The case for a better bikeway on Broadway in three pictures

the date on the third photo seems anachronistic, but i do like seeing bikes taking the necessary lanes and not worrying about the striped bike lane way over on the right.

If Broadway actually had lights on every block north of Burnside to slow traffic, it would be even easier to eschew the bike lane and just take the traffic lane. I already do this sometimes anyway and and once I get south of Burnside I don’t even touch that door zone bike lane.

The bike lane on Broadway is a bust on the west side. Take the lane. Save the money.

the hotel zone bike lane is definitely one of the worst bike “facilities” in pdx. if pbot thought more about the needs of cyclists *TODAY* and less about future brochures, broadway would have been carpeted with sharrows a long time ago. and while sharrows would not help most 7 year olds negotiate downtown, they would help many of those who ride broadway *TODAY*. its time for so-called “advocates” to consider the needs of those who cycle *NOW* as well as the needs of those who might some day cycle when we have amsterdam-style traffic calming, strict liability, and separated infrastructure.

SHARROWS NOW!

It’s time to make this happen. Yes, we all know that traffic operations-wise, it isn’t the low-hanging fruit that NE Multnomah, NE Cully, or outer Holgate are. Repurposing an existing travel lane will hurt the vehicle LOS. We simply have to agree that the trade-off is worth it.

That bike lane is absolutely deficient. The door zone issue is terrible, of course, but more than that, we need a sufficiently wide facility not just for bicycle throughput, but so that fast riders can pass slow riders comfortably. I LOVE my no-sweat, 13mph commute, and faster riders shouldn’t have to veer into a vehicular lane to pass me.

The Portland Plan says that 25% of commute trips should be by bike by 2035. What’s going to move the needle? Making the central city bike system more comfortable and more attractive to ALL existing and potential riders — not just those who are willing to “take the lane.”

love seeing huge bike trains rolling :))))

The absolute worst section of my 16 mile daily round trip commute due to all the hazards listed in the article. And I’m there before 7am..I can only imagine what it is like around 8am.

Bike traaaaaaaaaaaaain!

We also need to amend the laws regarding the expectation that bikes occupy a bike lane or the lanes on the outer edges. Quite often, the middle lane on a one way street is the safest. I’ll use bike lanes when available, and their presence is great, but no other vehicle is expected to be making illogical compulsory maneuvers when changing lanes. For example, I was in the middle lane on 2nd ave a few weeks ago and a cop actually yelled to me from a motorcycle to get on the right most or left most lane. I was headed from right to left, and in heavy traffic, didn’t think it prudent to make the maneuver in a single city block. The cop was just doing his job. The law needs to change.

Why millions? Why here? How does this encourage biking? It’s a low speed traffic street.

There are hundreds of priorities other than downtown. Downtown is slow, predictable, yes, even right hooks you can see pretty easily.

Put the money to get people on bikes, commuting inward. Put it into, say, Barbur, which is too scary for most fairweather bikers to ride, let alone hardcore bikers. Get those people out of the burbs and into our city by bike!

I bikie in N, SE, downtown, and SW, and by far downtown I feel the safest, because cars are predictable and slow and actually pretty sparse.

That first shot at Oak and Broadway also often has taxis in the taxi stand spots parked wide into the bike lane and a driver standing in the bike lane smoking.

I think most folks who drive on Broadway regularly are pretty good about looking out for bikes, but the whole set-up is a big mess. Taxis and airport vans can be terrible. I commute daily by bike from inner NE to PSU, and, a few blocks past Burnside, I head over to the Park Blocks.

Surely creates a nervous moment when faster people are trying to pass slower people and the lane is not very wide.

I’m curious if the bta or anyone else is floating the idea of a blanket “No Right on Red” for cars downtown? Given the many problems we have along Broadway with individually signed no right on red rules it might work better if there was a simple and easily grokable no right on reds rule.

Pedestrian traffic is can be heavy enough downtown that right-turning cars often have to wait quite a while to make their turn. For some right-turning movements you often end up waiting until the red before being able to make the turn. If you want to create gridlock downtown, a blanket North Dakota-style ban on right turns on red sounds like a pretty good first step.

I was just in Florida, which is a good reminder of how relatively good we have it here, despite the need for improvements to have a truly safe and workable bike transportation system.

I ride Broadway frequently, and while I agree that one has to be vigilant, it is nevertheless great to have at least some dedicated bike space on the main street downtown. Ironically, the Broadway cyclotrack is my least favorite section. The PSU students often walk into the bikeway without looking, as do people getting into and out of cars. The school needs to do some better outreach to educate students that the cyclotrack is not just a place to get a head start while waiting to cross the street.

What Danny said. Ride it to PSU every week, thumb on bell ringer and sometimes they STILL don’t get out of the way. Maybe my forthcoming Orp will help.
Still not convinced Broadway is the answer. So many conflicts. Carless Park Blocks, anyone?

Broadway is a mess, agreed. I have never enjoyed riding this way into downtown but I do so because it is faster than going down NE Multnomah, over the steel bridge, and through the waterfront…The hotel door zone is brutal. I’ve had two calls over the years. Nowadays I just refuse to ride the bike lane. I’ve seen countless close calls w/ other cyclists and two doorings. I’ve always thought that it will take a few deaths before Broadway will be changed for the better. Morbid, I know, but it will take a few deaths. That is unfortunately how it works here in Portland.

On topic, yeah Broadway sucks downtown. I remember when they were starting to put in that bike lane in (ot sure, but maybe 10-12 years ago?), and my first reaction was “GREAT!”.

Then I saw how they did it, especially the door zones in front of the hotels, and my reaction was “WHAT??!”

Sharrows +1