New bike lanes make key connection in Outer Southeast

Freshly installed bike lanes on SE 162nd.
(Photo by Jeff Smith/PDOT)

The City of Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) has completed the installation of 1.6 miles of bike lanes in Outer Southeast Portland.

The new lanes are on SE 162nd Avenue from Powell to Stark and they create a continuous route of over three miles of bike lanes all the way from the I-84 path south to Powell. PDOT’s current bike map of Outer Southeast shows this portion of 162nd as a “difficult connection”, so these new lanes are a welcome improvement.

Now outdated map
of SE 162nd. Notice
“difficult connection” symbol
and Powell Butte and
Springwater Trail
at bottom.
(Map: PDOT)

PDOT’s Jeff Smith also points out that this bike lane helps make a great connection to Powell Butte and further south to the Springwater Corridor Trail.

I rode this stretch during a tour of East Portland with the City’s Bike Advisory Committee back in July and, even though 162nd is a large street, the bike lane added a significant level of comfort. Smith offers a reason why:

“The traffic on the south end of 162nd is considerably lower than the rest of the street, and the land use is largely low-density residential, so it really makes for a fairly pleasant ride.”

PDOT hopes new connections like this encourage more East Portlanders to consider biking. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of cyclists out there yet,” says Smith, “but i think with time they’ll find it.”

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Bent Bloke
Bent Bloke
15 years ago

The new bike lanes on 162nd are appreciated. I just hope PDOT does something with the way the WB Powell Blvd. bike lane just ends at I-205, dumping you into traffic that\’s going 35MPH. And there is no easy way to get to the Woodward/Clinton route from there. That\’s a really dicey spot. Better to use Division to cross I-205 and 82nd.

Jeff Ong
Jeff Ong
15 years ago

Might be the start of a safer way out to the trailhead at Powell Butte… riding Division out there all the way is really taking your life in your hands.

Ed Kane
Ed Kane
15 years ago

Is it just me, or are those horns on that painted cyclist?

rekon
rekon
15 years ago

Now if they would only ticket and/or tow the cars that park in the bike lane on NE 162nd as it heads N after crossing NE Halsey. This is right at the Halsey Station Apartments. Interestingly enough there are already signs there that so No Parking.

Arem
Arem
15 years ago

Is PDOT responsible for the extra unique touches for the bike lane symbols (i.e. symbol that looks like a person riding a bicycle) such as the ones I\’ve seen with what looks like someone wearing DJ headphones or has alien antennae or wearing an astronaut\’s helmet? I\’ve been curious about that since moving here.

chuck
15 years ago

#4: Call Parking Enforcement! 503-823-5195

Matthew Denton
Matthew Denton
15 years ago
bikieboy
bikieboy
15 years ago

rekon (#4) – 162nd is in the City of Gresham, from just south of Stark up to I-84. I couldn\’t turn up a specific listing for parking enforcement on their website, so you might just try the Police —–

For non-emergency police response, call (503) 823-3333.
Traffic Questions:
Lieutenant Jeffry Hansen
(503) 618-2330 or jeffry.hansen@ci.gresham.or.us

Resident
Resident
15 years ago

The only probelem here is that 162nd is a vast no-mans land. It is (for the most part) the border between Portland and Gresham. That means that neither municipality believes they should be the one maintaining the road (i.e. sweeping the bike lane). The section of road that rekon refers to above is also a virtual minefield of rocks, glass, and roadkill that has been accumulating for months now, no matter how many times the bike hotlines/maintenance lines are called.

Steven J
Steven J
15 years ago

Used to be an online reporting form for letting the transportation dept. know bike lanes needed cleaning in an area, I used to report problems with Vancouver & Williams streets all the time.(broken vodka & beer seem the drug of choice.
Street cleaners seem to hit downtown area (where I live) every night, and ignore outlying areas that are needed. I would like to find that link again if anyone has it.

chuck
15 years ago

There\’s a number to call to request a cleaning. I\’ve done it several times because the roads out by 82nd and columbia are covered in crap. don\’t know about an on-line request, but phone is easier, as you can do it while you\’re out.

503-823-SAFE

bikieboy
bikieboy
15 years ago

Chuck (#11) you can also call 823-1700 for basic maintenance stuff (glass, gravel, etc)- that\’s a 24-hour maintenance bureau number so you\’ll usually get a real person.

Steven J (#10) – here\’s the 823-SAFE email: safe@pdxtrans.org

webpage: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=40515

& the Maintenance street sweeping page:
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=47255

John Russell
15 years ago

I rode a mile of 162nd soon after the lanes were put down, and while I had never ridden that stretch before, it made me wonder: why don\’t they do this more often? It looks like all it took was narrowing of the amply-sized lanes and a fresh coat of paint.

david4130
david4130
15 years ago

I have been waiting many many years for this! 162nd\’s day has finally come!