County adds plastic ‘candlestick’ bollards to Hawthorne viaduct

New plastic bollards installed by the County today. This photo was taken west of the SE Grand intersection and just before the McLoughlin Blvd off-ramp.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Just a quick note of follow-up to our post Tuesday about the newly expanded bike lanes on the Hawthorne Bridge: The County was out there today installing plastic “candlestick” bollards to help separate the bikeway from the adjacent lane.

I just rolled over and snapped a few photos…

The bollards begin right where the new lane striping starts.

Check out the interlocking plastic curb between them.

McLoughlin off-ramp.

Looking back at the McLoughlin off-ramp. Note that the striping was done (by PBOT) in such a way to create a more pronounced angle between users. The result is better visibility and awareness and hopefully, fewer right-hooks.

It’s great to see the that the County has replaced the old plastic bollards. Better yet, they’ve added many more and put them even closer together. In addition, this is the first time we’ve seen them use the interlocking plastic curb between the bollards. This seems like it will prevent the bollards from being uprooted by road users while at the same time create more physical separation and the resulting sense of safety that comes with it.

According to County spokesman Mike Pullen, the new type of candlestick bollards are called “curb-style lane delineators” and he says they’ll be more durable than the old kind. “They have a stronger attachment at their base,” he shared with us via email, “that helps them survive if a car drives over them.”

They would have done the entire 300 foot section with this new product, but only did about 150 feet of it due to budget reasons.

Hopefully the County shares this technology with the Portland Bureau of Transporation, who has quite the trouble getting these plastic bollards to stay put.