Police share results from Rose Quarter “bicycle education mission”

I don\’t ride through here very often but came this way on the way to breakfast on the bridges and all I can say is that it is CONFUSING! I was trying to ride legally going through the rose garden and then down to interstate rather than through the mall but I ended up in a situation where it appeared there was no legal way out over by the big hole in the ground for the sewer. Finally I just said whatever and rode past the street closed signs up to the esplanade entrance.

At least the cops weren\’t ticketing people but it would be nice if the city paid someone to set up a clearer detour that didn\’t add significant distance to the route rather than just some people yelling hey don\’t go over there.

That area is a massive CF right now. Be polite, ride slow and use your bell on the lower deck! Lots of extra pedestrians.

And to anyone who (like me) rides Everett to Front to connect to Waterfront Park, beware of the green light on Everett. It has an extremely short yellow and no lag before the red turns to green on Front.

The other day, I entered the intersection on a green on Everett, saw the light turn yellow out of the corner of my eye, and then saw the light on Front turn green as I was halfway across the intersection. I don\’t like to run reds, so this one caught me by surprise and I got honked at (he was so quick, guy must\’ve been covering the horn just waitin\’ for me to do something). Nearly got hit by a car in the far lane, too.

It happened again this morning. Watch out, or wait for the (very slow) crosswalk change! Is there someone I can report this to?

“…done in response to a substantial increase in the number of complaints about traffic infractions in and around the transit station.”

Or one person (Myra Walker perhaps?) complaining many, many times.

This area is really poorly laid out, with terrible signage. Who\’s decision was it to set up an \”education mission\” in a place where it\’s almost impossible to ride legally, combined with the fact the city put up the wrong signage? Feels pointless and antagonistic to me.

Hi, Matt.

I was just responding to the \”use your bell\” as if we all had them.

I don\’t. Sorry, man. As I\’ve posted before, the sound is just like nails on a blackboard to me. It hits my lizard brain and raises my pressure. Ain\’t nothing I can do about it.

I whistle the theme to Super Why/Dragon Tales (depending on when I leave) or chat inanities about what I got mad about the previous eve listening to middle of the night rebroadcasts of Mac/Lehrer. I\’m aware of the requirement (although I selectively dispense with it if I see ear buds).

I\’m convinced the whistling thing is a net plus for my CV system.

Funny that about the yelling guy.

Oh, and my mantra always is: Dogs hate surprises. My two toddlers know that one as well as they know helmets are mandatory. \”Be cool, Cujo\” they say in soothing tones from the seven o\’clock.

So if you hear a guy pfffting PBS kids show incidental music or saying \”Port side\” or \”Tony Snow didn\’t deserve nearly as much sympathy as he got\” and you see he\’s riding an antique Raleigh Comp, introduce yerself.

But please don\’t ding that bell. The lizard loathes it.

@Icarus

I disagree.

In fact, I\’m looking forward to input on this.

I\’m willing to bet ten cents that the wording calls for a verbal warning and that mechanical warning isn\’t specified.

Beyond that, I\’m willing to bet a quarter that a verbal (which I assume includes whistling) warning is suffcient.

All said, yes, we\’re supposed to give warning.

I stop at red lights 99 percent of the time. I stop at stop signs 88 percent of the time.

I give ped overtake warning if I suspect it\’s going to be a tight fit or if I think the ped/jogger is experimenting with vector, which is probably like 33 percent of the time.

I average 14-18 mph on the lower deck/waterfront. If the coast is clear, doppler is against me, people are prone to look and say \”what?\”. Better to just be there. If it\’s not a clear shot, I tuck in behind the ped and wait for a chance. No need to worry anyone.

I figure it\’s sort of like the autobahn: Once you\’re on it, no matter your conveyence or speed, you should expect the overtake and make allowances and observations in expectation of it.

Being a parent, strollers and kids get a huge slow wide allowance.

and, still, headset/earbuds and you get nothing. and you\’ll like it.

(sorry, bit of caddyshack slipped in there.)

Yes yes, I may be part of the problem, but I can own that. Haven\’t hit anyone since 1987, and that guy had it coming. Aggressive panhandling on the Burnside will get you a shoulder every time. (this is prebikelane)

Audible warnings should be given EVERY time you\’re passing someone, regardless of if you think they\’re going to hear you or not. there should be no excuses why you don\’t give a warning. Too many times I\’ve nearly had someone run into me from the rear from doing this. prime example was someone who decided to pass me on the left while going over the broadway bridge. I nearly ran him into the steel beams of the bridge.

anyways, back on topic. when are they going to go forth with the plan to allow bikes to ride through the transit center? I\’m assuming that it\’ll be after this whole steel bridge thing is over. c/d?

This area is confusing if you\’re new to riding through it. But once you see how to get through without disobeying the (current) law, it\’s really not that hard. The only people that cut through where they\’re not supposed to are just confused or stubborn.

That being said, I\’ll be glad when they make the direct bike access permanent. Not so much because it\’s a hassle going the extra 2 blocks around, but more because I think it\’ll just make everyone happier & safer, since they\’ll know what to expect.

I say it over & over… The only way to ride safe is to be predictable. And the only way to be predictable is to follow the rules.

Donald (#10): too funny! I don\’t have a bell either but can see them being useful (I ride in lanes mostly, rarely on sidewalks, otherwise saying \”on your left\” – how uncreative!).

The reference is 814.410 Unsafe operation of a bicycle on a sidewalk, and the wording is \”audible warning\” as others have mentioned. Bells or horns aren\’t required, though another reader of this site introduced me to the Delta Airzound that\’s been used to prevent an inattentive motorist from hooking me on an occasion (and to vent frustration at a rude motorist on another – yeah, that\’s probably illegal ;).

True, this area is confusing. But what is not confusing to me is a sign that says, NO BIKES. Why is that hard for people to follow?

The above is correct, I follow the law in this area, and most often beat those folks who just risked their lives biking in an area filled with huge buses that are expecting not to have to dodge bicycles or public car traffic.

YES, there are improvements needed, but again this does not give you a pass to break the law.

I was almost killed by a bus on tuesday tuning out of the mall (Wheeler to N. Interstate). The driver looked at me and still pulled out even though I had right of way. I lock us both wheels and prayed, stopping a few feet from the bus. The driver leans out of the window and yells \”you f-in idiot\”. Nice.

I follow the rules and ride around to Multnomah to get to Williams, and would expect the trimet drivers to be aware of wear people go. Yesterday while riding home, I am in the group op bikers at the bike light by the steel bridge and a group of 15 riders was released. 10 of them rode right through the bus mall despite the sign. 3 guy continued on interstate and only me and another guy went around to Multnomah.

In a way I now blame the driver that almost hit me less. If two thirds of the riders illegally cut through the mall, that becomes you expectation. He probably thought I would ver off right throught he mall and that is why he ended up cutting me off. If I had been hurt, the blame would not be his alone. Partial responsibility would lie with those 10 riders who cut through the mall.

Subsequently, I am happy to see the cops there because it makes me, a daily bike commuter, safer.

Right on PoPo

No, seriously, it wasn\’t a rhetorical question (#3), does anyone have any safe and legal suggestions on getting from N Vancouver to Steel Bridge other than walking through the transit center? (Preferably a way not involving bells!)

Going northbound, I go past it all on Interstate and turn right on Larrabee (bottom of Broadway Bridge) to Broadway to Weidler to Williams. I\’ve tried doing essentially the reverse going south, but getting across Broadway to go down Larrabee wasn\’t pretty. I don\’t have a problem taking lanes and riding assertively (or aggressive if need be), but there\’s no point in temping fate either.

First…Trimet fails at that transit center.

Second…everyone stop feeding the trolls. If you ignore them, they have now power.

\”I noticed detour signs for the Steel Bridge (at N. Multnomah) pointing bikes and peds to a detour that took them onto the east-side sidewalk, and advised traveling the wrong way on the sidewalk (a very dangerous proposition).\” – Maybe I just need a visual to understand, but is it possible to travel the wrong way on a sidewalk? Can a sidewalk be 1-way?

Red Hippie (#22) – You *SHOULD* blame the Tri-Met driver. It doesn\’t matter if you are the only cyclist on the road obeying the law – he needs to obey the law as well, and that requirement does not hinge on your behavior, nor that of anyone else. Too many people are using the bad behavior of others to justify their own bad behavior. The driver made an assumption rather than preparing for both possibilities as he (or she) should have. Partial responsibility does NOT rest with the 10 who rode right on through – if that were a \”normal\” intersection, and you and the bus behaved the same way, would it be partially the responsibility of other bikes and cars that continued straight through the \”normal\” intersection?

It\’s prudent to assume that other traffic may do crazy and/or illegal things, and over time people develop the skills to tell when others intend to do just that. But it\’s also prudent to assume that other traffic may entirely obey the law, and all road users should be prepared for the other traffic to do so.

Tri-Met drivers have no excuse – they have the training, the experience, and the operator\’s license that says they are supposed to know better. They\’re ostensibly professionals – when they fail to accomodate lawful behavior of others and impinge on the right-of-way of others, they fail as safe and responsible drivers. It\’s as simple as that.

I rode through this workzone last night (11PM)…and I saw a lot more pedestrians [for that time of night] walking across the Steel Bridge between transit stations…and I would request that Trimet consider:
– installing a bike only detour sign to direct bikes off of NB Naito Parkway bike lane earlier…their current sign ios a bike & ped detour sign pointing bikes down a flight of stairs or into grass.
– installing sharrows where they want bikes to go in order to link up the network.
– Install A boards at the Yellow Max platfrom at Rose Qtr explaining what is up and option to walk to Old Town. (There is a taped message but you have to stick around to hear it loop through.)

– extend security into the plaza area above the Steel Bridge (Peace garden)…there were a lot more campers there than I seem to remember…they were no problem other than their camping carts were blocking the route (or could be a source of concern for slower transit patrons on foot from suburbia)

I assume there will be a lot of bike & ped conflicts this month – especially in the weave that one must now take to reach the Steel. Better signing and temp. on road stenciling through would be great.

Wow … whenever Myra posts, I feel like we\’re giving witness to a real, live Batman villain. I\’m imagining the costume looking sort of like the Riddler\’s, but with little \”no bikes\” signs all over it instead of question marks, topped off with a cracked bike helmet. Her secret origin is that she was once your average happy-go-lucky Portland rider until one fateful day when she rode up to a four way stop and the Joker blew up a tanker truck parked in the adjacent bike lane. When she came to, the first person she laid eyes on was another cyclist who had stopped to help her. In her understandable state of fear and confusion—not to mention the psychological effects of the nasty bump on her head where her helmet cracked against it—she put the pieces she remembered together and determined the cyclist who was helping her up had cut her off at the stop sign and caused her to crash. At that moment, Myra vowed she would spend the rest of her life hunting down renegade cyclists! I nominate Kathy Bates for the role whenever they get around to making the movie …

Well JV #33, speaking only for myself, I live on the east side of the Ross Isl Bridge, so I\’m on the east side the whole time.

Red Hippie-
Obviously you have never taken a drivers test or you would know that when a buss puts his blinker on he has the right of way and you MUST STOP. Buss\’s allways put the blinker on when they pull out and rarely will yield to anyone. Many bikes seem dangerously oblivious to this and pedal right on by a buss trying to pull out. I see this almost daily and never get used to it. I am suprised there arn\’t more accidents. And even if you did have the right away its not going to do you any good if your dead. When something as big as a buss is turning around a corner he is going to need every bit of road and if your trying to squeeze up next to him then que\’ sara sara

Redhippie, I am the first to point out instances where bike riders endanger others, and cause oversized vehicles to make dangerous adjustmens to their illegal or ill conceived maneuvers.

I am also adament, as a bus driver, that bus drivers have an extra responsibility as holders of Commercial Driver\’s Licenses, to anticipate as much as possible what others will do, and to exercise caution–which includes being certain that you have clearance when pulling out. Given the circumstances you described, the driver\’s actions were unsafe, and his verbal abuse inexcusable. You should call in a complaint, and ask for a response.

You do not sound vindictive, so at best this can be a learning experience for the driver, and at worst it puts Tri-
Met on notice that they have a problem. If this driver has had previous complaints, he may lose his job–and should.

I am also aware that buses have extreme blind spots, especially on the right, and that drivers cannot always see small, fast moving, vehicles, such as bikes, and hope that as a matter of self preservation, others will take that into consideration. Buses are easier for bicyclists to see than the other way around.

On behalf of all Tri-Met drivers, I apologize to you for what happened.

I was wondering when there is going to be a \”Police Education Misson\” and also a \”Tri Met Education Misson\”.

A bus driver did inform me that Tri Met has very much stepped up it\’s driver education on bicycle issues.

But we still have the problems with both the Portland Police and Tri Met drivers and supervisor\’s not properly understanding a cyclists place, responsibilities, or even rights on the road. Not to mention the PPB\’s inability to govern the roads enough to make it safe to bicycle down them.

Thanks for the update, red hippie. Good follow-through. I once filed a complaint with Tri-Met when I was called an \”a**hole\” by a bus driver for reminding him that his habit of parking and taking his break on the bike lane on a steep downhill was detrimental to my health. They were super nice and apologized to me, and said that would go on the driver\’s record. However, I don\’t know what went on the record. I hope you find out, and then we\’ll know whether the whole complaints process does anything at all.

Zagreus,

I appreciate that, but without some form of independent oversight how do we know the system is working as intended. I asked for a copy of the report with the personal information redacted, so it could not negatively affect the driver but it would show the public that these issues are taken seriously.

Otherwise, all I have is faith that TriMet is adequately addressing these safety concerns. If the system is working as intended, then why the need for secrecy? Secrecy breeds paranoia.

Is there anything you can do to help?

Thank you, Red