Town Hall meeting.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
With so many ideas and emotions about bikes, bike safety and sharing the road swirling around our city this week, I thought I’d share a conversation I had with City Commissioner and mayoral hopeful Sam Adams.
I sat down with him in his City Hall office on Wednesday.
___
Once again, the whole bikes vs. cars thing is coming up in the community and the local media. You’ve been holding town hall meetings all over the city, what are you hearing from people about this issue?
“When we started the Transportation Town Halls, at every one there was an argument about bikes vs. cars. But the more we’ve gone out there, especially recently, I don’t hear that argument as much. What I do hear more about is much more of a heightened concern among non-bike riders that we need to fix this problem, we need to do better in reducing the conflicts between motor vehicles and bikes.”
Are you hearing this from would-be bike riders who are afraid to start? Or motorists who are afraid of hitting cyclists?
What I’m hearing is more of a genuine concern of not wanting this to continue in our city. It’s really been much more positive. Before, it was more of a battle, there were warring words between non-bikers and cyclists. Now even the non-bikers are saying, we don’t want people killed in our city. I’m seeing a heightened level of concern among non – cyclists, more so than I’ve ever seen before in the last three years. If there is any silver lining in this I would say that would be one.
And I’m sure some of those feelings have to do with the context of these fatalities, the fact that they were both young and riding in a bike lane…
“I think the fact that it was big vehicle/bike, I think really gets people’s attention. I think the fact that no one was blowing through a stop light, no one was doing anything illegal, it wasn’t in a far away place…the fact that these were in the middle of the city, on infrastructure, and no one was breaking the law [NOTE: he is referring to the cyclists involved.]
It’s got people’s attention and I’m going to do everything I can to use that attention in a positive way.”
Going back to infrastructure, because both of these happened when the person was in a bike lane, there’s been a lot of talk about the safety of bike lanes. I realize we’re not going to start ripping them up. But, is there any immediate thing that you can foresee being done? Without waiting for budgets or analysis, can we do something immediately at those two intersections?
“Oh absolutely. God yes. And along with these two intersections, I would like to figure out the top 20 most dangerous intersections and ask bikers, what are your ideas for this intersection that you ride through every week? I don’t care how wild or impractical the ideas are. The idea is that we come up with something at these two intersections and 18 others and we come up with some short-term fixes on the ground and then we ask the community, does this make sense, or could we do better?”
[NOTE: The Portland Mercury has started a community-generated database of dangerous intersections. Please add your input.]
What about longer term analysis of how we engineer bike lanes?
“What we’ve talked about on the staff level is that there’s the opportunity to put the same kind of signage we have where some of the blue bike lanes are [see photo]. It used to be the city policy to use that kind of signage only when you do the blue lanes, or only when something is really weird with the engineering. What we’ve talked about is that we’re now getting a higher volume of bike utilization at many intersection. That means we have to think about utilization rates, not just intersection weirdness [engineering].
Now, if I could just back up a little bit…there are a couple of bigger things going on here that we haven’t looked at in-depth to my satisfaction. We have freight traffic that has increased, depending on what stats you look at, 40-100%+ over the last six years, and a 137% increase in tonnage is expected on the West Coast in the next decade. We’re a trade city, so as a trade city we’re going to feel and experience that increase in freight traffic more than other cities.
Then you’ve got our awesome, double-digit increase in bike utilization, and what we’ve never done is look at this issue through the prism of big vehicle/bike. So what I’ve got staff doing is looking at, OK, where are freight routes? Let’s overlay those on the bike routes.
Then, we need to go back and think about those routes in terms of having more trucks and more bikes. And before, where there was a certain level of bike traffic and certain level of truck traffic, and they infrequently shared the right of way, in some cases now, they’re no longer infrequently sharing the right of way, they’re frequently sharing the right of way. What we need to do is go back and reconsider everything in terms of our bike lanes and our truck routes.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)Also, in all of this is that we’re going to have, hopefully, out of our collective success [of getting people on bikes], a much wider range of bike riders out there in terms of skill level. That’s a huge factor.
We’ve got to go back and look at points of conflict especially between these big vehicles and bikes…because that’s the worst combination, trucks have more blind spots, are more difficult to maneuver and to stop…that’s the worst of the worst.
So, we’re looking at freight routes, bike routes, then we need to look at where our industrial areas are; places like access routes to Swan Island, northwest industrial area, rivergate. We also need to do a better job with traffic around construction projects. We’re going to have drivers who are not used to maneuvering in the big, downtown city environment and bikers that are surprised by the fact that, suddenly, there is this big cement truck where there used to not be.
We need to do a better job for the periodic truck/bike conflict…and do everything we can on the ground for signage, whether that’s on the pavement, or signage that warns both motorists and bikers and big truck drivers, “be aware” you’re entering into something that is different than other parts of the city… either because the engineering is weird, or the amount of utilization by trucks or bikes is higher.”
Going back to the freight question. In London, they’ve had major problems with fatal crashes involving large, commercial trucks and bikes. They’ve done campaigns and one of their solutions has been some sort of equipment requirement. What is the potential for thinking about a mandate for certain safety equipment on large vehicles?
“I think it’s essential. On the equipment side, I was really pleased when I made the call out to the freight leaders, they were absolutely mortified about the tragedies and eager to get to the table to see what they could do to prevent these types of situations from happening again. Clearly equipment that is safe in more rural and suburban areas with fewer peds and bikes is no adequate here in our mutli-modal city, so I look froward to the opportunity to sit down with them based on our scan of best practices of equipment including mirrors, turn signals in a place that are visible to cyclists and pedestrians…so I think there’s a variety of things we must do..and the city attorney is looking at, what can City Council require versus what are we’re pre-empted from doing by state government.
Whatever I can do locally I will, what I can’t, I’m not going to wait around for the state to act. I want that partnership at the table ASAP and I’m hopeful the response will be positive. “
And is there any potential within that partnership to talk about the education and behavior-change side of the equation? To me, that’s just as important as the equipment aspect.
“In terms of education, everything from when you get your regular driver’s license through a Class C license is…clearly the driver education and the driver testing is too scant, especially on the realities you face in the city of Portland. It [the education] is too thin on pedestrian, motorcycles, and bicycles.
I’ve put a call into the DMV saying, I want your agreement that when someone goes to get a driver’s license and the address says City of Portland then there’s a supplemental part of the magazine they give you, the driver’s guide, and the test that you take. I hope that they’re not going to require a change in state law for Portland to do that. So, at a minimum I will make that official request. If I can made it a demand I will.”
On that note, we also need more education for more bicyclists.
“Yes. Education is key. We have a lot of new people coming to this city with different levels of biking experience in a dense urban culture. I want to ramp up our partnerships on bike education as well. I’ve heard that we’ve got some money set aside in the Safe Sound and Greent Streets package for that.
We need to make the connection between these tragedies and the fact that we need more money to make things safer.”
I know that because of these recent fatalities and the converging factors surrounding them, that everybody with a heart has a sense of urgency about how we need to something. But, what can you say about the extent that this will have a lasting impact around official bureaucratic and political tables? Do you think it will have an impact with people that are in positions to make decisions?
“The honest answer is, only time will tell. Starting with our emergency meeting. That’s the blunt, honest answer.
I can also say that we have never had the funding opportunity that we have with Safe Sound and Green Streets in the history of this city, not just with bike boulevards, but with all the bike safety projects in the package. My hope is that these tragedies will add fuel for support behind doing something we’ve never done before, something that reflects the growing multi-modal use of the right of way. Safe and Sound is just catch up…it’s catching up with the reality that we have such a mutli-modal use of the system.
More investments in the safety of our system will lead to even more utilization.
If there’s anything good that comes out of these tragedies I hope it’s more support across the board from bikers and non-bikers that this is important…it’s not just about pavement and potholes, it’s also about flesh and bones.”
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Come and hear more about what Commissioner Adams and other city staff and leaders plan to do to increase bike safety in Portland at today’s press conference:
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Bike Safety Press Conference
City Hall (1221 SW 4th Ave) outside the Rose Room
Friday, October 26th
12:30 ~ 1:00
Thanks for reading.
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\”We’ve put a call into the DMV saying, I want your agreement that when someone goes to get a driver’s license and the address says City of Portland then there’s a supplemental part of the magazine they give you, the driver’s guide, and the test that you take.\” – that should be statewide, not just Portland.
On Swan Island, the Swan Island TMA continues to build a separated bike/ped network. We will be adding more sidewalk/trail segments with a recent awared BES CBO grant.
In July 60 bicyclists were counted leaving Swan Island between 4 and 6pm. 40 of 60 used the Going Street sidewalk, a barely adequate, but clearly separated facility rather than Going Street, a virtual expressway with the heavy commute/truck traffic.
Unfortunately legal is not always safe, and we have a significant number of bicycle commuters who would rather trespass on the private \”Cement Road\” than use Greeley or Interstate Avenue.
The very experienced group of bicycle commuting engineers at Freightliner are a resource in understanding how to mix large vehicles with bikes. My guess is most would say \”don\’t try.\”
Police don\’t help the situation when we have a bicycle commuter riding legally on the sidewalk get hit by a motorist (who failed to look), get a busted leg, AND 4 citations to boot.
The North Portland Greenway Trail will extend from St Johns to the Esplanade thru Swan Island, providing a much safer route than Willamette, Greeley and Interstate with their high motor vehicle speeds.
Thanks Sam for doing all you can to make riding a bike legally a safe experience. Today I\’m feeling like its either ride legally or ride safely…I will do the latter.
Jonathan,
May I ask why you didn\’t ask Sam Adams about the failure of police to enforce existing laws? Surely he has some level of influence over the mayor, who is the chief of police.
The time for writing research papers has long passed. At the end of the day, it is action and action alone that matters to saving lives.
This is great PR on part of Mr. Adams, but hardly anything that will actually make a difference within the next week, months, or even for years. Mr. Adams has the power to make a real difference, but no real will to do so, and this article clearly outlines that.
Thank you Jonathan.
What about the enforcement aspect, or lack thereof, involved in these two recent fatalities?
Was there any discussion with Sam about that?
…the fact that these were in the middle of the city, on infrastructure, and no one was breaking the law.
Weren\’t the drivers breaking the law, Sam?
As for quick fixes, how about large round mirrors that expose blind spots at intersections? These are all over the place in other countries.
\”I think the fact that no one was blowing through a stop light, no one was doing anything illegal, it wasn’t in a far away place…the fact that these were in the middle of the city, on infrastructure, and no one was breaking the law.\”
ORS 811.050?
Hello?
C\’mon Sam.
Great interview, Jonathan. I think the only point you may have missed is a discussion of the roles, responsibilities and attitudes of the police both in general and specifically in these recent incidents.
Bicycle rules and awareness should be an essential part of any new resident\’s introduction to Portland. I just moved here last month, and was surprised that no questions pertaining to bicycles came up on my driver\’s test. I\’m a pretty mindful driver and biker, but I didn\’t know much about bike protocols here when I first arrived… I\’ve already had to learn some things the hard way, like taking a spill by inadvertently riding into a streetcar track. The signage is helpful, but a mandatory test or introduction of some sort would make a huge difference. Perhaps a mailing to new residents would be in order?
Portland is the number one city for bike commuiting, however the streets are narrow and we try to have trolleys,trucks, autos, and bikes share the road I am suprised that we don\’t more dead bikers. I just came back from two weeks of riding in the Netherland and they have narrow street there however they don\’t try to drive everything done the same street. We should be looking at limiting traffic to bikes on some of our streets.
I keep seeing and hearing the phrase \”bikes vs. cars\”…
We are all citizens of the planet. Its bikes with cars, with falling leaves, with trucks, with tweakers, with trains with skaters, with pedestrians, with rain, with airplanes, with windstorms, with random shopping cart pushing transients, with motorcycles, with fat cat billionaires, with sunshine.
Get over yourselves and get along. There are no gaurantees in this life, have fun while you are here. Bickering over who can be on which side of which white line in any given set of cuircumstances is rediculous and a wasteful way to spend your existence.
um, here\’s one of those \”wild and impractical\” safety ideas for dangerous intersections: how about rather large mirrors, slightly convex, mounted near traffic lights so drivers\’ eyes are near them, that will let drivers see their blind spots better? this could be implemented faster and with less total expense i think than retrofitting all the big vehicles that might enter portland with better mirrors. another idea might be bike detectors in the bike lanes near dangerous intersections that cause a warning light to flash in the intersection as bikes approach.
\” Bickering over who can be on which side of which white line in any given set of cuircumstances is rediculous and a wasteful way to spend your existence. \”
Ok. I\’ll get to work unstriping all the roads then. I\’ll also take down all the traffic signs and lights –we won\’t need them anymore. I guess we can tear up the sidewalks too. People should walk in the middle of the street.
Resident #10
Yeah, \”We\” should all focus on better co-existnce, but I tell ya- after getting hit from behind by a Cadillac driver who wanted to get to the red light before me on a bike 13-months ago while sharing \”the same side of the white line\”, \”WE\” have not been through rehab, but I sure as hell have.
I would be happy to pay double for a drivers license every 5 yrs that I had to study for just to know that driving is in fact a privilage.
These questions, while important, seem like too much fluff in light of the serious \”incidents\” the last 2 weeks. Time to ask the tough questions. The light on this issue is as bright as its going to get… now is the time for action and tough questions.
Why did Adams imply and repeat that no one was at fault?
Is an investigation underway? Was he (Adams) part of the investigation?
Who is he (Adams) to say if the truck driver was not at fault?
Was he there at both scenes? Did he see it happen both times?
What does he (Adams) know that the rest of the world doesn\’t?
I want to say a BIG thankyou to Sam for bringing the DMV into the conversation here.
I think when one really starts to try and identify the root of the problem here, a lot of it appears to be a severe lack of education in place for users of our road system.
In the same fashion that many bicyclists do not seem to know they are required by law to stop at a stop sign, it is clear that many motorists do not seem to know they are required by law to yield to a bicyclist in a bike lane when making a turn.
I would like to see a far, far more stringent driving test implemented here in Oregon. As a Brit who took her American driving test recently here in Portland, I was appauled at how over-easy getting my licence was.
Being granted access so quickly to freely pilot a one-plus tonne vehicle of fast-rolling steel, without the proper accompanying education and study was just….well, words just failed me that day.
Qwendolyn, you are describing a very real approach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space
I think I like it. I do not expect that the political environment is right, yet, for a scheme like this to fly in Portland. But oil is nearing $100/barrel now. Give it 5-10 years more…
Wow.
I\’ll file that one under \”truth is stranger than sarcasm\”
Mr. Adams thinking on education does not seem very sophisticated compared to some of other items addressed. Calling DMV about pamphlet is a little far from his and Portland’s realm of control. What is Portland going to do to educate drivers? When was the last time you looked at a drivers manual? Is DMVs role to educate or to administer?
Folks,
Sam was referring to the bicyclists when he mentioned \”no one was doing anything illegal\”.
Sorry I did not make that more clear.
Also, as to the enforcement questions. I hear your concerns about the urgency of this issue. In the meeting today I spoke a lot about this issue and I will make sure it continues to be a part of the conversation.
This is just one, short interview folks and there are a lot of issues swirling around. Please have some patience as we work to make some important changes to our system.
thanks.
It\’s unfortunate that some feel the need to leave hateful and condescending comments on these pages that are mostly positive and productive. I also think that it\’s unfortunate that people had/have to be killed for the right action to be taken
Neither of the trucks was engaged in what one would classify as part of major increase in \”freight movement.\” Both were engaged in a local delivery function and would most likely have been where they were regardless of whether or not it was designated as a freight route. So overlaying the bike map on the freight map is a meaningless exercise. How many of us have never had a garbage truck or concrete truck at our house or at least on our local, residential street?
Like others, I\’m disappointed that Sam has not addressed the refusal of the Police Bureau to cite truck drivers violating the law. Lt. Kruger does not even seem willing to admit the existence of ORS 811.050.
Yeah Herb, I hear ya. I spent a few weeks in Amsterdam this fall and was floored with how easy and fun it was to get around the city on a bike. Cars (and pedestrians) wait for bikes to pass before entering an intersection, it doesn\’t seem like a law, there are no signs, it\’s just the way it is. Part of the problem here is that you are dealing with a different mind set. In America, the car is king, people assume and take the right of way in a car even when they do not have it. Maybe this attitude will change as oil prices go up and more people start commuting on bikes. I hope so, because I am currently scared of riding my bike on Portland city streets.
Hey, who is this John R fellow, and why is he using my name?
🙂
Anyway – I agree, freight mapping is good – but what about the big trucks from SEARS and LAZY-BOY and whatnot that drive down my street with drivers who don\’t even have CDLs?
Or even the UPS truck driving at 45mph on a 20mph city street?
They can\’t even see a kid on a bicycle half a block away and they book through our neighborhoods…
\”And we bike.\”
@24: they better have cdl\’s. according to the dmv:
\”The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires a CDL for operation of vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds, vehicles carrying 16 or more people including the driver, or vehicles used to transport hazardous materials.\”
with the following exceptions:
\”The exceptions for an Oregon CDL are:
-Recreational vehicles (RVs) operated only for personal use.
-Certain farm vehicles when the driver is operating within a farm property.
-Emergency fire vehicles operated by firefighters.
-Emergency vehicles operated by emergency service workers.\”
of course i still think they should require some kind of \”cdl\” type endorsement for people driving r.v\’s as most of those are as big as a semi w/trailer and have the same kind of steering/braking issues.
mandatory turn signals on all rear view mirrors??
Concerned #13 – Amen to a requirement to pass the driving test every few years. I know the laws have changed a bit in the 20 years since I passed the test. Its rediculous that compentency is only checked at age 16.
Also, A good point is made above about RVs. Not only is there not a test on driving these, they are typically not the primary vehicle that the owner operates. That means they have very little experience and long time lapses between \”behind the wheel\” driving time. Another subset to look out for is Rental (uHaul) trucks. Big vehicles with inexperienced drivers.
In MY idealic world, everyone would have to drive an RV or Big rig through the city as well as make that trip on a bicycle and a motorcycle, just to know what others on the road face on a daily basis. There are some huge advantages and disadvantages to each mode of transport and none are the same.
Keep it safe and same out there folks!
\”…someone goes to get a driver’s license and the address says City of Portland then there’s a supplemental part of the magazine they give you, the driver’s guide, and the test that you take.\”
Yes, it\’s better than nothing but the Portland vicinity would GREATLY benefit too.
It is sad that the company that had the garbage truck driver involved in the accident is one of the most unresponsive and a bad neighbors to our community in NOB Hill in NW Portland.
Their drivers have routinely been rude in creating traffic dangers in the day and noise disturbances at night.
In talking to other NW Portland transportation activists such as Chris Smith- there is agreement that the City and especially the city Office of Sustainable Redevelopment do a very poor job keeping this company in check. Someone should look at this problem in a holistic fashion. If the city\’s Sustainable development hollier then thou—- lame employees like Laura Hoggie and others did their job and enforced their regulations, maybe AGG would be more responsible across the board.
Portland needs to start writing more tickets against commercial drivers and not the expensive two tickets I have received!!!!
sarah G:
Garbage / recycling is mostly run by Metro, I am not sure how much Portland OSD has a stake in the matter as well.
http://www.metro-region.org/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24197
\”No one doing anything illegal\” is very different from \”no one doing anything dangerous.\” At the risk of starting to sound like a real crank about this subject, I would like to emphasize yet again how profoundly and unnecessarily dangerous it is to position oneself in the \”suicide slot\” when passing an intersection or exit in a roadway: http://tinyurl.com/32lj22
I sincerely hope that the reference made above to funding for cyclist education was not mere lip service, and that the education will include efforts to give both novice and experienced cyclists some grounding in vehicular cycling. That is the only thing I\’ve heard of so far that could surely have saved the lives of both of the cyclists who have died in the past few weeks here.
A problem intersection to consider: 26th and Powell. This is along a major bike artery, and there is a lot of traffic at that intersection in the morning (Cleveland HS and Powell avenue arterial); at 3 pm (Cleveland lets out); and at 4:30-6 pm.
So why do the large trucks pass through this intersection when there is a signaled intersection just three blocks south, at 19th, and there is already a major freight facility on that road (Fred Meyer)? There should be no trucks going north/south on 26th between Division and Gladstone.
As a vehicle driver, I am partial to two ideas I\’ve seen discussed:
1. Bike boxes. It is quick, it is cheap and it changes the environment for drivers.
2. I don\’t know if DMV includes bicycle/vehicle awareness or laws in their driver license tests, since it has been decades since I\’ve had to take a test (hmmm.)
In a strange way, the daily sight of bikers in Portland gives me a warm feeling about this community. I periodically ride a bike, but would never attempt it on streets like so many others do.
Bravo to Sam Adams for moving on this issue. I hope that he can accomplish something before the collective shock wears off.
Randy2
The city could also invest in tall (3\’?), flexible, permanently installed poles at the entering-the-intersection end of each lane, defining the line of the lane. They should stop, as should cyclists, a few feet short of the crosswalk. A truck driver will have seen those poles as s/he pulls up to the light, and will instinctively not want to cross them, whatever the visibility at the traffic light. If a cyclist and a truck are both waiting at the light, the cyclist can see the truck start to turn and wait for it to finish; the truck will make sure that the turn it makes does not touch the poles. This does mean that cyclists yield to right-turning trucks at intersections, but it could significantly increase safety at the cost of speed and, arguably, fairness.
I\’m in total agreement with Commissioner Adams on his desire to look at overlay maps of existing bike routes and freight routes and try to elliminate conflicts where possible. to my mind that\’s one of the main purposes of transprtation PLANNING. I ride to east Gresham and back every day and from 181st to the intersection of Powell & Burnside (5 miles) the bike lane I need to take is on the main freight route connecting I-84 and Highway 26. That\’s just sloppy planning on someone\’s part. That kind of stuff is a big part of where this discussion can begin to have a positive effect.