[Welcome to the first of what we hope will be a series of posts highlighting useful bike routes around the Portland metro area. We’ll be looking at routes that don’t have clear directional signs but can still get people from A to B on a bicycle. If you’ve got a favorite secret route, drop us a line. — JM]
At a recent public forum I saw someone write a note on a list of desired bikeway improvements.
The note said the author wanted to see more “bike facilities leading to Barbur” so, in this first installment of Unsigned I’ll share a route that takes you from Lake Oswego to Barbur Boulevard.
It starts at the end of the Kruse Way multi-use path (MUP) and leads to Highway 99 where it crosses over I-5 and becomes Barbur. The route passes near George Fox University, PCC Sylvania, and other businesses in Tigard. It can also be used to get from Lake Oswego to Hall Boulevard, which leads to the Beaverton Transit Center.
Right after a Bike Route sign at the west end of the Kruse Way MUP, the trail dumps you out at the corner of the Kruse Way and Kruse Oaks. It seems like the MUP ends here but there’s another section, continuing west, on the south side of Kruse Way.
Once you’ve crossed to the southwest corner of Kruse Way and Kruse Oaks you’ll find the next section of the trail leading west towards I-5.
Use the crosswalk at Bangy Road to access the bicycle and pedestrian path on the other side…
…and cross over I-5 on the bicycle and pedestrian bridge.
Once you’re over I-5 there’s a pair of crosswalks to help get you across Highway 217 in one piece.
Another MUP starts up on the northwest corner of 217 and I-5.
The path ends at 66th Avenue, a street that parallels I-5 behind a business park. There’s usually very little traffic on 66th but it’s a good idea to keep an eye out as you leave the MUP and merge onto the road.
Taking the first left (heading west) off of 66th puts you onto 68th Parkway which curves around to the north and becomes 68th Avenue.
There’s no bike lane on most of 68th but you also won’t see too many cars or trucks. Sections of the street that run north and south (paralleling I-5, 72nd, and Hall) are used mostly by local traffic.
On 68th Avenue you’ll pass through a four-way stop near George Fox and continue north to Dartmouth Street. There’s a shopping center with groceries and a movie theater on Dartmouth to the west of 68th, but heading east on Dartmouth will take you southbound on I-5.
There’s a bike lane on 68th near Dartmouth which takes you north, across Dartmouth, towards Barbur.
The bike lane continues along 68th all the way to Barbur, but at Haines Street it’s striped to turn to the right. Following the bike lane to the right (east) takes you over I-5 on Haines towards PCCC Sylvania.
To get to Barbur you have to merge out of the bike lane and into the northbound travel lane on 68th.
Just after crossing Haines Street, 68th heads quickly downhill and then back uphill to Highway 99.
After you’ve climbed up the hill you’ll be at the intersection of 68th and Highway 99. The bike lane merges with the travel lanes at the intersection so you’ll want to have an idea of where you’re going before you get there.
Continuing north on 68th connects you with neighborhoods that lead to Hall. Turning left (south) on Highway 99 takes you back into Tigard. Turning right (north) on Highway 99 leads to the bridge over I-5 where 99 becomes Barbur.
Although this route provides relatively direct north/south access between Kruse Way and Barbur, bicycle traffic is slowed down considerably at the outset where it needs to utilize six separate pedestrian crossings to navigate around I-5 and 217.
Motor vehicle traffic along the route is light because cars and trucks have access to better alternatives, but 68th Avenue could quickly become unpleasant and unsafe if more cars and trucks decided to use it to access I-5.
Even with these drawbacks, the route between Kruse Way and Barbur is a good way to get between Lake Oswego and Portland. It will probably continue to be one of the better options until we get a proper bikeway between the two cities’ downtowns.
Do you know of a great route that’s hard to find? Send details of the route to will [at] bikeportland [dot] org and we might feature it in the next edition of Unsigned.
Thanks for the detailed info. Why not take Bonita to Hall instead ? From Hall people can take the Fanno Creek trail or simply continue on to Pacific Hwy..
Having ridden this area a bunch, I’d say if you want to go north on Barbur then Bonita to Hall would be significantly out of the way. (Works great for linking up to points south and west though.)
The multiple crossings at Bangy, and 217 really slow things down, but is a reasonably safe route that lets one ride on MUP’s for a while. I don’t care for Barber going north from 68th until you get past the I5 on-ramp. It can be pretty dicy in that section. To get from Kruse Way to Barbur north, I prefer riding Westlake Drive north through the Westlake neighborhood, jogging over to Lesser on residential connectors, past the lower entrance to PCC over to old Capitol Hwy., then jogging left and right to join Barbur after the freeway interchange mess. It’s a slog up the hill from there, but there’s a reasonable bike lane most of the way.
This has been mapped for a while now.
Thank you! That is invaluable. I wish I had had this when I moved to LO..
This is a great idea! Can’t wait to see more of these.
What’s traffic like on 68th when all the offices empty out around 5p? The couple times I’ve been through there (late mid-day and evening), drivers didn’t seem to be expecting bikes/peds to be around. Lots of speedy “slow rolls” out of parking lot driveways, etc.
I ride this section almost every day. Traffic is typically light and reasonably slow. The only issue I have is at Haines street, as you can see in the photo, cars have a right turn lane and don’t stop for bikes continuing straight.
I hate the MUP on Kruse way. It has lots of blind corners and tree roots have torn it up so that some sections are very rough.
I second what gumby says – especially the Haines part but I would add that even though the new treatment at Dartmouth has made things better. It too can get obnoxious with drivers trying to cut you off going to the freeway. One nice thing many of the cars don’t park on the northbound part of 68th so it is almost like you have a bike lane there.
This route is pretty out of the way. I used to take Kruse Oaks up past the church, use the little bike/ped path to pop out in the neighborhood at SW 63rd, take it through the neighborhood to SW 62nd and then up to SW Lesser past PCC, then on to Barbur. Did this every day for over a year when working on Kruse Way.
This is a terrible route if you plan on continuing to Portland. The area where 99/Barbur crosses I-5 has a very dangerous merge where you have to start on the right side of the road and cross the right lane where people are heading to the freeway on-ramp to be able to continue to Portland. It is far safer to take a right on Haines from 68th and take Lesser toward Barbur.
while I am now comfortable traveling on 99w north of 68th, I am curious about the drivers on Lesser. That narrow, windy road with sometimes fast traffic scares me so I would like to hear your input. 99 for all its faults has some nice breaks in the traffic that make it navigable enough for now.
That’s the down side of Lesser. Little to no shoulder, and it can be very dark on a rainy night. The traffic load on Lesser is usually calm enough that it’s not a big issue, but riding it with marginal lighting at night definitely wouldn’t be a good idea.
Alternately, if you’re coming to Lesser from the Haines Rd. I5 overpass, you have the choice of continuing up the hill on Haines to SW 60th, and then turning left. 60th is a very quiet residential street, and it gets you all the way to the PCC entrance. The shoulder is wider and the road is straighter on Lesser from there to Old Capitol Hwy (and the short jog left and right to Barbur). Takes a little longer but it is a safer route.
I like how each step has a picture so you can see what it looks like. Gives an advance idea of what you should look for.
Sucks that you have to go from the north side of Kruse to the south side of Kruse to continue going the same way you had been going, but I guess there’s no other way for it to go.
At Barbour Blvd you can continue on 69th Street and turn R on Oak. L on 65th and R on Pamona, continue on Pasadena and 55th Ave. A right at Alfred will lead you to 48th, which will become 45th. Pass Woods Park and turn R at Mulnomah Blvd. This will take you to Multnomah Village without getting on Barbour. It’s actually quite pleasant.
This is a nice route, but parts are very steep. Be forewarned. Same is true (to a somewhat “lesser” extent – pun intended) for turning right off 68th to take Haines over I5 to SW Lesser Rd. It’s not a long climb, but the freeway overpass will get your heart pounding.
Thank you! I work in Lake O. and live in North Portland and have been looking for a safe way to get to Barbur. I will definitely put this info to use!