BikeLoud PDX won’t protest bike lane removal this time around. Here’s why

As news broke this week that the Portland Bureau of Transportation would remove the new bike lanes on Northeast 33rd Avenue, many of the responses I heard online were, “When is the protest?!”

While PBOT’s first attempt to erase the bike lanes was meant with aggressive tactics, this time around the same person who stood in front of a striping truck and stared down its driver, is calling for calm. “I do not support blocking next week’s striping removal, and anyone doing so are not acting in the best interest of promoting biking for all communities,” wrote BikeLoud PDX Vice Chair Kiel Johnson in a letter to members sent out today.

Johnson said Portland bike advocates are justifiably angry, but that — unlike the initial protest when no one knew what was going on — “we need to acknowledge the multitude of truths; we need to recognize the truths of others in order to navigate and be inclusive of a city full of people with many different lived experiences.”

Here’s how Johnson framed the situation on 33rd and its “multitude of truths”:

“At BikeLoud we believe a city where everyone feels safe riding a bike is a more equitable city. The people in it are healthier and more connected to each other, the streets are safer and quieter, and the air is cleaner. Currently, too many of our streets remain dangerous places to walk, roll, ride a bike, and simply exist. Portland is also a city where people of color have been and are currently excluded from wealth and power  – and that must change. All of those things are true and sometimes they come into conflict. This time, that conflict happened on NE 33rd, but it is not an isolated instance, and is in fact an ongoing experience for our neighbors of color, particularly Black people. Being able to acknowledge all of these truths does not make us weaker, as a community, it makes us stronger.” 

Johnson is worth listening to because he’s been an independent, dedicated, and honest leader of bike advocacy in Portland for nearly 15 years. Put another way, Johnson has a lot of skin in this game and this is not his first rodeo.

After PBOT proposed major changes to the street in front of his home on NE 7th Avenue in 2018 that would have made it one of the most bike-friendly streets in America, Johnson and other residents swung into action to make sure the city knew the project had enthusiastic support. Then when PBOT heard opposition to the idea from some Black residents, they dropped the proposal and switched the entire bike route two blocks over. Johnson was disappointed, but he didn’t regret meeting neighbors, listening to Black residents who disagreed with him, and learning important lessons about what it means to build a community.

On 33rd Avenue, Johnson blames “PBOT’s failure” to do proper notification before installing the bike lane and he still feels residents will suffer because of the faster driving that returns when the bike lane is gone.

But instead of protesting its removal, he’s organizing an event this Saturday where volunteers will clean the street. “We invite you to come give the 33rd Ave bike lane one last ride and help us make it look its best before it is gone,” Johnson wrote.