(Photo: Jesse Gwinn)
The City of Portland counted 385 bikes at and around Jeld-Wen Field for the Portland Timbers soccer match yesterday.
With a capacity of over 18,000 in a dense part of downtown that has very limited car parking, the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), TriMet, and the Timbers organization have been worked hard to prevent a traffic quagmire. Bicycling to the game was a key part of that effort, with the Timbers even offering secure bike parking as a perk for season ticket holders.
At the Timbers’ home opener on Thursday, April 14th, PBOT counted just 185 bikes, a number they chalked up to nasty, wet weather.
PBOT’s Sarah Figliozzi, who worked with volunteers on the bike counts, said Sunday’s game saw a more than two-fold increase in that number. Of the 385 bikes counted, 228 used the temporary racks provided by the Timbers and PBOT, 105 used staple racks, and 52 were locked to “non-rack objects.”
TriMet spokesperson Mary Fetsch says between 6,000 and 6,500 rode MAX or express buses to the match on Sunday, and that number doesn’t include people who might have walked from the game from the end of the free-rail zone which stops a few blocks away (PBOT puts the transit mode split at about 40%).
If these trends continue, driving a car to see a Timbers game might soon put you in the minority.