PBOT crew at work this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

A Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) signal operations crew was out at the new Broadway/Williams bike signal this morning. The new signal was installed on October 13th to try and decrease the amount of right-hook collisions that have plagued the intersection for several years.

After over two months, even after some initial tweaks to make it work better, some motor vehicle operators are still not complying with the "no right turn on red" sign.

At issue is a curbside bike lane that is to the right of two right-turn only lanes. PBOT's new bike signal gives the bike lane its own green light, but the problem is that people in the right-turn only lanes would see the green indicator and assume it was for them — and then make an illegal turn that put non-motorized traffic in danger. (more...)

Traffic at Williams this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

It's Day Three of the new bike signal at Broadway and Williams in North Portland. When PBOT turned on the signal Wednesday, some safety issues became apparent, so they immediately came up with a list of fixes that we shared with you yesterday.
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This morning, crews stood at the
signal to make sure people knew
it was there.
(Photo: Kristin Bott)

As I reported yesterday, the new bike signals installed on Broadway at N. Williams have been turned on. Unfortunately, they weren't quite ready for prime time and there were safety concerns that became apparent once everything went live. This morning, PBOT shared a list of changes they plan to make at the intersection immediately.

The issue of most concern to PBOT was that road users (mostly people on bikes) were not aware of the new bike signal. This is serious, because with the bike lane now to the right of two right-turn lanes, there's potential for collisions if people do not comply with the signals (learn more about how the new signal works in this post). (more...)

The new bike signals at Broadway/Williams. As you can tell by the encroachment of this motor vehicle, it will take some time for folks to get used to the changes.

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The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation has just announced details on their project to make the notoriously dangerous Broadway/Williams intersection safer for bike traffic.

PBOT's solution revolves around a new, bike-only traffic signal. Learn more about the City's plans in our report last month. The new signal and lane re-striping is slated for installation by next week. Read the press release from PBOT below for more details:

New Bike signal at N Broadway, Williams is part of traffic redesign (more...)

Existing conditions at Broadway/Williams

N Broadway and Williams, one of Portland's most dangerous intersections to ride a bike through, is finally going to be addressed. No, this isn't just another drill. This is actually going to happen. Bureau of Transportation spokesperson Dan Anderson confirmed today that the project — which includes lane re-striping and a bike-only traffic signal — should be completed by the end of October.
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A plan to make N. Rosa Parks Way
safer for bicycling has been
in the works since
April 2008.
(Photos © J. Maus)

As part of my daily work here at BikePortland, I track a lot of projects. The other day, prompted by a question from reader Jessica Roberts, I began to think about all the bike projects that are currently delayed and languishing for one reason or another. Below are updates on five such projects. Each of them has been planned, discussed, and promised, but none of them have broken ground. (more...)

A flagger working with PBOT paving crews stops car traffic at Broadway and Williams to make sure people on bikes get through safely.
(Photos © J. Maus)

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Portland Streetcar crews are in the middle of major construction all along Broadway right now. Work zones are always of special concern for people on bikes, but this stretch of Broadway -- between NE Grand and and the Broadway Bridge -- is not a nice place for bike traffic even without construction.

Add in one of the most glaring safety gaps in Portland's entire bike network (the intersection of Broadway and Williams, which the City listed as dangerous over 2 1/2 years ago yet has done nothing to make safer) -- and you're bound to have some problems.

Portlander Aaron Reyna is the latest victim of that intersection. He got in touch with us after being hit at that intersection yesterday morning. Here are snips from his email where he describes how the confusing construction zone resulted in him taking a trip to urgent care (emphasis mine): (more...)

The project will move the bike traffic
lane curbside (among other things).
(Photo © J. Maus)

New details about pending safety improvements for the notorious NE Broadway/N Williams intersection have emerged since we published an update last Monday. In our story, we reported that the bike safety improvements (which include a new bike-only signal and traffic lane reconfigurations) had been put on hold because of the impending streetcar project which is slated to run up Broadway. Engineers working on the bike project, they told us, were concerned that any changes they made would be torn out once streetcar construction started.

Our story also reprinted a statement made by PBOT Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield in October 2008, that "funding [for the Broadway/Williams fix] is available and construction could start once a design is decided on." (more...)

The Broadway/Williams intersection is in
dire need of improvements.

[Adams Carroll contributed reporting to this story.]

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation has known for years that the intersection of NE Broadway and Williams is one of the most dangerous in the city for bike traffic. Significant plans to improve the intersection were drawn up over a year ago, but PBOT has yet to implement them.

After two Portlanders died while riding in bike lanes in October 2007, PBOT put the intersection on its list of 14 to get a green-painted bike box. When a fix turned out to be more complicated than a standard bike box, PBOT went back to the drawing board. In March 2008 they unveiled several possible design solutions including separate traffic signal phases for bicycles, lane reconfigurations, and new pavement markings. (more...)

Jessica Roberts
(Photo © J. Maus)

This article was written by Jessica Roberts. Jessica is the former metro area advocate for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and she is now a planner with Alta Planning and Design, one of the nation's premier bike and pedestrian planning firms.

In the article below, Jessica offers her perspective and gives us a bit of historical context for the infamous Broadway/Williams intersection, which PDOT is currently working to improve.

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PDOT is working on safety improvements
at the Broadway/Williams intersection.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This is the preliminary plan for Broadway Williams that was presented at the Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting last night. (more...)

PDOT's Rob Burchfield and Matthew
Machado presented ideas for changes to
the dangerous the Broadway/Williams
intersection last night.
(Photos � J. Maus)

The Office of Transportation has struggled for years to figure out how to safely manage bike and car traffic flow at the intersection of Broadway and Williams.

Following two fatalities due to right-hooks last fall, PDOT placed the intersection on a list of the 14 most dangerous in the city and initially planned to install a bike box. However, after further study of the intersection, it was determined that a bike box would not be a good solution at this location. (more...)

Image of the scene.
(Photo: Carl Larson)

At around 5:00pm yesterday evening, there was a right-hook crash involving a bike and a truck at the intersection of Broadway and Williams in Northeast Portland (Map).

According to the Police Bureau's assistant PIO Greg Pashley, a woman riding a bicycle was struck by a "short panel truck" and was transported to Emanuel Hospital. Pashley said the woman ended up underneath the truck after she was hit, but luckily, there was no serious trauma involved. (more...)

NE Broadway looking west across Williams.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The intersection of NE Broadway and N Williams is notorious among many Portlanders.

The intersection (view on Google Maps) is a high-volume, high-speed, five-lane, one-way thoroughfare with a bike lane sandwiched between two right-turn lanes (one is also a through lane). That makes it bad enough, but several other factors make it even more of a nightmare; (more...)

A large crowd in City Hall.
Slideshow below
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

Just four days after the second fatal bicycle crash in as many weeks, City Commissioner Sam Adams called together an "emergency meeting" to discuss the issues and brainstorm solutions to improve bike safety in our city. Following the meeting was a press conference that was jam-packed with concerned citizens and the local media.

Around the table of the closed-door session were close to thirty people from a variety of backgrounds. Below is a partial list of attendees:
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[Click for large view of crash scene.
Image by Timo Forsberg.]

At around 7:00AM last Monday morning Justin Isle was riding in the bike lane on his way to work, heading westbound on NE Broadway. As he approached N Williams Avenue and the I-5 onramp (right near the Shell station) he was struck by a car.

He now has two compression fractures in his back and no witnesses to help with his case.
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