Keeping bike lanes clean is a problem that the City of Portland is yet to solve. And as budget problems worsen at the transportation bureau, a significant improvement to this perennial problem looks further away than ever.
But don’t despair, there’s a DIY solution!
Do you recall back in January 2022 we profiled a California-based inventor who was working on a bike lane sweeper trailer? His name is Pierre Lermant and he’s coming to Portland this week to show off his latest prototype. You can meet Pierre and see his creation outside the MADE Bike Show in South Waterfront this Friday through Sunday.
According to Pierre, his sweeper has gone through major improvements since last year. He’s most proud of his new electric hub motor encased in the brush core. “This allows for a streamlined design, very quiet operations and no chain/belt maintenance,” he shared in an email to BikePortland last week.
Below is more from Pierre, and a video that shows the sweeper in action:
“The sweeper operator can now rotate the hopper around the wheels’ axle, so its content can be dumped directly to the ground by tilting it with a handle attached to it. This provides an alternative way of using a bag inside the hopper to collect the debris.
Finally, I made the brush height adjustment to the ground more convenient with a turnbuckle.”
Pierre has also teamed up with local nonprofit BikeLoud PDX. He plans to leave the prototype with them for an extended testing period. BikeLoud PDX says they’ll loan the trailer out to anyone interested. Pierre says he’ll incorporate testing from Portland users into the design of what he hopes will be the final blueprint before the trailer can become a full-fledged consumer product in 2024.
Look for BikeLoud to begin loans of the sweeper this fall — just as all the leaves return to our bike lanes.
Don’t forget to swing by the MADE Bike Show to meet Pierre. He and his sweeper will be outside the main entrance from Friday August 25th to Sunday, August 27th. Learn more at BikeLaneSweeper.com.