[View update at end of story.]
Portland’s new on-street bike parking corrals are the subject of an editorial in the Hillsboro Argus today (Hillsboro is about 17 miles west of Portland).
In OK Bike Corral, Argus publisher Clark Gallagher shares concerns from delivery truck drivers about the new parking. Mr. Gallagher overheard one such driver recently tell a TV news camera,
“Well I don’t know what you want me to say. My truck’s parked in the middle of the street, and I have to get past this thing to make deliveries to two stores. It took my loading zone. I’m sure somebody’s happy, but it’s made my life tougher.”
Gallagher writes this is a case of “when green meets reality” and adds that, “it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.”
Then, channeling a commonly held gripe about bike-specific infrastructure, he writes (emphasis mine),
“We suspect the corrals will get some usage during the good weather and almost no usage during the bad. The delivery trucks and those of us from the suburbs will be on at least four wheels downtown no matter what the weather.”
And if you’re wondering why he titled the piece “OK Bike Corral” it was a reference the classic, 1957 film, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which explains his final sentence, “Now we have a corral to fight over.”
Update, 6:54pm: PDOT bike coordinator Roger Geller chimed in below with more on the loading zone issue:
“We know it’s important for businesses to have loading zones so that the delivery companies can find an easy, convenient, and quick means to make their deliveries. We moved the loading zone to provide for the corral. We didn’t eliminate it. We simply hadn’t yet made the change that first day when the driver came by to make his daily deliveries. It’s in place now.”