Earlier this month, we dug into what’s on tap for Barbur Crossroads — a mash of roads and highways in southwest Portland where the city and state are making big changes. One of the questions left unanswered was how people on bicycles riding north-south on SW Capitol Highway would get cross the car-centric chasm of ODOT’s Barbur (Hwy 99W) and I-5.
We now have a bit more clarity.
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BikePortland has received more details of the bike facilities coming with the Barbur Crossroads Safety Project from ODOT Region 1 Public Information Officer Don Hamilton: The plan is to add conflict markings and bike boxes along the existing bike lanes on Barbur Blvd as it crosses Capitol Highway and Taylors Ferry. But there will be no new bike lanes.
This leaves an approximately 850-foot unmarked gap in the north-south Capitol Highway corridor.
Here’s Hamilton’s response to our bike lane queries:
No bike schematics at this point for bike routes because we’re not installing new bike lanes. But the project will add safety measures for people biking on Barbur Boulevard including green bike boxes and conflict markings in both directions across the Capitol Highway intersection, both directions across the Taylors Ferry Road intersection, and on the northbound side across the driveway to Barbur Transit Center. We’re also putting in new accessible curb ramps and push buttons for people crossing.
In lieu of an ODOT schematic, BikePortland annotated a map showing the location of the ODOT improvements (above).
The Barbur Crossroads Safety Project is funded by the All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS) Program, which is “designed to address safety needs on all public roads in Oregon,” and involves collaboration “with local road jurisdictions.”
BikePortland will keep you updated on how the collaborating agencies, Portland Bureau of Transportation and ODOT, plan to guide people on bicycles through the Capitol Highway gap. Stay tuned.
— Lisa Caballero, lisacaballero853@gmail.com
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