Steel Bridge lower deck closed since Saturday – UPDATED

I hit the closure this morning. The sign at bottom of the Eastbank ramp suggesting use of the upper deck, was an unwelcome surprise. A sign at the TOP of the ramp would have been significantly more helpful.

I made a spur of the moment decision to ride the eastbound top deck sidewalk last Friday (first time ever) and it was a tad hairy. It’s narrower than I ever realized! Luckily I encountered no pedestrians…

Also, users of that sidewalk should watch out for blackberry brambles and a very uneven sidewalk just after exiting the bridge. (I almost biffed it when my tire rubbed up against the buckled sidewalk seam there.)

News flash! PBoT issues statement concerning the state of roads and accessibility in Portland. “We’re not quite sure what’s going on.” 🙂 The no signage closure this morning was annoying, but knowing it’s been closed since Saturday and there was no rush hour signage makes me a little disappointed, considering this is a major transportation link for bikes and peds to cross the river safely.

I rode the top deck eastbound on Sunday. Traffic was light, so I made it thru the narrow section without any cars tailgating me. It’s nice, when traffic is light; I would advise taking the roadway, rather than the narrow sidewalk, if you feel comfortable.

In situations like this I always find myself wondering if this would be acceptable if it was a car lane. What would be the city’s response then? What would be the reaction if Diane made this statement:

“People crossing the Steel Bridge Monday evening should reroute to another bridge. The bridge has been closed since Saturday evening, when a set of cameras that monitor the crossing stopped functioning. We don’t manage the cameras, so we’re not quite sure what’s going on.”

We rely on the lower deck because we haul our dog in daily. It’s really infuriating that it’s been closed since SATURDAY and they haven’t been able to figure out how to alert people before they descend down to find the gate closed. That would not be acceptable if it was for car traffic. But whoever is in charge of this closure at PBOT obviously doesn’t give a lick about bike riders or pedestrians.

Had I not been riding a cargo bike, I would have jumped the gates with my bike. Their cameras are broken, who the heck’s gonna find out?

Steel Bridge upper deck sidewalks are not suitable for bicycling — far too narrow to permit safe passage. Bikes require a minimum of 4′ width. If you’re a skilled rider you can make do with less, but on the Steel Bridge sidewalk there’s no margin of error, and any twitch can bump you into the [substandard] railing posts, launch you over the [substandard] low railing and 85′ down into the Willamette River.

Best to simply take the lane. I do it regularly, just hang all the way on the right as you’re going up to the main span, slow down a bit toward the top to rest up, and wait for a gap in cars. Then scoot out into the middle of the lane and ride at your fastest comfortable speed across the main deck. I take the lane all the way to the bottom on the steep downgrade westbound, and scoot back to the right curb on the downgrade eastbound.

Ted Buehler

&, as always, remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Think bikes and ped traffic warrants enough importance for PBOT to put up marked detours, as a matter of course, when a thoroughfare is closed? Let them know.

503-823-SAFE
safe@portlandoregon.gov
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/novick/

Ted Buehler

I take the road when I ride going north crossing west to east (like today). I find the sidewalk too narrow for bike + people. I run this area a lot too and find that many cyclist don’t slow down for a runner on their way down which is a bummer. I stayed on the east side to Sellwood on the way home which was great.

it’s about a mile and a half to detour from the east gate up over the top deck and back down to the west gate… two tenths of a mile more the other way…

a THREE MILE commute detour FOR DAYS because nobody knows who to call for a status on the cameras? seriously?!

granted, if you know about the detour in advance of the gates then you can plan accordingly to not ride as far… I assume they didn’t put up detour signs…