Bike boulevards “Top Rated” for funding in latest PDOT poll

A recent poll shows that 42% of Portlanders would be “Much more likely” to support a transportation funding package that includes more cash for bike boulevards.

As part of their ongoing effort to fix a major transportation funding shortfall, PDOT has just released results from their Transportation Services Funding Survey.

Here’s the very good news: Of all the potential components of the funding package, 42% of Portlanders said they would be “Much more likely” to support it if it included “Funding bike boulevards to reduce conflict between bicyclists and motorists.”

This survey was conducted by a third-party research firm and is a welcome result after a (very poorly worded) bicycle question polled near the bottom of funding priorities on an informal survey taken at a series of Town Halls back in July.

This level of support for bicycle boulevards is “a very big thing” according to one PDOT insider and should go a long way to convincing key decision makers that the time has come for more aggressive spending to create safe, bicycle-friendly streets.

The other three “Top Rated” components were; signal synchronization to improve congestion; signal synchronization to reduce auto emissions; and repairs to Willamette River bridges.

The 19-page survey was administered by research firm Davis, Hibbitts, and Midghall, Inc.

Download the PDF from the City’s website.


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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G.A.R.
G.A.R.
16 years ago

Holy Friendly Competition! Bike boulevards remind me of the BTA Bike Commute Challenge, which pretty much takes up the whole month of September. Now is the time to sign your company up if you haven\’t done so already. It is time to let your riders know to dust off the bike. They have a week starting now.

BURR
BURR
16 years ago

Bike boulevards are fine as long as they aren\’t used as an excuse to \’ban\’ or otherwise restrict bicycling on other streets. Bicycling will only really be mainstream when ALL streets are bike accessible and bike friendly. Bicycles are classified as vehicles and bicyclists have the legal right to ride on all local streets.

Besides, bike boulevards alone will not get you to your destination. If you live on the east side and are traveling across the river, you must ride on arterial streets at least part of the way…

The United States Handicapper General
The United States Handicapper General
16 years ago

Glad to see these results. The town hall meetings seemed to be the whole \”pro bike\” vs \”anti bike\” crowd with very little middle ground.

An independent survey goes a long way to make sure the results arn\’t just from two extremes.

N.I.K.
N.I.K.
16 years ago

100% agreed, BURR. It\’s important to remember that we can\’t let non-cyclists interpret an increase in the number of bike boulevards as an excuse to boot us off of major thoroughfares. Sometimes using a busy street is unavoidable.

Jessica Roberts
Jessica Roberts
16 years ago

Quoting BURR: Bike boulevards are fine as long as they aren\’t used as an excuse to \’ban\’ or otherwise restrict bicycling on other streets.

I\’d just like to see someone try to ban bicyclists on any street in Portland and watch the tidal wave of opposition drown the hapless bureaucrat who proposed it…we\’ve passed that tipping point, and there\’s no going back.

snapper
snapper
16 years ago

hooray for bike boulevards! i love them even if they aren\’t perfect!

BURR
BURR
16 years ago

Jessica – If the city gives the impression that they are building bike boulevards to \’reduce conflict between cyclists and motorists\’, it is just another way of saying cyclists and motorists don\’t/can\’t/shouldn\’t mix. How long will it be before more motorists like Johnny Eschweiler are yelling at cyclists to \’get on the bike boulevard\’ and running cyclists down on Hawthorne and Division? OK, maybe I exagerate a bit, but I think the city\’s justification and rationale for more bike boulevards is a little misguided and ill-informed and falls in the category of \’a slippery slope.\’

Troy
Troy
16 years ago

More bike boulevards will encourage more people to bike in general, and those riders will eventually spill out beyond the boulevards. I think these are a great way to expand the Portland bike culture (uh-oh buzz word).

I would imagine that a lot of drivers who never ride and don\’t empathize with riders aren\’t familiar with the bike boulevards. Why would they be? The diversions keep them from driving down those bike routes.

P Finn
16 years ago

I\’m not sure about which is more important — MORE or BETTER bike boulys. Obviously, I\’d like both, but there are substandard conditions along the existing routes.

For instance, what about making bike boulevards into true bike arterials (Clinton is probably the closest to this) where cross-traffic stops except at other arterials. I\’m mostly thinking Salmon & 24th(ish), but there are plenty of other ex.s out there.

More diversion, more calming, more roundabouts, but most importantly MORE ENFORCEMENT of speed limit violations and other hazards. As soon as motorists realize that their \”short cut\” is regarded by the police as a \”permanent school zone-type condition area\”, their short cut is cut short (I kill me).

The 11th/Clinton area is a prime candidate for a mid-thruway diversion. Allow businesses access to deliveries on both sides of a traffic barrier halfway down a stretch of road. Notify motorists with a \”No Thru Traffic\” sign. KEEP CARS ON THE BUSY STREETS. Bicyclists (read:society) deserve much more.

BURR
BURR
16 years ago

@ Troy #8: Yeah, but the city is selling this to motorists who they want to back the bonds as a way to separate bikes and cars.

morefamiliesonbikes
morefamiliesonbikes
16 years ago

Wow!!! This is great news. I agree with Jessica that this poll is one of the strongest indications yet that we have reached a cultural \”tipping point.\” First, the string of positive Oregonian editorials and now a scientifically valid survey supporting an unprecedented investment in family friendly bicycle routes.

I suggest that those that see this as a threat to bicycles on busy streets are stuck in a past us vs. them mentality.
Deal with it friends, bicycling is becoming the preferred choice. Adding miles of bike boulevards will dramatically increase the number of cyclists. More cyclists will mean better facilities and policy on every street.

Three cheers for Sam Adam\’s leadership!!!

BURR
BURR
16 years ago

BTW, I\’m not at all disagreeing with the concept of bike boulevards, I\’m all for them. I\’m only taking issue with the city\’s marketing message.

N.I.K.
N.I.K.
16 years ago

Adding miles of bike boulevards will dramatically increase the number of cyclists. More cyclists will mean better facilities and policy on every street.

Neither BURR or myself are objecting to bike boulevards; rather, we\’re concerned that part of the reason bike boulevards are wanted is for the *separation* of bicycle and automotive traffic and what such an implication might entail from the perspective of the motorist (e.g., \”get over *there* where we\’ve accounted for you and your ever-increasing lot, and stay the eff out of my way, vermin!\”).

N.I.K.
N.I.K.
16 years ago

Note that this is by no means meant to imply that motorists as a whole are conspiratorially opposed to cyclists, but rather the mis-understanding likely to arise with that cross-section of motorists already inclined to kvetch about cyclists being on street X when there\’s already a bike lane seven blocks over on street Y.

casey
casey
16 years ago

I like bike boulevards, this is good news. I\’d just hope they focus on improving the current ones first… the Tillamook boulevard from Broadway bridge to Montevilla is a joke, there\’s several stretches with a stop sign at every single block. I still use it every day, though-not too many other options from there.

Mr. Viddy
16 years ago

This is just a circular track and there is no end to the race.

Lenny Anderson
16 years ago

There are plenty of cars on the Tillamook bikeway…hardly a \”boulevard,\” so in fairness who can object to bikes on arterials.
Cut thru motorized vehicles, some going too fast, are a constant problem on Tillamook.
Its time to talk about barriers and other motorized vehicle restrictions on bikeways. The most successful ones have some…Ankeny at 20th, Clinton at 39th, etc.

Ian Clemons
Ian Clemons
16 years ago

I agree with most points so far. I think we need better signage/publicity about bike boulevards so it is common knowledge when anyone, motorist or cyclist is on one. The current ones, white dots on the road notwithstanding, are not very well labeled.

All in all, very happy about the news.

-Ian Clemons