Contact PBOT Maintenance Dispatch to report leaves in bike lanes

It’s that time of the year once again when many miles of Portland bike lanes are rendered useless and/or dangerous because they are filled with leaves.

All over the city people who ride bikes face the choice of either rolling through mountains of slippery, hazard-concealing leaves or sharing the adjacent traffic lane with often impatient and rude car drivers. It’s a choice no one should have to make, but because the City of Portland is either unable or unwilling to keep the lanes clean (or a mix of both), it has become a reluctant annual tradition for many of us. As Portland builds more and more protected bike lanes that are even harder for street sweepers to access, I worry the issue will only get worse (as the Tweet from Shawne Martinez below can attest).

https://twitter.com/RescueEwe/status/1455518301560328195

In the meantime, I want to make sure everyone knows how to report problem spots.

If there’s a particularly bad location, you can report it to Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) 24/7 Emergency Maintenance Dispatch by calling (503) 823-1700 or via email at pdxroads@portlandoregon.gov.

We’ve heard many positive stories about the responsiveness to this and PBOT’s other traffic safety related hotlines over the years. You can find all the contact info to report other problems here.

How do the bike lanes look in your neighborhood?