Much of what we love about Portland was created on the backs of hard-working volunteers. I can’t think of many better illustrations of that than the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. BAC members have had had an incalculable influence on Portland’s bike network over the years, and now you have an opportunity to join this illustrious legacy.

The BAC is hiring.

If you are someone who likes to tell the Portland Bureau of Transportation how to make bicycling better — and wants to work in collaboration with city staff and fellow advocates to reach our mode share goals — now is the time to apply. The BAC meets monthly and their agendas are full of interesting topics and presentations from agencies and advocates from around the region.

If TriMet wants to redevelop a parcel of land near a MAX station and needs feedback on how to route a bikeway through, they come to the BAC. If Portland Parks & Recreation wants to redevelop a park and has questions about how to fit a bicycle route through it, they come to the BAC. If PBOT has some wild idea they need to vet with folks outside the Portland building who have on-the-ground knowledge and a connection to us regular folk, they come to the BAC.

It’s also fun and you get to do rides together and meet really neat people.

The BAC is the one government meeting that I try to never miss and I’ve seen first-hand for almost two decades how important it is to have the right people around that table. Suffice it to say, it’s a valuable and important body and we need more than just warm bodies in its membership. It could especially use more people who are not white and well-off.

Below is the meaty part of the official job listing:

The City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee convenes monthly to advise City Council and all departments of the City on all matters relating to the use of the bicycle as a means of transportation and recreation. The body is a perpetual committee. The BAC is comprised of individuals with interest in advising the city on matters related to bicycle transportation.

PBOT convenes the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) to provide advice and support to the PBOT, City Council and all City agencies.

The role of the BAC includes but is not limited to:

• Review and make recommendations on planning documents prepared by City departments affecting the use of the bicycle.
• Review and make recommendations regarding funding priorities for Bicycle Program activities and Capital Investment Projects.
• Monitor activities of other jurisdictions as they affect bicycling in the City.
• Review and make recommendations on Capital Improvement Projects developed by City departments and outside agencies to ensure adequate consideration is given to bicycling.
• Advise Bureau of Transportation staff on issues related to public involvement in Bikeway improvement projects
• Provide input on the strategy for incorporating equity into PBOT’s work and direction on the inclusion of communities that have been traditionally underserved by PBOT.
• Advise City staff on issues related to promoting bicycle safety and education
• Provide input for strategy for building a framework for mobility and transportation justice to mitigate against gentrification and displacement of communities of color and low-income communities.
• Encourage community participation in identifying problem areas, reviewing existing facilities and planning and implementing new projects and programs.

Apply online here and I’ll see you at the next meeting.