(Photo: Sarah for Portland Mayor)
Laura Krouse, community development coordinator for the campaign Sarah Iannarone for Mayor campaign, was hit by a driver while biking to work yesterday (8/14). It happened at the intersection of North Vancouver and Broadway.
Krouse says she was pedaling south on Vancouver when she was right-hooked by someone who tried to turn right onto Broadway (which is illegal). “It was a hit-and-run,” Krouse shared when I asked her what happened this morning. “They stopped and gave me a fake name. When I asked them for their info, they sped off. Didn’t even get out of the car.”
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Fortunately Krouse was not hurt (and opted to not report it to police), but her bike is mangled. The community rallied and has raised $250 so far to help get it running again. Unfortunately, this intersection remains problematic.
Vancouver is a major part of the cycling network. We used to have a gap in the bike lane between Broadway and Weidler. That was filled with a bus/bike only lane in 2012 and ODOT made additional changes to the intersection in 2016. Today, three southbound lanes meet with two more southbound lanes that exit Interstate 5. There are separate signals for each set of lanes which helps reduce conflicts, but the intersection is still confusing and stressful environment for many users.
The City of Portland’s Central City in Motion plan has a project that aims to improve this intersection. Project #18 (at right) would add a green-colored and protected bike lane to Broadway. It’s slated for construction by 2023.
Mayoral Candidate Sarah Iannarone uses a bicycle for most of her trips around town. She has also been outspoken in her opposition to the I-5 Rose Quarter Project. On Twitter this morning she hinted at a “tactical urbanism intervention” at the Vancouver/Broadway intersection in response to this collision. Stay tuned.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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