Yes I realize I’ve already covered the new bike lanes on Lombard; but I feel like this video gives you another important perspective on what they are like.
Have you ridden them yet? Are the new lanes enough for you to make this part of your personal bike network? Or will you stick to the sidewalk?
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How does such new looking pavement be covered in so much gravel already?
From what I’ve seen, nobody comes in to clean up after construction is done. Even when the road is finished, there are still electrical (signals) and concrete (sidewalk repair) jobs to be done which might involve digging stuff up and tossing gravel wherever. There’s been gravel on the sidewalk along the stretch I’m most familiar with for the entire duration of the project.
Oh how I wish NCDOT was even half as progressive as ODOT – bicycling in this state would be so much better and safer! Yeah, sure, you need barrier-protected lanes on Lombard (same as outer Powell), but most of the rest of the “state” highway system nationwide is total s**t in comparison to even this modest improvement. I mean, just reducing traffic capacity from double lanes to one lane each way is already a huge safety improvement, so the crossing at Delaware is clearly much easier and safer with or without green zebras. Think of the painted 6-foot bike as phase 1; phase 2 in 2030 will have a wider buffer, and a protected barrier on phase 3 in 2035.
Hey, was anyone on the ODoT CAC / public workshop for this project…and can speak to the dialogue about ODoT retaining a full 12 FT turn lanes (vs 11FT etc) especially the turn lane…and using this space to widen the buffer?
Plus what about ODoT adding reflectorized RPMs (and supplemented with BOTTs Dots/ turtles / buttons) for the buffer so it will not be invisible in the wet dark grey season? (Plus offering minor driver sensory feedback for when they drift into the bike lane vs… drivers waiting for sensory feedback when they strike a cyclist or curb face.)
PS. As Jonathan reported…its a big step in the right direction for use A & B level urban cyclists…but not smooch for families unless the motorized vehicle travel speeds come down.
A & B riders got their experience by simply riding. People should shift their fear away from riding in traffic to the real fear of a sedentary lifestyle supported by the automobile. Speeds will naturally slow down when the bike lanes and streets are over flowing with riders
Just returned from Victoria BC. The engineering which has gone into protected lanes especially for right hook intersections is amazing. Basically they have Portlandesque intersection pedestrian concrete bump outs with a bike lane carved into the bump out
Oops again! Changed PBOT to ODOT
I don’t understand the logic of making N Lombard St a bike route east of N Portsmouth Ave. I live in N Portland and use my bike as my primary form of transportation. There’s a lot of truck traffic through N Portland on N Columbia Blvd, N Lombard St, and N Fessenden St so bikers use Willamette/Rosa Parks as the main east/west route, with N Fessenden St an option in the northern sections.
I grant you, accessing the selection of retail stores on N Lombard St between N Villard Ave and N Delaware Ave is tricky. Before, I frequently use Delaware heading north through Lombard to the rough surface of N Russet St, approaching Walgreens or the Green Zebra from behind. I’m extremely disappointed in not having a bike signal in this improvement project! My girth and age prevent me from maneuvering the turns for the pedestrian signal at N Delaware Ave & Lombard St. Forget it if I’m hauling my bike trailer! And I wait for lights on these busy streets like Lombard; I despise the tension required to check for openings and darting across. Why put a bike lane in without safe bike access?
Once across, the bike lane to Walgreens and the Green Zebra is handy, though the west bound bus stop at Lombard and N Penninsular Ave creates hazards in that section I avoided when using the back way on N Russett St.
The short bike lane on the south side of N Lombard St between N Villard Ave and N Greeley Ave is handy to get to the UPS Store, which I used to have to walk my bike the last few yards just to be safe.
This area is definitely tricky, but why extend the bike lane to Wabash? And adding an absent/improper bike signaling makes that greenway corridor less safe heading north to the Charles Jordon Community Center.
Doing roadwork on a greenway without adding proper bike signals feels adversarial. Is there someone in ODOT secretly opposed to a safe Portland bike infrastructure?
I’m not going to ride it unless I’m in a hurry during off-peak traffic and absolutely never at night considering the damage to medians done by impaired drivers. Willamette for most trips and combinations of greenways after that/ Greeley.
WHERE ARE THE RUMBLE STRIPS to rumble to tumble the phones out of ignorant hands!!!
Yeah, this whole project feels like some kind of funding requirement, most of it is half-assed to the point of teasing cyclists onto Lombard but, truth be told, the neighborhood greenways, Willamette, Fessenden, and Willis are still better choices.