Someone Slashed the Tires of BikeTown Bicycles at the New Seasons on North Williams Avenue

North Williams has a fraught history with bicycles. It's not over.

Someone slashed the tires of at least six BikeTown bicycles parked at the New Seasons Market on North Williams Avenue on Wednesday.

The tire slashing occurred before 1 pm Wednesday, July 20, the second day the bike-share program was in operation, says New Seasons employee Joel Mark.

"A gentleman talked to me and some other people about the fact that there was some slashed bike tires outside," says Mark, "and that information got passed onto someone who called the company and told them that the tires were slashed."

PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera says that the vandalized bikes are now in the shop, and asked Portlanders to report any vandalism as soon as possible.

"We've got crews working 6am to 10pm," Rivera says. "They've been addressing issues within minutes."

North Williams Avenue has a fraught history with bicycles.

In the summer of 2011, a plan to remove one car lane on North Williams became a flashpoint for longtime residents of the Boise-Eliot neighborhood, who saw the bike project as a symbol of the development displacing black families from North Portland.

In 2011, someone tossed thumbtacks into the bike lanes on North Williams and Vancouver avenues, flattening dozens of bicycle tires.

This Saturday, Portland mayor-elect Ted Wheeler is scheduled to attend a "Gentrification is Weird" bike tour to mark the five-year anniversary of the debate about the Williams Avenue bike project.

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