And, for getting from Tillamook @ MLK to somewhere in the inner SE, it's a significant detour to go east to Vancouver (with a down-the-hill-and-up-again) or west to 12th.

I could also ride a fat tire bike for those trips to the inner SE and ride in the streetcar lane, but that's not going to work for most of the people, most of the time...

Ted Buehler

Wow, brave soul for actually riding those streets! I avoid Grand and MLK at all costs and opt to take something a few streets higher up to go the same direction. Sure, there are stop signs and such frequently, but at least you avoid the busy traffic of those streets.

I'm curious about the level of engagement between streetcar and pbot engineers with regard to bicycle infrastructure. I do suspect that it has been part of planning for streetcar but I'd love to hear it from the horses mouth if you will (either the pbot horse or the streetcar horse) how much bikes have been a part of the conversation.

And I support the idea of sharrows on MLK and Grand, particularly near the interchanges between major bike corridors such as Ankeny and Salmon.

They'll reopen the right lane with tracks embedded, probably next week, on both Grand and MLK in two-block sections just north of I-84, rendering it pretty much unrideable.

They'll need something like sharrows along the left edge of the left lane, to let cars know that's where the bikes are. And signs on cross streets directing bikes to use the left edge of the street?

It will be pretty sketchy -- people aren't used to shoulder-checking their right shoulder, so you wobble a bit more and don't get as good of a view. And cars aren't accustomed to watching for bikes on the left, etc.

Good news is since most cars only have one occupant, the risk of getting doored will be much less.

Ted Buehler
regular rider of MLK and Grand from Broadway to Burnside...

Hmm. Depending on how sloppy these areas get with gravel and construction plates, I may just opt for the Steel Bridge for these months. That sidewalk detour is going to get nasty if it coincides with Blazer/Rose Quarter events.

Then again, it may go smooth. Time will tell.

If where we're going is close to Sandy then the 12 bus line is usually great, and it's only a 30 minute walk across the Hawthorne to get to the East Industrial District, but other spots are problematic and I'm hoping the new streetcar line solves those.