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Final plans set for new traffic signal on Hawthorne Bridge


New signal should help prevent this situation.
(Photo: Josh Chernoff/YouTube)

An awkward and dangerous intersection on the Hawthorne Bridge is set to get a major makeover. Portland City Council is expected to authorize an agreement between the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Multnomah County to build the Hawthorne Bridge Traffic Signal Improvement Project. (Project plans available in council ordinance PDF here.)

The signal will be located at the top of the on-ramp from northbound Naito Parkway that feeds onto the eastbound Hawthorne Bridge. If you’re one of the 3,000 or so daily bike riders who pedal through here from downtown to the central eastside, you know this intersection: It’s where drivers often illegally block the bike lane as they peek at oncoming traffic, forcing bicycle users to swerve around or wait until they move out of the way. Currently the intersection has a stop sign for drivers coming up from Naito and no stop sign for people using SW Madison.

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PBOT plan drawing.
PBOT plan drawing.

“A signal here would reduce vehicle delay at this location and create more regular, predictable and less stressful vehicle traffic flow for automobile traffic accessing the Hawthorne Bridge,” wrote PBOT in a project description from 2016.

Council is set to approve a $242,090 payment to Multnomah County (who owns and maintains the bridge) for construction of the project, which is just one element of the $8.9 million SW Naito Parkway Project and will be paid for through a combination of funds from System Development Charges (SDCs) and the Fixing Our Streets program.

In January 2018 PBOT released a short video that illustrated how the signal would impact auto traffic:
Traffic Modeling: Proposed Hawthorne Bridge Signal

Based on the final plans from PBOT (see images), there will be a near-side signal and stop bar for drivers on the Naito ramp well before the painted crosswalk and bike lane. The new signal should make this intersection much less stressful and more predictable for everyone.

The signal project is expected to be completed by next summer.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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