bike lane on NE Multnomah and used it
as a loading zone. (Note: The yellow portion
is the buffer. The unpainted, curbside
section is the bike lane.)
(Photo courtesy Adam Rogers)
A third-party event vendor whose workers illegally parked their truck in the middle of a nearby bike lane has lost its relationship with a prominent Portland hotel.
Workers for the vendor had asked permission to park in the lane during an event at the Doubletree hotel in the Lloyd District and had been told to instead use the hotel’s large driveway or underground loading area, according to Doubletree’s manager Terry Goldman.
Then the workers apparently parked there anyway, and were caught in the act by a woman riding her bike on Multnomah Street’s separated bike lane.
“Unfortunately we did not catch them in the act while this was happening,” Goldman wrote in an email to BikePortland after seeing the photo. “My event management team was shocked to see the photo and embarrassed they did not catch it. … We have made an internal note to not use the third party vendor that violated the rules.”
Adam Rogers, who knows the woman that took the photograph, said he thinks this situation highlights a problem with the new cycle track on Multnomah. “The buffered bike lane needs more physical separation,” he says, “more of those concrete planters, for example, or more plastic posts. The fact a truck this large is able to park in the bike lane indicates a serious design flaw, in my opinion.”
The Doubletree is no stranger to making sure their hotel is friendly to bicycling customers. Three years ago we profiled their impressive new bike parking area which has space for 54 bikes.
We’re curious: What have you experienced while riding in the separated bike lanes on Multnomah Street? Do large trucks and other vehicles block the bike lane regularly? Or is it a rare occurrence?