As you read on Wednesday, the City of Portland is planning a big party on July 31st to celebrate the opening of a new carfree bridge over I-84 between the Lloyd and Central Eastside districts.
This is a huge deal and we’re psyched this will finally open. We know it will be a nice riding experience on the bridge, but we hope it spurs more and better connections on either end.
I happened to be near the south side of the where the bridge will land last night and snapped a few photos to give you a sense of where it looks today. It had been about seven months since I’d taken a good look at it.
Beyond the bridge itself, notice the improved spaces on the ends. On the south side there will be a new path to approach the bridge and a plaza with what appears to be a new water feature. On the north side, PBOT has extended the sidewalk into NE Lloyd Blvd and built a huge curb extension on the northwest corner. This will make it safer and easier to cross Lloyd.
Here are the rest of my photos from the south side (click to open gallery):
Here are the rest of my photos from the north side (click to open gallery):
Can’t wait for it to open. It’s good to see the deck is actually poured. I know the bike facilities to the north and south of the bridge are less than ideal. But I still think this will be a game changer for bike transportation in the neighborhood. It’s a connection that I will definitely use a lot.
Spending 20 million on protected bike lanes elsewhere would have been a far greater game changer. Let’s be honest, this bridge was not built because the City of Portland prioritizes cycling but rather as a mechanism to subsidize real estate assets along two of Portland’s faltering attempts at upscale redevelopment: burnside/couch and the lloyd district.
I will use this bridge on a regular basis. It is important to me.
Perhaps there are other areas where cycling infrastructure upgrades are more needed. But I’m happy to see this going in.
*Citation Needed
Until a robust bike network is completed, any marginal improvement in bike infrastructure is going to be an amenity and improve land values around it.
Spending $20,000,000+ for a marginal improvement is a decision that could only be made by a city bureau that does not prioritize fixing the deficits in our existing cycling network. ODOT is not our friend but neither is PBOT.
And the quiet part, written out loud.
I hope they keep this bridge clean and patrolled. I do not want to be trapped on it. Already had some scary incidents in that area.
Yep – our local gov’t entities are good at building stuff but terrible at maintaining stuff.
Thanks, Jonathan! I have lens envy 😉 I’ve been snapping photos of the bridge under construction on my photo walks. I’m eager to walk over it soon.
Relatedly, I’m going to make a plug for the new Go Lloyd Mobility Committee. I know the Blumenauer bridge is one area of focus for our committee. I know Eco Lloyd, who are also participating in the new committee, are also interested stakeholders.
I was an active volunteer on the Go Lloyd (Lloyd TMA) Pedestrian Committee for many years when I worked in the Lloyd District at BPA and KPNW. Last month, I joined the new mobility committee. We had our first kick-off meeting in May and are scheduled to meet again (virtually) on June 14th.
This past Tuesday, we held a “Trash Mob” cleanup event in Holladay Park. Thanks to SOLVE for the cleanup equipment and supplies.
If anyone is interested in joining our committee and attending our next meeting, you can find the details on these two pages.
http://www.golloyd.org/transportation-committee
http://www.golloyd.org/event/2022/6/14/go-lloyd-mobility-committee-meeting
Here is a description from the first link:
“Go Lloyd’s Mobility Committee helps to make biking and walking in Lloyd safe, fun, convenient, and easy. We work to install and improve bicycle infrastructure, and host numerous free events to encourage people to bike and walk. The Committee provides input on Go Lloyd’s programs and activities, and frequently partners with the City of Portland to improve conditions for cycling and walking in Lloyd. Our projects focus on safety, health, and bikeable/walkable infrastructure. Join us each month for an open, informal discussion and learn how you can help take action.”
I’m looking forward to the state of the art Greenway between this new bridge and Rosa Parks way (Along 7th and 9th.) Can we get an update on that please?
Is S.E. 7th going to become bicycle only and if so, when?
No it’s not.
Why?
PBOT bungled outreach by intentionally centering mostly-white people while largely ignoring the city’s history of racial segregation and gentrification. I mean, FFS, Williams is just 6 blocks to the west and it’s very difficult to understand how PBOT could have been unaware of the need for anti-racist community engagement*.
*I have some cynical thoughts on why this happened.
I believe you are thinking of NE 7th. The OP was asking about SE 7th. I don’t think there is a proposal to make SE 7th bike only (nor was there ever a proposal to make NE 7th bike only).
I seriously doubt there is any level of outreach, anti racist or otherwise, that would have brought along all community members in support of diverters on NE 7th. Anytime there’s a proposal to do anything anywhere, there’s always some level of nimbyism. To suggest that there’s some magic bullet solution that PBOT nefariously ignored that would have placated the concerns of local community members flies in the face of decades of history.
‘Outreach’ is the NIMBY’s best friend. The whole idea is absurd. PBOT pays people who, at least hypothetically, know how to engineer a road to achieve whatever result. So PBOT then spends money to get information and feedback on the plan from people who’s only significance is sleeping/owning property nearby.
The opposition to the 7s greenway was the same generic cager ‘I want to be able to drive my car as fast as possible everywhere’ that you see in every other part of the city. It’s not like PBOT even builds real greenways. They proposed something useless and then let some local NIMBYs block it. A perfect picture of the incomptence and dysfunction that the CoP has made an art form.
Categorizing the concern of black community members as “NIMBYism” is a bad take (and terrible organizing).
You were completely dismissive when Mt tabor neighborhood association made arguments about the proposed SE 50th diverter that were nearly identical to those that were made by residents living near NE 7th:
https://bikeportland.org/2017/11/16/mt-tabor-neighborhood-votes-45-5-against-diverter-at-50th-and-lincoln-254714
I don’t think the identity of the person makes the argument any more or less valid. Nimbyism is nimbyism regardless of racial identity of the speaker. And people that are accustomed to a totally car centric lifestyle (regardless of race) are going to oppose changes that they believe are going to inconvenience that lifestyle. More outreach is unlikely to move that needle.
Maybe the term is divisive, but I don’t think it is incorrect.