(All photos by Eric Stachon)
Reader Eric Stachon got in touch this morning to share what he saw on his ride across the Hawthorne Bridge this morning.
Eric says he was one of dozens of people on bikes that got held up for almost 30 minutes when the second set of bridge gates on the west end of the bridge got stuck in the down position. From Eric’s description it seemed like a malfunction.
“The gates wouldn’t go up… They lowered and raised the first set several times… obviously causing frustration for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike.”
With no end to the delay in sight, Eric says people on bikes “started taking matters into their own hands” and just carried their bikes over the gates cyclocross-style. More photos below…
No word yet on how long the delay was for everyone else that wasn’t able to get their vehicle over the barrier. I’ve emailed Multnomah County spokesperson Mike Pullen to find out what the issue was and will update this post when I hear back from him.
UPDATE: County spokesperson Mike Pullen says his electrician that dealt with the issue isn’t 100% sure what happened, but his theory is that someone touched or bumped the gate on its way down, causing the system to slow briefly and change its sequence of steps. Pullen: “Once the sequence gets out of order, the system locks up, as a safety measure. The electrician re-set the system which allowed the gates to open.”
Pullen adds, “It would be good to remind your readers that no one should touch the gates while they are moving, to prevent this from happening.”