PBOT traffic engineer Rob Burchfield
answers questions at the open house.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

After 16 months and countless meetings, PBOT has revealed how they plan to improve bicycle access and traffic safety on N Williams Avenue. And much to the surprise of Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) members, part of those plans include maintaining two full lanes for auto traffic in the busiest portion of the road.

At the "final" open house for their North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project, held Saturday at a church on Williams, PBOT rolled out new posterboards explaining the project, a 3-D simulation of the proposed changes, and they had project staff, SAC members, and traffic engineers on hand to answer questions. (more...)

Most of N. Williams Ave will be converted
into this cross-section.
(Graphics: Fat Pencil Studios)

Finally.

This Saturday (5/19), PBOT will host the final open house for their North Williams Ave Traffic Operations Safety Project.

As we shared back in March, after 13 months of public process, a citizen committee finally made a decision last month about how to make the street safer. The open house will be the public's first opportunity to see detailed maps and drawings of what we can expect to see once PBOT implements the changes.
(more...)

The new configuration will put bike traffic on the left side.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the N. Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project met today and came to a decision about how to reconfigure the street to improve bike access. I'm in Washington D.C. attending the National Bike Summit, but thanks to Twitter and to phone conversations with people at the meeting, I can share some info about what was decided on.

According to committee member Steve Bozzone, they went with option "4B: Left-Side Buffered Bike Lane with One Motor Vehicle Travel Lane and Turn Lanes (Segments 2 to 5) and Shared Left-Turn Lane/Bikeway in Segment 4" (see below).
(more...)

Committee Chair Debora Hutchins.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The citizen-led committee tasked with how to improve bike access and traffic safety on N. Williams Avenue met for the 14th time yesterday. And as the clock winds down on making an official recommendation to PBOT on how to move forward, they appear no closer to reaching consensus.

Committee member Steve Bozzone, summed up his thoughts about the meeting on Twitter last night: "Overall there remains broad agreement about safety outcomes on Williams Ave, but process to decide on options is muddled, confusing." In addition, it appeared that the specter of mistrust of PBOT and concerns that community feedback was not being heard, have reappeared. (more...)

This drawing shows how the left-side cycle track idea would look just north of Broadway. (Note the left-side cycle track with a bike passing lane in the upper left.)
(Image: PBOT/Alta Planning)

(more...)

Screengrab of Mercury article.

PBOT's North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project is heating up again — both the public process and the public spotlight.

The project found its way onto the cover of this week's edition of The Portland Mercury. Reporter Sarah Mirk took a historical look at the Albina neighborhood and, given its history of racism and development, she arrived at the conclusion that the project is "Not about the bikes."

Here's a key quote in Mirk's story that I think sums up feelings of some people in the community. It comes from Midge Purcell, policy director of the Urban League of Portland (a non-profit that advocates for African Americans): (more...)

Buses on Williams Ave. are a constant
concern for people on bikes.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

In the coming weeks, the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project will hammer out a formal recommendation to PBOT on how to improve bike access on the street. One of the considerations they'll take into account is the safety of the bicycling environment and how people operating cars, bikes, and buses interact on the street.

Today I got an email from reader Craig H. that underscores one of the urgent public safety issues the Williams project aims to address — the dangerous proximity of humans on bicycles with multi-ton steel vehicles that pass by just inches away.

Here's Craig's story: (more...)

Aerial view of Williams and Failing.

During the monthly stakeholder advisory committee meeting for the North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project today, PBOT announced that it's "unlikely" they would be willing to redesign the street in the section between N Cook and Skidmore (known as Segment 4) into a one-lane configuration for auto traffic.
(more...)

New Seasons Market CEO Lisa Sedlar addressing the Stakeholder Advisory Committee today.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland

Less than one week after announcing their new store on N. Williams Avenue, New Seasons Market CEO Lisa Sedlar attended the monthly meeting of the North Williams Avenue Traffic Safety Operations project Stakeholder Advisory Committee today. (more...)

History of the neighborhood
looms large over this project.
(Photo © J. Maus)

At their meeting earlier this week, the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the North Williams Traffic Safety Operations Project spent several hours hashing out new language to guide their decision making process and to add two key elements to the project's "purpose and objectives."
(more...)

A large crowd turned out for the Williams Project Community Forum. This photo shows the group discussion portion of the event.

On Tuesday night nearly 200 people came together for a 'Community Forum' to learn about a neighborhood's past and share their opinions on the myriad issues surrounding the City's North Williams Avenue Traffic Safety Operations Project. (more...)

How can we make Williams safer and more pleasant to use?
(View looking north on Williams just before N Failing.)
(Photos © J. Maus)

(more...)

The event will include facilitated group discussions.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Race Talks, a discussion series sponsored by Multnomah County, will tackle the complex and sensitive topic of how race has impacted a local transportation project.

The free event, "Coming Together on North Williams Avenue: Reconciling Neighborhood’s Past with Proposed Bike Lane" will be held at McMenamins Kennedy School Gym on Tuesday, November 8th. (more...)

Traffic on Williams Avenue.
(Photo © J. Maus)

There are some new developments in the project to improve bicycling and traffic safety on N. Williams Avenue.

Following the most recent Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting on August 2nd, project staff have announced that in lieu of a September meeting, they will host two tours of the street in order to give SAC members (and the public) a first-hand look at existing conditions.
(more...)

New committee member Michelle DePass
speaking with KATU news last night.
(Image: Still from video below)

Since the meeting last week where racism and gentrification were the main topics of discussion, there have been some developments around the City's North Williams Traffic Safety Operations project.

The official Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) met last night at Legacy Emanuel Hospital last night for the sixth time. Described as a "regroup" meeting by one of the SAC members, one big thing on the agenda was the addition of nine new people to sit on the committee. I'm still waiting for the complete list from PBOT* (I wasn't able to be there), but according to coverage of the meeting by KATU-TV, not surprisingly, "most of the new members are African-American." (more...)

Artwork copyright Mark Markovich
- Download full size (recommended) -

(more...)

The Skanner

Bernie Foster, the Publisher of The Skanner — Portland's award-winning and self-described, "African American newspaper that keeps you up to date with everything going on in the black community" — has weighed in on the North Williams Avenue project.

In his editorial, Foster urges his readers to speak up on this and other transportation projects; but he also, in my opinion, unfairly criticizes PBOT and BikePortland in a way that hinders community relations. (more...)

Lee Moore, Chairman of the Housing Authority of Portland, was brought in by PBOT to facilitate the meeting.
(Photos © J. Maus)

(more...)

As PBOT's North Williams Traffic Safety Operations Project has evolved from just a small transportation project into a full-blown, community-wide discussion about gentrification and community power (or lack of it) in the decision-making process, Portland Mayor Sam Adams decided it was time to weigh in.

In a letter sent out yesterday to the project's 18-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee, Adams addressed the many sensitive topics that this process has brought to the fore. I am working on a recap of an important meeting that took place last night. In the meantime, I've posted Adams' letter below: (more...)

The N Williams Ave project continues to inspire a robust discussion about race, bicycle infrastructure and gentrification in North Portland. If you are interested in how these topics intersect in Portland (or how they don't), I recommend reading through the many thoughtful comments left on previous posts.

Maxey is not only a long-time Williams resident, she is also the co-creator of Race Talks, which is billed as an, "interactive panel presentation and dialogue on race."

Donna Maxey
(Photo © J. Maus)

Since my name was mentioned so frequently, I thought I would weigh in on this topic in print. By the way, I, too, am a bike rider and an enthusiastic walker. Somehow the point I made initially about this meeting was lost in the fervor. Let me say at the onset, I am not a spokesperson for "the Black community" because it doesn't exist as a monolithic entity anymore than the White community does. (more...)