(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
At long last the time has come for us to walk and pedal safely across I-405 in northwest Portland on a bridge without those pesky automobiles in the way.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced today that the Flanders Crossing Bridge will open on Friday June 4th. The new, $9.5 million, 24-foot wide, 200-foot long span is the centerpiece of the Flanders neighborhood greenway project — both of which fulfill promises made to cycling advocates over two decades ago.
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I’ve been watching progress on Flanders and was just out there on Friday. The good news is that this cool new bridge is far from the only good news.
As we shared back in March, PBOT is serious about keeping drivers off Flanders so that it can live up to its greenway billing as a “low-stress, family-friendly street”. Several new diverters have been installed and PBOT has made major changes and upgrades to the traffic signals and intersections on each side of the bridge to make sure people on bikes feels safe and welcome.
And while there’s plenty of new paint and new bike lanes, PBOT has also used quite a few, no-nonsense concrete diverters that physically prevent drivers from making turns onto the street. At NW 10th for instance, people using cars can no longer turn west onto Flanders. Where there used to be a general lane, there is now a bike-only lane. At NW 17th, there’s a full, median diverter. This is in addition to the complete driving ban through the North Park Blocks (8th and 9th) via a half-dozen huge concrete planters.
I cannot wait to see all the bicycle riders this new bridge and greenway attract. It is truly a huge step forward for our city. See you at the ribbon-cutting on June 4th (at 11:00 am).
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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