • Structural Incorporation of Tower Materials into Proposed Structures
  • Bicycle Repair Station
  • E-Bike Charging Station
• Other Ideas?
• Better Locations?

Boring Station Trailhead Park was brought up because it is currently well used, especially by cyclists. Could we use the materials to make a bicycle repair station, e-bike charging, bike parking etc.

Scott: County Parks is in the procsess of constructing a band stand. 

Mindy: LED programmable flowable lighted tower.  Could change seasonally.  The towers don't have to stand upright.  Possibly, tell a story along the trail with series of structures spaced out along the trail.

Bruce: I have seen people make giant stick figures, as a fun tourist attraction.

Heidi: things like that can attract people to the area!

Jim: I like the idea of climbing walls for kids

Sheila: I had an idea of doing a playground involved with local school, at let the children come up with ideas

Kenny: I love these ideas, but we have run into liability issues with all of them before. I love all the ideas and collaboration; we really want to capture the core of the project. The history of electricity itself will always be to central to whatever we do with some type of interpreted panel, that tells the story and celebrates where these materials came from.

Heidi: I love the photos Kenny showed, that talk about the long-term transmission of Green power and what that means into the future. I think a standard panel will go along with everything and then you know we could do a video potentially and we could put a QR code on the panel and pull people into the website for additional content of standard interpretation or documentation. I think it’s a matter of figuring out what to do with these materials that hopefully you know coming up with something that everybody can celebrate.

I would like to keep the conversation open and you go back to the people that you hang out with go back to your family ask them questions. Go find some kids and ask them what they think about it. What I’m trying to say is that we would like to come back to PBAC and see if the group has any new ideas or concepts for us too. I really like the idea of giving some kids something to do. In park one of the best things you can do to prevent crime is to have 10 things to do in that park, 10 things for 10 different kinds of people. Then people go there and are naturally people are busy at the park doing good things as it should be.

Scott: thank you. I do see overtime, and I want to be respectful of Kenny and Heidi‘s time. I do see we’re quite a bit over so why don’t we let people chew on this if there’s other ideas that arise tomorrow morning when you jump out of bed or at any point, you could send them to me and maybe we can reconvene in 2026 if that works for Heidi and Kenny.

Kenny: that sounds great and Scott feel free to share the PowerPoint with the group

Heidi: OK well that sounds like a good plan so yeah to be continued, but this is kind of what we wanted to is introduce this and get some creative juices flowing! Thank you. 

7:13 p.m. – Happy Valley E-Bike Ordinance –  Dale Guenther

Kelli: Let’s keep moving next agenda. Dale on the Happy Valley and e-bike ordinance.

Dale: I just wanted to the committee on what they’re thinking in the e-bike situation. Briefly, here are some stats, nationwide e-bike sales have quadrupled but injuries increased by a factor of 10 only about 6% of conventional cycling injuries result in pelvic fracture for bikes that was 25% and the bikes due to their weight and speed are a serious problem. I have seen them riding 4 abreast going up busy roads. I have seen them ride up and down residential streets creating a hazard. The city is looking at creating an ordinance that would help control these situations without a infringing on the freedom of the bike riders. The ordinance would be proposed to the city council in January February timeframe but what they’re looking at is an ordinance focus on behavior.

E-bikes class one and two are restricted to 20 miles an hour and class 3 goes to 30 miles an hour, but the problem is that the hour limit are easily bypassed. There are plenty of YouTube video showing how to clip a wire or restrict the governor, so they go much faster. These bikes can go 50 miles an hour. They don’t have brake lights. They don’t have headlights Turn signals, etc. 

The ordinance they plan on doing is when they see unsafe behavior, either by a child or adult, they will cite them and if it’s a juvenile, then not only be cited, but their parents will also be cited. I hope in January timeframe I can come back to the committee here and explain the draft ordinance and get your input on what entails are there any questions? 

Kelli: Will you be potentially looking for a letter of support from the committee or what’s the end goal? 

Dale: I will provide a draft of the coordinate to get your input on. The city is doing their public outreach now. The plan is drafted in January and bring it to the city council late. January early February. 

Scott: We had discussion on the state park looked at you know the issue the issue keeps coming across my desk so I think it’s a timely thing. I’ll be curious to see the draft ordinance

Jim: Have you looked at a place for them to ride they actually enjoy what they want to do in lieu of citing because there is no place to ride?

Dale: That’s a good question. I know the city is putting in a park near 172nd Ave. The plan has not been solidified, but one of the factors that are considering is a bike or a bike rodeo area just like a skate park. 

Bruce: it seems like there’s a lack of wanting to enforce law and I think that enforcement laws some citations are made as well so I think that’s going to be the challenge.

Dale: I have to say that these bikes are the engine is getting more and more aggressive. I saw an advertisement for an E bike that pushes a button, and it will automatically pop a wheelie for you. It will keep you erect on the wheel. The speed of these things are just amazing, and the torque. I ride a Harley Davidson; these bikes have more torque off the line than my Harley Davidson.

Scott: I’ll check around our office in engineering and see if anybody’s seeing an ordinance from around the country cause I’m sure there’s something out there. 

Dale: yes, San Francisco has something and New York thinking about something.

Del: BikePortland posted another article about e-bikes and potential regulation and all the problems they’re causing that’s ongoing every week article about that and I would encourage you to follow Portland and it’s always interesting to look at all the comment as he gets hundreds of comments on the articles. It’s very difficult to regulate them because they can’t even tell where a motorcycle ends and an e-bike begins. The other component of the policy is training. They’re looking to set up a training program for young riders on how to safely ride so I was wondering you know bicycle trading would be a possibility of getting promoting ebikes training program?

Scott: that is one thing that has emerged from our travel options plan which I hope to have on the agenda in February is to offer training and classes on E bikes.

Jennifer: I just wanted to bring in that point about that E bikes or a transportation for many people, I take my bike to the grocery store with my little one and so I just wanted to make sure that you know we’re considering all different users but it sounds like Dell was already thinking about that as well and then just following the conversation, I think education is a really great idea because the speed on some of them are can get dangerous. I think it would be really great to have additional program, so I just wanted to echo that that’s all I wanted to say thank you. 

Dale: that is a good point.

Mindy: Glad they're looking at behaviors of the riders.  Maybe they can be sighted or fined for bypassing the governor.

7:27 p.m. – U of O Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad – Scott Hoelscher

Scott: I am going to talk about the County’s participation in the Scan Design Foundation Fellowship, which allowed four of us from the County to join the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Transportation Study Abroad Program. This opportunity came to our attention thanks to Mya, who took the same course two years ago and strongly recommended it. Based on her suggestion, we applied through a competitive statewide process and were ultimately selected. We had hoped to bring along a PBAC representative as well, and I want to thank Dale for submitting materials, but administrative hurdles kept us from adding a committee member this time.

Our trip included stops in three countries and five cities: Copenhagen in Denmark; Malmö in Sweden; and Nijmegen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht in the Netherlands. In every location we used upright city bikes as our primary transportation. They were by far the quickest and most convenient way to get around. The cycling environments were very dense, and we had to stay attentive to passing by riders and local norms at all times.

I’ll start by going over Copenhagen, nearly half of all trips there are made by bicycle, and the city has about 237 miles of fully separated cycle tracks. The clarity between space for walking, biking, and driving was remarkable—I never had to share a lane with motor vehicles. We rode the well-known “Cycle Snake” bridge and experienced the low-stress environment where people bike casually and comfortably. Bicycle signals operate separately from vehicle signals and use the red–yellow–green pattern. One highlight was a children’s traffic playground that mimics real street conditions to teach safe riding skills. Mya, did you go to the playground?

Mya: Yes, it was one of my favorite parts, I felt like a giant because the whole thing is child sized. 

Scott: There were also some unsignalized intersections where bicycle paths meet. These rely entirely on social negotiation, with riders naturally slowing, weaving, and communicating through subtle cues. It was fascinating to watch, though I’m not sure how well that approach would translate in the U.S.

One of our big lessons was the importance of designated bicycle parking. In Utrecht, a few bikes from our group were parked improperly and got impounded, and we had to track them down at a storage facility. Across the cities we visited, the attention to detail stood out—things like real-time bike parking availability signs and stair ramps equipped with powered escalators for bicycles. In Amsterdam, the sheer number of riders requires constant spatial awareness. Helmet use is rare because biking is treated as a safe, everyday activity. Even suburban grocery stores had clearly marked walking and biking paths through the parking lots.

Here is a rural transit example from Sweden. At some bus stops we saw a simple spinning reflective device that alerts bus drivers when someone is waiting. It’s a clever, low-tech solution, and it got me thinking about our own work on real-time information for local shuttles. Throughout the cities, transit information displays were everywhere—on trains, ferries, and street signs—clearly showing arrival times and route status.

Looking ahead, I connected these observations to our upcoming County work on shared streets, planned for 2026. Dutch fietsstraat (Bicycle street) offer a helpful model: red pavement, narrow vehicle space, brick edges, and gateway signs indicating that cars are guests. These design elements create safer, more comfortable environments for walking and biking and could guide our future projects.

I’ll  be giving the full version of this presentation at a Lunch and Learn next Wednesday, with more details coming by email. Reminder that the annual Safe Routes to School art contest for K–12 students is now open.

7:50 p.m. – General Discussion | Project Updates | Hot Spots  | Next Meeting | For the Good of the Order 

8:00 p.m. - Adjourn

Staff Liaisons: Scott Hoelscher • Senior Transportation Planner • Dept. of Transportation & Development (503) 742-4533 • scotthoe@clackamas.us  | Mya Ganzer • Planner 1• Dept. of Transportation & Development (503) 742-4520 • mganzer@clackamas.us