people still rode during
December’s snow.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Earlier this month, the Mayor’s office released a storm response survey. The 15-question survey (it’s still online) asked citizens about their travel behavior during the storm and asked them to rate the city’s response.
Every mode (transit, motor vehicles, pedestrians) was considered — except bikes.
In a city that prides itself on leading the nation in bike-friendliness and aspires to be a world-class bike city, it seemed strange that bikes didn’t even warrant a mention. Sure, many people decided to leave their bikes at home instead of battling the slush, snow and ice; but many also found their bike to be a perfectly viable way to get around (especially with studded tires).
Thankfully, the Mayor’s office has acknowledged the oversight and now the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee has drafted a bike-specific storm response survey.
No word yet on when the survey will be available online (a few people still need to sign off on it), but the co-chair of the BAC, Matt Arnold, shared a peek at a few of the questions that might appear on it:
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Did you (attempt to) bike during the recent snowstorms?
If yes, were you able to reach your destination(s) by bike?
If yes, what was the condition – for bikes – of Portland’s roadways? (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor / No opinion)
How would you rate the City’s removal of gravel/storm debris from your bike route(s)?
Following the snow melt, how soon did the City remove gravel/storm debris from your bike route(s)?
As a side note, I’ve noticed that Seattle bike advocates are still making noise about their city’s lack of attention to gravel in the bike lanes. Here in Portland, over a month after the snow first fell, we also still have gravel and debris in some major bikeways.
I’ll publish the link to the survey once it’s online.