Don Baack of SW Trails is spear-heading an effort to bring a more connected, safe and accessible bike route network to the hills of SW Portland.
He’ll lead a bike ride through SE Portland on Saturday (9/30) to take a closer look at that area’s successful network of low-traffic, bike-friendly streets known as bicycle boulevards (like Ankeny and Lincoln/Harrison).
Baack is a veteran citizen activist and well known voice for trails in city politics. He hopes the survey ride will be the first step in bringing better, more family oriented bicycle routes to SW Portland:
“We do have some challenges because of our beautiful hills, but we also have lots of opportunity. We have a street system that can get people where they want to go on a bicycle with a little help.”
After the ride, Baack hopes to find several bike advocates from each SW neighborhood who will identify a network of low-traffic streets, and map key bike destinations and preferred commuter routes. SW Trails will then weave these insights together and submit them to PDOT for inclusion in the upcoming Bike Master Plan update
To get involved with bike advocacy in SW Portland, contact Don Baack at Baack[at]pacifier.com.