One thing you might have missed amid the huge crowds at Sunday Parkways earlier this month was PBOT's launch of a marketing campaign for the Going Street Neighborhood Greenway.

Coming soon to street signs.

As bike boulevards go, the City sees Going as the top of the heap; the marquee bike boulevard in Portland's impressive (and always growing) network. But what good is a low-stress, family-friendly street that prioritizes bicycling, if no one knows it's there? That's the question motivating a new push by PBOT to further promote Going and make it stand out among its paved peers.

PBOT is using part of the $2.1 million federal grant they received for the Going to the River project to do an outreach campaign focused on the Going Street Neighborhood Greenway. The campaign includes mailings to nearby residents, a series of events, new marketing materials, and new signage coming to the street this summer.

The five events will run through mid-September and they include: "Going to Play", a card game at the May 13th Sunday Parkways that had a chance to win a new Trek bike; "Going Shopping", a promotion throughout June that will come with special coupons to local businesses; "Going Exploring", a scavenger hunt in July the with prizes and free treats and coffee at the Concordia Neighborhood Yard Sale; "Going to Work", which will include free bike repair stations along the street in August; and "Going to School", which promises to be a "giant fair for kids and parents" at King School Park on September 14th.

At the beginning of May, PBOT sent out a mailer with details on these events to the 5,500 households within 1,000 feet of the bike boulevard. Those residents will continue to receive mailers as part of this campaign through September. Here's another detail from that mailer...

Another nifty thing PBOT unveiled at Sunday Parkways were these cool seat covers (as seen below on my daughter's bike):

Portlanders will also get visual cues that Going is a great street for biking. PBOT plans to add "street sign toppers" along Going this summer (similar to the ones already installed on SE Clinton St.). Bureau spokesman Dan Anderson says there will be four designs, three bike-focused designs already in use on Clinton Street and, "a new pedestrian-focused design."

The crossing at MLK Jr. Blvd and Going St. is often in use by people riding bikes.

In just a few short years, Going has already established itself as a great example of the city's renewed bike boulevard efforts. With stop signs turned to keep bike traffic flowing, speed bumps to keep auto speeds down, sharrows, and improved infrastructure at crossings, biking on Going is a breeze. Between 2010 and 2011, bike traffic on going rose 34%. With more awareness that the street exists, even more people might head out and give biking a try.

— Learn more at NeighborhoodGreenways.org

A tricky crossing of the Springwater Corridor path in Clackamas County just got a bit easier. This morning, county engineers turned on a new, bike-only signal where the path crosses the intersection of SE Johnson Creek Blvd and Bell Ave (in unincorporated Clackamas County, just south of Portland city limits).

The new signal allows bike traffic to cross diagonally from the northeast corner of the intersection to the southwest corner (and vice versa), instead of having to use two separate crosswalks — a situation that was far from ideal, both from a connectivity and safety standpoint.The $70,000 project began one year ago.

In addition to the signal, a large portion of the price was for rebuilding the curb ramps, installing new push-button posts for people to use while walking (bikes simply hover over a sensor to trigger the light), and countdown timers (a bike signal alone would have been much less expensive).

Here's an overhead shot of the intersection to give you a better idea of how the Springwater patch crosses Johnson and Bell...

And here's the view with the new signal looking northeast...

Clackamas County traffic engineer Rick Nys told us this morning that they are still putting finishing touches on the project; but the signal is up and running and he says, "It'd be great to get some folks out there trying it out." Right now, Nys says they've noticed some confusion about how to use the new signal. "We have some education to do," he added. He's encouraging those who have used bike signals before to show others out on the path how it works.

The signal is almost identical to the one Portland has near Peace Park above the Eastbank Esplanade at the intersection of NE Oregon and NE Lloyd. In addition to the bike signal, Clackamas County has also installed a "No Right Turn" sign that will be illuminated while the bike signal is green.

Reader Joe Hamilton says he was the first person to ride through the new signal this morning.

"It will alleviate my concern about getting hit by cars turning right off of Johnson Creek onto Bell Rd (south) when I cross Bell (going east)," Hamilton shared via email. He used to avoid this intersection because of the "double crosswalk light change" it took to get across. Instead he'd take the "narrow and gutter lined" Johnson Creek to Linwood and then hop back onto the Springwater. "That was a quicker option than waiting for the lights," he said, "but not now."

Did you ride through this intersection today? We'd love to hear your feedback.

UPDATE: Reader Bryan Dorr sent in this great video of the signal in action:

On Saturday night, the Oregon Department of Transportation installed sharrows and new signs on the St. Johns Bridge. Their "St. Johns Bridge Safety Awareness Project" was done in order to, "encourage motorists to be aware that the bridge and roadway is a shared facility and that bicyclists may opt to travel on the roadway."

They have placed eight sharrows in each direction, as well as adding two new "Bicycles on Roadway" signs mid-span. They also moved an existing sign at the westbound entry to a more visible location because it was partially blocked by a speed sign.

I rolled out to see everything myself this morning. My impression is that, while it's nice to see ODOT acknowledge the bike access problems on this bridge, these sharrows and signs do not make this a more pleasant place to ride. Then again, that was not ODOT's mission. As the name of the project implies, the new markings and signs will only increase awareness that people have the legal right to ride bicycles on the bridge. That's helpful, but it's a far cry from what should be the ultimate goal — to make the bridge a more viable (and less stressful) option for people on bicycles.

As I stood on the sidewalk to snap photos, massive trucks boomed by at well over 30 miles an hour (the speed limit is 35 mph, above which Oregon's unsafe passing law goes into effect). The bridge shook beneath my feet and the sound pierced my ears. I usually ride this bridge on the weekend, when traffic (especially big trucks) is much more tame. I have taken a lot of photos while biking in traffic over the years, but I seriously considered aborting my mission this morning.

Against this intimidating backdrop of four lanes of roaring engines, sharrow markings look a lot different than they do on a quiet residential street.

To actually make the St. Johns Bridge a place where more people would consider bicycling, the solution would be to have a protected bike lane and one standard lane in each direction. That was actually the recommendation made by consultants David Evans & Associates, who studied the bridge in 2003.

"Result of traffic operations analysis in 2002," read DEA's St. Johns Bridge Transportation Impacts report (PDF), "indicates no capacity constraints or operational flaws on the bridge that would prohibit the implementation of any of the striping options." Even in 2020, the report found that the only bottlenecks that would occur would be at the signalized intersections on each end.

Despite this study, and despite some advocacy by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and others, ODOT caved to the freight lobby and left the lanes as-is. Hopefully, this small step by ODOT is just the start of a new conversation.

There wasn't any other bike traffic this morning that took the road (I saw two people up on the sidewalk), so I couldn't judge how people in cars behaved around the new markings.

Check out a few more photos below...

On May 15th, the Lloyd Transportation Management Assocation (TMA) and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will unveil their plans to significantly alter the roadway design on NE Multnomah Street. Or in their words, give it a "transportation transformation."

The open house announcement for this project — which we first reported on back in December — was sent out to stakeholders today. Here's a snip from the invite:

Portland Bureau of Transportation staff and the Lloyd TMA will host a public open house to present concepts and receive public comment on a proposal to make transportation changes on NE Multnomah Street. Concepts include a reduction of motor vehicle travel lanes, introduction of on-street parking, and enhancements to bikeways and pedestrian crossings.

A road diet project for Multnomah Blvd emerged from a public process designed to develop a high-quality east-west bikeway through the Lloyd District on NE Holladay. When a representative from powerful real estate development firm Ashforth Pacific was the sole dissenting vote on a citizen committee for the Holladay project, PBOT decided to hit the pause button and focus on Multnomah instead. Now PBOT is promising putting the pieces in place to make Multnomah a more vibrant and popular street. [Note: This sentence originally said that PBOT Director Tom Miller had promised to make Multnomah the "coolest street in Portland," but that characterization over-simplified Miller's quote and failed to put it into context. - Editor]

Multnomah currently has five standard vehicle lanes and standard bike-only lanes. It's the classic, auto-centric thoroughfare. The road diet will turn the road into a three standard vehicle lane cross-section, giving more room to bike lanes, crossing features, and perhaps tiny "parklets." This, along with major residential and retail development in the works, could significantly liven up the streetscape.

So far, the Multnomah project has moved from idea to fully developed concepts without any input from the public. The planning has taken place behind closed doors with a select group of Lloyd District stakeholders. This open house will be the first time the public is allowed to see what they've been working on and offer feedback.

Heather McCarey, a former employee of the Lloyd TMA who sat on the Holladay project advisory committee, commented at the April 10th meeting of the PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting that she's excited about the potential on Multnomah, but the process, "Bulldozed the [Bike Advisory] committee," adding that, "We weren't asked to be a part of this."

McCarey also reported to the BAC that the changes to Multnomah could be on the ground by this summer and they will be considered a one-year pilot demonstration. More details on the open house below:

Open House: NE Multnomah Street - A Transportation Transformation
May 15th, 4:30-6:30 pm
Red Lion Hotel (1021 NE Grand Avenue)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has announced that they will analyze traffic behavior on the buffered bike lanes on SW Stark and could make changes to the street to improve bike access by the end of the summer.

On April 20th, I shared photos documenting that the buffered bike lane between 3rd and 4th was not working. Stark and Oak (its couplet one block north) were re-striped back in May 2009 in order to improve bicycling access through downtown.

On Friday, I was contacted by City Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller. Geller shared that they've heard loud and clear that the street is not working. He also said PBOT is going to immediately install traffic cameras on Stark to analyze the situation. Then, based on what they see (which will be a large amount of cars and trucks routinely ignoring the bike-only lane), PBOT will "make some improvements to make it work better."

Geller didn't say what type of changes PBOT might make, but it's clear the situation needs to improve. One possibility would be to move the parking lane into the middle of the roadway and put the bikeway curbside. This would deter anyone from driving down it and it would create separation between auto and bike traffic (similar to the cycle track on SW Broadway near Portland State University).

For inspiration, PBOT could look at how New York City's DOT improved bike access on Grand Avenue back in 2008. Grand Ave is similar width to Stark (34 feet compared to 32 feet) and all PBOT would have to do is swap the existing bikeway with the parking lane. Here's the plan sketch from NYCDOT:

And here's how it looks now (thanks to Streetsblog for the image):

(Photo: Brad Aaron/Streetsblog)

And if you're concerned about right-turning auto traffic not being able to see people on bikes, download the NYC DOT presentation on the Grand Ave project (PDF here) and take a look at the "mixing" zones they've designed at intersections.

Stay tuned. We'll share from PBOT once we hear about their specific plans. At this point, I'm just happy they are making this a priority.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has just rolled out plans for a project that will improve biking and walking access along SW Kelly Avenue near US 26 and the western end of the Ross Island Bridge.

Along with project partners TriMet and the City of Portland, ODOT will make a host of significant changes along SW Kelly Ave., including the reduction of motor vehicle lanes, new median islands, new bike lanes, installation of rapid flash beacon, new crosswalks, a bus stop improvement, and even a new path to connect bikers and walkers to the forthcoming Gibbs Street Bridge.

ODOT project manager Robert Hopewell says they started looking at this area three years ago after getting feedback from local residents and business owners. After launching an in-depth analysis of how Kelly Ave was being used, Hopewell says, "We determined we had a facility that seemed out of date for what it's being used for today and that we could remove a southbound lane on Kelly Ave."

Here are a few images and notes from ODOT (captions taken from project website) describing what's in store:

Kelly Avenue at Naito Parkway

Reduces the exit to Naito Parkway from northbound Kelly Avenue from two lanes to one.

Kelly Avenue at Meade Street

Constructs a cul-de-sac on Meade at Kelly Avenue. Drivers will access Meade via Water, Arthur & Corbett. Installs a Rapid Rectangular Flash Beacon and marked crosswalk on Kelly Avenue just south of Meade. Removes the inside southbound Kelly Avenue travel lane and replaces it with a raised concrete median island (from Meade to just south of Corbett).

Kelly Avenue at Corbett Avenue

Restricts access to Corbett Avenue from Kelly Avenue for drivers traveling from the Ross Island Bridge - drivers will access Corbett via Water and Arthur.

Kelly Avenue at Porter Street/Hood Avenue

Replaces the existing northbound Kelly Avenue access to Corbett with a new bus pullout and stop. Installs a sidewalk and a new bike path adjacent to the new bus pullout. Installs a pedestrian refuge island at the intersection of Kelly and Porter. Installs a pedestrian refuge island at the intersection of Kelly Avenue and Hood Avenue.

Kelly Avenue at Hood Avenue

Installs a sidewalk with an adjacent planter strip that will connect to the new Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge.

ODOT didn't have funding for the project initially, but spokesperson Shelli Romero says the agency had several recent projects that came in under budget so they allocated those savings to this project.

Estimated cost of the project is between $500,000 and $600,000. PBOT has also stepped in and will contribute around $40,000 to install a rapid flash beacon on Kelly Ave just south of Meade St. TriMet's getting into the act too with a $20,000 contribution toward the bus stop improvement.

Construction is estimated to begin in November 2012 and wrap up by August 2013.

ODOT is hosting an Open House on the project at the National College of Natural Medicine (2717 SW Kelly Ave) on April 18th between 5 and 7:00 pm.

For more on the project, check out the detailed image below (click for PDF):

Detailed overview of project. Click to download PDF.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) installed a new bike signal on NE Broadway and Victoria earlier this week. The signal is just one block east of the bike-only signal Williams that has been in operation since October 2010.

Unlike any other bike signal in the City, this new signal gives people on bikes a "pre-green" — meaning bike traffic gets to go several seconds ahead of car traffic. Here's more from PBOT spokesman Dan Anderson:

"The goal of this treatment is to improve traffic flow by giving people on bikes more time to travel through the Victoria intersection, bike signal at N Williams and the N Vancouver intersection on their way to the Broadway Bridge. This is also called a “leading bicycle interval” in traffic engineer speak and will allow a wider range of cycling speeds access to the green wave"

This signal is also integrated with the one at Williams so that bike traffic gets a bit of a "green wave" when headed westbound on Broadway toward downtown.

Koonce, shown here at Bridge Pedal 2009,
is in charge of Portland's traffic signals.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

This is just the latest example of PBOT's attention to bicycle traffic when planning signals and signal timing, thanks in large part to the head of PBOT's Signals Division, Peter Koonce. Koonce not only uses a bicycle as his primary vehicle around town, he is also a nationally recognized expert in the field of "Intelligent Transportation Systems" (ITS).

Koonce was behind the signal timing changes that made the NE 12th overcrossing project possible and you might have noticed his handiwork while hitting all the greens biking north up Williams Avenue.

Bike signals will become more common throughout Oregon thanks to a new state law that went into effect January 1st of this year. Koonce, representing PBOT, was one of the laws key backers. During a hearing on the bill in February 2011, Koonce told lawmakers that, "Providing an exclusive signal display recognizes the differences between motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians... Increasing the predicable movements of all roadway users increases safety of all modes."

As promised, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has installed new stop signs on NW Broadway at Couch.

Like we shared when this project was announced a month ago, PBOT had flagged this intersection due to a high rate of collisions. There have been 103 collisions (seven involving bicycles) in the past five years. The preferred solution is a traffic signal, but those are too expensive and the signs are considered an interim solution.

The plans were met with skepticism by both commenters and by members of the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee when they were first unveiled last month. As for compliance by people riding bicycles, PBOT traffic engineer Rob Burchfield didn't have too high of hopes, telling the BAC that, "I wouldn't be surprised if we put the stops in and then hear about cyclists not being compliant."

Turns out that Burchfield might be right. During my observations this morning, I found that compliance was nearly 100% among people operating motor vehicles, but only about 50% of the bicycle operators came to a complete stop (an estimate). This isn't a surprise. For one thing, it's a crowded intersection and there's often not much room for cars on the other side of the intersection (thus lowering the motivation to roll through).

Overall, while the intersection is still a bit chaotic and this isn't the most elegant solution, I think the new stop signs are a net positive for safety. They heighten the awareness of cross traffic and they make it more likely that cars and bikes and will stop for people trying to walk across the street.

What do you think?

— Below are a few more photos looking south on Broadway...

The City of Portland Parks & Recreation bureau announced this morning that a $2 million funding gap has put their plans for the South Waterfront Greenway project on hold. While the City has obtained all necessary permits and the final design of the trail was officially approved earlier this month, Parks has been unable to come up with the money.

The $8 million project — which will include significant environmental restoration and riverfront access improvements along with the paved biking and walkings paths — is funded by a variety of sources including TriMet, the Portland Development Commission, and private developers. The project is noteworthy because the path would be the City's first that physically separated bikers from walkers — something that is seen as increasingly important as our local paths burst at the seams with users.

Can't wait to see this built. Oh well... someday.
(Graphic: Portland Parks & Recreation)

"Unfortunately," read a statement released today, "after several years of earnestly working to fill the almost $2.0 million funding gap, we have not been successful."

Here's more from the City's website:

"All permits for the construction have been filed. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) intends to build the entire project. We are, however, at the point where we need to be realistic about the money we have in hand and what we can build during the current fiscal year. As you know, the cash on hand has always been less than the total cost of the project. For the past year, we have been working with potential funders to bridge that gap. In this economy, we were unfortunately not successful."

With the pathway on hold, Parks will begin the environmental restoration work in July. No date has been given for the construction of the path. "We are hopeful to continue on to phase 2 next year if funds are available."

— See the City's official website for this project here.

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is in the early stages of a downtown cycle track project on SW 12th Avenue between I-405 and Burnside. I began hearing chatter about this project from sources several weeks ago and have now confirmed that PBOT pitched the project to the Portland Business Alliance at a meeting on Tuesday.

The idea is to redesign SW 12th so that it includes high-quality bike access. Currently the configuration is one-way northbound with three standard vehicle lanes and parking lanes on both sides. Here's how it looks today...

Plenty of room! Let's make it a great bike street shall we?!

PBOT says that — similar to SW Broadway, where they installed a cycle track back in August 2009 — SW 12th has more auto capacity than is needed. The street has also caught planners' eyes because it has no rail tracks and it connects to Portland State University and the existing buffered bike lane on SW Stark.

SW 12th is a bit off the beaten track and it's definitely not the most popular downtown bike route. PBOT says they've considered other streets, but various factors have made them less feasible at the moment: SW 10th has streetcar tracks; SW 6th has MAX tracks and is part of the transit mall; SW Park doesn't have signals; and SW 4th has "heavy traffic volumes."

PBOT spokesperson Dan Anderson said today via email that, a cycle track on SW 12th will give them the, "opportunity to consider lessons learned from the Broadway Cycle Track."

Currently, PBOT is in outreach mode. They're giving presentations and talking with property owners, churches and people who live on the street. Stay tuned for more on this project and weigh in below with your thoughts.