project last summer.
(Photos © J. Maus)
Making good on a promise, the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will return to the Lents/Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood on May 11th to discuss the buffered bike lanes on SE Holgate Avenue.
The road was re-striped in August 2009 to include bicycle-only lanes with a buffered section to create separation from motor vehicle traffic. After a local TV station ran a sensational “Bike path to nowhere” story, some residents began to push back on the idea.
The project turned into a bona fide controversy when a citizen’s group called Restore Holgate emerged and organized opposition to the project. (And now there’s We Heart Holgate on the other side of the debate.)
Now, 10 months after the last meeting, PBOT will return to the neighborhood armed with data (which didn’t seem to persuade critics last time around).
PBOT’s traffic safety specialist Mark Lear has been the point person on this project. “Last time we were out talking to residents we made a commitment to come back and review the issues,” Lear told us this morning. At the meeting, PBOT plans to present a bevy of data on SE Holgate including crash history, vehicle speeds, vehicle volumes, an analysis of turning movements, and more.
“…we made a commitment to come back and review the issues.”
— Mark Lear, PBOT
In addition to the Holgate analysis, Lear says they’ll share information on other traffic safety improvements in the area. “One thing we heard was that people wanted us to tie this project into other improvements going on in the corridor… People were asking, ‘What’s this new bike lane serving?'”
Lear will share PBOT’s plans for an improved crossing of SE Holgate at 100th and he’ll explain upcoming Safe Routes to Schools projects that have been funded nearby.
The meeting is May 11th. Check the postcard PBOT sent out to the neighborhood below:
