Bad news: 122nd Avenue is a terrible, typical east Portland arterial.
Good news: PBOT has a plan to make it better!
More good news: We have a new video so you can learn more and help them out.
Last week the City took a big step forward with their 122nd Avenue Plan with the release of an online open house. This comes a few months after they released a set of draft proposals and recommendations aimed at making the street safer for all users.
The current conditions are pretty bleak:
You’ll recall that PBOT’s work on 122nd Avenue began over three years ago in summer of 2018. There’s already been some work done on the project, and now it appears PBOT has settled in on a tighter scope and they want to hear what the public thinks about several key proposals.
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The project goals are to improve safety, set the stage for more of a main street feel, and make it easier to bike and roll, walk, and take transit. The boundary is from Marine Drive in the north to Foster Road in the site, about 6.5 miles, which makes this a very significant project
The meat of the open house are proposed new treatments to intersections, crossings, and new lane configuration designs.
You can go directly to that section of the open house here and I’ve shared some of the proposal graphics above. As you’ll see, there are still a lot of decisions to make about which intersections get which types of treatments. There will also be a big discussion about whether the bike lanes should be parking-protected or buffered.
I happened to spend a day out on 122nd several weeks ago to get a better feel for existing conditions and to help us all gain a deeper understanding about what’s at stake with these proposals. Check out the video (watch it above or on YouTube) where I take you on a ride-along on the dicey bikeways, the really bad I-84 underpass section, and share my thoughts about 122nd and what PBOT must do if this project is to be a success.
How should we define success? It might look something like seeing a lot more people like this person I snapped while I was out there (unfortunately she was one of only a few people on bikes I saw the entire day):
And Here’s that open house link again.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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