Greeeeeen.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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The new green paint applied by PBOT on SW Oak is impossible to miss.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

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Detail of changes coming to Marshall.

The Bureau of Transportation is scheduled to make long-awaited changes to NW Marshall Street between 10th and 11th (map). Their aim is to make bicycling conditions more pleasant by decreasing the amount of people who drive on the street and by adding dedicated space for bicycle traffic.

Auto traffic on Marshall has increased considerably after the bike lane on NW Lovejoy was removed and it was turned into a one-way street as part of the eastside streetcar project. This is problematic because Marshall is supposed to function as a bike boulevard. PBOT had hoped auto traffic would use Northrup (one block north), but that hasn't happened. (For more on this issue, read our story from September 2011, PBOT eyes changes in the Pearl to reduce auto traffic on NW Marshall) (more...)

Trucks in bike lanes leads to
people in streets.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation says they'll step up enforcement of illegal parking on SE 4th Avenue just south of Caruthers. On Monday, we pointed out that large trucks servicing industrial businesses along the street are parking in the bike lanes that connect the Springwater Corridor and Eastbank Esplanade. This gap between the two paths is very popular with people bicycling, walking, and jogging and the illegally parked trucks are forcing them out into the middle of the roadway.

Cheryl Kuck, a media spokesperson for PBOT says they will tell Parking Enforcement Officers to put this area on their regular patrols. In Oregon, it's illegal to park a motor vehicle on a bike lane unless you are there only "momentarily" and actively loading/unloading. Kuck also encourages people to call the parking hotline to report issues:

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Note where PBOT removed
the old bike lane and extended it.
(Photo © J. Maus)

It's a huge pet peeve of mine when I'm riding in a bike lane and then it suddenly vanishes just prior to an intersection. It's like the City has a half-commitment to people on bikes — let's give them dedicated space where it's easy to do, but when things get tight and tricky let's just forget about them.

Well, I'm happy to report that in the past several weeks I've noticed two separate intersections where PBOT has extended the bike lane striping all the way to the intersection.

The first is on N Rosa Parks Way as you approach Vancouver. Below is a before and after...
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