24 hours ago I was on my bike, racing over to Northeast 33rd after seeing a video online of a PBOT contractor in a truck removing the bike lane. What ensued was an unprecedented direct action that saved the bike lane and stories and social media videos that have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people around the country (thanks TikTok algorithm!).
Unlike the Southwest Broadway scandal, PBOT’s decision to remove a new bike lane due to what they say was a bungled public outreach process, has led to widespread media attention. To many in the local media, Broadway seemed like a “bike community” thing and the story barely transcended BikePortland. Now PBOT’s bad decisions are (unfortunately) a trend. And in the news business, trends get attention.
Three local TV stations had relatively good coverage of yesterday’s protest. All three sides — protestors, residents, and PBOT — were given airtime. Voices of protestors, especially Cully neighborhood resident and veteran bike advocate Kiel Johnson, dominated the stories.
KOIN (CBS affiliate) said PBOT’s rationale for the removal of the bike lane was an “internal error.” To me, one of the interesting takeaways from KOIN’s coverage (and other stations) was that it mentioned Broadway and its possible connection to the 33rd removal plans.
Here was KOIN’s (CBS affiliate) lead-in: “… This also is the second bike lane that the city’s transportation bureau is planning to take out… PBOT says those two bike lane removals are unrelated, but cyclists tell me they don’t believe that.”
KGW (NBC affiliate) story was short. They said the bike lane was “mistakenly installed without public outreach,” and shared an interview with Johnson.
KPTV (Fox affiliate) did a particularly solid job on the story. They framed opposition to the bike lane in terms of how it impacted parking in front of homes (this jibes with what I’ve learned from various sources in the past day, that the genesis of PBOT’s decision is from complaints about parking loss).
“People living on a four block stretch of Northeast 33rd Avenue are dealing with parking problems after they say changes were made without their input,” the KPTV reporter said. Then continued: “Neighbors say there’s already a greenway route two blocks over from Northeast 33rd Avenue and the bike lanes are not necessary in front of their homes.”
The reporter then interviewed a Black woman who has lived on NE 33rd for 30 years.
“We were surprised to say the least,” the woman said. “These bold, vibrant, thick white lines glaring at us Sunday morning… This had no respect. It was a slap in the face… To me it’s the height of privilege, because when you disregard people’s livelihoods and their feelings.”
So here we are.
Given what PBOT told other news outlets yesterdays, it’s clear that the removal is paused for now. From here, I’d expect some sort of communication from PBOT to the neighbors about a meeting where the bike lane plans will be vetted out a bit more. It’s hard to say what might come of that, or what might come of anything at this point.
After what happened yesterday, and what happened on Broadway, we are in uncharted territory with current PBOT leadership. Stay tuned.