(Graphic: paikiala)
Last week we highlighted a known danger spot on the Springwater Corridor path. A “T” intersection with bad sight lines, high speeds, and a history of collisions and near-misses.
The Portland Parks Bureau is aware of the issue and is likely to address it via new signs and markings; but we all know simply adding more paint and signs often has limited impact on behavior. A BikePortland reader has a much more comprehensive solution. Paikiala, a regular commenter who often shares his detailed insights about traffic engineering, thinks the fix should be a small roundabout.
Paikiala says the California city of Davis, arguably the best city for biking in the country, uses roundabouts in situations like these. “Getting everyone approaching the intersection to slow down is the key,” he says, which is why he likes the roundabout idea.
And he estimates it’d cost about $10,000 — just 0.01% of Portland Parks’ annual budget.
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Ideally, he’d like to see a 20-foot diameter center island with an eight foot wide path around it and the circle would be offset (west) from the tunnel exit.
Other ideas readers shared included: convex mirrors (which PBOT apparently doesn’t install anymore due to maintenance requirements); an unlocked gate on the Oaks Bottom path that would require riders to dismount; a two-inch deep gravel pit to slow people down; a stop sign; an overpass or bridge; and so on.
Someone even mentioned a Hovenring-style solution, but even I’d have to admit that finding money for that is unlikely.
Speaking of funding, there’s still time to weight in on the Portland Parks Bureau’s 2015-2016 budget. Their online survey asks you to prioritize a list of projects (among them are matching funds for Gateway Green and the Citywide MTB Master Plan) and there is also room for write-in requests. Take the survey ASAP because it closes today (1/13) at 4:00 pm.