could be transformed with an
enhanced bikeway.
(Photo © J. Maus)
As I shared on Monday, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is still trying to figure out how to move forward on a project to make NE Holladay Street a high-quality, east-west bike route through the Lloyd District. The initial plan was to make the entire, southern side of the street carfree (the northern side is already taken by the MAX train) — but that idea fell victim to compromise due to opposition from real estate developers and other powerful stakeholders concerned about any loss of motor vehicle “circulation” and on-street parking.
This morning, a friend (Matt Haughey) shared a photo of a new bike facility in downtown Sydney, Australia…
It’s a bi-directional bikeway on one-half of the roadway and it’s similar to what we could — and should — do on NE Holladay. Of course, it means we’d have to use space currently taken up by 40 or so existing on-street parking spaces; but look what we’d get in exchange.
For that matter, why not do something like this on SW Broadway downtown?
These type of physically separated bikeways are popping up all over the world (not just in Europe) and each time another one is unveiled, it makes Portland look that much more like a follower than a leader. When will Portland make the big step and unveil something like this? What are we waiting for?
UPDATE: The City of Eugene isn’t waiting for anything. Check out what they’re doing on Alder Street near the University of Oregon — a two-way, green cycle track on one side of the street.