Right hooked at the NW Everett & 16th Bike Box.

[jr98664]

Shortly before six this evening, I was riding down Everett from 21st Ave to Waterfront Park. As the bike lane began, I signaled into it and kept riding towards 405. As I approached the bike box, the signal at 16th Ave turned green and I continued riding down Everett. Right as I approached the intersection a taupe Dodge Magnum made a right turn right into the bike lane—a green bike lane, no less!

I skidded to a halt just in time to tap the side of the car with my handlebars. They had their window down, so I scolded them for not yielding to a bike in a bike lane. Then they looked like they were getting on the clogged on ramp for SB 405, so I had a bit of a laugh as I cruised along in the bike lane.

Either way, this is the closest that I have come to actually eating it. Thankfully that time has yet to come.

[K'Tesh]

Originally Posted by jr98664

As I approached the bike box, the signal at 16th Ave turned green and I continued riding down Everett. Right as I approached the intersection a taupe Dodge Magnum made a right turn right into the bike lane—a green bike lane, no less!

I skidded to a halt just in time to tap the side of the car with my handlebars. They had their window down, so I scolded them for not yielding to a bike in a bike lane.

Glad to see that you made it through your experience unscathed...

If you came in contact with the car you should report it to the authorities so they might be alerted to the possible need for extra scrutiny there (perhaps a camera to record the area, extra enforcement etc...).

I hope that this is the absolute worst thing that EVER happens to you or anybody else out there... (I'm reminded of the opposite of what I wished for you... there's a Chinese curse: "May You Live In Interesting Times").

Have a Boring Day!
K'Tesh

[djasonpenney]

What steams me is that Mayor Potter said there wasn't a problem here when it nay-sayed the notion of a Flanders pedestrian crossing. Your experience needs to be shared if you expect the city planners to change their minds.

Originally Posted by K'Tesh

<snip>
If you came in contact with the car you should report it to the authorities so they might be alerted to the possible need for extra scrutiny there (perhaps a camera to record the area, extra enforcement etc...).
<snip>

[lefty175]

djasonpenney - If I remember correctly Mayor Potter never addressed the Everrett & 15th intersection, rather he addressed the Flanders & 15th intersection. Of course an intersectoin that doesn't go through is going to be safe.

jr98664 - I live in the NW area and ride down Everett almost every day. My advice DO NOT take this bike lane. I never do. I merge into traffic, whether it be left or right lane and take the lane. I, in fact, take a lane all the way down to the Waterfront.

If you're moving too slowly to feel comfortable taking a lane I suggest going down Flanders (or any other street) to 19th, following the bike lane/sharrow down 19th til you reach Couch, then following Couch down to the Waterfront. Couch is a much slower street regulated by numerous all-way stops and it is the street I choose when riding to the Waterfront with my girlfriend (here's praying that the Burnside/Couch couplet either doesn't go through or they truly make another alternative route). You can also ride up Couch from the Waterfront; at 15th there is a left turn only signal, but bikes can ride straight through, up onto the sidewalk, and back down onto the street on the other side.

[djasonpenney]

I guess I was thinking in the figurative aspect, which seems to be a mentality at city hall that there ain't no stinkin' problem getting from NW into downtown.

Even though I live in the hazy foreign outreaches (Beaverton, where our wheels are square and SUV's have cattle guards to shove the cyclists aside), I too have experienced great fear and anxiety going through this intersection. Drivers making a right turn there have remarkable tunnel vision.

What's amazing is how much effort traffic engineers have invested in this intersection. Adding the bike box there was just the latest attempt to paint lipstick on a pig.

Anybody out there who has a close call at that intersection, please make sure that PDOT hears your story. In an area extending from Forest Grove to downtown Portland, 15th & Everett remains one of the most dangerous intersections I know of.

Originally Posted by lefty175

djasonpenney - If I remember correctly Mayor Potter never addressed the Everrett & 15th intersection, rather he addressed the Flanders & 15th intersection. Of course an intersectoin that doesn't go through is going to be safe.
<snip>

[lefty175]

Yeah, the bike box there isn't such a hot idea since most incidents there occur when traffic is moving. Drivers constantly pull into the bike lane to make the right-turn before the light turns green or they pull into the bike lane while waiting for pedestrians to cross, thus blocking the bike lane.

I was sitting there one time in my car (ew) waiting to turn onto the freeway. All of a sudden a car comes driving up along my right side IN THE BIKE LANE and makes the right on the RED (there's a nice sign up there that says NO TURN ON RED). Then a woman in the SUV behind me starts trying pull to my right, so I turn my wheel hard to the right, inch forward (without blocking the bike lane) to block her, roll down my window and yell at her, "There is no right turn on red and I'm trying to make a right too, wait your turn."

I'm of a mind that we need bollards at every intersection that stay up until the light is green - talk about traffic calming. Oh, and it's not just that intersection that is bad along that road. Drivers on Everrett seem to be in their own world - about three weeks ago some idiot started merging into the left lane and almost side-swiped me. The entire time I was screaming at the top of my lungs as I had no place to go, except into his car or a parked car. Luckily he finally noticed me (checked his blind spot AFTER he had started merging, logical right?)

Be safe out there and please do report your interactions along this stretch of road. We need a better NW to eastside connection. Not only would residents of this area benefit, but also those commuting from the western 'burbs.

[jr98664]

Normally when I ride up towards the NW, I'll take a lower traffic street like Johnson, seeing as it's uphill. On the way back down, however, I'll usually just take the lane all of the way down Everett to Waterfront Park, seeing as I'm usually riding 20–25 mph going downhill. When I'm moving as fast as traffic (usually faster), there never seems to be a problem. I'll get a green wave all of the way down.

The bike lane seems to be the biggest problem for me. Usually turning off of 19th on to Everett, right where the lane starts. Getting in the lane involves getting two lanes over, just to have it end in a few blocks anyway. And while right hooks are common at 16th and Everett (a car even properly yielded to me yesterday!), with the flow of traffic, the light is almost always green as I get there, and therefore, the bike box is of no comfort.

I think that intersection justifies the "hazardous road conditions" stated in Oregon law as an exception for being required to use bike lanes. I wish that Oregon would actually take a cue from Washington's laws on bike lanes. In Washington, a bike is completely free to ride outside of a bike lane! I like that kind of freedom.