add visibility for, and respect of, this bike lane.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is making good on a commitment to improve the safety of people who ride bicycles on SW Barbur Blvd. Fresh off the last month’s installation of a rapid flash beacon near SW Hamilton Street (where a woman was struck and killed back in 2010), the agency is about to embark on the Barbur Boulevard Bike Improvement Project.
According to information released today, the project will include several changes aimed at providing a “better transition for bicyclists traveling southbound on Barbur Blvd at Capitol Highway.” The changes include:
- Installing a green bike lane (see concept drawing below)
- Adding bicycle signing (“Right Turn Yield to Bikes”)
- Trimming hillside vegetation to improve visibility
- Installing curb along the bike lane where it’s missing, which will help keep the bike lane clear of debris
The green-colored bike lane would be the first ever installed by ODOT. It comes after extensive experimentation of the concept by the City of Portland and other transportation agencies around the country. Most importantly, the use of green coloring won interim approval from the Federal Highway Administration back in April 2011.
Here’s the official concept drawing from ODOT…
The bike improvements on Barbur emerged through a larger project to rehabilitate the Newbury and Vermont Bridges that cross over Barbur/99W. As part of that project, ODOT considered a number of larger, more comprehensive biking and walking improvements, “but they were determined to be cost-prohibitive.” The suite of improvements listed above are more immediately feasible projects. ODOT says they’re looking to implement the more long-term fixes in Metro’s Southwest Corridor Plan.
ODOT expects to finish this project this spring (weather permitting).