2022 Archives

Commissioner Hardesty asks ODOT to create ‘school speed zone’ outside Cleveland High (UPDATED)

Students cross SE 26th Ave outside Cleveland High School on October 5th. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

*UPDATE: Hardesty’s resolution passed. Scroll to end of story for full recap of council meeting

Following the death of Sarah Pliner in a traffic collision at SE 26th Avenue and Powell Blvd on October 4th, two of the many emotions our community felt were shock and surprise.

How on earth could we have a school where hundreds of students cross a state highway every day, located adjacent to a deadly multi-lane state highway and it not be designated a school zone? When I talked to the Region 1 Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson two days after Pliner died, one of the first things he asked me was, “Is it a school zone?” The fact that they didn’t know was not a good sign.

Turns out it’s not. That means there are no signs telling drivers they’re about to pass an area teeming with teens whose brains are not yet fully able to calculate risk. It also means the legal speed limit is 30 mph on Powell (a state highway) and 25 mph on 26th.

On Wednesday, on the eve of SE Powell Blvd Community Safety Forum that will be held at Cleveland High School, PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty proposed a City Council resolution that would change that. Here’s what the resolution will do (taken from Hardesty statement this morning):

Directs PBOT to install a school zone on SE 26th Avenue and requests ODOT create a school zone on SE Powell Blvd in both areas adjacent to Cleveland High School.
Asks ODOT to install school zones at all schools on state-owned highways in Portland.
Directs PBOT to pursue school zone installation at any street adjacent to a high school where the speed limit is higher than 20 mph, whether it’s a city street or state-owned highway.
Directs PBOT to propose additional safety improvements on other parts of SE 26th Avenue, Inner Powell and other busy state-owned streets. The bureau would use safety improvements called for in ODOT’s Blueprint for Urban Design, which the state agency does not apply consistently in the Portland area.
Directs PBOT to study the city’s freight routes and street classifications that may be leading large trucks to use SE 26th Avenue instead of streets that are wider and more appropriate.
Directs PBOT to work with ODOT to develop a thorough cost estimate for the improvements needed to bring Powell up to city standards for safety and maintenance, from SE 9th Avenue to I-205. Without an understanding of the true cost of transfer and a commitment to fund the full cost, a transfer will not make the road safer.
With a realistic cost estimate and adequate funding, these improvements could lead to a transfer of Powell to city control, using the recent transfer of 82nd Avenue as a model.

If a “school speed zone” is designated, the speeds would drop to 20 mph on both streets and related signs would be installed. PBOT says they’d get their signs up as quickly as tomorrow. It’s unclear how long it would take ODOT to follow suit — or if they’d do it all. Note that Hardesty is requesting that all schools on ODOT-owned arterials — not just Cleveland High — be designated as school zones.

In Oregon, state law requires that people obey that speed limit when special school zone sign lights are flashing or on school days between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm.

This is the most consequential request Hardesty is making of ODOT (but note that this is just a “resolution” which is not legally binding and carries much less weight than an ordinance). The other ones on the list are likely things ODOT will gladly do and/or is already working on. ODOT Director Kris Strickler said last week he wants to “quickly transform” Powell Blvd and that “no change is off the table.”

In a statement about the resolution released before today’s council meeting, Hardesty said, “I want to hold ODOT to their word and am optimistic we can work together as partners to make the streets around all Portland schools safer and start transforming Southeast Powell Boulevard.”

Underscoring the urgency for changes at SE 26th and Powell, a Cleveland High student was injured by a car driver on Wednesday. According to an email by school principal Jo Ann Wadkins, the student was hit while crossing the street on the way to catch a bus.

There will be a discussion about Hardesty’s resolution at today’s council meeting. I’m listening to it now and will update this story with new information as it comes out. I also expect to share a response from ODOT shortly. Stay tuned and refresh this page. All updates should be done by 12:00 pm today.

UPDATE, 11:20 am: The resolution has passed unanimously. Learn what happened at the council meeting below…

“It’s about time that we put safety of our kids in front of ODOT’s concerns.”
– Dan Ryan, city commissioner

Commissioner Hardesty kicked off discussion of the resolution by holding a moment of silence for Sarah Pliner and “other who’ve lost their lives to traffic violence.”

After Hardesty laid out the proposal, Commissioner Mingus Mapps asked a few questions. One of those brought up PBOT City Traffic Engineer Wendy Cawley who clarified that if the resolution passes, the city plans to re-install the green bike lanes and bike boxes on 26th. This would be a fascinating move since PBOT agreed to a compromise with ODOT in 2016 that led to ODOT removing those same green lanes and boxes. Cawley said those could come in the “next few months.”

In addition to putting those bike facilities back in place, now that the resolution has passed, Cawley says PBOT will move forward with a new mid-block crossing with a concrete median on SE 26th north of Powell at the main entrance to Cleveland High School. This is likely a move to discourage students from using the dangerous crosswalk on Powell.

In comments before the vote was taken, Mayor Ted Wheeler said, “I was very surprised that we don’t have reduced speeds around all of our schools.” “That is probably going to come as a surprise to a lot of our state leaders as well,” he continued. “We should fix that. That should be part of our legislative discussion.”

Before he voted yes, Commissioner Dan Ryan said “It’s about time that we put safety of our kids in front of ODOT’s concerns.” And Mingus Mapps, who has a 12-year-old son, said making the changes outlined in the resolution “cannot come soon enough.”

Now that PBOT has marching orders from council, they still have to work with ODOT for the Powell Blvd portions of the requests. It remains to be seen how flexible ODOT will be and whether or not they’ll adopt this new school zone policy. All eyes (and ears) will be on ODOT Director Kris Strickler at Thursday’s community forum event.

Sensing the community’s ire toward ODOT and eagerness for changes, Hardesty urged folks to give ODOT Director Kris Strickler space for a partnership to develop. “This resolution is not about throwing [ODOT Director] Kris Strickler under the bus,” Hardesty said. “It’s about drawing a line in the sand about how we protect vulnerable people in the city of Portland.”

UPDATE: 12:45 pm: I’ve heard back from ODOT. Region 1 Public Information Officer Don Hamilton says the changes ODOT is working on (in partnership with PBOT over the past two weeks) are “significant.” Hamilton said more details will be released at Thursday’s forum. He also added that ODOT is already “updating painting and striping to improve visibility on key nearby intersections.” As for the school zone designation, he confirmed that ODOT will install one adjacent to Cleveland. We hope to have more details about this soon.

UPDATE, 10/20 at 8:00 am: Following the passage of the resolution on 10/19, PBOT says their crews will install new school zone signs this morning in front of Cleveland High.

Meet Joe Brown, the biking leather goods salesman with an adventure streak

Portland is full of people who are removing themselves from car culture and proving there are other modes of transportation that fit their needs. One area I think is especially interesting is the world of business, where bike lovers have found different ways to use their preferred mode of travel to their advantage to connect with customers and carve out their brand.

Our recent profile of Sarah Minnick, the Portland pizza chef who fetches fresh produce with an electric cargo bike, shows one person’s relationship to doing business by bike, but there are lots of other stories to be told. One of these stories comes from Joe Brown, a carfree Portlander who owns Ramblin’ Leather Goods, a leather products company with a regular spot at the Portland Saturday Market.

“When I started riding my bike, I started making a lot of other healthy choices. Bike touring has led me to so many different healthy things in life and changed my perspective significantly.”
-Joe Brown

It’s evident when talking to Brown that he has an adventurous, self-sufficient ethos that carries him in his business. Brown came to the world of biking via his time hopping freight trains around the country when he was younger. After a while, he realized the train travel life was unsustainable for him.

“I quit doing the whole freight train thing because the lifestyle was sketchy and wasn’t what I wanted to be doing,” Brown told me. “But I didn’t want to quit traveling.”

To accommodate his yearning to travel, Brown took up bike touring. He found long bike tours provide the same sense of exhilaration he came to love while traveling on trains – just in a safer, slightly more buttoned-up way.

While on a bike tour down the Pacific Coast, Brown figured out a way to combine his passion for adventure cycling with his craft and livelihood of making leather wallets. He had materials sent to him at different stopping points along the way, and he’d craft up his merchandise and ship it out while on the trail. Along the way, he’d meet friends and potential customers.

Brown’s touring bike, complete with his company logo. (Photo: Joe Brown)

“People would always come up and talk to me at rest stops, and they wanted to know what I was just doing. I wasn’t trying to sell anything, but I always have wallets on me, and people would buy them,” Brown told me.

When he got back to Portland, he had made enough money while on the road to take his leather goods business full-time. Once he landed the Saturday Market spot, he sprang for a bike trailer from the Seattle-based company Cyclefab that doubles as a display table for his wares. Every Saturday morning, Brown bikes in from Raleigh Hills to pick up his trailer at a nearby storage unit and takes it all to the Saturday Market to set up (no unloading in the bike lane required!)

Within the next few years, Brown wants to take his bike to Argentina and then bike across Africa and Europe – a huge feat only possible because of the freedom of his business. He plans to have an inventory of goods here in Portland that can be shipped out while he’s across the world to help fund the trip.

Brown said he’s always been a vagabond who’s up for anything. He is open about struggling with addiction and homelessness when he was younger, and going all-in on biking was a huge impetus for him to change.

“When I started riding my bike, I started making a lot of other healthy choices. It’s just a lot of fun meeting other people in the cycling community because a lot of people that I meet out riding bikes are doing something positive,” Brown told me. “I love traveling and don’t think I’ll ever stop. But the previous way I traveled went hand in hand with my addiction. Traveling by bike isn’t something I could do while trying to feed addictions. Bike touring has led me to so many different healthy things in life and changed my perspective significantly.”

On weekends, expect cars in the Better Naito bikeway

For five days of the week, the recently installed protected bike lane on Naito Parkway serves as an efficient, safe route for people on bikes and scooters to travel downtown without having to navigate around cars. But every weekend, a section of the bikeway turns into a loading zone for Saturday Market vendors, and drivers take up valuable real estate inside the cozy confines of the otherwise carfree space.

When Better Naito launched this past spring, people immediately took to Twitter to voice concerns about this. The Portland Bureau of Transportation responded by pointing to an agreement that the City of Portland and the Saturday Market have had for years to allow vendors to use Naito as a loading and unloading zone during market hours. This agreement has been in place since long before the Better Naito bikeway was installed – PBOT Interim Director of Communications Hannah Schafer told BikePortland it was inked back in the 1970s, and was last re-upped in 2018.

Portland City Council ordinance passed February 28th, 2018.

It took years of hard work from advocates to make Better Naito a permanent part of Portland’s downtown landscape. The project started out as a seasonal, temporary pilot installation led by tactical urbanist group Better Block PDX. Once Portlanders experienced the bikeway’s benefits, they called on the city to keep it around all year.

As project leader Timur Ender wrote in a BikePortland comment when Better Naito officially launched this past May, the success of this project is a huge feat that speaks to the potential of collaboration between the City of Portland and its activists.

“Better Naito is a success story on a number of fronts: accessible government, tactical urbanism as a way of urban planning, partnerships, data, and imagination,” Ender wrote.

Interestingly, this project was able to get off the ground at the start because Better Naito were able to take advantage of a Rose Festival loading zone that closed off a portion of Naito Pkwy, “glorifying it into a premier walking and biking space.” People on bikes were okay temporarily sharing the space with cars because it was better than the alternative of having no protected bikeway at all.

“The fact that there were occasional trucks there didn’t bother us at first because the loading is what gave us the political cover to do this trial in the first place,” Ender wrote.

But now that the project is more than just a pop-up, the loading vehicles are less welcome. Cars parked in the bike lane cut the bikeway in half, making it hard for people to travel both north and southbound. While it may be technically possible to move around the vehicles, it’s unpleasant and hazardous. People open and shut their car doors and drive in and out of the bike lanes without much concern for the people biking on the path.

Vendors are allowed to park in the bike lane for 10 minutes maximum from 6-10:00 am and 5-7:00 pm Saturday, and from 6-10:00 am and 4:30-6:30 pm on Sunday. They also must display a permit in their windshield.

I went over to the market last week to check out the scene. I was there well after 10:00 am and saw many cars using the bike lanes. I spoke to a vendor who was in a hurry to get his car off Better Naito because he said the city is strict about enforcing the 10-minute limit.

Many of the cars parked in the bikeway didn’t appear to have required permits, and I saw several customers using it as a drop-off and pick-up site. When I asked a woman working in the Saturday Market help desk about this, she said there was nothing they could do about the unauthorized use.

The Saturday Market website encourages people to bike there, saying “Go Native! Bike Like a Local!” But this rings hollow when the bikeway adjacent to the market is filled with cars every Saturday.

In my opinion, this situation is a failure to use the imagination that created Better Naito in the first place. The Saturday Market is a beloved weekly institution precisely because it’s a space that prioritizes people before cars. It’s a place where people can roam through carfree plazas and browse through the fare of goods created by local craftspeople that exemplify this city’s DIY ethos and artistry. Organizers should be able to use this creative spirit to figure out how to keep its adjacent bikeway safe and clear. But until then, keep your head up and watch out for those drivers in the bike lane near the Burnside Bridge.

Update: According to Schafer, the agreement between the City of Portland and the Saturday Market has expired and they will likely be re-entering talks in the future, possibly changing the terms of the permit agreement. As of right now, that’s all the information PBOT can provide.

First Look: SW Broadway bike lanes finally complete protection puzzle

The new bike lane on SW Broadway. (Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

In April 2009, newly elected Mayor Sam Adams made a big announcement at conference held at Portland State University. He would oversee the installation of Portland’s first major “cycle-track” — what we now call protected bike lanes. Initially planned for the North Park Blocks, Adams switched the alignment to Southwest Broadway to avoid “intractable” pushback from the Portland Fire Bureau. The bike lane opened four months later and the rest was history.

Unfortunately, Adams only striped the most politically convenient segment; one that was entirely adjacent to the PSU campus and that had no driveways or busy cross-streets. The bike lane only lasted about 0.3 miles from SW Clay to Jackson (just before I-405, see map at right).

From the very start, the Portland Bureau of Transportation promised that this new protected cycling lane would extend all the way to the Broadway Bridge. But it would take 11 more years for the next segment to be installed. We got another 0.4 miles — from NW Hoyt/Broadway Bridge to Oak — in November 2020. As nice as that was, the most high-profile section of Broadway was still an embarrassing and stressful door-zone bike lane (see before photos below).

In 2016, a group of planners (one of them, Nick Falbo, who now works for PBOT) did a pop-up demonstration project called “Better Broadway” that shared a vision of what a protected bike lane could look like. We don’t have to imagine any longer!

Now, 13 years after the first segment was built, we’ve found our missing piece: There’s a continuous, (relatively) high-quality parking-protected bike lane for the entire 1.3 miles on Portland’s marquee downtown street! And PBOT saved the best for last!

I took a closer look at the project Monday afternoon and came away impressed and happy.

Look at all the space between the bike lane and the right-turn lane (van at far right) at SW Taylor.

By now we’ve seen this striping pattern all over the city. The new bike lane is curbside and drivers can park cars in a floating parking lane that’s in the street. Those parked cars, along with a buffer zone, create protection between bike riders and other traffic. Besides the opening of car doors, the other main hazard on Broadway before this bike lane went in was right-hooks. PBOT had installed green bike boxes at the most problematic corners (like SW Taylor and SW Washington), but the risks never went away.

Now there’s even more space between right-turning drivers and bike riders (see below). And it felt and looked much safer to me. At the intersection with SW Columbia, there’s the bike lane and a very wide buffer to the nearest other lane. At Taylor and Washington, PBOT has installed traffic-calming curbs in the corner in addition to space. It’s all in the name of safer right turns. As you can see in the photos, drivers now turn so far from bike riders, and at such a sharper angle, that they are almost staring directly at the bike lane by the time they cross it. This is excellent visibility and makes right-hooks much less likely. (PBOT has also added green coloring to the bike lane at crossings and other potential conflict zones.)

Look at all the space between bike riders and drivers at these heavy right-turn intersections.

The design does so much more than protect bike riders. Because moving car traffic is now about 20-feet from the curb, there’s a much quieter and calmer feeling on the sidewalk. This means hotel, shop, and restaurant customers — and everyone moving around outside of a car — have more space to spread out and cleaner air to breathe. I bet sidewalk cafe seating, like the espresso stand outside Nordstrom, will become much more popular. This protected bike lane also creates a protected sidewalk. And because there’s less driving space, the crossing distance is significantly shorter and safer.

And since we’re not at Amsterdam levels of bike traffic yet, the bike lane won’t be full all the time. I personally have zero issues with non-bike riders using the bike lane space when it’s safe and polite to do so. I think we should even be cool with courteous bike riders going the opposite way in the bike lane, instead of using the sidewalk, to reach their final destination.

But while PBOT has reduced the space for drivers, they still have plenty of room to operate. Despite how some haters try to spin this, look at the photo below and you’ll see a streetscape that remains largely dominated by cars:

The fact that this many cars can still fit on this marquee downtown street, despite it having a nice wide bike lane (it’s off to the left), shows you how car-oriented we still are.

Speaking of which, we need to talk about the two hotel zones. I think one reason this segment took so long to get done was because PBOT was afraid to deal with owners of The Heathman and The Benson hotels. From my observations this is still an issue to track. At The Heathman I saw several drivers park in the bike lane, despite very clear “Hotel Zone” markings on nearby sign poles and in the bike lane. Fortunately, instead of before when double-parked cars would require bike riders to swerve into active traffic lanes, it’s now possible to squeeze by two parked cars. While still annoying and risky, at least you aren’t likely to be hit by a moving car. And if hotel staff and PBOT parking enforcement continue to monitor this, it should be a non-issue as folks get accustomed to the new rules.

Have you ridden this yet? We’d love to know what you think. Especially folks who rode it a lot before the changes.

Check out the rest of our photos below:

PBOT also added another block of contraflow bike lane to connect to SW Harvey Milk and the northbound Broadway bike lane north of Burnside.

PBOT will break ground on East Burnside bus lane and new bike lane this week

View of East Burnside from the bridge toward Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

This week, the Portland Bureau of Transportation begin work on the East Burnside Rose Lane project. This project is part of PBOT’s Central City in Motion (CCIM) plan to speed up transit and improve infrastructure for people biking and walking.

A Rose Lane on east Burnside is being installed to improve transit times for TriMet bus lines 12, 19, and 20. Its construction will also bring some new bike infrastructure that PBOT hopes will make the entire corridor more appealing to new and existing riders.

New cross-section for Burnside between MLK and 12th.

Right now, there is a ‘bus only’ lane on the Burnside Bridge that ends at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. This project will extend that bus lane to NE 12th Ave. As with other bus lane locations, PBOT will consider this a “bus and turn” or BAT lane where drivers are permitted to enter only to make right turns. This stretch of Burnside currently has three general travel lanes (four just before 12th), a bike lane and parking lanes on both sides. PBOT will swap the southernmost general travel lane for the BAT lane.

Between MLK and Grand, PBOT will remove an existing curb extension and car parking spaces to make room for the BAT lane.

A signal upgrade at MLK and Burnside will create a separate phase for buses, bikes, and car drivers. This will give bike riders time to cross Burnside and connect to a new bike lane PBOT plans to build on the east side of MLK for one block. The new bike lane will take the place of car parking. It will be the recommended route for riders traveling eastbound from the Burnside Bridge who want to connect to the SE Ankeny neighborhood greenway (see plan drawings above). PBOT will add a median diverter to calm traffic and reduce driving volumes on Ankeny.

It will also be the first bike lane we’ve ever had on MLK, which is an ODOT-controlled state highway (99E)! (Right?)

This is one of several CCIM projects PBOT has been working on over the last few months. People biking in inner Portland may have noticed recent progress on the SW Broadway bike lane and the SW Alder Rose Lane. Across the river and parallel to Burnside there’s the NE Couch Rose Lane and bike lane extension that PBOT constructed in August right after the carfree Blumenauer Bridge opened to the public. There’s also the new bike lane on SW Main Street in between 3rd and 4th Avenues (the ‘Elk Lane’): a small bike connection that should give a boost to nearby CCIM projects by helping form connected central city bikeways.

PBOT says it will take about 12 months to complete this project. Keep your eyes peeled for lane closures and construction zones.

Another death on outer SE Stark, where a new traffic signal didn’t come soon enough

Another person is dead after using outer Southeast Stark Street. Portland Police say someone walking at SE 146th was hit and killed by a driver just before 7:00 am this morning.

This is a recurring nightmare on Portland’s deadliest stretch of road.

13 people have died while traveling on a less than two mile long section of SE Stark between 122nd and 160th since 2017. Eight of the victims were not inside cars. Just last month, 26-year-old Ashlee McGill was standing on the sidewalk waiting at a bus stop near SE 133rd when someone decided to race their car and they ran over and killed her.

This section of Stark is so dangerous that in 2018 the Portland City Council invoked an emergency rule to lower the speed limit. But it’s clear speed limit signs won’t stop the deaths.

What makes this morning’s tragedy sting even more is that the Portland Bureau of Transportation has a $20 million “Safer Outer Stark” project ready to go but it continues to be delayed. They started outreach and design of the project in 2019 and, as we reported back in September, PBOT says it won’t break ground until 2024. That’s a painful delay that means more people will die before any planned changes are made.

One of the key elements of that plan (which was completed in December 2020) is a new signal and safer crossing at 146th — the same intersection where the person was hit and killed this morning.

Safer Outer Stark plan (completed in December 2020) with references to SE 146th.

PBOT was also supposed to install a new automated enforcement camera just two blocks away at 148th last fall. As of August of this year, the official PBOT Fixed Speed Safety Camera website said the camera would be installed in “early 2022.” Unfortunately that location has recently been scrubbed from the website and it appears PBOT is still grappling with delays that have plagued this program for years. Reached today for an update on that camera, a PBOT spokesperson said it has been installed by hasn’t been activated yet. There remains no date for when it will start issuing citations.

PBOT successfully passed a bill in the 2022 Oregon legislative session that will allow non-police staff to process camera citations. That law goes into effect January 1, 2023 and is expected to help speed up camera implementation. Will it help? That remains to be seen. We’ve uncovered some squabbling between PBOT staff and the camera equipment vendor that might be adding to the delays (we’re working on that story).

Regardless of the causes, the slow pace of change to address traffic violence on our deadly streets is maddening.

No one else should die on outer Stark (or anywhere!). What else we can do to keep people safe? Why doesn’t PBOT install concrete barricades to narrow the driving space and improve behaviors? Don’t these deaths warrant more substantial emergency measures? Will anyone in City Hall stand up and demand action?

UPDATE, 10/18: The victim who died was Asher Drain, a 21-year-old Portland resident. His family says he was on his way to work when he was hit.

Comment of the Week: An unheeded warning on SE 26th

Welcome to the Comment of the Week, where we highlight good comments in order to inspire more of them. You can help us choose our next one by replying with “comment of the week” to any comment you think deserves recognition. Please note: These selections are not endorsements.

Today’s Comment of the Week is in response to one of our articles on the fatality at SE Powell and 26th. The comment came in over the weekend.

What caught my eye was that, within the comment, reader “Rachel b” quotes from a comment she wrote about Powell and 26th six years ago, back in 2016. This sent me on a journey through all the previous BikePortland articles about this intersection, and also many of the comments.

It is sobering and frustrating how many times Rachel b warned about the street she lived on.

Phillip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post, said, “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” I already knew BikePortland was a “first rough draft” for the story of transportation in Portland. What Rachel b made me think about is that, along with that draft, comes a time capsule of comments that give the reader a pretty good idea of how people were reacting to the news.

Here is what Rachel b wrote (I couldn’t find the exact comment Rachel quoted from, so I’ve substituted part of another one, also from 2016, with a link):

My deepest condolences to the family & friends of Sarah Pliner. What a sad loss.
Chris I is right, as I seem to recall he is about many issues. Everything became about the movement of freight once the City gave UPRR carte blanche–no neighborhood input–to move their main operations from Albina Yard (right next to freeway access but developable) to Brooklyn Yard (in the middle of several neighborhoods & nowhere near freeway access).
I lived on SE Tibbetts off 26th & then on 26th itself during that sneaky transition & lived to see SE Powell become a nightmare & SE 26th also become a thruway for bumper-to-bumper semis that didn’t even fit on the road.
But hey–ODOT finally got their extra inches, eh? By having the gall to call the road they colluded to make dangerous ‘not safe enough for cyclists’ & ripping out a bike lane.
I wrote this (below in quotes) about the deadly morphing of SE 26th in BikePortland comments back in 2016 & I hate how evergreen the discussion is. Did you remember SE 26th went through a significant City-led years-long process to become a designated green street complete w/ traffic-calming & bike/ped-friendly features? Hahaha. Joke was on us once UPRR got the green light. That changed everything. But UPRR now makes more than Google so we can all take comfort in our neighborhoods being sold for that.
[from 2016] “I remember reading Union Pacific nearly doubled their freight/rail traffic from Portland to Chicago in the past year. Doubled! I wonder if Portland benefits significantly from this? We seem to be a throughway for UP–someplace to drag stuff through–increasingly, coal and oil. We are reaping the health fallout, though … [read more from 2016]”

Rachel b’s comment can be found under the original post. Thank you Rachel b and everyone else for your recent comments!

The Monday Roundup: Slimy deal, right turn bans, Apple e-bike, and more

Welcome to the week.

Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers came across in the past seven days…

Equity and vision zero: An opinion formed by the tragedy of a 13-year-old who was killed by a driver while riding in Tacoma, Washington is a helpful reflection on the dangers of bad road design and why “equity” is an important organizing principle. (Strong Towns)

Sleeping with the enemy: British Cycling is facing backlash after inking a major sponsorship deal with Shell. (Reminds me of when People for Bikes was sponsored by Volkswagen.) Slimy! (The Guardian)

Rad under fire again: A new lawsuit from State Farm Insurance alleges that a Rad Power e-bike started a fire. The company denies the claim. (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News)

Ode to cycling: An NPR reporter shared this wonderful tribute to cycling and what being able to pedal has meant to his life. (NPR)

Globes are out: Specialized has finally released the first model in its much-anticipated new Globe line of e-bikes — and it looks a lot like a Tern! (Electrek)

Wrong right turns: There’s really no good argument for keeping right-turns-on-red so why don’t we start banning them systemwide? (Mother Jones)

Tesla killer: The father of “micromobility,” Horace Dediu, makes a very strong case that Apple should make an e-bike and he’s not wrong. (Bloomberg)

Bike lane business: Despite business owners initially fighting against it, a bike lane on a busy commercial street in New York City has actually led to more customers. (Streetsblog NYC)

Video of the Week: Amit Zinman is back with Part 2 of his detailed look at the I-205 path:

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week!

PBOT begins construction next week on East Burnside Rose Lane

From Portland Bureau of Transportation:

The Central City in Motion project will improve speed and reliability for bus riders on East Burnside on TriMet bus lines 12, 19, and 20.

A rending of E Burnside from MLK, it shows a red travel lane for buses.

A rendering of E Burnside Street at MLK Blvd. PBOT will install a red bus-and-turn (BAT) lane on E Burnside between MLK Blvd and 12th Avenue.

(Oct 14, 2022) The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) begins construction next week on East Burnside Rose Lane Project. This project will speed up transit, while improving safety for people biking, walking, or rolling through the intersection. Construction will last approximately 12 months and include intermittent lane closures, parking restrictions, and travel delays.

PBOT will extend the existing bus lane over the Burnside Bridge by adding a bus-and-turn (BAT) lane on East Burnside from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 12th Avenue. As part of the project, PBOT will install a new traffic signal at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which will provide separate signal phases for buses, people biking, and car traffic traveling east on Burnside or turning right onto Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

PBOT is also adding a one-block bike lane extension on the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as part of the project. This will allow eastbound bike traffic from the Burnside Bridge to better connect with the SE Ankeny Street Neighborhood Greenway.

East Burnside Rose Lane Project

This Rose Lane Project will improve speed and reliability for bus riders on East Burnside on TriMet bus lines 12, 19, and 20.

Between Grand Avenue and 12th Avenue, the new BAT lane will replace the southernmost motor vehicle travel lane. On the block between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue, curb extensions and car parking will be removed along the south side of East Burnside to create an additional travel lane for the bus.

This project is part of Central City in Motion plan adopted by City Council in 2018. These projects are key to Portland’s future, allowing PBOT to move more people through the Central City by prioritizing transit and making it safer for people to walk, bike, and roll. Portland is a growing city and by building complete streets that allow reliable movement for all road users our streets are made safer.

An image of the lane configuration for the E Burnside Rose Lane Project

The new lane configuration on E Burnside includes a bus and turn lane, a bicycle lane, two travel lanes for cars, and parking on each side of the street.

Construction Impacts

The traveling public is advised to expect delays while repairs are being made. We ask the public to travel slowly and cautiously in work zones, observe all detours and directions by reader boards and flaggers, and use alternate routes if possible.

Expect dust, noise, vibrations, and heavy equipment near work zones.  As always, please keep crews safe by following all traffic control signs and flaggers while travelling through or near work zones. 

Parking will be restricted 1 to 2 days before crews begin construction.

At least one lane of vehicle traffic will be maintained during construction. Pedestrian and bicycle access will be maintained.

People riding transit should visit trimet.org/#alerts/ for the latest service impacts.

This work is weather-dependent, and the schedule may change.

PBOT will provide periodic updates throughout construction. To sign up for construction updates, visit portland.gov/transportation/ccim/e-burnside.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience while we complete this work.   

Transportation Time Machine: TriMet bike permits

1998 TriMet bike permit. (Photo: Shonn Preston)

Everyone who takes long multimodal trips knows the routine: before leaving the house, double-check to make sure you have your keys, wallet, and TriMet bike permit. Right?

Well, that last one isn’t necessary anymore. But some commenters on our recent throwback article about what bike advocacy looked like at the beginning of the millennium reminded us that it used to be a crucial part of your cycling kit.

Here’s the story: when TriMet first took off in the Portland area, they didn’t allow bikes on the bus or MAX at all. It took a lot of advocacy to convince TriMet to give bikes a lift – in fact, this was one of the primary issues for the burgeoning Bike Transportation Alliance (now known as The Street Trust) – and from the looks of old Oregonian articles about the situation, it’s clear there were heated emotions on all sides.

Here’s what I found out…

Disability advocates understandably didn’t want people with bikes to limit mobility for people in wheelchairs, and others were concerned about bicycles making the bus riding experience miserable. Here’s a snip from former The Oregonian Associate Editor Larry Hilderbrand’s 1991 editorial titled, “Tri-Met: People Inside, Bikes Outside“:

“No bus rider wants a pedal in the shin, a handlebar in the shoulder or a grease spot on a shoe. In rainy weather, rubbing shoulders with a dripping fellow traveler may be accepted, but rubbing up against a wet bicycle? That’s no way to run a bus system.”

Despite views like this, in 1992 TriMet conceded to the advocates. At first they agreed to a bike pilot program that was later made permanent. This was much to the delight of area bike riders. It’s interesting to see how people discussed this at the time – one article from The Oregonian archives points out how the bike racks changed the game for people who wanted to go out to rural recreational bike paths.

But it did come at a cost – $5 to be exact. TriMet listed how and where you could buy them on their website. They’re sure to mention that “TriMet supervisors, fare inspectors and police officers may inspect bike permits at any time,” so you had better watch out. (And remember, you couldn’t just take a picture of it and keep it on your phone!)

BikePortland commenters recounting the old days mentioned that when you picked up your permit you were required to take a short class to learn how to put your bike on the bus because the old Yakima front racks were so difficult for people to figure out.

TriMet dropped the permit requirement in 2002, allowing people to put their bikes on the bus racks and take them into the MAX trains for free. It’s good they ended this program, but I wouldn’t mind taking a tutorial class for using front-of-bus bike racks myself. Luckily, The Street Trust sometimes offers these classes (in fact, there’s one tomorrow morning!) TriMet and the Portland Bureau of Transportation also have tutorials you can check out – the internet has made things a lot easier.

Commenter Shonn Preston shared a photo of their old permit, and they do have an endearing quality – particularly because of the cheeky list of “Reasons to Bring a Bike on Tri-Met”:

Two flats and one spare.
Hail hurts
It’s a long way to Estacada.
Take a list over the west hills.
You prefer your bike at lunch
TOO MANY CARS!
Your headlights out — you are now invisible.
A patch of pavement reached out and bit you.
It’s time for bike repairs.
Take a one-way trip out the Springwater.
Expand your cycling horizons.

So next time you struggle to secure your bike on the front of a TriMet bus – if you’re lucky enough to be riding the new Division FX line, happily roll it right on – think on the bright side. At least you don’t have to worry about showing your permit to the fare inspector.

Student remains hospitalized after collision near Jefferson High School

The family of a Portland high school student says their daughter was severely injured by a driver while walking in the Piedmont neighborhood.

It happened Tuesday night October 11th around 6:30 pm near the intersection of North Commercial and Killingsworth. This location is on the same block as Jefferson High School and a Multnomah County Library branch. It’s a busy intersection with a transit stop and bulbed-out curb on one corner.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by a friend of the family, the victim (named Trina), was walking near the intersection when a driver allegedly hit her with their car and then fled the scene. Trina is still in the hospital with major injuries, including head trauma that has made it hard for her to speak.

A story from KPTV says the alleged driver has been found and arrested by the PPB and now faces multiple charges.

N Killingsworth and Commercial looking east.

“This incident has not only caused our family psychological stress,” the family wrote on GoFundMe, “but has also brought on a financial burden.” They are hoping to raise at least $10,000 to offset medical expenses.

“I’m so upset that something like this happened in a school zone,” shared Celia Orduna, Trina’s mom. “What truly scares me is that school events happen so late in the evening I wish they had some kind of of street supports in those areas on nights like this when there are students coming and going in the street. It’s scary!”

Orduna says Trina is doing well and is expected to recover.

This is a tragedy and we are sad and frustrated that our neighborhoods continue to be regularly impacted by reckless drivers.

If you are able, please consider supporting this family. Find out more at the GoFundMe page.

Weekend Event Guide: Pumpkin ride, Chris King Open House, and more

Who’s ready for the weekend? We hope you find cool stuff on your adventures, like this amazing sunset on the Oregon Coast from a few years back.

Here’s our hand-picked selection of the best rides and events coming your way. For more suggestions, see the BikePortland Calendar.

Saturday, October 15th

Sauvie Island Corn Maze and Pumpkin Pick Ride – 8:30 am at Arbor Lodge Coffee (N)
Join Lily Karabaic and friends for a jaunt to beautiful Sauvie Island for some ol’ fashioned fall fun. This is a great opportunity to explore this quintessential Portland route with a group so it doesn’t feel as daunting. More info here.

PSU Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am (various locations in SE)
This has become a classical local weekly ride. You’ll find friendly faces and a relaxed, social pace — and get some shopping done! More info here.

Chris King Open House – 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at Chris King HQ (NW Industrial Area)
It’s the perfect time of year to dream of your dream bike and there’s no better place to do it than this custom builder show. You’ll see the best in the business and get to ask questions about their latest innovations and creations. More info here.

Sunday, October 16th

Cyclocross Crusade Race #2 – All day at Portland International Raceway (N)
The Cyclocross Crusade returns to Portland for stop #2 and it happens at the iconic Heron Lakes course. Get ready for the epic run-ups and a hometown vibe that makes this venue a favorite of many. More info here.

Explore the 20s Greenway with JennaBikes – 11:00 am at Guilder (NE)
Bicycling evangelist and social media star Jenna Phillips (@JennaBikes on TikTok) wants to help you navigate the 20s neighborhood greenway like a pro. Join her and find out that, yes, she actually is that nice and fun IRL. More info here.

Bike Theft Recovery Workshop – 4:00 pm at Ladd Circle (SE)
There’s a strong community of bike theft recovery activists who share skills and resources to track down stolen rigs. Come out and learn how they do it and how you can help out. More info here.

See all upcoming events here. Promoting an event? Know about something we should boost? Please let us know and we’ll get it on the calendar.

Commissioner Hardesty asks ODOT to create ‘school speed zone’ outside Cleveland High (UPDATED)

Meet Joe Brown, the biking leather goods salesman with an adventure streak

On weekends, expect cars in the Better Naito bikeway

First Look: SW Broadway bike lanes finally complete protection puzzle

PBOT will break ground on East Burnside bus lane and new bike lane this week

Another death on outer SE Stark, where a new traffic signal didn’t come soon enough

Comment of the Week: An unheeded warning on SE 26th

The Monday Roundup: Slimy deal, right turn bans, Apple e-bike, and more

PBOT begins construction next week on East Burnside Rose Lane

East Burnside Rose Lane Project

Construction Impacts

Transportation Time Machine: TriMet bike permits

Student remains hospitalized after collision near Jefferson High School

Weekend Event Guide: Pumpkin ride, Chris King Open House, and more

Saturday, October 15th

Sunday, October 16th

Latest Headlines

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In blow to carfree plaza progress, PBOT pulls plug on NW 13th Ave

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From the Archives

The good, the bad, and the ugly on the Oregon Coast Bike Route