Updated: Trucks make for perilous gap in popular trails

[Updated 7/16, 10:42am (see below)]

A truck parked in the bike/ped lane forces a woman and children into the roadway as they make their way from the Eastbank Esplanade to the Springwater Corridor Trail via SE 4th Ave.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last week I had to cover a story in Sellwood and I decided to take the Springwater Corridor Trail to get there (my office is near SE Hawthorne and 7th).

While on the several-block gap between the end of the Eastbank Esplanade and the beginning of the Springwater, I encountered a large amount of big-rig truck traffic on SE 4th. That’s not surprising, given that this is an industrial zone and that a major construction project is in progress

Can you spot the trail users in this photo?
That white line is supposed to be a bike lane.

But making matters worse is that some of the trucks seem to think the bike lane is a loading zone.

As I rode by, I noticed a woman walking on the trail with two small children. Since a big truck was parked in her path, she had to walk out into the motor vehicle lanes to continue south.

I spoke with the woman after snapping these photos. She is a nanny for the two boys and she told me that their mother warned her that she should be careful while walking in this area. Given what we know about the blind spots of big trucks, something should be done to make this stretch of road safer.

This experience reminded me of the importance of working to build the waterfront connection of this trail. Unfortunately at least one developer seems hell-bent on making sure that never happens (but luckily the Oregon Court of Appeals thinks differently).

It’s also worth noting that the Portland Police Bureau has made this area an “Enhanced Enforcement Zone” due to safety concerns with the construction project. Perhaps some of that enforcement could go toward making sure trucks do not block the bike lane.

Does anyone else have experience riding (or walking) on SE 4th? What do you think could be done to improve safety in this area?

[UPDATE: The construction zone manager saw the photo and this story and has notified the Portland Police Bureau about the issue (ODOT pays the PPB for enhanced enforcement in this area). Hopefully there should be less of this happening in the future. Please continue to report what you see below. ]