Beaverton to PSU?

[lynnef]

Originally Posted by fetishridr

the city of beaverton is entirely designed around the automobile. i have ridden/commuted through it and yes its possible to ride a nice route free of traffic. The older parts of portland however, were designed at an earlier time w/out so many automobiles.
...snip...
more people commute in portland than in beaverton. check out the numbers on the hawthorne bridge crossing.

so for the search for housing, st johns is cheap and a nice ride to town. there are some cool neighborhoods off of interstate (cesar chavez) as well as the alberta/mississippi corridors.
also check out areas south of 84 but north of burnside, theyre allright. 50th to 82nd. The area just east of mt tabor is cool too. cheap houses, probably cheap rent. foster/holgate to clinton is cheaper too. i'd start looking there. milwaukie is always an option, 1/2 hr to 45 minutes to PSU and really cheap rent. i think that milwaukie is going to start getting more expensive in the next few years.
there are also a lot of cheaper duplexes, apartments, and one bedrooms in the central eastside.( inside 28th)

Beaverton has been around a long time. Central Beaverton was there long before the automobile became common. The reason our roads wander around so much is that they were originally trails!

As for more people commuting in Portland - well more people LIVE in Portland. Also, while the Hawthorne Bridge counts are impressive, that's because riders who commute over the river are pretty much funneled into 2 major crossings. Commuters here go from everywhere to everywhere, and are spread out. I see more cyclists every day, on my commute.

Granted the housing developments from a certain time period are suboptimal for non-auto traffic, as in, if you want to GO anywhere, you've got to get onto a major connector.

I, however, live in an older area (not technically in Beaverton, either), and cycling works for me. Heck, my kids could safely ride their bikes to all their schools.

[nborders]

Originally Posted by fetishridr

the city of beaverton is entirely designed around the automobile. i have ridden/commuted through it and yes its possible to ride a nice route free of traffic. The older parts of portland however, were designed at an earlier time w/out so many automobiles. The city is full of narrow streets and bike blvd's. so for commuting, i'd consider it ideal. you beavertonians do have us beat on the recreational cycling in washington county however. you are much closer to nicer riding than i am in SE. more people commute in portland than in beaverton. check out the numbers on the hawthorne bridge crossing.

so for the search for housing, st johns is cheap and a nice ride to town. there are some cool neighborhoods off of interstate (cesar chavez) as well as the alberta/mississippi corridors.
also check out areas south of 84 but north of burnside, theyre allright. 50th to 82nd. The area just east of mt tabor is cool too. cheap houses, probably cheap rent. foster/holgate to clinton is cheaper too. i'd start looking there. milwaukie is always an option, 1/2 hr to 45 minutes to PSU and really cheap rent. i think that milwaukie is going to start getting more expensive in the next few years.
there are also a lot of cheaper duplexes, apartments, and one bedrooms in the central eastside.( inside 28th)

First of all I commute from Beaverton EVERY DAY and never have a problem. I feel proud that I need to commute over the west hills on a daily basis. I feel proud that I can include myself in the Portland bike community (not east-side bike community).

Second Beaverton is listed as a Bronze level of Bicycle Friendly communities from the LAB (http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....ommunities.htm) It has some older roads that don't have bike paths, but any new road has included a bike lane. East side people know the streets to avoid. For examle, I rarely see a cyclist on MKL like I don't see any on Canyon. You know the bike friendly streets intuitively, so do Beaverton cyclists. So your "small streets and many bike lanes" in Portland is just a mater of perspective, I can say the same for Beaverton.

Third, I like Beaverton, it is close to down town, has many transportation options, and is a great place to raise my girls.

Fourth, SHUT UP ABOUT THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN. I'm sick of this crap. It is all about familiarity. If it wasn't for the west hills we would be Missisippi or Clinton, or Brooklin. So piss-off!

... I'm off to work...

~n <--- irritated

[fetishridr]

beaverton is still a 'burb.
good for your commute. its sounds like a great ride. i dont think most bike commuters would like to or could climb 500 to 1000 feet to and from work everyday. you obviously could, as could i. i wouldnt recommend riding that much to someone who just bought a 'beater. who knows, perhaps the original poster can ride 2 hrs a day but many cant.

your post was so angry that it sounds as if i hit a nerve. if you are right and i am wrong, shouldnt i be angry that beaverton is a nicer place to live?

i've ridden through beaverton, i plan on doing it daily next year. i still wont move there. i prefer to live in town and commute farther to hillsboro.
i feel that a street with a 35 mph or 45 mph speed limit is horrible to ride on due to the speed of traffic and the inattentiveness of drivers.

caio

[Pdxrunner]

I commute 4 days a week from NE Portland t Downtown Beaverton.
During to sumer I'll go over the Hill using Twilliger or Montgomery, but in the winter or when I'm feeling tired I'll use my "standard" route using Barbur and BH Hwy. The streets are bust and not the prettiest, but there are bike lanes and it's pretty safe. Care must be taken on the two overpasses on Barbur where bicycles ride on the street for about 1 blk. Two "tricks" :

Taking Bertha to B H Hwy is much easier than taking the Capital Hwy exit. It's just a bit longer and it's a notch in the hill with less % grade. The 2nd "trick" is that the bike lane ends at BH Hwy and Scholls.
See Map:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1277173

Take Dogwood and follow through some name changes to Nichol. Jog acroos Scholls Ferry to Jamieson. Jamieson to Cypress a jog on Chestnut to the bike path which takes you past Western to the 5th Ave bike lane.

I take this 2 days a week during the summer and 4 days a week when it's raining or in the winter.

[haggis]

Thank you for that. I was stymied by what could be done at Scholls. It gets ugly in a hurry right there.

[fetishridr]

i'd rather not drive, well, i wont drive, but i dont know of anything better than heading up terwilliger riding south to multnomah and into lake O, Tualitin and then west.

is there anything that would be nice? like something that takes me to Roy Rogers Rd in a pleasant manner?

thanks
Beavertonians

[norse rider]

Hey,
To the Sherwood take Scholls Ferry all the way out to Roy Rogers. I used to work in Sherwood and know the route pretty well. The 217 overpass is scarry by washington square but other then that you should be alright; Just lance it across the overpass. Roy Rogers can be nasty as well. If I am ever this deep in Washington County I look like a X-mas tree. So light up
(unfiltered of course) and be safe.