Slideshow below – (Photos © J. Maus)
Yesterday, city maintenance crews put the finishing touches on Portland’s 19th bike corral (number 20, just a block away at SE Pine, should be done any day now). This one is in front of Crema Bakery on SE 28th at Ankeny.
The first thing I noticed as I approached on the southbound side of 28th is how nicely the new, angled orientation of the racks works. Putting the staples at an angle makes them easier to slide into and it also means that bikes don’t stick out into the street as much (something I’m sure PBOT is happy about).
This corral also makes this intersection feel like even more of a bike district. SE 28th, with its bridge over I-84, is a very popular north/south bike route. And Ankeny is one of the busiest bike streets (and one of the original bike boulevards) in Portland.
As I said, 28th is a busy route, but with only one travel lane in each direction and on-street parking on both sides, it’s not always the most pleasant place to ride (not a lot of space for bikes and taking the lane sometimes results in shouting matches). Thankfully, Metro awarded the new Twenties Bikeway project $2.38 million in the recent round of regional flexible funding (more on that project in a separate post).
wide bike lane on this street.
Where will it go?
The Twenties Bikeway project is slated to make 28th much more friendly to bikes. But (and thanks to a reader for pointing this out) the plans for this segment of SE 28th (between Burnside and Stark) call for the removal of on-street parking on one side and the installation of new, 4.5 foot bike lanes on each side.
The questions I’m still trying to find answers to are: Which side of the street is slated to have car parking removed (there will be a bike corral on each side)? And, how will PBOT fit a 4.5-foot wide bike lane between the new corrals and motor vehicle traffic?
UPDATE: According to PBOT Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller, the Twenties Bikeway project is still years away and the final design for 28th is yet to be determined. “It’s way too early to say how the corral will be impacted in a design treatment for 28th,” he wrote in a comment below, “In other words, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Stay tuned for more corrals coming to SE 28th. PBOT’s Sarah Figliozzi says one is slated in front of Fonda Rosa/Beuhlaland at Couch Street and in front of Tabla/Bishops at Davis.
Check out more photos in the slideshow below (or browse the gallery):
— If you’re curious how PBOT selects locations for these bike corrals, read our story from yesterday, How PBOT plans for bike corrals.