Bike Oasis coming to Sandy Boulevard

Location of bike oasis

Hawthorne Boulevard isn’t the only street in Portland that will get a much-anticipated “bike oasis” by the end of this summer.

As part of their Sandy Boulevard Resurfacing and Streetscape project, PDOT will install one on the south side of Sandy Blvd, at the intersection of Sandy, Hancock, and 43rd.

According to PDOT project manager Chris Armes, they will replace the concrete at an existing curb extension to build the footing for the oasis. She says she expects it to be installed by the beginning of this June.

The oasis was designed by noted Portland architecture firm Browning-Shono and they are being built by Hogan Fab in southeast Portland.

Here’s a conceptual mock-up from Browning-Shono:

I can’t wait to see how these turn out and its great to hear the city is using them in multiple locations. Stay tuned!

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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djkenny
17 years ago

Crossing the fingers that Woodstock will get a similar addition in the future…

Todd B
Todd B
17 years ago

And Kenton too!

Ekdog
Ekdog
17 years ago

Is a “bike oasis” a bike rack with a roof over it or is there more to it?

Cheers,

Ekdog

Burr
Burr
17 years ago

Yeah, basically a covered bike rack for 8 – 12 bikes on the sidewalk, instead of in the street.

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

Thats near my house, and more importantly near 1/2 block from the farmers market in the Value Village parking lot. I hope this supports those who ride there this summer!

Ekdog
Ekdog
17 years ago

Thanks, Burr. They’ve just installed one of those here in Seville, Spain, outside the train station. It’s pretty cool. I hope there are more on the way.

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

ok, help me out here…I don’t get it?
Yes, this is a very cool thing, but since there is such a limited number of them wouldn;t it make sense to put it in an area that makes more sense. I live in this neighbor hood, walk or ride to all of the businesses I frequent there, and I have no idea how this is useful.
What’s the purpose of a large covered bike rack in an area where bikes don’t naturally collect? Wouldn’t this be better at the transit station or on the same side of the street as the farmer’s market? I can’t imagine parking there and then crossing Sandy to the market, but maybe I’m missing something. Can someone explain?

DK
17 years ago

Seems like a waste of a good design. Needs to hold more bikes, and be in a more bike friendly neighborhood. Riding along Sandy, or trying to cross the street anywhere is a freakin’ nightmare. Plus it has taken on a MLK. feel, being that it’s a I-205 shortcut. I don’t think any extra people will ride through just so they can park their bikes under a roof.

Paul Cone
Paul Cone
17 years ago

DK,

How do you think neighborhoods _become_ more bike friendly? It’s why you redesign transit and associated amenities to make them that way. Granted, given that Sandy Blvd. is a major thoroughfare, there’s only so much that can be done about improving the conditions to actually ride up it (e.g. there’s no room for bike lanes), but at least facilities like this can help. Also if you look at a map of Portland bike routes you will see that Sandy and 43rd (as well as 42nd) is a crossing point of a major bike route through the area.

There are also bike improvements to the transit station coming, which were discussed among those who took part part in Bike Master Plan #2 (which Jonathan wrote about last month, here hhttp://bikeportland.org/2007/02/24/bike-master-plan-ride-2/).

dayaram
dayaram
17 years ago

seems like an expensive piece of ‘eye candy’ for te city. as others have said; we need more racks in more central locations. This stuff will not make Sandy a more ‘bike friendly’ environment!

Paul Cone
Paul Cone
17 years ago

What’s not “central” for you certainly could be “central” for others. Also, “eye candy” is what gets the attention of people who might consider riding someplace they used to drive to. Let’s not knock something before it even hits the ground and gets implemented.

Also, this is just is part of a larger project, which makes it easier to implement at this time along Sandy. Likewise, the ones along Hawthorne are happening as part of a larger project. Acquiring locations for bike facilities is not an easy process.

bArbaroo
bArbaroo
17 years ago

sorry my last post was “anonymous” – did it from a different computer and forgot to log in..

By posting my concerns about this I feel like I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth. I’d love to see more bikes and bike racks in Hollywood and every neighborhood, but these facilities need to make sense. I’d love it if time were to prove me wrong on this one.

I understand that facilities can help facilitate chages. Good bike parking seems to be a step forward, but I’m concerned about the practicality of one rack in an area that, as I said before, doesn’t feel like a natural place for bikes to collect. It happens to be an area where there is some open space and that, in my uninformed opinion, seems to be the criteria used. Yes, it’s on a bike route but that doesn’t mean that it makes sense to park there.

Many businesses in Hollywood have staple racks and these are rarely full. If we can’t fill a rack in front of popular businesses how can we expect to utilize this facility. The only racks that are occassionally full are located at the Laurelwood pub and Trader Joes- and the oasis is not convenient to either of those locations. What businesses, or other attractor is this facility intended to serve?

So, once again I ask, can anyone explain how this oasis is helping?

DK
17 years ago

Maybe it’s a good thing. Some neighborhood has to be the guinea pig for this, so might as well be Hollywierd. If it catches on there…a bike pretender community, where the make-up of its residents is not a coppulation of folks common to be known as “bike commuters”…it should be able to sustain itself anywhere. So bArbaroo, it’s helping by testing its use in a place where it can grow moss in peace. Of course I hope I’m wrong.

Anonymous
Anonymous
17 years ago

If it’s true that this is a bad location and the rack won’t get used – and I’m trusting the neighborhood people on this – these questions should be asked:

Who picked this particular spot?

If there better locations in the neighborhood is it too late to change the location?

BTW, the funding is likely tied to the Sandy Blvd. improvements project. Otherwise the money would be better spent elsewhere like at SE 28th and Ankeny or SE 26th and Clinton, which are already bike destinations in need of additional parking.

Options Guy
17 years ago

Hooray for Hollywood! As a regular commuter through this area and patron of businesses around this area I’m for it. I admit the location is not the most obvious choice (Hollywood Theatre also has bike parking congestion at times, Barbaroo). BUT, has anyone factored in the Farmers Market in the Value Village parking lot during spring and summer? The large development going in across Sandy to the north? – Whole Foods plus housing above. Again, location is not ideal (parking across the street from grocery store), but it does allow for multi-purpose trips with one parking stop: grocery, dry cleaning, pick up fish food…

K
K
17 years ago

I’d rather they invest the money into making Sandy bike-able. Seems a little odd that they’d put an “oasis” on a street that’s completely dangerous to ride 90% of the time. I live a block off of Sandy and will only use Sandy on sunny days during daylight, low-traffic hours (rarely). I doubt I’d ever lock my bike up outside for more than a few minutes on Sandy either.

K
K
17 years ago

Oh- and though the bike map suggests 42nd and 43rd as a good bike route, winding through neighborhoods only to be directed over a pedestrian bridge with a steep flight of stairs at the other end does not make for a good bike path. The fact that I’m reguarly looking for bike paths to get from one point on sandy to 10 blocks farther east on the same road is testament to the problem.

DK
17 years ago

I guess I should get off this subject already. Options guy, multiple trips is a great way to use your bike and time. But, it sounds like your bags and backpack are going to be so full on occasion, you better get on your bike and get yourself off of Sandy as soon as you load up. Or better yet, your drycleaning flappin’ behind you might be useful as caution flags.

Paul Cone
Paul Cone
17 years ago

Maybe we should just take all the cars and trucks off Sandy Blvd. and make it a giant bike lane to please you naysayers, who are speaking even before all the improvements are done and have had a chance to be used. Let’s tear up all the freeways, too, while we’re at it. Or at least put bike lanes on them. Oh wait, if we do that, then all those cars might start driving down the bike boulevards…

We’re dealing with a street that has been a major artery in our city for almost 100 years… you can’t just throw down a stripe and pavement markings and make it magical for bikes (and yes I ride my bike to work every day). Also, there WAS a public process as part of the project. These things aren’t just unilaterally decided upon.

Burr
Burr
17 years ago

Actually, Sandy Blvd. doesn’t conform to the rest of the city’s street grid because it was the Native American’s main street before the Europeans arrived.

shawn.
shawn.
17 years ago

K, if you are coming down NE 43rd and are looking for a better bike crossing over I-84 than the one by the MAX station, take NE Hancock 4 blocks east to NE 47th, which has a bridge and bike lanes over I-84. You can also head another 6 blocks east to NE 53rd for a nice low-traffic bridge, if you need to get even further east.

matt
17 years ago

Is the bidding process still open for design and fabrication, or is it a done deal?

Jeremy
Jeremy
16 years ago

What a bunch of know-it-all ingrates. Time and time again, people rise up on this blog to crap on anything that doesn’t fit within their idea of what ‘should’ be. ‘Should’ is subjective and meaningless to anyone but you. Please try using the word ‘could’ or the phrase ‘maybe they could consider’ or ‘another option is’. If you want something to be done your way, fine. Vote. Run for office. Participate in the public process. Become an engineer. Stage a protest. Do ‘whatever’, but please quit whining on this blog.

Since you (the royal ‘you’ –that is, the whining ingrates on this thread) are choosing to play the ‘should’ game, I might as well throw my opinion into the ring.

First, the pedestrian bridge connecting Laurelhurst (at NE 42nd and Senate) to the Hollywood transit center has ramps on both ends –albeit the North side is not a straight shot (several turns). This connector is used by a bevy of cyclists every day. I know because I see them and I am one of them.

Second, if you don’t like the ramp, there’s a handy bike/pedestrian corridor that runs from the end of NE Senate St. at 44th Ave., connecting to 47th Ave., which has a bike lane all the way to Sandy. My point is this: suck it up and ride around to see what you’re talking about. In my opinion, the entire area is quite ridable if you stay off Sandy. I live in Laurelhurst and ride in/through this area regularly without difficulty.

Third, there is indeed significant development very near the oasis on Sandy, so it will be well placed for trips to the pending Whole Foods, the farmers market and other nearby Hollywood businesses. Additionally, the oasis will be a highly visible, rain protected place to lock a bike –somewhat more appealing to some folks when compared to a lone rack without proper lighting or rain protection.

As for the Nimrod who labeled Hollywood a ‘…bike pretender community’, I recommend you consider this: due to its location and business mix (albeit odd), Hollywood serves Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Rose City Park and Hollywood neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are home to a lot of people who walk, ride and drive into Hollywood. My point is this: the oasis will serve people coming into Hollywood for a variety of reasons. The oasis will not simply serve the residents of the Hollywood business district.

If the oasis fails to be useful, than by all means crap on it. While you wait to see if the oasis is a successful component of the larger Sandy streetscape project, please quit whining and focus your efforts on something more productive.

Adams Carroll (News Intern)
16 years ago

Jeremy,

please don’t call people names. it detracts from your otherwise very good comment.

thanks.

Jeremy
Jeremy
16 years ago

Thanks for the heads-up Jonathan. I got a bit ahead of myself. Mark me as Nimrod ingrate number two in this thread. 🙂

Paul Cone
Paul Cone
16 years ago

The city engineer at PDOT has signed off on the plans for the bike oasis, so it’s a done deal.

If you follow the link in Jonathan’s original post there is contact info for the project manager at PDOT.

DK
16 years ago

With serving so many neighboring burrows, no wonder Hollywierd is such a mixed up mess. Good luck with fitting in the ten or twelve extra bikers this neighborhood will be getting.

shawn.
shawn.
16 years ago

Googly moogly, DK, we understand you don’t like the Hollywood district, fine. But could you at least spell “HollywEIrd” right? Please?
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/weird

Jessica Roberts
Jessica Roberts
16 years ago

Nice picture of the installed bike oasis: http://flickr.com/photos/jjoyful1/755973730/

Amy
Amy
16 years ago

I live in Rose City Park and am one of the many bike commuters in the neighborhood. I pass by this new bike oasis on my way to/from work. It is next to Trader Joe\’s and other businesses, and across the street from the future Whole Foods (yay!) It is also right near the farmers market and as you can see from Jessica\’s picture in the comment above mine, it\’s being used!

I take offense to the \”bike pretender community\” comment–what does that even mean?

nuovorecord
nuovorecord
16 years ago

One more thing to consider, the Bike Oasis\’ probably aren\’t designed primarily for you, the hard core cyclist reader of this august blog. We\’re trying to encourage MORE people to get on their bikes, remember? If you want people to ride, they need a.) safe places to ride; and b.) safe places to park their bikes. H\’wood does have safe routes to and through it (why anyone thinks they need to ride on Sandy is beyond me, but what do I know?). Hopefully, putting down a highly visible sign that bikes are welcomed will get more people out of the car and onto their bike.