The MLK Viaduct Project construction zone is proving to be quite a pain for some cyclists.
(File photo)
Many people have been ticketed for stop sign violations since the Police Bureau announced that the entire area — which just so happens to be one of the busiest bike corridors in the city — was an official “enhanced enforcement zone”.
Others have been ticketed for not riding in the newly striped bike lane. That offense is far from clear cut and at least one cyclist plans to take his ticket to court.
Making matters worse, and related to the bike lane issue, is the story (and photos) sent in by a reader about a business in the area that thinks the bike lane is their own private parking lot.
Here’s the story (photographs follow):
“I took some pictures of the Apple Foods trucks blocking the bike lane between 4th and 5th on Caruthers today. With all the police action targeting moving violations in the construction area, I am getting a bit tired of seeing this obstruction every day which forces bikes into the main lane with all sorts of traffic, including lots of large trucks (which is demonstrated in one of the photos). It seems dangerous to me…”
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Another reader, who commutes by bike and foot through the area, emailed to say she has had several close calls with trucks. Here’s her story:
“Heading in to work this morning I took my usual route which includes SE Division Pl to SE Grand and under the 99 viaduct on SE Caruthers. Going really slow because of the construction and traffic, I was westbound in the bike lane under the viaduct and a guy in a construction truck decided he wanted to turn right onto the dirt lane on the west side underneath the overpass where they all seem to park their vehicles. Of course, he wasn’t paying attention and turned in front of me. I yelled at him and he just looked over his right shoulder at me and continued his turn. I’m trying to figure out who to contact about this as it is not the first close call I’ve had with the people working on the 99 viaduct.”
The good news is that ODOT is ready to deal with these safety concerns. The reader above got this reply when she emailed an ODOT rep:
“Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. Safety on this project…is a major priority and we have specifically been mindful of the bike/ped safety issues. What you explained is exactly what we are trying to avoid. I have contacted both our ODOT project manager and the safety manager for the contractor doing the work about your experience. It will be discussed at the next safety meeting and discussed with the workers on site.”
I also saw this sign posted near the site. I called the number this morning and was told that I had reached the ODOT office in charge of the project. Typical procedure is to take down reports and have the appropriate person return the call.
If you ride through this area, slow down, be aware (of trucks and cops), and be prepared to take extreme caution. If you have any problems, call (503) 771-3370.
UPDATE: Mark Ginsberg, Chair of the City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, says that the “Bicycle Concerns?” sign is a direct result of fellow BAC member Matt Arnold. Arnold suggested the sign when ODOT reps came to the BAC before the project began to ask how they could minimize impact on bicyclists. Way to go Matt!
I’m so glad you finally did this story. I ride through here every day and can attest that the Apple Food trucks and others block the bike lane every day and nothing has ever been done, yet if you fail to put your foot down and come to a full and complete stop at the stop sign, bam, $242. And thanks to whomever submitted the pics.
You could try calling the parking enforcement hotline at 503-823-5195 (business hours only). I’ve been calling them for cars parked across sidewalks in my neighborhood, and they always send someone out right away and bam! there’s a ticket on the windshield. Incredibly satisfying.
I would wait to call until you know there are vehicles there at that time, since I have the impression they send out a person quickly (but I don’t think they would send one back repeatedly to find a violation that was called in).
Let us know if this works…
This morning as I was riding on SE Caruthers I saw a truck (very very large truck) pull out fairly rapidly (for such a big truck) from the stop sign southbound on the Water street detour and cross over Caruthers onto SE 4th into the northbound lane (including that new bike lane). I couldn’t see around it to see if there were any cyclists in danger of getting smooshed, but it sure looked like some reckless truck driving to me.
As for the Apple Foods trucks not only do they make it dangerous for cyclists, they also endanger pedestrians by blocking the only usable sidewalk on that section of Caruthers.
Thanks for that parking enforcement hotline Jessica!
Is it just me, or has there been this crazy increase as of late in cars deciding to actually park perpendicular to the road (aka smack bang across the middle of the sidewalk & sometimes, bike lane?)
For an able bodied soul like me, I can just walk or (if traffic lets me) bike around them & grumble lots at their incredible rudeness & lack of tact/consideration, but for somebody in a wheelchair with ADA issues, or a parent with children a heavy pram, it’s awful, dangerous, and often with the curbs, impossible to navigate around these cars. And who wants to wheel their children into traffic, just because some idiot has blocked the entire sidewalk?!
Regarding the construction area in this story, the scariest things I still see are –
1) trucks from the Ross Island complex blasting out of that property really fast without stopping to look for bikes and
2) A lot of speeding on 4th Ave by cut-through traffic coming from the OMSI area going to Division. It’s now a wide, flat street, and even with a bike lane, the speed of traffic on there can be a little intimidating at times.
3) What’s with that corner at SE 4th & Caruthers? They did a *terrible* job of paving and putting the bike lane in there. You have to swing wide around the corner, before moving inwards again to meet the bikelane. Weird.
My two cents.
Isn’t there someone at ODOT that you could send the Apple truck pictures to?? Seems like this is a habitual thing for this company to park their trucks like this. That looks like 5 or so trucks. Are they loading or offloading product, or is this just where they park their vehicles?
Quoting Grumble Grumble: “Is it just me, or has there been this crazy increase as of late in cars deciding to actually park perpendicular to the road (aka smack bang across the middle of the sidewalk & sometimes, bike lane?)”
Well, I know that once I discovered the magic of the parking hotline, I sure started to see sidewalk parkers EVERYWHERE…but I thought that was just because I had a way to punish jerks, so then I stopped tuning out the jerks.
Why should we have to follow traffic laws when cars don’t have to? It’s ridiculous that we have to stop at stop signs when bikes can’t hurt people. Cars hurt people all the time and you never see the cops out to get them. It’s just another example of the PPD setting out to get people off of their bikes and into cars. Well until someone proves to me that running stop signs is dangerous I’m not stopping, and if I get a ticket I’ll see them in court.
Kristen (post #5), the Apple Foods trucks do indeed just park there. In fact, I sometimes wonder if they ever leave.
Since I moved to Portland 10 years ago, I have noticed more illegal parking than in any city I have ever lived (and that includes Chicago, land of creative parkers). At one point I thought that perhaps it was LEGAL here to park on the “wrong” side of the street . . .
I once asked a parking enforcement person why they don’t ticket those cars and she said that they only regularly patrol downtown and NW and that if I wanted them to ticket cars in inner Se I would have to call and complain about a specific illegally parked car . . .but she wouldn’t give me the number, so thanks, Jessica!!!
why are there bike lanes there anyway? they should have the bike/auto share the road deal going. where they have the pic of a bike rider off to the right of the right lane, which I see as the bikers right to use all or some of the particular road with vehicles. tell me if I have that right…with the icons meaning I mean. thanks.
Look at what Jonathan put together 2 years ago:
http://bikeportland.org/2005/04/22/who-ya-gonna-call/
————————–
Portland Bikeline – (503) 823-CYCL
-Press 1 for bike lane/path maintenance
-Press 2 for bike maps & cycling info
-Press 3 for bike rack installation requests
Street Maintenance & Concerns
Pavement repair/potholes – (503) 823-BUMP
Neighborhood traffic safety – (503) 823-SAFE
Parking Enforcement – (503) 823-5195
24-hr maintenance emergencies – (503) 823-1700
—————–
I ride through there 2x a day on weekdays. The Apple Foods’ trucks seem ever present and always blocking the sidewalk and bike lane.
Fred (comment 7):
Whenever you run a stop sign and have a near miss (or worse) with a ped, a cyclist, or a driver—which must happen to you quite a lot—*that’s* proof that running stop signs is dangerous. Someone’s being a jerk in that situation, and it’s not them.
BTW, Jonathan, great coverage of the Caruthers situation.
While we’re bitching…
What’s with the southbound striping at 4th and Ivon (the entrance to the Springwater Corridor and Ross Island Sand & Gravel)?
It turns from a nice big wide bike lane into some sort of stripey pedestrian crossing that then makes a 90 degree left (where Balzer probably wants you to stop at the little stop sign). The bikelane-turned-crosswalk then goes across the Ross Island driveway (which has no stop sign because it’s technically a driveway and we assume that the driver know that they’re required to yield…) before you must take a right through the gate into the Springwater.
I haven’t seen anybody actually do this little crosswalk dance. Everyone just pulls out of the bike lane and heads straight for the Springwater entrance.
Was this designed for Barnum and Balzer’s Wild Wacky Wednesday Ticketfests…or were there just some engineers asleep at the wheel when this was “engineered?”
The ‘newly striped bike lanes’ on fourth are garbage, they are really just a glorified sidewalk and not at all laid out like you would normally ride your bike through this area, plus they are continuously blocked by trucks from Ross Island S&G, and filled with debris from the same.
Re: Fred May 25th, 2007 10:29
Fred, You may want to get some long term disability insurance first. Best of luck.
The apple foods issue is separate.
My guess has always been that Apple foods was there before the bike lane,
and that their parking on the street was grand-fathered in, if you know what I mean. But since this is a Blog,
no investigation needed.
Anyway, the bike lane rule says, if it’s dangerous to ride in the bike lane, just ride in the street.
Seriously Fred? Guess you don’t have much to lose. Good luck to you.
BURR (#13)
My experience has been quite different. Since they put in the new striped lanes on 4th, I haven’t seen the bike lanes blocked by Ross Island trucks at all. Not once. They sit in the roadway, leaving the bike lanes clear.
I’m a bike commuter, so this is only during 7a-9a and 4p-7p. I have no idea what it’s like during the other hours of the day.
Matt #17
While I haven’t seen Ross Island trucks in the bike lanes on 4th, they do park right on the line and tie down their loads, throwing straps from the left side of the trailer to the right, putting the straps across the bike lane.
I’ve seen them throwing with their backs to the trailhead or without apparently checking if to see if there were bikes on the other side. I always bypass the bike lane when I see them there.
I was once almost hit by one of those straps (post #18) – the driver was on the far side of the truck in the middle – I couldn’t see him from where I was on the path, he couldn’t see me. All of a sudden this strap with a big metal hook on the end comes flying over the top of the truck straight at me – that got my HRM going . . .!