This week’s Ask BikePortland comes from reader Rob B.:
Hey Jonathan,
I was wondering if you have any insight into the issue of delivery trucks illegally parking in bike lanes? In particular, my daily commute takes me south on SW 1st St from the Hawthorne Bridge. In the block between Clay and Market there are often UPS and/or Fed Ex trucks parked in the bike lane, forcing cyclists out into traffic.
I’ve actually made an effort in the past to contact parking enforcement, but nothing has changed. One morning I saw a parking enforcement guy and asked him about it. He said that he could ticket them, but that it would make little difference since both UPS and Fed Ex just “bundle” their tickets and negotiate reduced fees with the city. It’s very frustrating and I’m guessing that my initial instinct to sabotage the trucks wouldn’t be too wise in the long run…Thanks.
Great question Rob. My first hunch was that yes, they are allowed to be in the bike lane as long as it’s just for a few minutes and they are actively loading or unloading. However, a quick consultation of Oregon traffic law tells me otherwise.
Oregon law is very protective of bike lanes, but there are some exceptions where motor vehicles are allowed to travel over them. ORS 814.440, “When motor vehicles may operate on bicycle lane,” provides a list of exemptions, but it says nothing about delivery trucks. There is section (2) (c) that states “A person may operate a motor vehicle upon a bicycling lane when: Required in the course of official duty,” but I assume that means police, fire, or other City duties and not just any private business.
Perhaps a legal expert can chime in with a comment, but I think you’ve got every reason to be frustrated.
That being said, there are situations that put delivery truck drivers in a difficult spot. Take the new buffered bike lanes on SW Stark and Oak. Those streets have two on-street parking lanes, a standard vehicle lane and a buffered bike lane. In order for delivery and service trucks to operate, they must block one of those lanes, and guess which one they choose? Yep, the bike lane. But without any other place to stop, what are their options?
When I see this happen, I try to just take a deep breath and then merge safely into the adjacent lane. I’m curious what others think about this. Do you regularly see delivery trucks blocking bike lanes? If so, how can we help prevent it from happening?
Thanks for reading.
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If so, how can we help prevent it from happening?
Grenades!
(Sorry, up waaaaaay too late last night)
I think block bike lanes by parked delivery trucks is just part of urban life. It’s not like it’s too difficult to merge into slow downtown traffic.
Generally, I don’t see the need to do anything about it. I like delivery vehicles parked/stopped way better than moving. I also think cars should learn to deal w/ bikes merging in occasionally; there are plenty of situations where that may happen.
However in streets where car traffic moves very fast, making merging difficult… perhaps we could try communicating the problem to fedex/ups? If they had enough requests perhaps they’d be willing to train their drivers differently.
I believe it’s legal.
811.550 – Places where stopping, standing and parking prohibited
On a bicycle lane. Exemptions under ORS 811.560 (Exemptions from prohibitions on stopping, standing and parking) are applicable to this subsection.
811.560
When applicable, this subsection exempts school buses or worker transport buses stopped on a roadway to load or unload workers or children, providing that the flashing school bus safety lights on the bus are operating.
(2) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles stopped, standing or parked momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger.
(3) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles stopped, standing or parked momentarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading property or passengers.
(4) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles owned or operated by the state, a county or city when stopping, standing or parking is necessary to perform maintenance or repair work on the roadway.
(5) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles from the prohibitions and penalties when the driver’s disregard of the prohibitions is necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic.
(6) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles acting in compliance with law or at the direction of a police officer or a traffic control device.
(7) When applicable, this subsection exempts the driver of a vehicle that is disabled in such manner and to such extent that the driver cannot avoid stopping or temporarily leaving the disabled vehicle in a prohibited position.
(8) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles owned or operated by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife when stopping, standing or parking is necessary to enable employees to release fish.
(9) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles momentarily stopped to allow oncoming traffic to pass before making a right-hand or left-hand turn or momentarily stopped in preparation for or while negotiating an exit from the road. [1983 c.338 §670; 1985 c.334 §2; 1989 c.433 §3]
Isn’t this just one of the things you have to deal with when living in a city? It’s just a minor annoyance, and not really bike-specific. I encounter double-parked trucks as frequently in the auto lanes (there is often a double-parked delivery truck at 4th & Alder unloading goods for Ross during my morning commute) as in the bike lane. Just go around when it’s safe to do so. It’s just (parked) traffic.
I vote that it is NEVER OK to park in the bike lane (Unless otherwise noted- Fire, Ambulance, etc.)
How do they do it in NYC when there is no bike lane and trucks can’t stop?
Dolly moves supplies from the street around the corner loading zone? Use smaller trucks that can fit in a parking space? Come in from the other side of the building? Nighttime deliveries while the curb lane is a parking lane?
I was recently riding up Williams when a large truck needlessly buzzed me (Wheels barely in their driving lane but bed partially in bike lane- nobody in the other lane- easily could have given me 3 or more feet of space- but pinched me while passing.) The truck driver drove up from Tillimook to just north of Vendetta and parked in the bike lane.
When I caught up, I asked the driver (WA Plates) to give riders more space while passing and to move out their truck out of the bike lane. He refused- there was ample parking space 100 feet north as well as across the street.
I called the company that the driver was driving for and talked to the owner. The owner of the company was extremely nice- and said that drivers are trained to pass with ample space and to not park in the bike lane.
I also called 823-5195 x 3 parking enforcement in hopes that they would ticket the driver.
I think the problem is the lack of loading zones due to all the curb side space being used for car parking.
The vehicular cyclist in me doesn’t much care about trucks parked in the bike lane. The chip-on-his-shoulder aggro rider in me wants to break a mirror or something. The zen rider in me just goes with the flow around stationary objects. The believer of justice in me wants to see laws upheld; fines levied; behavior corrected. The put-yourself-in-their-shoes in me agrees there’s little else they can do. The advocate for proper cycling infrastructure in me sees this as one of the major impediments to getting our mode share numbers up — this is a major impediment to getting timid riders on the streets.
So, I’m conflicted. But, overall, I don’t like it, and I believe the last argument trumps all.
Whether it’s legal or not, I think it’s uncool, especially on streets like SW Broadway (the buffered bike lane section by PSU notwithstanding). The armored car drivers are the worst offenders, too. Whenever I see a truck in it I attempt to chase them out, and whenever I see a truck parked _outside_ the bike lane and instead in the adjacent traffic lane, I always thank them if they are around.
Like Paulie, I’ve seen double-parked delivery trucks blocking car lanes, too. I think it’s just part of being on the road in the city. It’s not pleasant, regardless of your mode, but there’s not much you can do about it.
@7 I second that, if parking is needed for delivery trucks then turn some of the parking spots into a 15 min max loading zones.
811.560
(5) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles from the prohibitions and penalties when the driver’s disregard of the prohibitions is necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic.
So… This means it’s legal for cars to pass on the right in the bike lane if there’s a stopped vehicle waiting to turn left? Should I be the one yielding to the motor traffic that passes on the right in the bike lane? Or should they look first to see if there’s traffic in the bike lane before they leap. (I’ll never place my bets on the last one happening. For sure that’d be the end of me)
As noted above, very frequently downtown I see delivery trucks parked in the main travel lanes (not just the bike lanes) . Traffic just has to merge around them, which is even easier on bike. Whether it is legal is an interesting question, but delivery drivers have a difficult, stressful job, and most are fairly considerate – waiting for people to pass before unloading, etc… Delivery vehicles are part of the urban landscape we just have to deal with, as long as we want to have vibrant city centers that consume goods produced from outside the immediate area. Even if there is a big mode shift to pedal-powered transport, I believe that we would then see cargo trikes parked in the bike lane. Would we complain about that too?
As irritating as it is to have a delivery truck parked in the buffered bike lanes on Stark and Oak, I think I would rather have them park there than the car lane. I can slow down, look around my shoulder and find a break in traffic and take the lane. I have to look out for cars. Car drivers, however, are not near as good when it comes to looking for bikes. And, let’s face it, bikes can be harder to see.
Really, really, good observation, and accompanying point, Mr. Maus. I’m actually pretty impressed with the general tone throughout much of the bicycle-lane statute on the books, essentially being very anti-anybody not on a bicycle using them. I’ll give credit where it’s due. But, I was all ready to buy into the notion that, “official duty”, would include anyone on-the-clock, so to speak. However, there is significant precedent present where, “official duty”, refers, quite specifically, to the authorities. Really nice catch, that.
I’m REALLY hoping that it’s not kool to do a passenger drop-off, or park delivery vehicles, in these asinine bicycle-lanes. I really don’t want to be constrained by them in the first-place, and having to nav stupid trucks in them is angry-making.
Next-up: People dutifully following Oregon statute, and pulling over to operate a mobile phone device…BUT, doing so IN THE BICYCLE LANE!!!!
I griped about this subject awhile ago on my site. I’ve got a couple-o-decent pics, if anybody wants to peek.
http://vancelongwell.blogspot.com/2009/08/bike-lane-madness.html
The real solution is to let the trucks stop on the left side of streets that have a bike lane. Then all will be well
If this were Europe, they might just park on the sidewalk. But I think I agree, annoying as it is sometimes, that it’s part of urban life. I see it here in Eugene, a lot, too, where traffic/parking is a lot less hectic. And it might just be that driver is delivering you that new flip-flop hub you’ve been waiting for to finish up your latest single-speed conversion.
How about things other than delivery vehicles, on streets other than of the “slow downtown” variety?
My two pet peeves are landscaping trucks/trailers parked in the bike lane (usually taking care of the Nike campus), and Tri-Met buses “killing time”, i.e., stop has been serviced, but the bus just sits there for upwards of 5 minutes, blocking the bike lane. I see both of these blockages very frequently, and they happen on 45mph (read 55mph) Murray Blvd.–not the kind of traffic one can just merge smoothly into to go around.
@Gregg #6 — In NYC, trucks always stop, cars always stop. There’s no “can’t stop”! There are some “no stopping” areas, but even those are sometimes ignored. Double-parking is pretty much a given. If any given situation goes on for too long or gets out of hand, then traffic enforcement gets involved. If the vehicle involved has diplomatic plates, everybody else gives up and goes home.
One thing that helps in Manhattan is that a lot of on-street parking areas prohibit parking at various times of the day or week, usually for street-cleaning. That frees up space for quick deliveries that would otherwise be taken up by parked vehicles. Every morning people rush out to their cars parked on the street and move them to the other side of the street. It’s kind of comical, and I can only imagine the howls of protest if Portland tried something like that.
Under ORS 811.550 stopping, standing and parking are prohibited on a bicycle lane (811.550.23). There are exceptions as follows:
To momentarily pick up or discharge a passenger (811.560.2)
“…momentarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading property or passengers” (811.560.3)
The key here is that the delivery vehicle may park in the bicycle lane as long as they are actually engaged in loading or unloading. They cannot park there and be standing around talking or waiting for a load to be delivered. They’ve got to be engaged… It also must be “momentarily,” which is defined in Merriam-Webster as “for a moment”. “Moment” is defined as: “a minute portion of time,” and “a comparatively brief period of time.”
So, the answer is “yes, but you’ve got to be actively engaged in loading or unloading and it can only be for a minute portion of time.
looks like Dillon covered it with this:
(3) When applicable, this subsection exempts vehicles stopped, standing or parked momentarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading property or passengers.
so I guess that means I have to put up with all the people stopping in the bike lane across the street from work to drop their packages in the blue post office and FedEx mailboxes… luckily I’m usually getting into the middle turn lane about then…
but I agree that for a delivery company they need somewhere to unload and I can usually get around them easily…
the stalling buses are annoying though, because often I just slow down so that by the time I get to them they’re taking off again… so if they stay parked then I usually have to come to a stop and find a new route around them, often into car lanes…
Parking fines for delivery trucks contribute millions to city budgets. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14602712/ UPS pays nearly 20 million to NYC and Fedex about 8 million.
As a former delivery driver, I don’t think there’s much that can be done about it. All the stores and restaurants you love in the city depend on frequent deliveries to keep operating on a daily basis. The loading zones are helpful, but often occupied by regular cars that are too arrogant to realize they are forcing the trucks into the street. And it’s infeasible for delivery companies to drive around the block for 15 minutes looking for parking for each delivery. And frankly, I’d rather the truck park in the bike lane so the cyclist chooses when to merge. If the truck was parked in the car lane, the cars would be merging, and I suspect would create a less safe scenario for any cyclists in the bike lane.
I think a slightly more annoying item for me is people on bicycles stopping on narrow parts of bridges to talk on thier cell phone. Just get over the bridge and then make your call! (don’t ride and talk either). Delivery trucks don’t bother me.
Reply to Gregg Woodlawn…In NYC on my most recent trips there post bike lanes and bike tracks…the delivery trucks the used to double park now use handcarts to walk a lot of stuff down the bike lane or bike track. (It would work out well if they only walked towards cyclists when they had wide loads but usually they cannot see bike traffic coming.)
Sometimes you slow down, look and go at a stop sign. Sometimes they stop real quick, run out to drop off the delivery and hop back in their truck.
Hey! That’s life in The Big City.
Yeah, I don’t really have a problem with this. Delivery drivers don’t have many options, and if bikes are forced to merge into traffic, at least the traffic is moving slowly.
It’s a much bigger deal when people park on the shoulder of Hwy 30, forcing bikes out into 55-65 mph traffic. That’s perfectly legal, of course, but if I could pick one of the two behaviors to get rid of, it wouldn’t be the downtown delivery drivers.
at #18.
Think “share the road”. Sometimes trucks need to stop and park.
i agree w/the Hwy 30 comments – the other day i was riding south on 30 and an 18-wheeler was parked in the bike lane completely blocking it, forcing me to take the lane with 55mph traffic, not fun. the driver had run across the street to a convenience store to get more soda and chips or whatever. how can that be even close to legal??
“It’s just a minor annoyance, and not really bike-specific.”
Are you trying to argue that trucks block entire lanes on major arterials? Because this type of thing happens often in some of the busiest bike lanes.
“I think I would rather have them park there than the car lane. I can slow down, look around my shoulder…”
Bike stockholm syndrome. We are EQUAL road users!
Could this issue be part of the transportation problem, freight companies have been talking about? Everything in stories comes in by truck. Where do they park? there are very few unloading zones anymore. Used to be unloading from six to ten, parking from ten to five. All that is changed, can you say ON DEMAND, I know I can. Maybe JM can suggest a person in transportation industry we could talk to about getting trucks to “park” for delivery in the lane, that should make motorists happy, take a bike. ha ha ha!…….
@ thumb, #28…I’m assuming that’s technically just a shoulder, not a bike lane, so it’s OK to park there. It’s really a drag peering back over your shoulder and trying to find a slot in the 55 mph stream of traffic though…also having to think about potentially getting doored as you pass the parked vehicle.
I am more annoyed by two groups of people:
1. pedestrians using bike lines as sidewalks
2. cyclists riding the wrong way in the bike lane.
I would like to see police citing both of these groups.
I agree with commenters who note a delivery truck has to be *somewhere,* and car drivers face this problem about as often as bicycle riders do. I’m willing to take that as something to be put up with from time to time, although it’s good to know the laws are as clear as they are.
My related peeve [not 100% on-topic here, I know; maybe Ask BikePortland can devote a column to it some slow week?] is people who push their trash containers into the bike lane the night before weekly pickup. Not safe for cyclists, and the residents would certainly never consider pushing them into the first lane of car traffic.
[I see it regularly on 5th near Lombard in Beaverton, a storied intersection here at this blog. there’s a parking lane next to the sidewalk, then the bike lane, then the first lane of auto traffic.]
I mentioned it to an officer who was plenty close enough to see it, and he referred me to the Mayor’s office. Haven’t pursued it any further since that brush-off.
Planners often talk about the short Portland blocks (200 feet on a side) as being one of the things that makes downtown walkable and active.
If the original town plats had made the blocks 215 feet wide and put an alley through the middle, then we wouldn’t have had to deal with our streetside loading zones.
While we are talking about truck parking in the bike lanes someone should let OHSU Logistics on SW Moody know the bike lanes are not for truck storage in the evenings and weekends.
SW Moody has enough obstcles with construction.
The solution to this and many other problems is separate routes for cars, bikes and pedestrians. I like what the city has done in my neighborhood with NE Going. Large bike symbols painted in the middle of the road designate it as a bike route. Most of the stops signs have been moved so cyclists don’t need to stop. Speed bumps and the presence of cyclists in the middle of the road deter cars. We need something like this downtown. Cars and bikes side by side will never really be safe for cyclists.
It is legal, for the reasons in the Code mentioned above.
And there really very many other practical options for these people.
But the key thing to remember here is this is only an issue because of the way drivers reactto bicyclists taking the lane.
Many bicyclists are afraid to take the lane because they so often face impatient, aggro drivers who attempt to use their vehicles as a weapon to indimidate them.
If drivers didn’t do this and bicyclists could take the lane without fear of having their lives endangered and/or a road rage interaction, it would not be nearly as big an issue for most bicyclists.
“I am more annoyed by two groups of people:
1. pedestrians using bike lines as sidewalks
2. cyclists riding the wrong way in the bike lane.
I would like to see police citing both of these groups.”
I am okay with peds in the bike lane if there is no sidewalk; they need someplace to walk. I’m also not sure if wheelchairs are considered pedestrians or a vehicle, but I am always willing to share with them.
Cyclists riding the wrong way in bike lanes is absolutely cringe-worthy, however.
spare wheel (#30): What does this have to do with Bike Stockholm Syndrome? How does something like this not affect all traffic?
Sure, we are equal users. But, I cannot be sure a car is going to whip around a UPS truck unloading something without checking for a cyclist first. There are out of area drivers up here at times that are not going to know what a buffered bike lane is. There are going to be people chatting on their cell phones. I simply trust myself more merging into traffic than I do hoping a driver will check for bikes before entering a bike lane.
It sucks. Especially on Broadway in downtown near the hotel areas. But I just bike around them making sure there is not a car speeding up next to me. I feel as long the truck driver doesn’t park on the bike lane too long then its fine.
I think Ed (post 7) is on to something: How about “No street parking between 7:00 – 10:00, only for delivery”. I bet that would make life for the delivery drivers easier, too!
“But, I cannot be sure a car is going to whip around a UPS truck unloading something without checking for a cyclist first. ”
IMO, if its not acceptable to park a truck in the traffic of a major road/arterial it should not be acceptable to block a major bike route. Unfortunately this happens all the time in PDX.
Michael M. wrote:
Every morning people rush out to their cars parked on the street and move them to the other side of the street. It’s kind of comical …
Sounds like the snow removal dance in Montréal, except, living on the Plateau, neighbourhood alarms were set for ~02:00 to move to the “cleared” side before the plow returned and “assured” your car would be around for a ticket in the morning.
@151:
Peds are allowed on roads only if there are no sidewalks on either side of the roadway. But I regularly find people jogging, pushing baby strollers, etc in the bike paths. It’s hazardous and I think the city has decided just not to enforce the laws.
As a delivery driver who had to find this out before: Public service vehicles (basically anything with a publicly owned plate (school busses, TriMet busses, fire trucks, police cars) or owned by the USPS) can park in bicycle lanes. It’s iffy whether ambulances are legally allowed that space, though I doubt anybody is really going to push that issue for obvious reasons. Private couriers (such as myself when I was an independent operator, and my competition at FedEx and UPS) can’t park there.
USPS is a privately owned company. It is not exempt from the parking laws. The law says that if your stopped 30 seconds or more, your illegal, according to City Code. They must also be engaged in loading or unloading. PEACE
The only road that really bothers me with trucks parking in the bike lane is just south of OHSU/CHH waterfront building. The street car runs in the lane just to the left of the bike lane, so when trucks are parked in the bike lane, the bikes get to deal with riding the tracks.
I don’t mind merging with traffic as most motor vehicle drivers seem to be pretty good at recognizing I need to proceed forward too….. but the tracks scare me.
whatever happened to “share the lane”?
manytimes the bikelane is just a fog lane that was turned over to the bicycles taking away the emergency parking for cars….
Shetha (#12) – No. The key word is “necessary”. In this specific case, if the car has enough room to safely stop, it must do so. It’s not “necessary” to operate in the bike lane because the car may safely stop.
Note that I am not a lawyer, and as with everything involving the law, a good attorney or a biased judge will determine what “necessary” means, both in definition and in the specific context of the case.
Jonathan – the statute says “while actively loading or unloading property or passengers”. That makes it difficult for applying the statute to delivery trucks because it doesn’t stipulate property in general or the property of the driver specifically. We need an actual Oregon attorney to weigh in on that one. Delivery trucks have no specific authorizations nor exemptions based on their status, however, since the state does not recognize them as a separate class of vehicle. (the city does, at least from a parking standpoint)
Vance (#15) – I’ve already had that happen to me. (driver on cellphone parked in bike lane)
Allan (#16) – That’s not practical for many businesses on one-way streets.
nothstine (#34) – It also happens in Clackamas County, especially on Oatfield Road. I used to push the containers back out of the bike lane.
OnTheRoad (#35) – Is that supposed to mean that we shouldn’t complain, or look for alternatives? I think that’s simply proof that no solution is “one size fits all” – solutions that would work in NYC or Detroit aren’t going to work in Portland. OTOH, Portland doesn’t have scary downtown alleys that harbor crime and discourage downtown use. (although I’m not sure the alleys in other cities are actually less safe – they may only be perceived as less safe)
spare_wheel (#43) – Except that’s not practical. Delivery trucks need to park as close to the curb as practicable. They can’t park in a motorized traffic lane and walk across a busy bike lane (or parking) with a bunch of boxes and expect a reasonable measure of safety. They enjoy an unofficial (and in the case of parking, semi-official) privileged status because we’re all aware that commerce doesn’t occur without package delivery.
The real solution is to buy as much as you can from local craftspersons and farmer’s markets, to reduce the volume of transported stuff and the number of trucks. Beat the system by opting out wherever practical – and encourage others to do the same.
re comment 30, if we are equal road users, we should not have to worry if a delivery truck blocks a bit of striped pavement that would relegate us to an inferior status in the first instance.