A verbal interaction between two road users in southeast Portland erupted into gunfire Saturday afternoon.
According to neighbors (one of whom contacted BikePortland), the incident took place around 6:00 pm on October 3rd. A bicycle rider was pedaling south on SE 16th between Washington and Alder and had a verbal exchange with someone driving a car. The bicycle user reportedly said something to the effect of “There’s no need to drive like that, we both have a right to be on this road!” Then the driver pulled out a gun, fired two shots, and sped away.
Portland Police officers responded to 911 calls and located two shell casings near the 16th and Alder intersection.
After hearing about this secondhand, I contacted the Portland Police Bureau. They confirmed the incident and said neither party remained at the scene to talk with police. They’re holding the casings for analysis and the investigation remains open.
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For context, this section of 16th is designated as a Neighborhood Greenway by the City of Portland. It has shared-lane markings (sharrows) and a 20 mph posted speed limit. Bicycle riders aren’t just legally entitled to take the full lane, it’s the safest way for them to use the road. Neighborhood Greenways are also intended to be, “Streets that prioritize people walking, bicycling, and rolling,” and are the, “backbone of the Safe Routes to School network.”
However, despite the design and intention of these greenways, people in much more powerful and dangerous motorized vehicles often display impatient and aggressive behavior toward those moving with human-power. Car drivers also use these quiet residential streets as shortcuts to avoid congestion on larger streets. These conflicting uses frequently result in stressful interactions.
With anxiety levels at all-time highs due to the pandemic, protests, a collapsing economy, and chaotic national politics, these interactions are more likely than ever to spiral out of control.
Back in May a man was shot and seriously injured in a similar road rage incident just seven blocks away.
If you have any information about Saturday’s incident, please contact the Portland Police Bureau at 503-823-3333 and reference case number 20-301252.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Jeez. My wife has a passport for another country and has mentioned it would be cool to leave here. I agree most of the time! Also, Portland kinda sucks and really, really isn’t what it used to be.
I wonder when you moved here? I’ve been here since the 90s and it’s a bit more like it used to be (gritty, conflicted, lots of campers) than what it became 2005-2015.
1979 at 3 years old.
Wrong. The 90’s in Portland was nothing like the hell it is now. Especially the campers.
It was a lot cheaper to live in Portland back then too, relative to other parts of the country.
Hell is a strong word. Do you sleep indoors? If you have kids, how many miles do they walk to bring back drinking water on their heads? When was the last time you were seriously hungry?
My answers: yes, water comes in a pipe, I can’t remember. What about you?
If this is hell it’s really time to pray.
I moved to Portland in the 1990s and, while some aspects may be re-grittifying, there are certainly have been a lot more angry, bike-hostile drivers on the road since the late 2010s than there were in the late 1990s.
Another way of saying its a s hole.
Move to any other “nice” desirable city and you’ll see lots of angry drivers and homeless too. It’s a nationwide problem.
I prefer main roads to these greenways. I want the cars behind me to feel trapped by the cars in front of me,not to feel like I’m the only obstacle on their road, between them and speeding.
People suggest I bike blocks out of my way, to streets with less favorable grade/pavement. I thank them for their input.
Main roads have witnesses. Most of my road rage incidents happen on neighborhood greenways.
Perhaps you could control your rage better.
Because anyone driving fast on a slow neighborhood street is a sociopath. It’s not shocking that encounters are more likely to happen.
I live on a greenway – it’s a race strip late at night.
Same. SE 19th is like a straightaway in the Baja 1000 with the speed humps, nobody cares. But of course, the people leaving Multnomah county for Clackamas county will feel profiled if they are pulled over for speeding.
I’m just so confused how the sharrows didn’t prevent this angry driver from using the road? Did he not see the sharrows?
I’m starting to think PBOTs greenway strategy of sharrow and pray might not actually be effective at providing stress-free routes for green transportation.
It’s as if the signs and barricades they put up all over the greenways aren’t successful in keeping out motor vehicles.
Those cute barricades are too polite and demure, sitting there in the corners. The set at the SW corner of 16th and Stark is barely visible, and drivers don’t even notice them.
Seems like the easiest fix would be to just put car-impassible barriers at one side of every single block on the route, thus preventing 100% of through traffic by car while still allowing local access. Isn’t one of the selling points of neighborhood greenways the fact that they’re not major thoroughfares anyway and thus significant car traffic redirection won’t cause major traffic jams?
Let’s be absolutely clear. The reason this behavior continues is because PPB doesn’t punish any traffic infractions.
You’re calling for Sharrows, and PBOT to do something that they are not designated to do; police traffic.
Even if PPB wasn’t a garbage organizations, they can’t be everywhere all at once. Are there any cities that don’t have speeding, angry, and reckless drivers?
Traffic diverters on greenways would do far far far far far far more than PPB ever would or could do to make these streets safe.
Thank you for acknowledging the quality of service issue.
Yes, it is true that they can’t punish everyone. However, motorists know that their infractions will go unpunished. There’s no fear of reprisal. Not even a hint of consequence.
If the police enforced distracted driving, road rage, speeding, etcetera at every opportunity, then people would wise up to the consequences. This is why and how law enforcement works. That is to say, when law enforcement is working optimally, it’s primarily a deterrent.
No consequence, no deterrent.
I disagree that diverters are a silver bullet for this problem. We need to hold PPB accountable for their lack of follow through on their duties. Traffic diverters wont stop negative interactions in all of the other places they happen.
How much do you want to pay to achieve what you are talking about? An extra $100 million a year? $200 million?
PPB is the most expensive way to moderate speeds. Motorist know that cops can’t be everywhere. No amount of patrol cops are going to stop people speeding on side streets because cops aren’t going to run radar on side streets.
I disagree with your disagreement. Traffic diverters should be placed all over the city. It should be impossible to travel in a straight line on a side street for more than half a mile without hitting a traffic diverter.
Can you point to anywhere in this country where police actually create safe roads? For most police departments, speeding is just a revenue generation tool.
If the city can find millions to place boulders on a strip where homeless people camp then they can find the money for traffic diverters.
Intuitively, I disagree. Speed limits (OK 10-15% over) is generally adhered to on most Oregon highways. and, that is with the most poorly funded State Patrol in the known universe.
Why do we need to pay more? Tickets = $. I see these marked cars in traffic all the time, you’re telling me they can scoop a quick citation when someone commits an infraction?
Ideally, all roads would be filled with bollards so cars effectively couldn’t circulate. That would be my dream come true.
Chiming in to add some backstory for anyone who wants it, on the origins of traffic enforcement in re: police duties. A worthy listen (or read the transcript). TL;DR: Use of police resources to enforce traffic laws (vs. other options) is a hot topic since, well, the existence of police and traffic laws.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/policing-the-open-road/
It would be interesting to see a study of municipalities that have actually issued a significant number of citations for distracted driving vis a vis changes in numbers of accidents. I would even like to see ODOT fund a long-term enforcement action like this and hold the municipality accountable. Over here in Central Oregon, I see ODOT fund drunk driving enforcement blitzes, and they bust like one or two people in eight hours. I could sit outside any number of local bars, and catch that many in an hour.
I’ve worked in bike/ped advocacy and feel you on sharrows. However, the greenways are great. There is parking on both sides of a narrow street. It’s hilly, the stop signs are placed to be conducive to cyclists. The design of the street is supporting slow speeds. It’s also right near a school (my kids’ school). Most reasonable people understand all of these signals. I wish the cyclist or someone had gotten the license plate. I was assulted verbally by a motorist in another state and I reported the lic plate to the local police and the person had an outstanding warrant, thus the police could go an arrest them.
Which greenways are you referring to? This one in particular or all of them? The greenways I could use (N Concord, N Willamette, and N Princeton) don’t have traffic signs that advantage them. In fact N Princeton as four or more completely uncontrolled intersections. N Concord is chock full of speeding cut through traffic, and N Willamette was awful on the bluff until they put in a traffic diverter.
It is good to a point. They make it less tempting to use the side streets, that is until the main roads become total gridlock, then people jump off of them.
Realistically we could use more choke points where turning off is the only option for cars.
Even better, enforcement. Literally ticket anyone doing over 20 on a greenway. It would be rough, even reasonable people would get pulled over, but a message really does need to be sent.
If Portland is anything like Bend, the city has done nothing to publicize sharrow lanes. There are no signs as you enter a sharrow zone to share the lane. All there is is the sharrow on the pavement. It is not a universally recognized marking, and I’m betting that 90% of non-cyclist car drivers do not have a clue what it means. They should at least put up an electronic billboard the first couple of weeks after they re-label a lane, so the frequent drivers, at least, are made aware.
16th is a low-speed, quiet residential street. Not even a minor collector street like Clinton or Harrison/Lincoln.
Dang, are things in this town going off the rails, or is it just me?
This weekend, someone was double parked blocking both the car lane and the bike lane and I squeezed through on their right side and said to the driver (who was in the car) “hey man, you’re blocking traffic.”
Several blocks later they caught up to me and the passenger yelled out the window at me (I guess they don’t know that no one can understand what they’re yelling as they drive by). Anyway, my immediate thought was “I’m so pleased to be yelled at, rather than buzzed by a car or shot at.” I think it’s a bad sign that my expectations are so low.
You think things are bad now with feckless Ted Wheeler at the wheel, wait till the self proclaimed antifa mayor puts the fork in Portland and finishes us off for good.
This is a sad and disturbing incident. There have to be ways reduce conflict and stress between road users (specifically, car drivers against everyone else). Seems to me that installing more traffic diverters would at least prevent some people from using Greenways as through streets.
Bottom line is that if we don’t make bicycling appealing by making it safe, efficient and enjoyable then the hopes of fostering an equitable and progressive city will dramatically dwindle. I hope that PBOT and city government at large will show a unified and vehement response against any sort of violence displayed by car drivers.
You have to catch them first. This is not a city that enforces its laws very well.
The Portland Police Department does a poor and highly selective job of enforcing our laws, to be specific.
“fostering an equitable and progressive city”
Thanks for the laugh.
We are tinderbox nation. Buckle up.
And both sides are pointing fingers.
False equivalency
Actually, it’s not. About the same number of Republicans and Democrats feel that violence would be justified if their candidate loses: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/01/political-violence-424157
Yet, when we move beyond “thoughts’, almost all of the internal violence against people is carried about by the extremist and christianist right-wing.
https://www.businessinsider.com/right-wing-extremists-kill-329-since-1994-antifa-killed-none-2020-7
— An everyday antifascist
nobody mentioned killing anyone Soren, just that things are a “tinderbox”.
So the resident rigged-market libertarian is now in favor of calling people out because they think the wrong thoughts?
Please tell me more…
You said both sides are pointing fingers, which is very much a false equivalence.
I’m not even suggesting violence, just that both sides feel things are on edge. It’s amazing what people read into things – almost like it is projection.
I know those words sound good to you, but can you explain how I am incorrect? Do you really only think one side feels on edge or that things are about to break? because of that were the case, there would not be clashes.
Pretty sure that one side is pointing guns
And others are burning things. Heck, the definition of ANTIFA includes the word “militant”.
I think the far-leftists have no idea how they are actually perceived by others – and I’m not defending Far-Right extremists. Just pointing out that both extremes are crazy nutters with about zero capability for self-reflection.
Ah, there’s the mark of a true patriot, conflating property damage with violence against people.
There has been one death in Portland during the protests and it was a ANTIFA person killing a right winger. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54023227. I know that this does not reflect the national statistics but it is clear that violence begets violence and sadly radicals on both sides feed off of each other. It is time to shut down the violent right and left crazies that are ruining out city and country.
Let’s not forget that the victim of that murder – and yes I agree it was a murder, and perhaps the only murder by left-wing activists this century – had a steel baton in one hand, a knife in the other, and a loaded handgun on his hip. That doesn’t mean he’s not a victim, but he wasn’t exactly a peaceful protester either.
How bout if each of us move about the world from our hearts – the whole world would be a more lovely place.
Whose definition? I’m not a member of any political group, setting aside voter registration, but the plain meaning of Antifa is a shortening of anti-facist, full stop. I don’t support everything done in the name of Antifa but it’s a handle anyone can use.
Homework: what’s your definition of ‘Fascist’?
Fascists are authoritarian corporatists for the short description. It is possible to be corporatist without being authoritarian, and vice-versa. Antifa are divided between anti-authoritarian and anti-corporatist, because both parts are required for fascism, attacking either or both is effective.
Thanks! So, you can be against something without being violent? Although we did get fairly violent against some self-identified fascists not that along ago.
They should have settled for Chechoslovakia and half of Poland.
“The definition of Antifa” ?? Use your critical thinking skills and ask yourself who even wrote that definition. Not “Antifa” because Antifa is not a group is organized in anyway. It’s not like they got together and published a manifesto. It’s a loose collection of like-minded activists, some of whom are extremists and or militants, and some of whom simply oppose the creeping Fascism in this country.
And some are plotting to kidnap Democratic Governors.
… or, in Minnesota, hiring Special Forces veterans to “guard” polling sites, echoing last week’s debate call for poll watchers:
https://www.startribune.com/company-seeks-former-special-forces-to-guard-minnesota-polling-sites/572692242/
This is the problem. There are ‘two sides.’ Fuck that. Don’t play their game.
Exactly. The Righties keep pushing things further and further in one direction, while insisting we keep pretending there are two equal sides. There no longer are.
Hey I have an idea! Let’s defund the police, and never do anymore “racist” traffic enforcement so that the entitlement of drivers goes through the roof! Also the article says September 3 but I suspect you meant October.
Thanks for catching that mistake RudiV. Fixed it.
Well, we haven’t defunded the police and stuff like this happens so…maybe the police aren’t really effective at stopping stuff like this.
Every LEO I’ve ever known broke traffic laws as a rule anyway. For all we know the road rager could have been an off-duty cop. They surely all carry guns when they visit our city.
But we have thoroughly de-funded traffic enforcement. Someone who works as a lawyer for the city told me a few weeks ago that the PPB traffic division is down to 5 officers for 24x7x365 coverage of the whole city.
This type of thing is just one predictable consequence.
No we haven’t. PPB sets it’s priorities. PPB has de-prioritized traffic division while their budget has been more and more bloated every year.
They get more money and we get less enforcement. Weird how that works.
Long time ago in a different state, when I reported being assaulted by a driver using his van as a weapon to the police, the officer told me that cases like that don’t get solved and advised me to key the vehicle the next time I saw it. You can’t make this stuff up. This after I told him that it was a service vehicle and it should have been easy to confirm with the business which employee had it out at the time of the assault.
So if the police aren’t there to solve bike theft or vehicular assault or enforce traffic laws then perhaps we SHOULD defund them and then establish an agency whose mission it will be to perform these duties.
When you have a city that has a comparably small police force compared to other cities, things will get triaged.
“Defund” probably doesn’t mean what you think it means. The “Defund” movement wants tax spending used for services other than police where it is appropriate, as in not having police respond to calls about mentally disturbed people if they aren’t presenting a danger to anyone. That sort of thing. Police budgets eat up a large percentage of city/state budgets, yet when spending is reduced or police go on strike or a slowdown there isn’t usually an increase in crime. Basically, they suck at their jobs and so they should not be given quite so much money.
Why don’t you try finding figures about Portland police budgets vs. crime rates and dangerous driving?
The cyclist cared so little about being shot at that they didn’t bother to inform the police.
Is this so common as to not warrant a call to police?
Are we that insecure about our place in society?
Maybe they don’t trust the police or think they will do anything about it.
But if THIS isn’t what cops are for, then I don’t know what is. Cops suck no doubt, but someone shoots a gun at me, I want that recorded and on file. And right now it’s still cops that you tell in this situation.
Well, whether or not to tell the police is what we each get to decide for ourselves. I most certainly would, but I’m a 47 year old white dude named Brian. Not everyone experiences and views the world through the same lens.
I probably would have reported it, but honestly you have to weigh the danger of an interaction with police against the odds of them actually doing anything about the shooting, and if you don’t have it on video and a plate number they are just gonna log it and move on.
You guys make it sound like 99.9% of interactions with the police end in brutality.
Doesn’t even have to be brutality, could just be being messed with for awhile. Wait around for them to show up, they take the report but now it is getting dark, oh you don’t have a headlight let me write you a ticket for that. Every interaction with police is an opportunity for something bad to happen with little upside.
“Since I’ve got you here, you don’t mind if I have a look in your car do you, nothing in here I should feel threatened about is there?”
It’s not reasonable to make any assumptions about whether or not someone feels safe calling the police. How do you know this bicyclist wasn’t Black, and maybe felt afraid to call the police? In the real world we live in, the police may be more dangerous than a random person with a gun, because the random person with a gun is likely to face consequences, whereas the police can act with near-total impunity.
See my post above about reporting being assaulted by a driver running me off the road with a van. The police don’t care. I wasn’t actually going to report that assault which led to me crashing with minor injuries but at the urging of other cyclists who got enraged at my story I did. The outcome was about what I expected.
I’d call 911 and say that the car was swerving, the driver appeared drunk and was in danger of hurting themselves or someone else. Especially if I got the license number. That’s pretty insane behavior, those bullets could have entered houses and killed children.
It sure would be nice if PPB would stop fiddle farting around with protestors and tear gas, and get to the business of policing traffic.
It’s kind of sad that we so recently “defunded” the taskforce charged with investigating gun violence. This incident, along with the growing number (580+ this year alone) of non-cycling related shooting incidents (including the one on N Williams where over 50(!) shots were fired) suggests there is still a need to get guns off the street, along with those who use them to settle disputes.
Gun crimes will still be investigated. Do you have evidence the GVRT was effective? Gun violence is up in many places, and those numbers largely predat ethe decision to cut the GVRT. The lack of social services and community efforts to reduce violence due to the pandemic is more likley the cause (in my opinion).
The most likely reason for a recent increase in gun violence is that many people are resorting to crime after losing their employment due to the pandemic and not having enough benefits to cover expenses for such an extended period (over half a year now) of not working. Many have exhausted their benefits, or on top of not working they’re also losing their homes.
Considering that the scheduled budget for 2020-2021 for the GVRT was over $6 million, and that gun violence had been trending upward before the decision to pull funding of GVRT, it seems that their budget wasn’t justified so the money has been budgeted for other things. This shows gun violence was already trending upward for several months before the decision to stop funding GVRT:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/81203
The officers are not leaving the force, they’re being re-assigned to patrol. More patrol can be a deterrent to gun violence. Shouldn’t just about every officer (if not specializing in an unrelated area) be aware of how to investigate gun violence?
Portland Police Say They’re Needed to Prevent Gun Violence. Experts Disagree.
https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/08/27/28773429/portland-police-say-theyre-needed-to-prevent-gun-violence-experts-disagree
What’s Portland’s Gun Violence Reduction Team and why is it being dissolved?
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-police-gun-violence-reduction-team/283-5d980c1f-059c-4bb8-8236-ed6b7da5dc49
The hostility towards cyclists in Portland is like nowhere else I’ve ever lived. In the five US cities I’ve spent significant portions of my life in, Portland’s drivers are by far the most actively hostile to cyclists, and I easily feel the least safe riding in Portland. No excuse for this driver’s behavior no matter what possible provocation there was; I hope they’re caught and face justice.
But more importantly, stuff like this is why diverters on greenways should be one of the highest priorities. No reason for drivers to be on them for more than two or three blocks, ever.
But have you ridden in Southern California? (Not to take away from how shitty other places can be.)
Can’t claim to have ridden there ever 🙂
Well, you’re basically in Portland, California now. So there’s that.
Oregon is the fifth state I have resided in. I’ve biked in 4 east coast states prior to coming here a couple decades ago. It is by FAR the most bicycle friendly place to ride in comparison.
Now, granted, a lot may have happened over time elsewhere but the few incidents I have endured riding a bicycle in Oregon are minor compared to the shit I put up with elsewhere at a much higher frequency.
I’ve never lived in an East Coast city myself so can’t comment on what it’s like there. I’ve hopped around Portland, the Mountain West, and the Midwest though.
Disrespect from motorists toward cyclist is proportional to speed differential in any city Ive ridden. I cant stand dawdling ninnies on bikes weaving around at 10 mph and less when Im driving 25 either. Never been harrassed when riding closer to 20 mph even in Reno or Dallas.
Could it be a temporal thing? Like the last 10 years have been the worst because the volume of our political discourse has been elevated and people are just more mad in general?
And it’s the opposite for me, and I’ve been taking the lane here since the 90s.
Interesting how people’s experiences differ so much. I can only give mine.
Not sure where you were previously, but I spent 30 years in Denver before here and the main distinctions I note are, 1) the arterials here aren’t really arterials to move traffic, they are converted residential streets, this encourages cut through traffic. 2) Many folks think the regional MUP infrastructure here is great, it is not. Even Salt Lake City has a better regional trail network to get around off streets. So, you end up with more riders on the streets trying to get around. 3) Greenways are the perfect example of premature back patting between activists and local government before they actually did anything that was considerably better. They are stop signless thoroughfares for cars with the pathetic excuse for calming devices in the speed humps. 4) As with all things Portland, the premise is the issues being faced here are unique to the humans in Portland and have never been experienced by any humans anywhere else, so our solution must be unique and should not look to other places for how they may have fixed similar problems.
From my reading of media, this is a global situation. Drivers are actively hostile to cyclists just about everywhere outside of The Netherlands. At least all the Anglophone countries where Rupert Murdoch had a media outlet. Since I’m not fluent in anything except English I can’t vouch for anything except the Netherlands who have a vibrant English-language media presence.
I’ve only lived in Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis during my adult life, but I can definitely say Portland’s drivers over the last decade have become by far the most aggressively hostile.
Having not been in Portland since February, however, I can’t speak to how badly things have gone downhill there. I can certainly say they have done so here in Minneapolis. Since August I no longer ride on roads with on-street unprotected bike lanes, or even on greenways with any significant traffic, anymore. I now stick to protected bikeways, using very quiet side streets or even sidewalks to make connections. It’s a very sad statement that I now find sidewalks to be safer than bike lanes.
And I thank my lucky stars I got out six years ago, to a place with hundreds of miles of off-street bikeways. I cannot imagine trying to get around the Portland area now, with the current chaos on the roadways.
The current behavior of sociopathic drivers is more evidence that we need MUCH more protected infrastructure, including diverters on greenways to keep often-malevolent through-drivers off of them.
“With anxiety levels at all-time highs due to the pandemic, protests, a collapsing economy, and chaotic national politics, these interactions are more likely than ever to spiral out of control.” we are living a nightmare…
I choose to never speak to other road users for any reason unless overtaking from behind. I don’t even enjoy riding bikes with riders who are so compelled.
That’s a different take. I’m curious why you don’t like to talk to other road users?
For me, being social is one of the great benefits of riding a bike. Motorists are in a closed compartment adjacent to a noise maker, they couldn’t hold a conversation with someone if they wanted to, not without yelling. I can shoot a quick, “hey, good morning” to someone I pass on the path. I like it because it is a behavior that showcases how much better bicycles are than cars, for cultivating strong social fabric.
Dude really? Are cars still a 1925 model T to you?
I wish.
I think I know who you are talking about.
Suburban, I completely agree.
I rarely if ever talk to drivers, even if they’re being crazy, even if they swerve at me or throw things at me or scream at me (all of which have happened in Portland, and yes, also in the early 1990s).
I stay well out of their way, and as a result despite having cycled around Portland and more cities in the US and abroad than I can count, in the 30 years I’ve been an urban cyclist, I’ve never been in a serious altercation.
Suburban indicated that they don’t even talk to bikes / peds.
What have we become?
I’ve become super wonderful,a huge supporter of free speech, and I never tell anyone about it, nor what they should do in their stupid cars. Some people just want to yell and/or shoot. I have a hard time trusting yeller/shooter types. So to answer your weird question, we have become simply bifurcated into those with impulse control, and those with out. What have you become?
My question is what have we become as a society? I am not interested in engaging with you any further.
Local shootings are up 83%, hopefully not another new norm.
“They (Portland Police) confirmed the incident and said neither party remained at the scene to talk with police.”
I think if I’d just been shot at, I probably wouldn’t stick around either.
Exactly. I’d GTFO in case they came back.
Okay, can we stop dancing around the issue for once? We KNOW what needs to be done. We KNOW what works. Filtered permeability, priority networks and disentanglement using a mix of strategies and technologies, physically separated bike lanes and separations in intersections with hard infrastructure on roads above 20mph and in places where high levels of auto traffic meet with bike and pedestrian traffic (not paint, signs, or plastic posts). The only way to reduce and work towards eliminating traffic deaths is by systematically eliminating the ability for drivers to cause harm, whether intentionally or accidentally. Self enforceable infrastructure helps ALL vulnerable road users and democratizes the street, giving people safe options while also increasing the amount of people we can move through a street in any given hour. It also significantly reduces the need for heavy manual(a physical officer, in person) policing of drivers. Good self-enforceable infrastructure negates the need for a heavy police presence and as a result reduces the the side effects of it. It’s how you attack multiple problems at once rather than creating more problems as a result. A holistic approach is what this city needs to create great mobility options for everyone, without it, we’ll just continue seeing posts like this, with responses like the ones here in this thread.
Thank you so much. Filtered permeability, yes. In a few more words, a motor vehicle operator who enters a neighborhood from the West will leave it on the South. People who live there can get in and out just fine. Cut through? No Waze.
Can we get a diverter on NE Going between 15th and 33rd, please?
“Filtered permeability”. I’ll have to remember that term. Thanks!
This is also right near my kids’ school – Buckman Elementary and in my neighborhood. Neighborhood kids are still playing at the school even though it’s shut down due to non-maskers. For that reason, it’s especially terrifying.
The police are useless at this point. We are on our own and should act accordingly.
It is not just bikes that draw the rage of increasingly crazed drivers. Today I was on one of my rare driving days coming in to Portland on hwy 26. At the Sylvan overpass I merged in to the left hand lane as my eventual destination was North Portland. Due to the way hwy 26 splits at right after the tunnel it is common practice to pick your lane at or before the top of the hill at Sylvan and stay there to avoid a dangerous last minute merge at the tunnel. I was traveling at the speed limit and the cars in front of me were doing the same. A newish Honda sped up the left lane and proceeded to tailgate me, swerving back and forth like they were demanding I pull over to the center. The other lanes were full so they could no go around. Then as we approached the tunnel they got an opening and zoomed around me. As they passed, the driver (a youngish woman) rolled down her window and gave me the finger while cursing loudly. This is not the same as shooting off a gun, but shows the same level of entitlement, and misplaced rage as the interaction in Buckman.
There’s a reason they call cars “malice machines.”
If I was going to add one camera, front or rear?
After surviving a hit-and-run from behind, my hindsight choice for a singular camera would have been a helmet or head mount, so the camera records what you look at. Alternately, a 360 camera on a shoulder mount(Helmet mount is even better.) will record everything in every direction.
I had a front facing handlebar camera, and the suspect was never identified.
Having been the other cyclist shooting victim this year, it’s a tough call. A rear camera would have provided the best shot of the driver (potentially), but being at night, the camera probably would have only picked up headlights and glare off the windshield.
Ideally, front and rear, but that’s a lot of money and more crap to worry about every time you stop and want to run into a store or something.
Too many people
I’m disappointed in the lack of innovation and cost reduction in bike-friendly camera devices since I first started looking into them about a decade ago.