2023 Archives

Transportation bureau recommends slate of north Portland projects

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has released their recommendations for which neighborhood greenways and bike infrastructure improvements should be prioritized in north Portland. The recommendations were released Friday afternoon and are the culmination of two years of planning and public outreach for the North Portland in Motion plan. We first covered this plan in April 2021 and since then, PBOT project staff have led bike tours of the area, identified a number of projects, collected feedback, convened an advisory group, and more.

Now we’ve got seven solid new neighborhood greenway projects, 10 “corridor improvement” projects, and six public space projects to rally around and push toward completion. Like all of their “In Motion” plans (of which they’ve already completed in the central city, as well as east, southwest, and northwest Portland) there is not funding attached from the outset. The value of these plans is that they give PBOT and publicly vetted, “shovel-ready” list of projects that have a much better chance of actually being built when/if funding becomes available. They also give advocates clear organizing goals and leverage to create awareness and support for specific projects.

Here are the seven Tier 1 neighborhood greenway projects PBOT recommends (click project name for PBOT doc with more info):

NG.1 – N Willamette Blvd Neighborhood Greenway: New neighborhood greenway on N Willamette Blvd and N Reno Ave provides a connection to Cathedral Park and Sitton Elementary.

NG.2 – Upper St Johns Neighborhood Greenway: A bundle of new Neighborhood Greenways in the northern section of St Johns intended to fill major gaps in the network, including investments on N Charleston Ave. Provides a direct connection to George Middle School, James John School, St Johns Library, St Johns Farmers Market, and Downtown St Johns.

NG.3 – N Burr Ave / N Buchanan Ave Neighborhood Greenway: A new neighborhood greenway providing a north/south walking and biking connection between N Willamette Blvd and N Columbia Blvd. This route connects a number of important neighborhood destinations including George Middle School, George Park, Roosevelt High School, and businesses on N Lombard St and N Willamette Blvd.

NG.4 – Portsmouth & University Park Neighborhood Greenway Loop: A collection of new and upgraded Neighborhood Greenways building out a complete and comprehensive network in the Portsmouth and University Park neighborhoods. This collection of projects improves access to schools (Astor Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary) and parks (Columbia Park, Portsmouth Park, McKenna Park). It also provide access to New Columbia, the largest affordable housing development in the State of Oregon.

NG.5 – Kenton Neighborhood Greenway Network Expansion: A bundle of new Neighborhood Greenways on N Delaware Ave, N Halleck St, and N Kilpatrick St intended to expand and improve the network in the Kenton Neighborhood.

NG.6 – N Delaware Ave Neighborhood Greenway: A new neighborhood greenway on N Delaware Ave providing a calm and comfortable route for people walking and biking between Kenton and Overlook neighborhoods. This neighborhood greenway provides a direct connection to Chief Joseph Elementary and Arbor Lodge Park and fills a major north-south gap in bike network.

NG. 7 – N Ainsworth St Neighborhood Greenway: A new neighborhood greenway on Ainsworth St connecting the greenway and bike lanes on Willamette Blvd with Interstate Avenue. This project would fill a key gap in the biking network between N Rosa Parks Way and Willamette Blvd, and provide direct access to Ockley Green Middle School.

These greenways would double the density of the bike-friendly street network in the northern peninsula of our city and provide key links to important destinations like parks, schools and commercial areas.

Along busier streets, PBOT categorizes the projects as “corridor improvements” where they plan to do things like speed limit reductions, lane reconfigurations, transit access improvements, and so on. Here are the 10 Tier 1 corridor improvement projects they recommend:

CI.1 – N Smith St: This project would improve and enhance existing pedestrian crossings at new Neighborhood Greenways, update existing all-way stops and median island crossings with improved crosswalks, and make minor changes to improve the existing buffered bike lanes. This project recommends continued investment in traffic calming to reduce speeds, monitoring, and evaluation.

CI.2 – Cathedral Park Access Improvements: This collection of projects would invest in basic safety investments to improve access for people walking and biking between the waterfront area of Cathedral Park and Downtown St Johns.

CI.3 – N Willamette Blvd: This project would implement lower-cost elements of the federally funded Willamette Blvd Active Transportation Corridor scheduled for construction in 2025-2026. These near-term improvements would include new marked crosswalks, improved bus stops, and new buffered bike lanes from N Alma Ave to N Richmond Ave.

CI.4 – N Macrum Ave (St Johns): This project would add on-street parking, street trees, and high-quality buffered bike lanes connecting to bike routes on N Fessenden St and N Columbia Way. Additionally, this project would add a new crossings at N Columbia Way and N Fessenden St and include safety improvements at the existing signalized intersection of N Columbia Blvd.

CI.5 – N Fessenden St: This project would add additional crossings, make safety improvements to the wide intersection at N Wall Ave, and reconfigure the roadway to provide a protected bike lane connecting St Johns and Portsmouth.

CI.6 – N Portsmouth Ave: This project would add traffic calming and speed reader boards to reduce speeds on the corridor. It would also improve existing crossings and add new median island pedestrian crossings to help people get across the street, and upgrade the existing narrow striped bike lane to a buffered and/or protected bike lane.

CI.7 – N Willis Blvd: This project would fill in the remaining sidewalks gaps, improve ADA access, improve existing crossings, add new speed bumps, and add additional safe pedestrian crossings. This corridor serves both TriMet Line 4 and Line 35 buses and PBOT will work with TriMet on bus stop improvements at higher ridership locations.

CI.8 – N Woolsey Ave: This project would add traffic calming and new crossings to improve safety for people walking and biking and encourage slow, safe vehicles speeds. Though not intended to meet neighborhood greenway standards, these improvements would improve safety and comfort of people biking on this street.

CI.9 – N Interstate Ave: This project would leverage an upcoming paving project to improve and extend the bike lane to reduce or close a major gap in the bikeway network. In collaboration with our partners at TriMet and ODOT, this project would also explore ways to improve the safety of people crossing at major intersections, many of which have high volumes of pedestrian activity for people accessing businesses and the MAX stations.

CI.10 – N Alberta St: This project redesigns the layout of N Alberta St to provide a separated, comfortable bike lane connection between N Interstate Ave and the N Michigan Ave Neighborhood Greenway. Furthermore, this project would add bike boxes and no-turn-on-red at the signalized intersection at N Interstate Ave to reduce conflicts and improve pedestrian and bike safety.

There is so much to be excited about with many of these projects! Some of them (Ainsworth greenway! N Interstate!) are a long time coming and it’s great to see recognition from PBOT that they need help. In addition to the projects above, PBOT has recommended public space/public plaza projects at the St. Johns Plaza in downtown St. Johns, a mural on N Charleston Ave (in partnership with James Johns Elementary), a mural in Kenton, a plaza in Arbor Lodge Park and a mobility hub at University of Portland.

From here, the official recommendations will be shared in an online open house, then there will be a final public comment period this summer along with some community walks and rides to finalize the list. Then I assume there will be a date for official adoption at Portland City Council this fall.

Thanks to all the advocates and city staff who worked on getting things to this point. Can’t wait to report on many of these coming to fruition in the months and years to come. Let’s go north Portland!

Learn more about all the projects here.

PBOT scales back Skidmore bike lane plans

Initial design on the left shows a continuous bike lane along the park. Updated design is on the right.

This past Friday afternoon, while many of you had already started your weekend, the Portland Bureau of Transportation released details on significant changes to their Northeast Skidmore Street Corridor Safety Project.

Instead of a protected bike lane from NE 33rd to 37th on Skidmore adjacent to the north side of Wilshire Park, the revised design will have a protected bike lane for just one and will have sharrows (shared-lane markings) the rest of the way. Here’s what happened…

There are neighborhood greenways on 32nd and 37th avenues; but there was a seven block, east-west gap between the two of them. In July of last year we shared how PBOT wanted to connect these greenways and create a safer bike crossing of the off-set intersection at 33rd (a major neighborhood collector). That project on 33rd led to discussions with people who live in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood about how best to create safe conditions on Skidmore between the new bike lanes on 33rd and the existing neighborhood greenways on 32nd and 37th.

In January we shared PBOT’s initial design concept for Skidmore. It included a two-way, 12-foot wide space for a bike lane between 33rd and 37th. It would be protected with plastic wands and would run curbside right next to Wilshire Park. People would still be able to park on both sides of the street and the existing driving space would be narrowed from 40 to 28-feet to slow people down. PBOT also planned to remove a handful of parking spaces to improve visibility at the intersections.

PBOT knew creating a dedicated bike lane next to a park and making this dramatic of a change to a neighborhood street would require some deft communications. So, in mid-February, they mailed postcards out to 1,000 residents and held a meeting with the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association. At that meeting, some folks gave PBOT an earful. “So this is supposed to be a neighborhood park yet you’re talking about reducing parking spaces? That doesn’t sound very neighborhood friendly,” one of them said. Others were worried about parking their cars away from the curb. “You open a door one way and you might hit a car, then open the door the other way, you might hit a bicycle.” (And if you read BikePortland comments, you’ll note that it was more than just neighborhood residents who had quibbles with the design.)

But the PBOT project manager handled the pushback with aplomb and it appeared the project would go on as planned. I hadn’t heard anything about it until Friday afternoon and assumed the design was finalized. I was wrong.

The new design will create a bike lane on Skidmore for just half a block, and there will no longer be a floating parking lane. The driving space on that one block between 33rd and 34th will remain the narrower 28-feet, but will expand to 40 feet east of 34th. PBOT will add a speed bump at 34th “to slow vehicles speeds before the transition from a shared street to the bike lanes.”

PBOT’s rationale for the change was that the shorter bike lane will allow their maintenance crews to get the striping done at the same time they do the repaving work on 33rd, thus ensuring the main thrust of the project — making it safer for bike riders to connect to the new crossing on 33rd — happens sooner rather than later. But PBOT also acknowledged that the pushback played a role (“community members had mixed reactions to the initial design”) and that doing less for a bikeway now could leave open the possibility for more later (“the updated design allows future projects to consider a range of options, including a shared street neighborhood greenway with full traffic calming improvements or a multi-use path along the park. Multiple options remain available for a future capital project”).

Interestingly, several of the “project goals” on the PBOT website have changed along with the new design.

In March, PBOT said the two-way bike path would eliminate conflicts with drivers on Skidmore. That sentence has been removed. They also removed passages about how the narrower road would reduce speeding and improve safety by narrowing the crossing distance for people on foot.

The new design is expected to be constructed sometime this summer.

Locked schoolyards are the bane of biking families

Really?!! (Photo: Shannon Johnson/BikePortland)

Tell me if this is familiar: you load your kids on bikes or into the stroller with plans to go to a nearby school playground, and when you show up (on a Saturday/holiday/after-school hours) it’s padlocked closed, with various signs about not trespassing, and extra chains and security cameras to make the point. We’ve been dealing with these high-security playgrounds in Hillsboro for the last year and it’s a significant issue for families seeking locally accessible free play spaces.

A key part of family biking is finding a variety of fun, kid-friendly, and free destinations to visit and enjoy. That means looking for parks, nature areas, public libraries, and – I thought – public school playgrounds. School playgrounds provide additional bikeable destinations for us to explore, and expand access to other free things like basketball courts and track and field facilities. In our circumstances, one nearby school playground is both a desired destination and an important “cut-through” for a visit to see our friends, who live along a road we’d rather avoid. The school with the nearest basketball court is only a few blocks away (and the only basketball court nearby) making it a great destination for my oldest kid to visit with his neighborhood buddies.

The problem? The playgrounds are almost always locked.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem in cities around the country, and in some places, community, equity, outdoor, and climate advocates have taken notice. As the Trust for Public Land points out, over 28 million kids don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk from their home. Opening schoolyards for public access would be a game-changer, putting a free outdoor space within reach for millions of folks who currently don’t have such access. This is especially important for low-income and communities of color, who tend to have fewer parks, smaller parks, and less pedestrian access to parks near their homes. Access to these places without a car is key for children, especially those who might otherwise be left to spend weekends and summers indoors, with nowhere else to play.

He even pointed to the brand-new higher fencing and said, “they used the new bond money to build that.”

As for me, I keep calling my local school district. Over the last year, I’ve argued with school principals and become a semi-frequent caller to the facilities supervisors (who have been very helpful). I’ve been told all of the nefarious things that will happen if they unlock the gates, like graffiti and vandalism. Yet, as I repeatedly point out, the low/medium height chain-link fences around the schoolyards are easy for any able-bodied kid to climb over. (Case in point: when the school playground was still locked, even after multiple phone calls, my nine-year-old son sized it up pretty quick, “Mom, I can climb that for you.” And in about five seconds, he did.) So who are the schools keeping out with their fences? Families with toddlers, folks in wheelchairs, elderly, and those with limited climbing abilities.

At one school, I found a staff member and asked him to unlock the gate for me. He said he’d love to, and that people ask him all the time, but that he has orders from his boss (the principal) to keep it locked up. He even pointed to the brand-new higher fencing and said, “they used the new bond money to build that.” I looked at him incredulously. “They used the new bond money to build fences to keep people from using the playground?” (“Security” he said, and “they built other stuff too.”) Then, to appease me, I was told they usually leave the farthest back gate unlocked, which was confusing, because a facilities supervisor also mentioned this to me, regarding schools with single unlocked gates for those in-the-know (how secure is that?). I’m left wondering if there is some kind of plan to leave a least-noticeable gate unlocked, as if to fulfill some minimum requirement to provide public access to the playground, while hoping no one will actually use it.

Locked gate at Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Opening only one gate limits access (especially if it’s not ADA accessible) and it can be a deterrent for children and families who live on the other side of a large school ground (parents may allow their kid to go to the playground if the closest gate is open, making it a short trip). But those same parents may draw a line if their kid has to go solo all the way around to the furthest corner to find an open gate or traverse a more dangerous route to get there.

As biking and walking advocates look for ways to improve our cities with less reliance on cars, I hope that local schoolyards won’t be overlooked. They can be a vital community resource, providing free and accessible outdoor greenspace. Various nonprofits and grant programs exist (Kaboom , Green Schoolyards America, and even a possible federal Senate Bill: The Living Schoolyards Act of 2022) to help advocates greenify boring, asphalt-covered schoolyards while improving playgrounds. Adding trees to schoolyards can help lower summer temperatures, by providing shade and cooler climate for these spaces, which could then benefit the whole community, providing playspace, outdoor gathering space, exercise opportunities, and the mental health improvements that come from time spent outdoors. There are so many benefits waiting at the local schoolyard! But the first step is getting them unlocked.

Have you experienced this problem? Have you been able to get the schoolyard unlocked for public use?

Read more of Shannon’s columns here.

Comment of the Week: Forest Park, bicycles and good stewardship

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.

BikePortland’s opinion post about the NW Examiner’s history of misleading coverage of Forest Park and cycling hewed close to its critique of the Examiner. Jonathan wrote, “I’m not here to defend the [Off Road Cycling Master] plan or the process it took to create it, but it should be represented with accuracy.”

But writerly discipline doesn’t mean that commenters can’t expand a little on the author’s topic. At their best, BikePortland’s commenters use the posts as a jumping off point to new information, further discussion, and personal experience.

And that’s what MaxD’s comment did. It is sandwiched between two other good comments and all three make for interesting reading. They also nicely model the synergy that can arise from a good discussion.

Here’s what MaxD had to say about how cycling trails can be a part of sound forest management:

well said! Some people talk about FP [Forest Park] like it is some backcountry ecological paradise that needs protection. It is a beautiful resource, but recreation can and should be a tool to enhance the ecological health. Tree thinning, ivy and invasive species removal and select planting could be a part of rebuilding and greatly expanding the trail system. There are some nesting areas that should be protected, but that would be a seasonal closure of short trail section likely in the March-July time frame. If we really want to develop the ecosystem, we need a good management plan that incorporates well-designed trails with contiguous open spaces and the ability to seasonally close trail segments along with a planting and maintenance plan. Calling a bunch of dense second-growth Fir with a an Ivy understory a pristine ecological treasure is laughable. Also, Cars and cats do a magnitude more damage to ecosystem health than hikers and bikers, even if they bring their dogs!

Thank you MaxD. You can find MaxD’s comment and the rest of the conversation under the original post.

Monday Roundup: Keeping it simple, social cities, kids in the streets, and more

Welcome to the week. Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…

This week’s Roundup is brought to you by Gorges Beer Co., who reminds you to swing by Bike Happy Hour every Wednesday from 3-6:00 pm on their patio overlooking the SE Ankeny Rainbow Road plaza (at 28th). Special guests this week will be members of the PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee!

And now, let the Roundup begin…

Kids are leading the way: Child-centered street safety movements like bike buses, kidical mass and school streets are sweeping across Europe (and the U.S.!) in what is the most hopeful and exciting wave of activism in many years. (The Conversation)

Consume less: With all the excitement around electric cars and buses and trucks, we need to hear transportation officials talk a lot more about consuming less energy overall. (The Intercept)

Hungry for batteries: A national nonprofit has launched a new campaign (with an adorable mascot named “Watts”) that encourage e-bike riders to recycle their batteries. (People for Bikes)

Arrested mobility: Urban planner and author Charles Brown understands the myriad ways we interpret and enforce laws around human movement and how that enforcement is a reflection of a systemic bias against Black, brown and other people of color. (War on Cars Podcast)

Charge those drivers: Great news from New York City where the Federal Highway Administration has just blessed their plan to become the first place in America to institute a congestion pricing plan. Let’s hope the idea spreads! (Curbed)

Influencers: TikTok and Instagram are allowing new voices to reach new audiences and educate folks about urban planning and transportation in exciting new ways. (American Planning Association)

Fewer cops, better streets: While some are celebrating the return of Portland’s Traffic Division, a new report from Los Angeles makes it clear that many traffic safety violations should and could be enforced by non-sworn, trained civilians. (L.A. Times)

Parking on the ‘Air’: When venerable interview Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air sits down to talk with the author of a new book about how parking policy has impacted American life — from the lack of affordable housing to the evolution of the shopping mall — you do not want to miss it. (NPR)

Social cities: Even the U.S. Surgeon General understands that the way we design our public spaces and our transportation infrastructure — and what we choose to do on in our streets — can help reduce the epidemic of loneliness in America. (Planetizen)

Steal this idea: In Quebec, there’s an innovative new traffic signal that only turns green when/if drivers are traveling at the recommended speed. (Streetsblog Mass)

K.I.S.S.: Bikes have gotten increasingly complicated over the years and there seems to be a movement to swing back to the basics via a renewed interest the “right to repair” ethos. (Velo Orange)

Thanks to everyone who shared links this week!

Judge says BikeLoud can append Bike Bill lawsuit and refile

Advocates with BikeLoud PDX and their lawyer, Scott Kocher (middle) just after filing the lawsuit back in November. (Photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)

“This is a significant win.”
– BikeLoud PDX

A lawsuit that would force the City of Portland to build bikeways in accordance with the 1971 Oregon Bike Bill was heard in court today. And while the judge granted the City’s motion to dismiss, he also left the door wide open for advocates to refile the suit.

Circuit Court Judge Christopher Ramras heard arguments from lawyers on both sides of the case in a phone conference this morning. Lawyer Jim Coon with Portland-based firm Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost* made the arguments for BikeLoud PDX, the nonprofit group that filed the suit back in November; and Deputy City Attorney Daniel Simon spoke for the City of Portland.

As we’ve reported, the suit alleges that the City of Portland has failed to meet obligations to build bikeways as outlined in ORS 366.154 (aka “the Bike Bill”). Their complaint has outlined 22 specific projects citywide (see below) where the Portland Bureau of Transportation has completed significant road projects but has not built bike infrastructure along with them.

The City of Portland filed a motion to dismiss the case on two main grounds: that BikeLoud doesn’t have legal standing to bring the lawsuit and that the statute itself is nonjusticiable, meaning that the court should not be put into the position of enforcing the law. The City argued that since the law pertains to the State Highway Bill, the Oregon Department of Transportation is the agency that should enforce it. The City also believes that the Bike Bill does not create a “private right of action” — a legal term that says private citizens can bring a claim to courts to protect their rights under the law.

The 22 locations named in the lawsuit where BikeLoud alleges the City of Portland reconstructed a road and failed to build bikeways.

At the outset of today’s hearing, Judge Ramras implied that he believes the Bike Bill does trigger a private right of action, but he questioned whether or not the plaintiffs (members of BikeLoud PDX) have the required legal standing to force the City’s hand.

Portland City Attorney Dan Simon was first to present his case. “Enforcement of the bill is statutorily given to the State Highway Fund and the plaintiff’s response doesn’t address that,” Simon contended. “It just says that, ‘Well, if ODOT didn’t do their job properly, that that doesn’t excuse the city.’ The problem with that argument is that what the plaintiffs are seeking in this case is essentially that the court become the arbiter of what the bike bill says and how the city implements it.” Simon wanted to make the point that the court should not tell the City of Portland what to do. He went on to explain that the Bike Bill has several exceptions where bikeways are not required to be built. “And so, BikeLoud’s claims are are essentially asking the court to substitute its own judgment for the city’s planners in that regard.”

Simon also argued that BikeLoud is too general of an interest to bring a lawsuit in the first place. Referencing BikeLoud’s own complaint filing, Simon said, “They claim generally that BikeLoud members are unable to safely and efficiently use numerous city streets because they are not complying with the Bike Bill. That is a pretty general and abstract [legal] interest.” Simon’s contention is that BikeLoud members are not distinct from other road users and therefore, “There’s no special injury [legal term for harm] affecting BikeLoud’s members differently than other citizens.”

On those grounds, Simon asked Judge Ramras to dismiss the case “with prejudice” which would mean that the plaintiff could not refile the same claim with the court.

Lawyer Jim Coon then spoke to rebut Simon’s argument.

“There’s no special injury [legal term for harm] affecting BikeLoud’s members differently than other citizens.”
– Daniel Simon, Deputy City Attorney

“We absolutely contest that,” Coon said, referencing Simon’s argument that ODOT has exclusive power to enforce the Bike Bill. “It says nothing about who enforces the bike bill in [ORS] 366,” Coon continued. “It certainly does not, as defendant claims in its brief, expressly grant to the state the power to enforce the bill.” Then Coon pointed out that ODOT themselves must follow the Bike Bill law. “So who enforces the statute against the department transportation?”

Coon also rejected Simon’s argument that the court is powerless to compel the City to act. “The court certainly has the power to say what the law is and then enforce it and tell the City what it needs to do… The idea that this court is going to be managing how the City complies with the Bike Bill has no support,” Coon said. He went on to explain that the City has long partnered with advocacy groups and other people and organizations in deciding how to design and build bike projects. “The court would not be sitting there saying, ‘Okay, we’re going to separate a bike lane here, do a bike box there… We wouldn’t ask the court to do that. The court doesn’t have expertise to do that… The City has the expertise. Our problem is they’ve done nothing at these 22 sites.”

“We certainly have standing to bring [the lawsuit]. If not us, who was going to do it?”
– Jim Coon, Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost

As for why BikeLoud has a distinct interest as a plaintiff and is not the just a general road user, Coon said, “That’s just not true. We’re not just road users. We’re people on bicycles are out there mixing with traffic every day.” Coon pointed out that around 6% of Portlanders ride bikes on a regular basis as per the U.S. Census. “That is a legally recognized interest, and the Bike Bill says you’re supposed to do this stuff, and we’re saying they haven’t. That’s a question of fact.”

“We certainly have standing to bring [the lawsuit]. If not us, who was going to do it?” he said.

In the end, Judge Ramras granted the City’s motion to dismiss; but did so “without prejudice” which means BikeLoud and their lawyers can refile the same claim after making some changes. In explaining his rationale, Ramras said, “I don’t believe plaintiffs have standing to bring their action for injunctive relief.” The judge based his argument on Foote v. State of Oregon, a 2019 case where the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the District Attorney and a group of crime victims who brought the suit did not have a “legally recognized” interest. “The law [they wanted to change] affected them no differently than it affected any other citizen,” Judge Ramras explained. “And I believe the same is true here. I think there are plenty of citizens who ride bikes who probably have an interest in having safe biking conditions, but do not belong to BikeLoud.”

Portland Lawyer Scott Kocher, who also represents BikeLoud PDX and is working with Coon on the case, said after today’s decision, “I don’t see this as a loss or a win, it’s really kind of punting the issue.” Kocher said all Ramras has done is to point out a “missing piece” to the case. That is, a plaintiff with a more concrete and particularized harm (legally-speaking). Furthermore, Kocher said he feels that Judge Ramras has jettisoned the City’s main argument that ODOT has exclusive authority to enforce the Bike Bill. “If the Judge agreed with that,” Kocher shared. “He would have dismissed the case with prejudice.” Kocher says they also learned today that the court disagrees with the other part of the City’s argument; that there is no “private right of action” under the Bike Bill.

In a statement released a few minutes ago, BikeLoud said: “Today the trial court directed BikeLoud to resubmit our Bike Bill lawsuit with additional details. We will be working with our attorney to meet the judge’s requirements. BikeLoud believes we will be able to make a compelling case that we have an interest in enforcing the bike bill, as the judge requires. We are pleased that the judge rejected the City’s argument that only ODOT has the ability to enforce the Bike Bill. This is a significant win. The City was hoping the judge would dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice which would not allow us to resubmit.”

(*Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost is a BikePortland advertiser, but that relationship had no impact on this story.)

ODOT’s $41 million Pacific Hwy project breaks ground in Tigard

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) broke ground last week on a $41 million project to repave and make active transportation improvements to Pacific Hwy (OR 99W) in Tigard. The project will build new bike lanes and signal detection between SW 65th and 72nd Avenues. Other upgrades include a mile of new sidewalk—with 150 new sidewalk curb ramps—as well as the repair and repaving of three miles of highway, two bridges and changes to a key intersection at SW Main St.

For BikePortland readers who don’t venture this far southwest, 99W changes its name from Barbur Blvd to Pacific Hwy at the Tigard border. The project area is just south of the planned West Portland Town and Washington Square Regional centers. Work is being done at multiple locations simultaneously and will continue through 2024. Most lane closures will take place during the night.

With I-5 and I-217 crossing the road, and the road itself given over to fast food (and big box and car-related retail), the 99W corridor is a challenge to transform to a people-friendly environment. So it is notable that ODOT, Tigard and Portland are all taking up the task. Let’s check in with some other nearby projects, including an update on the Southwest Corridor Light Rail plan.

Pacific Hwy (OR 99-W), looking south. (Photo: Lisa Caballero/BikePortland)

Urban highways and traffic taming

The City of Tigard appears committed to its vision to be “an equitable community that is walkable, healthy, and accessible for everyone,” and is currently pursuing a couple of complete streets projects to transform the area. One of them is the Greenburg Rd project about which BikePortland previously reported, but the city is also lobbying to take ownership of nearby Hall Blvd from ODOT.

Tigard wants ODOT to improve Hall to a “state of good repair” before receiving jurisdiction—like Portland wanted with the recent 82nd Ave transfer, and its current “state of good repair” negotiations over Powell Blvd.

Tigard’s Mayor Heidi Lueb recently stated in a “Mayor’s corner” bulletin,

Hall Boulevard in Tigard is not safe because it’s been underfunded for many years. Pedestrians and bicyclists face a nearly impossible task of commuting on Hall Boulevard due to sidewalk gaps, missing bike lanes, and a lack of pedestrian crossings. Vehicles traveling on Hall Boulevard in Tigard encounter failing pavement and a myriad of potholes. Everyone traveling on Hall Boulevard will cross deteriorating bridges that were not built to support the level of traffic or variety of road users today.

I spoke with Dave Roth, a Senior Transportation Planner with the City of Tigard, about the Hall Blvd transfer. He told me that it had been “a work in progress for a long time,” and that they “are fortunate to have State Representative Ben Bowman coming in really energized on the orphan highway issue.” Bowman represents House District 25, comprising Tigard, Metzger, and South Beaverton, and has sponsored a bill, HB 2756, to transfer jurisdictional control of SW Hall Blvd from ODOT to Tigard.

Unfortunately, funding is the wildcard with these two projects. The Greenburg Rd complete streets project depends on Washington County MSTIP funding which is currently uncertain, and the Hall transfer involves funds allocated by the Oregon State Legislature.

Riding northbound on Barbur across the Newbury Street bridge.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

What about Barbur Blvd?

Moving northeast along OR 99-W, one arrives at Barbur Blvd and Metro’s funding problems.

When Metro’s measure 26-218 was defeated in 2020—and the Southwest Corridor Light Rail (SWCLR) project with it, ODOT, TriMet, and even the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) could no longer rely on incoming light rail capital to address area deficits.

Although ODOT has regularly made incremental safety improvements to Barbur, at the top of many cyclist’s lists are large capital projects, like replacing or supplementing the road’s two viaduct bridges.

And what I came to learn only after the measure’s defeat was that BES was relying on the SWCLR to build the stormwater facilities needed to make the zoning changes for the West Portland Town Center project:

The failure of the regional bond measure significantly reduced the nearer-term possibility for substantial improvements to the stormwater conveyance system under SW Barbur Boulevard, an ODOT facility. BES and the City rely on the existing stormwater infrastructure for conveyance from the neighborhood to the north, and upslope, of SW Barbur. If the bond measure had passed, the entire ROW would have been reconfigured and rebuilt, including the underground utilities. However, the failure of the bond measure now requires the continued reliance on existing infrastructure, which does not have sufficient capacity to serve the full buildout of the WPTC Plan without improvements.

So the city was depending on light rail funding to upgrade the area’s aging infrastructure. What is badly needed is more storm water capacity, a couple of new bridges, better bus service and street calming, but the way we fund things requires an investment in something new to get that maintenance.

Metro and TriMet completed the SWCLR’s Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2022, and the project therefore remains eligible for federal funding.

And that’s where things stand along the OR 99-W corridor. ODOT is making expensive upgrades to Pacific Highway in Tigard. But both Tigard’s and Portland’s ambitious plans await capital.

See the changes coming to Central Eastside bikeways

SE Ankeny where it crossing Sandy and 11th. (PBOT plan with labels added by BikePortland)

Yesterday I shared an update on several central city projects that we heard about at this month’s PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. Today I want to add a bit of detail and clarify what to expect on one of those projects.

In 2017 you might recall (just kidding, you probably won’t) we mentioned how the City of Portland won a $2.8 million federal grant (via Metro) to fund their Central Eastside Access and Circulation Improvements project. The project slipped off our radar in part because it was categorized and funded as a freight project. Why was it considered a freight project? Because one of the big transportation issues in the Central Eastside is how best to mix the intense industrial and freight truck uses in the district with popular bike routes that feed neighborhood greenways. PBOT planners understand that it’s much harder to separate these users with hard infrastructure, and much easier to do it by encouraging bike riders and truck/car drivers to take different routes — specifically routes that keep them separated as much as possible.

So their plan was to improve certain intersections in ways that would entice bike riders to use them more (with enhanced striped crossings and signals) and to make “access management” changes (reducing turning movement options for drivers) to get the desired traffic circulation outcomes.

How it started (2017 graphic from PBOT grant award documents).

When the plan was first conceived in 2017 (above) it included eight new signals and a complete repaving of SE Clay from Water Ave to Grand. Using a mix of local and federal funding the project had an estimated coast of $5.4 million (repaving Clay was a win-win for PBOT because Clay is an important street for both the freight and the bike network). However, due to cost and other issues, the project has been winnowed down to upgrades and new signals at three intersections and it does not appear that the Clay repaving is going forward.

It’s pretty common for PBOT projects to change, especially ones that use federal funds (which have a lot of strings attached) and take several years to materialize. Budgets and plans change all the time; but the community deserves to know why certain elements fall off the table and what we can expect going forward. Here’s what I’ve been able to find out so far…

NE Irving and 16th. This is the on-ramp to I-84.

By the time PBOT made an official webpage for this project in August 2021, the Clay repaving and three of the eight signals included in 2017 — at Ankeny and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, SE Washington and MLK, and the Hawthorne Bridge eastbound offramp to MLK — were left off the project scope description.

PBOT says the work on Clay was dependent on tax revenue from the city’s Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) but those funds were redirected to another project.

Then in March of this year, PBOT updated the project website to say two more planned signal and intersection changes were also dropped: “Note: Due to dramatic construction and material cost increases, the intersection improvements that were originally planned at SE Grand and Washington and NE 16th and Irving as part of this project have been postponed.” (I assume the Ankeny signal was switched over to the E Burnside bus lane project.) This is a direct result of massive inflation and PBOT says they could not justify paying the 50% cost increase.

As for the signal planned for the Hawthorne Bridge/MLK on-ramp? PBOT says it just doesn’t have funding at the moment. The good news is that PBOT is working with Multnomah County who plans to repave the viaduct and we are likely to see some design changes to the bikeway at this location that will improve safety.

So what exactly is planned for this project now?

As we reported yesterday, three new signals and intersection updates (that include enhanced crossings, ADA curb ramps, bike lanes, and new signage) are coming to: SE Sandy at 11th and Ankeny; and SE Salmon at Grand and MLK. And now (thanks to eagle-eyed reader Joe P!) we have seen the latest designs:

SE Ankeny at 11th/Sandy

As you can see, this is much more than just a new signal. PBOT will make significant changes to this intersection that include new medians and diverters, new green bike lanes and bike box striping, and changes to driver turning movements. The signal will have a bike-only phase so all other traffic will stop while bicycle riders cross.

SE Salmon at MLK and Grand

In addition to the new signals to help improve crossing safety, you’ll note that PBOT plans to add some median islands and short bike lane sections to help protect riders from other traffic and to limit driver turning movements.

Hope this helps clarifies what’s going on. For updates check out the PBOT project page. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to get them answered. Construction is scheduled to begin on these three intersections next month and last at least a year.

Funding picture for ODOT’s Rose Quarter freeway expansion looks bleak

“Given what we all know about our financial picture at this point, I’m not sure how we finance this project.”
– Lee Beyer, Oregon Transportation Commission member

It’s never a great sign for a transportation project when, six years after the legislature came up with a down payment, project leaders still don’t have a plan for how to pay for it.

After being dogged by years of negative headlines, high-profile protests, and shaky support from politicians and key public agencies, the I-5 Rose Quarter project seemed to take yet another step backwards today. The estimated $1.3 billion project seeks to add lanes to I-5 between I-84 and the Fremont Bridge and build a cap over the freeway where it crosses through the Lloyd near Moda Center. At the Oregon Transportation Committee meeting today, the director of ODOT’s Urban Mobility Office (a new department tasked with getting this and other freeway expansions in the Portland region built) Brendan Finn asked commissioners for a big favor: He requested a one-year extension on coming up with a financing plan for the project.

Finn and his team were supposed to present a funding scenario to the OTC by July of this year. But he says he needs more time. According to Finn, there are two man reasons a funding plan has proven elusive: First, the design of the project has changed dramatically since it was first conceived; and second, a recent moratorium on tolls has taken away one of the project’s main revenue sources. Finn didn’t mention at the meeting today that the estimated cost of the project has tripled since it was first endorsed and funded by the legislature.

When ODOT pitched the project to the legislature in 2017, it was all about congestion relief and “fixing the bottleneck.” Rural lawmakers said this section of I-5 was making it harder for their farmers to get goods to market and we heard the usual hue and cry about traffic backups. But once ODOT got into the local politics, they realized that it’s very tough to add driving capacity on a freeway in Portland’s central city — a place filled with politicians and activists who are proud of our freeway fighting legacy and who understand the terrible policy implications of freeway widening. So ODOT tried to shift to making the project about safety. But when called out on that rationale, they could not show a compelling crash and fatality history that would necessitate such an immense cost. Then the project became all about re-invigorating the lower Albina neighborhood (that the original freeway construction wiped out). But smart people realize it’s much easier and cheaper to rebuild lower Albina without expanding the freeway.

When you combine a shaky rationale with an even shakier political footing and what seems like one controversy after another, you get a project that is in a lot of trouble.

The OTC ultimately granted Finn’s request for a delay today, but not without some tough love from the commissioners.

Commissioner Sharon Smith pointed out that, “The longer these projects take, the more they cost and so delay is not always our friend. And especially with escalating costs and impacts it’s just, it’s hard to do because it’s just going to cost us all more later.”

And Commissioner Lee Beyer (a former legislator who spearheaded the 2017 transportation funding package that committed $30 million per year to the project starting in 2022, money which was recently taken away from this project so ODOT could build a wider Abernethy/I-205 Bridge ) said, “It’s obviously been a controversial project.” Beyer says he understands the delays in the funding plan because of how much the project has changed since 2017 (freeway caps were a distant possibility then, but have become the most important — and expensive — part of the project since). “And so the need to develop the funding plan is important and it makes sense to take the time to do that,” he said at the meeting today. Then his next comment really made sit up straight:

“I have to say that given what we all know about our financial picture at this point, I’m not sure how we finance this project. I think it’s going to require some additional legislative action and commitment that we’re going to move forward on this… It’s a challenge financially. And so that’ll be something that I want to make sure from a fiduciary standpoint that we limit our financial exposure while still supporting the project until those finance decisions are made.”

So not only does ODOT have no plan to pay for the project, but the earmark the legislature gave them is being used on a different project, they can no longer count on tolling in the short term, and one of their bosses on the OTC just said he’s not even sure how the numbers will add up.

Meanwhile, while ODOT tries to fundraise for a freeway expansion, the prospects for a separate plan to rebuild the Albina neighborhood over I-5 have never looked better.

In March the nonprofit Albina Vision Trust won an $800,000 “Reconnecting Communities” grant from the Biden administration to jumpstart a planning process with the City of Portland that help solidify their vision. And late last month, Nike founder Phil Knight and his family foundation pledged $400 million to the 1803 Fund, a new group that will spearhead investments in the historically Black neighborhood. The fund will be headed by Rukaiyah Adams, one of the founding board members of Albina Vision Trust.

Funding a project that will make the neighborhood stronger seems to be much more popular than funding one that would do the opposite. Go figure.

State legal office says civil disorder bill would not apply to bicycle corkers

A woman stops traffic with her bicycle during a protest in downtown Portland, July 2020. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

As we shared last month, a law making its way through the legislative process in Salem has some folks concerned that it could be applied broadly enough to capture a common form of traffic management during large events known as “corking.” In Portland, corking is typically done by bicycle riders because of their ability to move quickly through streets and use their bikes to form a wall in front of cross-traffic in a way that encourages drivers to stop and wait for people in a parade, protest or big group ride to get across an intersection safely.

The chief sponsor of House Bill 2572, Representative Dacia Grayber (D – Tigard), heard this concern from the community and took up the issue directly with the state’s Office of Legislative Counsel. “LC” as it’s known in Salem, is an office of legal experts that writes and edits bill language, researches statutes, advises lawmakers on legal matters, and so on.

Grayber and other supporters of the bill see it as a crucial tool to thwart paramilitary activity from groups or individuals who do things like attack power stations, form gun-toting militias to intimidate others, and so on. To increase its odds of passage, Grayber wants to prove to Oregonians that activities like bicycle corking would not be caught up in the law if the bill passed.

According to the Chief Executive of the Office of Legislative Counsel, Dexter Johnson, corkers have nothing to worry about.

In a letter (PDF) to Rep. Grayber dated April 28th, Johnson writes: “You asked whether the -3 amendments to House Bill 2572 would apply to persons engaging in ‘corking,’ or using bicycles in a coordinated manner to restrict or block traffic during a protest, march or demonstration. The answer is, most likely, no.”

Here’s the salient excerpt from Johnson’s letter:

“In order to be subject to a cause of action under the -3 amendments to HB 2572, a person who engages in corking would need to: (1) act as part of, on behalf of or in furtherance of an objective of, a private paramilitary organization; (2) be armed with a dangerous or deadly weapon; and (3) engage in the specific conduct described in the -3 amendments. The conduct that seems most applicable to corking is when a person “[a]ssumes, exercises or asserts, without legal authorization, the functions, powers or duties of” law enforcement or local government officials, or prevents a person “from engaging in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage.” Beginning with the third element described above, it is possible that a court would find that, by blocking traffic, a person engaging in corking is preventing persons from being able to engage in conduct in which they have a legal right to engage (proceeding down the street), or is assuming the function of a law enforcement officer performing traffic control functions. However, a person engaging in corking likely would not satisfy the other two elements and therefore would not be subject to the cause of action…

a group of persons blocking traffic with bicycles is most likely not functioning as a combat, combat support or law enforcement unit. The term “security services” is not defined, but a court seeking to determine the meaning of that term would engage in a structured methodology to discern the intent of the Legislative Assembly that enacted the statute in question.2 Under this methodology, a court looks first to the text and context of the statute, considers proffered legislative history and finally weighs general maxims of statutory construction if there is any remaining uncertainty.”

As to whether a bicycle could be considered a “dangerous weapon,” Johnson says that’s very unlikely:

“… a bicycle is not a deadly weapon, as it is not ‘specifically designed for’ causing death or serious physical injury. A bicycle is also not a dangerous weapon unless the bicycle is ‘used, attempted to be used or threatened to be used’ in a manner that is ‘readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.’ A court would almost certainly find that when a person is simply standing with a bicycle, blocking traffic, the bicycle is not a dangerous weapon.”

Johnson concludes by saying his office believes corkers would not be subject to the law.

HB 2572 is scheduled for a work session and possible vote today (5/11) at 1:00 pm in the House Committee on Rules.

New traffic signals (and much more!) coming to key bike routes in Central Eastside

One of the myriad reasons Portland’s bicycle route network suffers in the Central Eastside is because it is bisected by two arterials: Martin Luther King Jr. and Grand avenues. Both streets are car sewers and getting across them often feels like playing Frogger. At Tuesday night’s meeting of the PBOT Bicycle Advisory Committee, we learned that this stressful link will get a bit better very soon.

PBOT Project Manager Gabe Graff shared that construction will begin this summer to install two new traffic signals on SE Salmon at MLK and Grand. Salmon is an important, east-west neighborhood greenway route, but its lack of signals at the MLK/Grand couplet meant the recommended route took you one block away to SE Taylor. With the new signals, you’ll be able to stay on Salmon the entire way. This is great news because Salmon also makes a direct connection to the Eastbank Esplanade. Graff also pointed out this project was a priority for PBOT because Taylor is a freight route and has bad pavement condition.

This was just one of several Central City in Motion plan project updates Graff shared at the meeting. In related news, he also said construction will finally being this season on the long-awaited signal and diverters on SE Ankeny where it crosses 11th and Sandy. This diagonal intersection has long been the worst part of the Ankeny neighborhood greenway. Having a bike signal to get across it will be a huge relief for the many folks who rely on this route on a regular basis.

It’s now been more than 10 years since we first shared news about the Central City in Motion (CCIM) plan. It took almost six years of planning, fundraising, and process for the plan to get adopted by City Council in 2018 and PBOT has been making steady progress on ever since. PBOT has completed 11 of the 18 top priority projects so far.

At Tuesday’s BAC meeting, Graff said they’ll build six more of them in the coming fiscal year: a new bus lane and improved bike lane on SW Jefferson; a massive new protected bike lane project on SW 4th between Lincoln and Burnside; new crossings on SE 7th at Washington and Stark; changes to the bike and bus lane on the eastbound Hawthorne Bridge viaduct; an extension of the Burnside Bridge bus lane to 12th Ave; and an extension of the W Burnside bus lane from 3rd to 8th.

The SW Jefferson project we reported on last month has broken ground and is currently under construction.

The SW 4th Ave project is finally going to start construction! This project will repave and dramatically reconfigure SW 4th Ave from Lincoln to Burnside, create a new, left-side protected bike lane, a dedicated bus lane, add much safer crossings, new signals, updated streetlights and more.

Here are some plan drawings Graff showed BAC members:

We recently reported on the new bike crossings coming to 7th Ave at Washington and Stark that will be built this summer. At Tuesday night’s meeting someone asked Graff about the much more ambitious plans from nonprofit Depave. That group wants to add greenspace and a pocket park to the 7th/Washington intersection. “Depave has done some good work,” Graff said. “It’s a complicated one. They’ve done some good placemaking work and we’re excited to keep working with them. We haven’t identified the funding to construct that vision yet, so we’ve still got some work to do; but it’s an exciting partnership.”

Graff shared that PBOT is working with Multnomah County to add a floating bus island on the eastbound Hawthorne Bridge viaduct. This will mean bus operators no longer have to swerve over into the bike lane to pick folks up.

The E Burnside project, that comes with a bike signal to help riders connect from Burnside to Ankeny, should be completed by July.

This is all good news and shows solid progress on CCIM from PBOT. Can’t wait to see how these individual improvements impact the quality of the overall network. It’s always said that a bike network is only as good as its weakest point, and several of these projects strengthen weak links.

Learn more about CCIM on PBOT’s website.

Weekend Event Guide: Fat Bike Fest, slough sleuthing, short track racing, and more

Welcome to the weekend! Here’s our weekly selection of rides and events worth your time.

This week’s guide is sponsored by the Cannon Beach Fat Bike Festival (May 12th – 14th). This weekend is a perfect time to head to the Oregon Coast and you can make it even better by signing up for three days of fat biking bliss.

Friday, May 12th

Bike Book Author Talk at Powell’s – 7:00 pm (Downtown)
Author Kristen Jokinen (we profiled her back in March) will share her inspiring story of adventure on two wheels as told through her book, Joy Ride. More info here.

Saturday, May 13th

PNW Short Track Cup #1 – All day at Washougal MX Park (Washington)
Get ready to rip on an a one-mile off-road course with enough turns-n-berms to satisfy your inner bicycling beast. More info here.

Cycle the Well Field – 8:45 am at Cascades Parkway (NE)
Learn all about the Columbia Slough watershed straight from the source on this popular annual ride that takes you behind-the-scenes with the Portland Water Bureau and water quality advocates. Advance registration required. More info here.

Tigard Mural Ride – 9:30 am at Tigard Public Library (West Side)
Join Shawne Martinez for a tour of public art in and around Tigard as part of the city’s “Move 4 May” events. (More info here)

Beginner Gravel Clinic – 10:00 to 11:30 am at Cyclepath Bike Shop (NE)
Professional bike coach Julie Browning will lead her informative skills clinic that will help build your confidence in riding unpaved roads and trails. Optional ride follows! More info here.

PSU Farmers Market Ride – 10:00 am Clinton/41st, 10:10 Clinton/26th, 10:30 am East end Tillikum Bridge (SE)
Join a friendly group of folks and get some shopping done at a local outdoor market downtown. Simple, social, fun. More info here.

Saturday Social Ride – 10:00 am at Wilshire Park (NE)
The Portland Bicycling Club will host this intermediate level ride that will cover about 20-30 miles. More info here.

Sunday, May 14th

PNW Short Track Cup #2 – All day at Washougal MX Park (Washington)
Get ready to rip on an a one-mile off-road course with enough turns-n-berms to satisfy your inner bicycling beast. More info here.

Mother’s Day Ride Bridgetown Tour – 9:00 am at Wilshire Park (NE)
Veteran Portland Bicycle Club member Ann Morrow will lead a bridge-centric ride through the central city. Non-mothers welcome! More info here.

Monthly Overlook Ride – 9:30 am at Stacks Coffeehouse (N)
Overlook Neighborhood Association member and BikeLoud PDX Chair Nic Cota will take you on a north Portland pleasure cruise as he points out the good, bad and ugly about bike routes. More info here.