happened around noon today.
(Photos: Tony Tapay)
We’ve been reporting on N. Williams Avenue a lot lately. Along with being a vital north-south bike route, it also serves a burgeoning, bike-oriented commercial district. It’s one of the busiest bikeways in all of Portland yet it currently has only a five foot bike lane to handle all the traffic (parked cars get 15 feet in some stretches).
A few minutes ago, reader Tony Tapay witnessed a dooring incident on Williams just north of N. Failing Street. Here’s another photo of both parties exchanging information and the victim being attended to by emergency medical crews:
Dooring on Williams (and other streets with similar lane configurations) is not uncommon. Back in November 2008, someone was fed up being doored on Williams and resorted to street graffiti to warn others.
These incidents merely underscore the need for more breathing room for bikes on our roads.
There’s reason to be hopeful that the Williams bikeway will be vastly improved in the months to come. But in the meantime, the issue of providing adequate space for the large amount of people who bike there remains.