“This project would cost a little more but would deliver huge returns.”
–from a BTA blog post
In the wake of Mayor Potter’s memo and with a looming City Council vote that could kill the plan to bring the Sauvie Island Bridge span to Northwest Portland, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is sounding the alarm to its 5,000+ members.
They’ve issued an email action alert and have posted a story to their blog urging members to attend tomorrow’s City Council meeting and show support for re-using the span as part of the Flanders Street Bike Boulevard.
Stating that, “There is currently no low-traffic bike route that runs east-west in NW Portland,” the BTA writes, “The best way to get bicyclists and pedestrians across I-405 is on their own bridge, away from cars.”
They also write, “this project would cost a little more but would deliver huge returns.”
The BTA also lists several benefits of reusing the Sauvie Island span, rather than building a new (and cheaper) bridge:
–The bridge would be wider and more attractive, making it more like a little park or plaza than the narrow, concrete pedestrian bridges commonly built over freeways.
–A wide, attractive bridge would be another public space where people could gather for events, or could linger while out on a walk.
–A standard width bicycle and pedestrian bridge would only serve demand for so long before we started to talk about widening it (look at the recent summer traffic jams on the Hawthorne Bridge, the Esplanade, and in the bike lanes on N Vancouver and Williams).
Read more about the BTA’s stance on their blog.
Attend the City Council meeting:
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Wednesday, April 2nd
10:00 am
City Council Chambers (1221 SW 4th Ave.)