By the end of 2025 Portland could have a protected bikeway couplet through the heart of downtown. At a meeting of the Downtown Neighborhood Association this morning, a Portland Bureau of Transportation staffer presented an update on the Southwest Broadway and SW 4th Avenue projects and shared the latest on when we can expect to see major changes in these key north-south streets.
PBOT Capital Project Manager Gabe Graff started his presentation by getting DNA members up to speed on SW Broadway (it was the first time he was in front of the group since the Broadway bike lane scandal happened back in September). I noticed how he carefully described what the kerfluffle was about. “We installed a parking-protected bike lane… And our data shows that that’s working pretty well,” Graff said. “But we have had we have heard some concerns from some specific stakeholders — and particularly our director and Commissioner were concerned that the design that was was not working very well.”
Graff then said PBOT plans to break ground on three new valet loading platforms on Broadway in January. As BikePortland reported in September, the new platforms will be located in front of the Vance, Heathman, and Benson hotels. He also said PBOT wants to get rid of the existing, white plastic flexi-posts that define the cycling space today and replace them with concrete medians, curbs, and planters. The idea would be make the corridor safer for walkers (who could wait on concrete medians to cross), and more “aesthetically pleasing” while upgrading the existing temporary materials to something more permanent.
The new platforms will likely be installed by spring 2024. These additional upgrades to SW Broadway are being scoped but Graff didn’t offer a timeline for when we can expect to see them on the ground.
It’s great to hear PBOT wants to make Broadway better for bicycling, because it needs to catch up to its much larger sister project three blocks over on SW 4th.
PBOT will spend nearly $17 million* on a reconstruction of a 1.25-mile section of SW 4th Ave between SW Caruthers (just south of I-405) and W Burnside. The project is the northbound couplet to SW Broadway and was identified as a top priority in the Central City in Motion plan adopted by City Council in 2018. (*Funding comes from a mix of sources including the Fixing Our Streets program, PBOT maintenance funds, transportation system development charges, and contributions from Prosper Portland and TriMet).
For some reason, I haven’t covered the project since 2020. That might be because it has been delayed several times. Last time I checked, it was supposed to break ground in December 2021 and be done by 2022. The pandemic and higher-than-expected contractor bids due to inflation pushed the timeline back. Now PBOT says they hope to start construction spring of next year (2024) and finish in mid-2025.
The project itself is really exciting. Since this is a major capital project and not a quick-and-cheap project like SW Broadway, we’ll see quality, concrete separation instead of “paint and posts.” Since PBOT plans a full rebuild, we’ll see what they choose to do with a clean slate. The design is complete and we got a taste of what it’ll likely in a video PBOT shared in 2021.
As you can see in that video, this will be a dramatic change to SW 4th. Below are more slides from this morning’s presentation followed by the main project elements (via PBOT):
- Repave SW Fourth Avenue from Lincoln to W Burnside streets
- Safer crosswalks and curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) from Lincoln to W Burnside streets
- A protected bike lane along the westside of SW Fourth Avenue from Caruthers to W Burnside streets.
- A business access and transit (BAT) lane between Sheridan and Mill streets. BAT lanes give priority to buses and people turning into driveways or cross streets.
- A bus stop platform at SW Fourth Avenue and Hall Street
- A new traffic signal at SW Fourth Avenue and College Street
- Updated streetlights between Sheridan and W Burnside streets
- Improve existing traffic signals at the intersections of SW Hall, Taylor, Sheridan, Caruthers, Lincoln, Montgomery, Market, Clay, Jefferson, and W Burnside streets
- If budget allows, improve additional existing traffic signals at the intersections of SW Alder, Harvey Milk, and Pine streets
Graff said because the contractor bid came in higher than expected, they’re still currently negotiating the scope and how best to “value engineer” the project. The result of that process will likely be a decision to put off some planned signal upgrades at SW Harvey Milk, Oak, and Pine (none of which should impact bicycling safety or flow).
Stay tuned for updates as this project gets off the ground!