(Photo: Elly Blue)
It’s been a very long time in the making, but according to The Oregonian’s Joseph Rose, Multnomah County is set to open the new bikeway on the Morrison Bridge by this Friday.
Here’s the blurb from The Oregonian:
“After months of delays, a 15-foot-wide pedestrian and bike path over the Morrison Bridge — as well as a new automobile off-ramp to Southeast Water Avenue — is expected to be open to the public by the end of the week.
“We’re finally going to be opening it up it sounds like,” Multnomah County spokesman Mike Pullen said with a chuckle and a sigh.”
Rose also put together this short video showing how it looks.
| A tour of the Morrison Bridge bike, ped path |
I’m in D.C. until late Friday night, but I’ll be hopping on my bike and riding across this as soon I can. How about a group ride over the weekend to properly break it in?
— Read all seven of our stories about the Morrison Bridge Project here.
I think Bud Clark should be the first one to ride across
Is the path going to be bi-directional? Did they find a way to mitigate the gap at the lift points?
Looks pretty nice.
yaaaaaaa HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
YES, I’m just a bit excited about this…
I rode across it from east to west on Sunday (I swear it looked open!), and it was smooth as peanut butter all the way.
There were no markings of any kind. I’m wondering how well two-way bike and foot traffic will mix, especially given that it’s not all that wide. (Or is it bike-only? I haven’t been following this very closely.)
Regardless, I think it’s a nice addition and a step in the right direction. It will certainly make my commute nicer, since it will make it easier to avoid the river paths.
Peter – It’s a mixed-use path.
I for one am happy about this! It will be nice to have an honest-to-goodness walking path to use instead of taking the risky embankment (probably illegally but oh well).
now, if the city could repave water ave…
plus one to comment 6. it is too bad they didn’t try to go with a connection to grand. i will try this soon, and i will try to keep an open mind, but i am also a bit concerned about the connection on the west end, which seems to dump you at a crosswalk on adler, which is one way east. we will see.
IT WORKS!!
We tried it (on the sly) with a jogging friend last Wed. at noon. It’s scenic, spacey and smooth. I can’t wait to bike on it; it has a smooth long hump that looks promising. See you there!
It looks promising but I am somewhat concerned about the “crash-worthy barrier”.
The vertical stanchions look a little dangerous – it would be easy to hook a pedal if you drifted too close.
I’m hoping it will mitigate some of the bike traffic congestion on the Hawthorne.
Does anyone know if they planning on adding any markings to remind people not to drift out of their lane?
“I’m hoping it will mitigate some of the bike traffic congestion on the Hawthorne.”
Slow bikers please use the Hawthorne bridge!
😉
Breakfast on the Bridge will have a special Morrison Bridge edition on the Morrison Bridge on Friday morning, from 7AM – 9AM.
Hope to see some new Morrison Bridge commutes again!
Tried it out yesterday. Some criticisms: Felt really uncomfortable, and the lack of markings really made it feel awkward as what should be a three lane path (bikes both ways plus pedestrians). Both of the places that it’s accessed from on either side are awkward and the proper use is not readily apparent to a first-time user. Also, Water Ave south of where it dumps you out on the eastside is in horrible condition, which is almost enough to keep me from riding the bridge until that’s fixed. Unfortunately, until some of these issues are resolved, I’m probably going to keep taking the Hawthorne or Broadway since they are both a breeze.