Steel Bridge (note the yellow sign).
Since moving into an office on SW 4th (between Stark and Oak) the Steel Bridge has become my preferred access in and out of downtown. Because I prefer the most direct and efficient route, I ride up on the bridge roadway (not on the sidewalk and not the lower-deck, multi-use path).
Unfortunately, riding in the roadway over the Steel Bridge tends to make some people driving cars angry. This morning I got into a shouting match with a man in a minivan who insisted I should not be there.
At least once per week (that’s out of 10 trips on average) someone in a car gets annoyed with me — to varying degrees — simply for being on the road (the roadway isn’t safe for a car and a bike to share simultaneously, so I take the lane). Often it’s the classic motor rev and too-close-for-comfort pass (in which 99% of the time I pass them at the next light of course), sometimes people honk, and I’ve had several folks stick their hand out their window and motion to our right — as if to say, “Get over on the sidewalk!”
(Photo © J. Maus)
The problem with the Steel Bridge upper deck is that the sidewalk, at just five feet wide (that feels even narrower given the guardrail on one side and fence/river on the other), is not wide enough for people on bikes and foot to share the path. It’s not a multi-use path (the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices recommends that multi-use paths are a minimum of 10-feet wide) and therefore, the agency that manages traffic on the bridge (which is a confusing mix of PBOT (the approaches), ODOT (the upper deck) and TriMet (which subleases from ODOT)), has placed a yellow caution sign on the approach that reads, “Bicycles on Bridge Roadway.”
You’d think that sign would signal to folks that not only should they expect people on bikes on the road, but that people on bikes have a legal right to be there.
That is, unless, you read the sign as “No Bikes on Roadway,” which is what happened to me this morning.
As I rode mid-bridge I had a minivan pull along side of me (that happened to be an official Central City Concern fleet vehicle). A man inside was angrily pointing toward the sidewalk and yelling that the sign says, “No bikes on roadway!”
I smiled and yelled back at him (so he could hear, not because I was angry) that the sign actually said “Bikes on roadway” and that the sidewalk is made for only people to walk on. The man in the van wasn’t convinced. He rolled down his window and we shouted back and forth at each other for several more seconds.
When I rolled down off the bridge, the man parked his van in Old Town, got out and began talking to some friends on the sidewalk. I rode past and then decided to swing around to try and explain myself in a less stressful environment than riding inches from each other on top of the Steel Bridge.
It didn’t go too well. We both spoke loudly, trying to make our points. As I turned to walk away he and/or his friends shouted “Get a life!”.
When I got to my office, I called Central City Concern to share what happened and to express my concerns about the behavior of their driver. My call was met with an apology and a very professional response and I feel confident the fleet vehicle supervisor will be notified.
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This story is as much about civility on our roads as it is about bike access and infrastructure.
If there was higher quality and direct access for bikes over the Steel Bridge, I would never be in that position. As nice as it is to sometimes ride through Waterfront Park and up the ramps from the Esplanade, I don’t always feel like making all those twists and turns, dodging dogs, runners, tourists, and other people (it’s analogous to routing cars through a windy, slow-speed alleyway instead of a nearby arterial).
However, when I choose to take the more direct route up and over the Steel Bridge, I am faced with two less-than ideal options. I either ride on the five-foot sidewalk, which is very narrow and tends to annoy walkers/joggers, or I take the lane and am subject to frequent unpleasant — and potentially dangerous — interactions with other road users.
As a solution, perhaps ODOT and/or PBOT could consider more clarifying signage and/or pavement markings letting people know to expect bikes on the road. At the moment, a painted shoulder lane (which looks like a bike lane) on the uphill approaches to the bridge abruptly ends and the lane becomes narrow. The only cue that bikes are likely to be in the road (and have a right to be there) are the aforementioned signs, which are easy to miss (and misinterpret).
I’d suggest sharrows, but since PBOT has used those to mark family-friendly residentials streets, I don’t think they like the mixed message of placing them in situations like this.
I’d love to hear other people’s experiences with riding over the Steel Bridge. Do you take the sidewalk (I used to, but it got annoying) or the roadway?
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UPDATE, 5:02pm: As another possible step that might help clarify this situation with road users, several folks have suggested this sign (instead of the “Bikes on Bridge Roadway”):
