New tracks on Lovejoy.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) There’s been a big development in a legal battle up in Seattle that has similarities to an issue we have here in Portland. As we shared back in June 2010, several Seattle residents who crashed while bicycling across streetcar tracks filed a lawsuit claiming that the City of … Read more
A man riding down NW Lovejoy yesterday, alongside what used to be plastic bollards.(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland) It looks like PBOT will have to head back to the drawing board in their effort to create separation between bike and auto traffic on the NW Lovejoy ramp leading down from the Broadway Bridge. About a month … Read more
A new pole for the streetcar (marked with orange/white stripes) has narrowed the entry to the Broadway Bridge path.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) As the story unfolds about how and why Portland Streetcar Inc. installed a utility pole on the Broadway Bridge bike/walk path, it is becoming more clear that they made a bad move. We’ll … Read more
A new pole for the eastside streetcar project has been placed at the mouth of the Broadway Bridge.
New plastic bollards help separate auto and bike traffic — and eliminate the dreaded “track straddle” on the Lovejoy ramp heading into the Pearl District. – More photos below –
“I got caught in there [rail tracks]. And it put the fear of death in me. And that was the last time.”— Portlandia star Fred Armisen on why he doesn’t plan to ride a bike when he moves to the Pearl District Often when I’ve brought up issues related to sub-par bicycling conditions that I … Read more
Existing streetcar track education effort.(Photo © J. Maus) The City of Portland is working with Portland Streetcar and streetcar project contractor Shiels Obletz Johnsen on a new educational video about how to ride a bicycle around streetcar tracks. City spokesperson Dan Anderson said the idea to do a video was spurred by a “desire to … Read more
PBOT has striped a new bike lane on NE 7th which puts bike traffic in between moving cars, trains and parked cars.(Photos © J. Maus)
ODOT wants to know more about safety risks posed by tracks before they sign off on future streetcar project.(Photo © J. Maus) In my continuing effort to bring more attention to the issue of how streetcar tracks impact bicycling conditions, a reader passed along an interesting tidbit. Turns out that the Oregon Department of Transportation … Read more
On the Cherry Ave Bridge in Chicago, the tracks are filled with rubber so bicycle riders can roll over them without worry.(Photo: Steven Vance) As we continue to discuss the ongoing problem of streetcar tracks causing people to crash while bicycling in Portland, I thought it might be helpful to share some potential solutions. Many … Read more
Despite presence of precarious streetcar tracks, many people still ride on Lovejoy.(Photo © J. Maus) The Eastside Streetcar project has radically altered vehicle access to the Pearl District. If you ride a bicycle, the changes have been especially acute (as I shared back in July). NW Lovejoy has been decommissioned as a bike route and … Read more
Due to the presence of new streetcar tracks, people on NW Lovejoy routinely drive in the bike lane.(Photos © J. Maus)
Comment of the Week: Legs of steel and the e-bike