From Bronze to Silver to Gold? A dispatch from Beaverton

[Note: This post was submitted by BikePortland Subscriber Ms. Fast through our Subscriber Post system. We think it deserves a wider reach so we’ve posted it here on the Front Page. Remember, if you are a subscriber you are also a contributor! We would love to amplify your voice and share your experiences with a wider audience. Sign up here. – Jonathan]

After a decade of living and biking in Portland, I moved to Beaverton in 2013. As I get to know my new city, I’m more and more glad to be here.

Just in the last couple of years, Beaverton:

– Adopted a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan” (2015)
– Was recognized as the safest city in Oregon, followed by Hillsboro (2015)
– Joined the National Welcoming Cities and Counties Initiative, becoming the first city in Oregon to nationally declare itself a Welcoming City (2015)
– Tied with Cupertino, CA for a first-place City Cultural Diversity Award by The National League of Cities (2015)
– Unanimously passed a “Resolution to Declare Support for the Muslim Community & Reaffirm Beaverton as a Welcoming City” (2016)
– and in the first days of 2017, Beaverton became a Sanctuary City and opened its first severe weather shelter

Yes, we’ve got solid leadership in Beaverton! But what about the biking?

I admit biking here took some getting used to, coming from Portland. In some ways, and in some areas, it’s better to bike here than in Portland. In other ways—as in East PDX—the city is struggling to make up ground as it works to create a new Active Transportation Plan in 2017 and considers how and whether to adopt Vision Zero policy.

Beaverton has had a Bronze ranking from the League of American Bicyclists since 2008. In 2015, it was upgraded to Silver. Is the upgrade deserved? I’d say yes. There are leaders here who care deeply about biking, and they understand how the mode benefits cities and neighborhoods. The city is receptive to suggestions and seems eager to do more. It loves its annual Bike Beaverton event. Green bike boxes have started to appear at major intersections in the county, like 185th and Walker. Trails have been connected and improved. And more.

But I continue to unearth problems that could be addressed with new city policy, along with county and state cooperation.

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I don’t own a car, by the way. Zipcar is parked a couple miles away and does the trick when needed. I’ve also done a lot of run-commuting (drawing on my high school track and cross country days). Recently, though, I changed jobs, and I for sure need to bike commute. However, bike parking is nonexistent at the new office, located in an older development off of ODOT’s Canyon Road. I emailed the City of Beaverton asking for help. My impression was that staff really aren’t used to answering questions like mine. Just to make myself feel better, I decided to give my interaction with them a little makeover. First the Before. Here’s my paraphrase of the response I received:

Dear Citizen,

The City of Beaverton requires property owners developing new construction to install bicycle parking, but we don’t require property owners of existing developments to do so. We don’t have the name of the property owner. Check with your new employer that leases from them. Good luck!

—City of Beaverton

The response was courteous enough, but to me, it doesn’t shine Silver. The lack of action is what I’d expect from a city that still thinks people who commute by bicycle are—at best—quaint-but-a-bit-of-a-hassle, or simply an unknown entity. Indeed, there are far more car drivers to attend to in Beaverton, and per DMV records, some 65 motor vehicle dealers.

It’s not a Silver or Gold response because it means if I want to park my bike at work, then in addition to working my new full-time job, and trying to figure out a route safest from speeding cars, I must:

1. Know somehow there’s a thing called a “Tax Lot” & “Tax Lot Number” for every development
2. Know I can research that tax lot number in a site like www.ormap.net
3. Research the property owner’s name & contact info (which is considered public record)
4. Know that if the information is unlisted for some reason, the county has it and I can get it from them
5. Contact the administrative office of the property owner & beg them to put in bike racks
6. Wait weeks for property owner to ignore my request, as was my experience with a separate issue

I don’t think it’s really the city’s intention to make people who bike do all that work, or make them feel further ostracized. A Silver-going-on-Gold ranked bicycling city like Beaverton might offer more help or information. So here’s the After—the city response I wish I would have received, along with some made-up policies:

Dear Beaverton Citizen,

We apologize for the lack of bike parking! Rest assured we agree our residents should not have to face a lack of bike parking at their place of employment—especially if in the same location there are typically 100+ unused car parking spaces at any given time (a waste of profitable real estate).

The property owner’s name is: ____ . We’ve already contacted them for you, asking them to voluntarily install bicycle parking. While the city does not yet have a mandate for older developments to do this, we realize there are many such developments lacking bike racks & understand that people who bike won’t patronize businesses there. That’s why we as a city are providing incentives to property owners to encourage multi-modal thinking & development of ALL Beaverton properties, including, of course, outside the downtown core. We’re also looking into whether a development is truly exempt if a unit in it has been up for lease in the last year. While structures & asphalt may be existing, if new tenants are coming in and non-car transportation methods are being used by customers & employees, then maybe we can—and should—require bicycle parking there.

We’re going the extra mile because we want you to be able to enjoy biking to work and shopping without undue stress. We value people choosing to bicycle, and we’re striving to correct outdated transportation infrastructure to reflect that value. Here in Beaverton we believe biking & walking is key to the livability, health and equitable accessibility of our city.

Thank you for biking!

City of Beaverton

Thanks, imaginary Beaverton response, I feel better already!

What do you know, after writing that up, my employer called and said they needed to switch me to a different location that happens to be on a bus route and has a big old pole to lock my bike to, right in front of my office door. So now my big problem is gravel in bike lanes of 40-45 MPH arterials, but that’s a story for another day.

— by Ms. Fast. Follower her activism and adventures in Beaverton via @_The_Clearing on Twitter

Photo of author

Naomi Fast (Washington County Correspondent)

Ms. Fast is a former Portlander who now lives on the West Side. Read her posts for on-the-ground insights about the projects and policies that impact Washington County road users.

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lop
lop
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Where’s Portland on that list?

David Hampsten
7 years ago
Reply to  lop

From the original source http://backgroundchecks.org/25-safest-cities-in-oregon-2016.html: “Our list was compiled based on FBI violent crime stats and proprietary BackgroundChecks.org research data. Rates are normalized per 100,000 residents with the state average being 232 for violent crime and 2,879 for property crime. This is calculated by taking (# of crimes/population) * 100,000.”

Presumably Portland is the least safe city in the state of Oregon or pretty near it, with the recent surge in property crime.

B. Carfree
B. Carfree
7 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

I suspect that Eugene is giving PDX a run for its money. Up until three years ago, Eugene, population 160k, averaged one homicide per year. Over the past three years, we’ve had seventeen homicides, a nearly six-fold increase. (I received this information from one of the night-time watch commanders at a public forum last week.)

Property crime seems to be following a similar pattern. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that people have stopped calling things in that they previously would have because they know the cops won’t have time to deal with it.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Just watch out on SW Laurelwood Ave

Fourknees
Fourknees
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

I know of the one pedestrian fatality along there, but I haven’t had any issues when riding between Brentwood and scholls-ferry. It certainly could be much better, but I find most motor vehicles give plenty of room, even on the uphill toward BH highway, though the turtle shells and speed bumps discourage passing.

Have you had issues there?

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Fourknees

mainly speeding as it needs to be 25 mph, if not 20, instead of 30.

David Hampsten
7 years ago

From the same article: “In a 2012 report by Governing, Beaverton had 14.8 police officers for every 10,000 residents, the second-highest ratio in Oregon. On the other end of the spectrum, Gresham has just 11.1 officers for every 10,000 residents and tallied the worst crime rate in the state.

Portland was the anomoly among Oregon’s larger cities with a high of 16.2 officers per 10,000 residents but relatively high crime rates nonetheless.

In order, the other six Oregon cities included in the most recent rankings are Bend (85th), Eugene (206th), Salem (219th), Medford (251st), Portland (271st) and Gresham (307th). Vancouver, Wash., ranked 248th.

Note that the rankings list cities in order from most to least crime, putting Beaverton at 403rd among the 442. Conversely, Michigan’s Motor City ranked No. 1 for having the most crime (highest index number). ”

Note: On the same index for 2015, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Gresham were all tied for 308th. Bend was 278th, Salem 191, and Medford was the least safe at 156th. Eugene was not listed. St Louis MO was #1. Several cities well-known for high murder rates in NC and GA were listed as having the lowest crime rates, so I would take the data with a grain of salt.

For data wonks: http://data.sagepub.com/sagestats/document.php?id=6373

Spiffy
7 years ago

it’s diverse thanks to big tech companies hiring from other countries and it being a Portland suburb supporting our displaced minority…

Adam
7 years ago

I have found the cycling infrastructure in Beaverton to be either excellent or terrifying. There’s not much middle ground. Beaverton has a decent network of off-street paths that parallel major roads and developments — far more cycleways than Portland even. Connectivity could be better, though.The separated facilities around the MAX stations are generally of high quality. At the other side of the spectrum, you have five lane monstrousities of streets with no sidewalks and a three-foot gutter bike lane. Obviously tons of room for improvement there. Now, if we could just get Nike to open their private Biketown network to the public!

RH
RH
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Cedar Hills Blvd is a good example of excellent and then terrifying.

Austin
Austin
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

“five lane monstrousities of streets with no sidewalks”
… TV Hwy feels its ears burning.

I live, walk and ride in Beaverton and everytime I get home from work, I pat myself on the back for not getting hit by a car.

BradWagon
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

As long as you’re staying in one quadrant I’ve found getting around to be fine if not enjoyable on off street paths or residential streets.

Trying to get anywhere meaningful and use a bike as transportation is another story. Getting North South through downtown Beaverton is never smooth and I refuse to do it towing my son in the trailer. Luckily I live to the south close to the Fanno Creek trail and the pedestrian friendly side of downtown. (We as a family are sadly more likely to head towards Tigard than Beaverton for our out of car trips.)

To my knowledge Murray is the only main NS Route with continuous bike lanes… and riding on Murray is extremely uninviting. Hall / Watson need protected bike lanes and Lombard should be ped/bike/transit only through downtown. That neither 10 or 8 have bike lanes makes even a silver rating seem generous.

Fourknees
Fourknees
7 years ago
Reply to  BradWagon

I live in the same area and agree. Fanno creek trail is much more pleasant to ride into Tigard vs going north to Beaverton, although the scholls ferry under pass continues to get worse. (Flooding)

Tigard has also been working to improve their bike/ped facilities too.

BradWagon
7 years ago
Reply to  Fourknees

I used to commute under scholls ferry in the winter if the water was still below my bottom bracket but I’m over it now and just ride the roads. Hate that my off street route is unusable when I could use it the most (dark and raining winter). And I agree, Tigard having a smaller downtown area likely helps make the improvements more effective too.

I have only been riding that area for a couple years so I can’t say for sure but I agree it does seem to get a bit worse each year. Changing conditions / new beaver dams in the marsh maybe? Sad to see some the trails along fanno creek just kinda of permanently closed year round. (Granted from an ecological standpoint some of them shouldn’t have been built in the first place). Seems like a retaining wall under the scholls ferry dip would be very doable and keep it from flooding save for the extreme circumstances. But maybe it’s time to look at feasibility of a signaled crossing like at Hall…

Matt S.
Matt S.
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Just don a pair black and white Nike’s and pray to the bike Gods.

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Adam – I assume the main variable is that old devil: “85th percentile speed”?

Dick Button
Dick Button
7 years ago

Does this count as Gonzo?

Duncan Watson
Duncan Watson
7 years ago

The “big ole pole” comment at the end made me wince. I hate leaving my commuter bike tied up in the open. lights (front, rear, blinky), bike computer and water bottles are all easy victims to walk-by theft. I am a strong proponent of either bike boxes or inside storage at places of employment.

Brian
Brian
7 years ago

I have been commuting from East PDX to the Beav for almost 20 years, as much as I can. One thing I have noticed is that as people in Portand become less respectful of me, the opposite is true in Beaverton.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Brian

What route do you take? Try SW Sunnyhill Lane to downtown Beaverton.

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

As in: Cabot, Center, Lombard? What is your route east of there?

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Leifsdad

Yes. Sunnyhill Lane has a public trail (dead-end gravel road) from SW 110th to SW 108th. I take SW 107th to Ridgewood View Park neighborhood to cross over to SW Barnes Road or to the Highway 26 multi-use path. The fire station on SW 103rd Ave, between SW Walker Road and SW Canyon Road, will have a concrete path built to connect SW 103rd Ave to SW 106th Ave once the adjacent Chinese school is finished by the Elk’s Lodge. The neighbors and I would love some help rebuilding the path on SW Sunnyhill Lane.

BradWagon
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

I haven’t ridden this area as I usually cross over 217 further south but I am just curious about the Sunnyhill Lane connection you mention… It there a reason outside of just the novelty of a pathway that you prefer this to using Polsky? Looks like you maybe avoid some elevation changes but 107th looks to be right about midway between 108th and 106th in terms of time riding on Walker. Have never thought of this but would for sure use this general area with the family for a calmer route, will have to check it out!

Brian
Brian
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

Up and over the zoo and through neighborhoods to Walker, out to 185th.

Dan A
Dan A
7 years ago
Reply to  Brian

That squeeze on Walker & 173rd is….unpleasant.

Brian
Brian
7 years ago
Reply to  Dan A

Yes it is, so I haul ass and take the lane.

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago
Reply to  Dan A

May be awhile yet, but the squeeze will likely soon leave. For months already, it’s been under construction, but the county, I believe it is…has been involved in the process of doing something with Walker, east and west for some distance from the intersection, and it appears that it will include the continuation of bike lanes through the intersection.

Walker Rd, between Cedar Hills Blvd, and all the way out to 185th, will then have continuous bike lanes. On the north side for sure. The already completed sections aren’t bad for riding…well, not terrible, despite that environment being far from my preference…but it responds to the needs of the type of persons that are very reluctant to ride on any road that doesn’t have bike lanes. The riding environment is noisy and dirty from adjacent motor vehicle traffic, but the bike lanes are sufficient to support brisk biking speeds.

Dan A
Dan A
7 years ago

Yes, it appears that the ultimate goal is to turn Walker Rd into another Murray BLVD. Yuck.

http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2013/04/washington_county_looks_to_wid.html

O-live commenters love it of course.

Lynne
Lynne
7 years ago

not that it will make it better for others, but ask if you can bring your bike inside!

Matt S.
Matt S.
7 years ago

I imagine your email response—stamped with politeness all over it—was written by some cubicle bound individual suffering from Office Admin II Syndrome. At $13.75 an hour, overworked and feeling underpaid, I doubt she/he was chomping at the bits to help.

Matt S.
Matt S.
7 years ago
Reply to  Matt S.

*chomping at the bits, that is

darn autocorrect

messed up my whole sarcastic joke

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago

ms fast, from a fellow beav resident…good job figuring out the city red tape for effective communication and objective achievement.

While I do really feel that Beaverton officials are genuinely interested in enhancing the quality of condition for biking and walking between important destinations out here, the impression that seems to come across, is that maybe the city just does not well understand the potential that good planning and infrastructure for these modes of travel, could have for helping people deal with the horrendous thoroughfare traffic congestion issues.

The city dutifully makes additions to the bike lane and MUP network here and there, but it’s an extremely slow process involving years for much change. As for a grand master plan of centrally located, wide bike boulevards, esplanades, or MUP’s, or even having awareness of such a concept or a timeline to build one between major destinations…the city just doesn’t have any thing like that, it seems.

I think city officials like the idea that people will like biking out here because of the biking infrastructure the city has provided. It doesn’t seem to me that the city thinks through very thoroughly, just who it is feels they with a bike, can use that infrastructure safely and comfortably. My answer would be: not many besides the desperate or determined.

Very few happy family types are going to want to brave the harsh biking conditions of the major, central thoroughfares and boulevards present in this city, despite those roads having substantial distances of what would be generally regarded as decent bike lane.

I’d like to see more beav residents get fired up with enthusiasm for urging the city to examine and consider some perhaps revolutionary advances in biking and walking infrastructure for Beaverton. Whether there’s potentially an awareness of, or belief in the value of such a thing out here, I don’t know.

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
7 years ago
Reply to  wsbob

Even walking near Cedar Hills Blvd is very unpleasant with curb-tight sidewalks next to the noisy road and parking lots everywhere. The nearby roads don’t always go through, so there aren’t good quiet bike boulevard options. And yet the downtown core is totally chill, except being cut through by Hall and Watson (which could be much nicer with protected bike lanes in place of the free giant RV-sized parking spots.) A decent B-H Hwy bikeway connection to Portland might make a huge difference for both cities.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Leifsdad

Do you ride on SW 5th to the old trolley line of Jamieson ? There is a new path at McMillan Park.

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

Yeah. Chestnut Pl. + Cypress. It’s a bit more pleasant than trying to hold an outside lane on that western stretch of BH-Hwy with people who can’t see those “bikes on roadway” signs.

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Leifsdad

“Even walking near Cedar Hills Blvd is very unpleasant with curb-tight sidewalks next to the noisy road and parking lots everywhere. …” leifsdad

For walking or biking a north-south parallel route between Walker and Center, 124th, through the quiet neighborhood to the east of CHB, is good. Midway, Denfield goes directly to the mall, signaled intersection.

A north-south bike-walk alternative route to Hall-Watson: I had a radical idea for part of such a route, using short, East St and West St, north of Broadway, and Washington St south of Broadway and the RR tracks…all the way past the library to 5th. Would take lots of civic vision, courage, and money to do it. Situated there, a big, wide, pedestrian-bike boulevard, away from the stress of Hall-Watson motor vehicle traffic, could hugely enhance quality of life in this part of Beaverton.

Motor vehicle dealerships are big business for the Beav. I don’t begrudge the city or the dealers for their role in this, though it seems to me they could express some of their civic mindedness in ways that helped a bit more than it does now, in having Beaverton be quite so overwhelmed by motor vehicle business. The north side of the 2 block stretch of Broadway between Hall and Watson, exclusively occupied by one dealerships’ business, is an example. Some other businesses in addition to the dealership, could make the north side of Broadway, better.

rachel b
rachel b
7 years ago

“Thanks, imaginary Beaverton response, I feel better already!”

🙂 This made me laugh! Informative and interesting article–thanks, Ms. Fast and BP.

rick
rick
7 years ago

Beaverton is taking comments on what you want done with the industrial / retail area just east of highway 217 by Allen Blvd. Build a trail on SW 107th Ave from SW Allen Blvd to the bikeway of SW 5th Street.

http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1828/Western-Avenue-Employment-Area

rick
rick
7 years ago

More car dealers than grocery stores and mom-and-pop food stores combined !

mtbpdx
7 years ago
Reply to  rick

Rick, you need to check again. The ethnic food in Beaverton is a hidden gem. Check out Blue Olive Mediterainian, Haerim Korean, Beaverton Sub Shop and / or any of the awesome Mexican or Korean restaurants in Beaverton.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  mtbpdx

Central Beaverton as loosely defined by Beaverton’s map? Fred Meyer, Grocery Outlet, Natural something on SW Broadway, Target on SW 107th, Asian store on SW 110th, Oyajamiya on BH Highway, Bi-Mart on Western Ave, and little else. Any Jewish / Kosher stores? There are too many car dealers. The baseball / video game Malibu Grand Prix on quiet SW Cascade has been replaced by a towering car dealer. Closed Albertson’s on Barnes Road. Beaverton’s mayor has commented on the over-abundance of car dealers at public meetings.

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago

Reason for it being a funny looking building, is that is was a Safeway grocery store formerly, and for awhile after, bed, bath and beyond. Something I wish the store would have done, with the city’s encouragement, would be to have, on the south side of the building, which is now just a blank wall, widened the quite narrow sidewalk, and either put an entrance, display windows, maybe cafe seating, or small space for lease.

NG has one of the most extensive selection of food supplements around. Good food otherwise, nice staff. The lighting design in the store doesn’t work for me…somehow, it seems too low in some areas.

Beaverton does have a bunch of other ethnic shops and stores tucked here and there. In the mini-mall across Canyon Rd from NG, is a big Asian grocery store, Asian restaurant or two, fashion store. A block east, next to the chevy dealership, is a halal shop for meat. Over at the corner of Hall and Cedar Hills Blvd, behind the service station, is an Asian mini-mall. Been there a long time. Eastern Indian restaurant in an old house on 110th, just north of the Target.

Jonathan Gordon
Jonathan Gordon
7 years ago

More posts like this, please! I think Ms. Fast’s imaginary letter is fantastic. I’d love to hear what the City of Beaverton thinks about this article.

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago

Get to know: the Westside Transportation Alliance, if you do not already…for help and also a hug, when needed.

westside transportation alliance

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago
Reply to  Todd Boulanger

http://www.wta-tma.org – there we go…

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago

And if you want…I can sell your own mini Bikestation (turn-key)…like we built in Santa Barbara, Oceanside or San Diego…but you will likely need to get a grant for that as it takes a lot of bitcoins 🙂
http://home.bikestation.com/oceanside

mtbpdx
7 years ago

The City of Beaverton has many very good and active bicycle commuters on staff. I see Beaverton going gold in the next couple of years. It should also be noted that Beaverton is the gateway to some of the best riding in Oregon. I’ll take riding in Beaverton and Washington County any day over most of Portland.

That being said, Adams comment is spot on about bike infrastructure going from excellent to crazy in 100′. I think the City is actively working on that. I will note that I called in about debris in the bike lane and it was cleaned the next day.

Now all we need is some single track in Forrest Park.

wsbob
wsbob
7 years ago
Reply to  mtbpdx

What about asking THPRD, Beaverton, Washington County and Metro, to consider actively searching for land in the Beaverton area that could be used for mountain biking? If Beaverton officials and the others, could somehow see that this activity could enhance the city’s livability, they might get behind the idea.

Forest Park is a Portland Park with huge obstacles to overcome for that park to ever be used for mountain biking. The park is not that far away for some Beaverton residents, such as those in Central Beaverton, but it is for many other neighborhoods in the city. Why not be working to be developing opportunities for mountain biking, closer to more people’s neighborhood than possibly, some day, the park in Portland may be to NW Portland residents?

If people living in Beaverton, want mtn biking opportunities out here, they should be actively asking for the help of the city, county, park, and Metro to have that happen.

DC
7 years ago

Well-written article!! Nice job.

Gary B
Gary B
7 years ago

Ms. Fast,

Determining the property owner shouldn’t be intimidating. Ask your employer who they lease from! There’s almost certainly a property management company in the middle, and they’re really the ones who matter anyway (they have a budget from the ownership and would have the call on making such an upgrade).

But most importantly, your employer has the leverage here. The owner/manager wants them to be happy tenants. The appropriate liaison at your employer should be working with them to get that done, to meet their employee’s needs.

Rebecca
Rebecca
7 years ago

Great to see someone taking action to fix the problems that they see! Internet complaining is so convenient but the people who are willing to pick up the phone or write an e-mail are the ones who get things done. Good article and lots of helpful information.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Rebecca

Beaverton has yet to fix the problems with SW Laurelwood Ave. Two people walking on the road have died. It connects 3 big schools which makes for over 2,400 students. No petitions, public hearings, testimony to Beaverton police, etc has resulted in changes for the southern half.

JeffS
JeffS
7 years ago

From their list of “accomplishments”, it’s clear that they have passed the peak of their civilization.

Joe
Joe
7 years ago

awesome, just don’t get to comfy with tron, its a big mix of ppl in hurry and ppl that plan thier trips..

Lynne
7 years ago

My riding around Beaverton (retired, no more commutes) – I am super familiar with the Center-Cabot-110th-108th-106th-107th and up route (and would also like that right of way between 110th and 108th made passable) is generally south and east – into Beaverton to the library (Center-Lombard-2nd-whatever street that is that goes to the library), and south to 5th St (106th-Canyon-107th-through the office park-SW 5th-path to whatever that neighborhood is called-Elm-Scholls Fy-90th?-either FCT to Garden Home then up to the Multnomah Art Center or surface streets to a friend’s home. I used to commute west to Tektronix, Nike, and Intel, but those were all on routes which paralleled Hwy 26, pretty much completely avoiding SW Walker Rd. My immediate wish is a paved path from the east end of SW Millikan Way to SW Lombard, although the desire path is usually quite passable. I asked the city engineer for one several years ago, and I now see a public hearing sign at that very spot.

rick
rick
7 years ago
Reply to  Lynne

Have you rode on the new path by rebuilt Beaveton Creek between 114th to 117th Ave? If you would like to help rebuild the path on SW Sunnyhill Lane, please get in touch with the neighbor at the end of the gravel portion of Sunnyhill. I’ve pulled a tire and other trash from that trail. The mud ruts are there due to people driving through there for a 50 foot shortcut.

Andy K
Andy K
7 years ago

Nice writeup and thanks for putting it on the front page. Many miles of wonderful streets for recreation and commuting in Beaverton, and thanks to Max, even the novice cyclist is just 10-15 min from downtown Portland.

Use the maps here if you’re new to the area, they are very well done: http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1031/Commuter-Maps

Dan A
Dan A
7 years ago
Reply to  Andy K

If you’re a novice cyclist, I don’t recommend biking to the Sunset Transit Center. Maybe try a different Max stop.