(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Portland Parks & Recreation has added new pavement markings on the Eastbank Esplanade floating ramps to warn people on bikes to prepare for a bump. The new markings are part of a larger campaign aimed at improving safety of path users.
Back in July of 2010, we brought attention to these jarring bumps after hearing about a friend who had crashed after hitting them. Shortly after that story ran, Parks vowed to evaluate the situation and six months later they installed a less severe “transition strip” to flatten the bumps.
Now Parks has put down a series of pavement markings with the word “BUMP” along with white stripes across the path. I took a closer look at them yesterday and they seem to have an impact. People were noticeably grabbing brakes and slowing down as they approached…
Parks spokesman Mark Ross says the new markings were installed in response to “concerns raised by the Portland bike community,” and are part of a larger effort to improve traffic safety on both the Esplanade and in Waterfront Park.
“We are working in collaboration with PBOT on all of these improvements,” said Ross via email this morning. He added that Parks is collaborating with bike safety experts at PBOT along with a traffic engineer to make sure the markings are consistent with what folks see on the street.”
Other elements of the biking and walking safety effort will include new signs targeted at people on bikes and more pavement markings at “a few key intersections.” The work is expected to be completed by this spring.
Have you seen the “Bump” markings? We’d love to know what you think about them.