Starting Monday, February 25th, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services will close North Vancouver Avenue from Russell to Hancock.
The closure is part of the Eliot Sewer and Stormwater Project that’s giving a much-needed upgrade to about 10,000 feet of century-old sewer pipes in the southern section of the Boise-Eliot neighborhood.
Unfortunately their work will close the second busiest cycling route in the entire city: North Vancouver at Russell. According to Bureau of Transportation counts, 4,705 people pass by this intersection every day (second only to the N Interstate/Lloyd/Oregon (Peace Park) intersection which has 4,890).
While the majority of people riding southbound on Vancouver (it’s one-way) are headed westbound to the Broadway Bridge, BES will set up a detour that leads riders east two blocks to the neighborhood greenway on NE Rodney Avenue (car and truck drivers will use MLK Jr. Blvd). See the map at right for details.
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Keep in mind that the detour will be in place Monday through Friday from 9:15 am to 6:00 pm.
If you roll up to the closure during active work-zone hours and think you’ll just hop onto the sidewalk, here’s a message from BES:
When the street or lane is closed for construction, pedestrians and cyclists can almost always use the sidewalk, but should do so with caution. Sidewalks near construction zones can become unusually congested and awareness of your surroundings can help avoid accidents. Please take extra time to walk or bike past work zones. In addition, cyclists must avoid riding on closed roadways even if it looks like there’s enough room for a bike to navigate around construction. When construction takes place on a street with a bike lane, crews will post signs to guide cyclists.
As always, if if you ride in this area please make sure to let us know how this closure and detour is treating you.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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