The wide sidewalks at SE 78th and Foster seem well-suited to a walkable commercial district, but the four-lane street does not. (Photos © M. Andersen/BikePortland)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance announced Tuesday that Southeast Foster Road is among its top priorities to become one of the city's best bikeways. But at an open house Tuesday night about rethinking the street, there was only one type of bike infrastructure on the menu.

White paint.

What happened to the ideas for a cycle track separated by plastic bollards and an auto parking lane? Or a shared bike-pedestrian sidewalk like on the Hawthorne Bridge? The city project manager says there's just no room to do them right unless you also remove either a lane of auto parking or a center turn lane.

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Detail of a newly proposed cross section.

Please welcome our new contributing writer, Tyler Pell. This is his first report.

The fourth Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting for the Foster Streetscape Plan was held last week, with new proposals presented to the SAC as well as a redevelopment project known as the "Green Link."

The "Foster freeway" as it's locally known, has been due for safety improvements for many years. As we recently reported, a new streetscape plan is being drawn up and $3.25 million in safety improvements has already been obtained via federal grants and other funding sources. The City Council will adopt a new plan for Foster sometime in the next year, but the specific road design will depend on how the the stakeholder advisory committee is steered in the coming months (among the many proposals on the table is the Foster Road Bikeway plan).
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On FosterUnited.org

Citizen activist, transportation planner, and southeast Portland resident Nick Falbo has upped the ante in the grassroots effort to add a high-quality bikeway to SE Foster Road.

As we reported last month, the City of Portland and residents are currently working on an update to the Foster Road Streetscape Plan and a new bikeway on the street has figured largely into initial discussions. Those involved with the project are vying to influence exactly how the cross-section of SE Foster between SE 52nd and 90th ends up. With grant applications in the pipeline and some funding already in hand, the stakes are high. How the lines in the plan divide up Foster — and specifically, how much roadway space is devoted to bicycles — remains an open question. (more...)

Cycle track on Foster? It could happen.

After years of residents clamoring for safety improvements, options for how the City of Portland will ultimately redesign SE Foster Road from SE 52nd to 90th are now on the table. Among them are exciting changes that could finally add room for bicycles to travel on this key southeast Portland corridor.

This project is part of an effort to update the 2003 Foster Streetscape Plan. Sometime next year, following a public planning process that began back in September, City Council will adopt a new street plan and will begin to implement $3.25 million already set aside for improvements (thanks to federal and PDC grants). Whether or not those investments lead to high-quality bicycle access the entire length of the project depends largely upon who speaks up and the stakeholder advisory committee will be left to hash it all out.
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