Jeff Mapes

The NAR settlement will put many REALTORS out-of-business. Many of you think this will be a good thing. If I'm mercenary about it, I think this will be good for my business in the long run. But I'm not sure what will happen to those 700,000+ REALTORS, most of them middle-aged women just like me. I guess the DOJ and the Biden Administration don't care about those small business owners.

Personal vehicles are a major expense for Americans (the 2nd biggest after housing). It's only natural that car owners would want their property kept safe. The thing is, it's so easy to drive cars fast and most streets are engineered to encourage speeding. Car owners end up banging into each other, which gets really expensive, even before considering the medical bills. My fellow car owners, let's demand infrastructure that protects our major purchases. Here are some of the proven ways to protect vehicles and their occupants: Narrow lanes. 10-ft instead of 12-ft, even on the busy streets. Restriping is cheap and effective. Fewer lanes / road diet. Safer for drivers behind the wheel and drivers walking to their cars. Wide sidewalks. Most standard sidewalks aren’t even wide enough for two people to comfortably pass each other on their way to the driveway or parking lot. Textured stripes / rumble strips. Used to transition from high-speed to low-speed areas. Textured pavement. Cobblestones aren’t your only option in the 21st century. Diverters. Popular on bike boulevards to prevent drivers from going straight across an intersection. Midblock crossings. Break up “super blocks” with flashing beacons for car owners who happen to be walking. Chicanes. The s-curve feel that makes driving slightly uncomfortable to slow people down. Trees. Along the sides and in the center of traffic circles and roundabouts. Roundabouts. Or traffic circles, depending on the type of intersection. Bump-outs / chokers. They’ll show tire marks from all the rubs, but that’s progress. Use at intersections or midblock. Bollards. For endless smiles, follow World Bollard Association on Twitter. Tight corners. 90 degrees if you please. No swooping curves. Street furniture. Benches, lights, trash cans, restaurant signs, bike racks, etc. Raised intersection. Pricey but effective way to put us motorists on a pedestal when we're walking to and from our vehicles. Raised crosswalk. Like a speed hump wide enough for people to walk across.

In no particular order, a thread of things that are coming to Portland* in 2024**. *Or relatively nearby **And sometimes slightly before then.