First look: Sharrows installed on historic Oregon City/West Linn Arch Bridge

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Freshly laid sharrow on the (still closed for repairs) Oregon City/West Linn Arch Bridge.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)


The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has listened — and reacted to — community feedback calling for improved bicycle access on the Oregon City Arch Bridge. Today, while in Oregon City for an unrelated story, I happened to notice that crews have installed sharrows on the newly-renovated bridge that connects the city with West Linn.

The bridge has been closed for repairs for two years and is set to open with a carfree grand celebration this weekend. Back in August, we wondered whether ODOT should consider sharrows on the deck of the bridge. After all, they recently installed sharrows on the St. Johns Bridge, and there are similar conditions on the Oregon City Arch Bridge. However, unlike the St. Johns Bridge, the Arch Bridge is much narrower (just one lane in each direction with no shoulder) and the sidewalk is even less hospitable to bicycling (making sharrows even more necessary).

It turned out that ODOT and others were thinking the same thing. I hadn’t heard from ODOT in a few weeks and I assumed they were working to get final sign-off from stakeholders on both sides of the river before making a final decision; but after seeing it with my own eyes yesterday, I no longer have to wait for that decision.

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One thing of note is that the sharrow marking they’ve used on the bridge is non-standard. Instead of the FHWA-approved symbol of a bicycle and two chevrons, they’ve used the bicycle rider symbol with two chevrons. I’m not sure why they did that (and I’m not sure if it’s significant), but it’s worth noting.

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These sharrows — combined with a recently completed downtown transportation revitalization plan that has brought smooth streets, sharrows, and new bicycle wayfinding signage — has improved riding conditions in downtown Oregon City. Another major bright spot in the area is the new Trolley Trail. If you’d like to get out there and check these new bikeways out for yourself, Portlander Matt Picio is leading a ride on the Trolley Trail this Saturday that will end at the Willamette Falls Festival.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Zaphod
11 years ago

Pleased. This is nothing but positive

Rithy
Rithy
11 years ago

Maybe they had some leftover thermoplast bicycle riders and wanted to save some money.

Matt
Matt
11 years ago

The bike/ped projects happening in the Cities like Milwaukie and Oregon City are proof that not everyone in the County is “anti-everything”.

Spiffy
Spiffy
11 years ago

Instead of the FHWA-approved symbol of a bicycle and two chevrons, they’ve used the bicycle rider symbol with two chevrons.

perhaps they thought it would make drivers think that bicyclists are people…

Paul Souders
11 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Or demoted to corporal?

Dan V
Dan V
11 years ago

It looks as though the rider is wearing a wok on its head; not that most drivers think we’re crazy…

Lloyd Purdy
11 years ago

See the excitement and energy building up in Downtown Oregon City at http://www.bluecollarcreative.org.

Steve B.
11 years ago

Nicely done everyone! Goes to show it’s never too late to get changes into a project.

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
11 years ago

Yes. It’s good they added the sharrows, though it still amazes me that too many agencies still apply white thermo stencils onto fresh concrete roadway surfaces., as there is too little contrast between them to effectively communicate the message once the surfaces get dirty.

[Hello thermo stencil product producers…make a bike stencil/ sharrow with a black edge…like the lane stripes currently on the market.]

spare_wheel
spare_wheel
11 years ago

awesome. now lets get some of these things on commercial roads in pdx.

Paul Hanrahan
Paul Hanrahan
11 years ago

How about some sharrows on the Sellwood bridge?

9watts
9watts
11 years ago

+ ODOT likes the idea of sharrows on this bridge.

– ODOT is also eager to see a new allocation of the $38 million in federal funds… (from yesterday’s story about Metro)

Right hand… left hand…? What happened to that bold vision thing from Garrett?
“…we’re trying to move out of the siloed approach that is dictated by the way we fund transportation… Let’s move from a ‘highway region’ to a transportation region…”
http://bikeportland.org/2012/05/15/an-interview-with-odot-director-matt-garrett-part-1-71580

matt picio
11 years ago
Reply to  9watts

That’s the problem, actually – ODOT appears to view the 72/25 split as “siloed”. Opening the pot to everything is the “non-siloed” approach. It *does* allow for more money to potentially go to an Active Transportation project, or for NO money to do so.

resopmok
resopmok
11 years ago

Too bad they couldn’t have been done a week earlier 🙁 I’ve been waiting to do the 205 trail -> OR city -> Lake Oswego -> Terwillger loop again forever! Now it’s gonna rain on the parade!

A.K.
A.K.
11 years ago
Reply to  resopmok

Shouldn’t be too bad tomorrow. I am thinking about doing a large loop and incorporating the bridge, and I’m more worried about the “festivities” blocking easy access across!

Sunny
Sunny
11 years ago

The Chinese ride invisible bikes?

jeffrey utterback
jeffrey utterback
11 years ago

resopmok
Too bad they couldn’t have been done a week earlier 🙁 I’ve been waiting to do the 205 trail -> OR city -> Lake Oswego -> Terwillger loop again forever! Now it’s gonna rain on the parade!
Recommended 0

At least it’s concrete, unlike some steel grated “ice rinks when wet” bridges I’ve crossed in my area.
Next time I’m in Portland, I’d like to do that route…where do you start from on the 205 trail?
I live in Sacramento, Ca now, but visit my sisters up there a few times a year.. grew up near Laurelhurst Park.

Terry D
Terry D
11 years ago

The 205 path basically follows I 205 from Vancouver south, with a couple workable gaps, to the Clackamas river. I live a just north of mount Tabor a mile east of Lauralhurst Park and I usually just jump on the the greenway of Ankeny/Couch/Davis/Everette to 71st then the East Burnside bike lanes the rest of the way.

resopmok
resopmok
11 years ago

They’re ice rinks when they’re not wet too.. I live in MT Scott/Arletta and usually pick up the trail for this ride at 92nd + SE Crystal Springs Blvd, just south of Flavel. The 205 trail dead ends at SE 82nd Dr, which you can follow south (left) to an old railroad bridge (now pedestrian path) to get you across the Clackamas and into downtown Oregon City. Once across the bridge I take 43 all the way to Lake Oswego, then Terwillger into downtown Portland.

matt picio
11 years ago
Reply to  resopmok

Actually it does that *twice* – it transitions to bike lanes at 82nd Drive, and becomes a MUP again just west of I-205 at Hwy 224. There’s about 2 miles of trail before it runs *back* into 82nd Drive for a few blocks before the RR bridge.

Sunny
Sunny
11 years ago

Mainly dry on Saturday. Let’s ride!

Ted Buehler
11 years ago

A gutsy maneuver by ODOT, lets hope it goes well.

St. Johns and Oregon City bridge sharrows will set a good precedent for more sharrows on Willamette bridges — up and down the valley, and on the main roadway of the Broadway and Steel bridges in Portland.

Ted Buehler

Jonathan Gordon
Jonathan Gordon
11 years ago

This is great news! I like to think that my email helped.