6/20: Hello readers and friends. I am having my second (of two) total knee replacement surgeries today so I'll be out of commission for a bit while I recover. Please be patient while I get back to full health. I hope to be back to posting as soon as I can. I look forward to getting back out there. 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
(Photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)(Photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)(Photo: Doug Hecker)(Photo: Doug Hecker)
We’ve been tracking how the City of Portland maintains bike lanes during and after winter weather events for many years now. Our recent snowstorm has revealed yet another wrinkle on this issue that deserves a closer look.
At many locations around the city, we’ve noticed walls of snow placed across protected bike lanes. The shape of the wall and the placement of them caught our eyes. It’s clear that they were left by Portland Bureau of Transportation plow operators who were running plows along the curb, then swung their vehicles out into the street as a plastic post or curb of a protected bike lane approached. As they make that swing, the remaining snow in their plow slides off and is left right at the entrance to the bike lane.
Given all the bike lane maintenance problems with have in this city, it’s a bummer to see this happening. The good news is that we know what’s causing it and hopefully PBOT plow operators can adjust their technique to prevent it. We are also happy to report that upon sharing these photos on Twitter yesterday, PBOT replied to us:
Our crews have begun picking up these types of snow piles as well as gravel in bike lanes by addressing reports as they come it. Please help them out by submitting reports via pdxreporter.org with specific locations.
(You can also call the maintenance dispatch hotline at 503-823-1700 or pdxroads@portlandoregon.gov to report these issues.)
It’s nice that PBOT is able to respond to these requests, but we really need to get a more comprehensive and efficient solution. We’ve had protected bike lanes for many years now and it’s unfortunate that PBOT still doesn’t seem to have a protocol for keeping them clean and maintained without relying on conscientious people to report problem spots (not to mention that complain-driven systems like this are inherently inequitable and many people will simply never do it).
The derelict O’Bryant Square as it is today. (Photo: Taylor Griggs/BikePortland)
It might be hard to believe now, but downtown Portland’s O’Bryant Square was seen as a feat of urban design when it was built in the early 1970s. The currently-defunct plaza, which was constructed with a fountain and an underground parking garage, even won a national design award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1976.
But that was the high point for the plaza, which has been on a downward spiral ever since. Now, thanks in part to an ambitious vision from the nonprofit Portland Parks Foundation, O’Bryant Square may soon get a second life. It might even be as cool as some of the plazas I saw on my recent trip to The Netherlands. Before that happens however, the demolition crews have to come in.
O’Bryant Square has been closed since 2018 due to structural issues with the underground parking garage and the city spent years trying to decide what to do about it. They finally made a firm decision at the end of last year to demolish the parking structure and fill it with dirt to bring it to surface level: the first phase in O’Bryant Square’s new life.
A slide from a PPF presentation about the O’Bryant Square initiative. (Source: PPF)
The demolition process is set to begin this summer, and will cost $4.5 million. The project is under the purview of both the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Parks & Recreation bureau (PP&R) and will be funded through parking revenue and parks bureau fees. But neither PBOT nor PP&R have the funding to implement a long-term strategy for what the park will look like. That’s where the Portland Parks Foundation (PPF) comes in.
O’Bryant Square is located on a small lot at the corner of Southwest Park Avenue and Southwest Harvey Milk Street, in close proximity to several organizations that provide resources for people experiencing mental health and addiction crises, including Multnomah County’s Behavioral Health Resource Center. People who utilize these services have long frequented this park, earning it the rather mean-spirited nickname “Paranoid Park.”
But the neighborhood is changing: later this year, Portland’s Ritz-Carlton will open just catty-corner from the plaza, bringing other new developments with it. PPF Executive Director Randy Gragg said he thinks the diverse conglomeration of people who mingle near O’Bryant Square will create a unique opportunity to create a new public space that works for everybody.
“This is a really fascinating and complicated space to try to create programming for, because everybody has to be in the public space,” Gragg told BikePortland. “Basically what we’re assembling is a community vision for what could happen in the square the day the fences come down.”
PPF is putting together an initiative called “Back to Square One: Rethinking O’Bryant Square”: a collaborative effort between the foundation, Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design, Harvard University’s Loeb Fellows and PP&R to brainstorm about what this space should look like — and theorize about the value of public spaces like this in general.
Public plazas and parks have been a very hot topic recently, branching out beyond the traditional urbanist discourse sphere. Here in Portland, this discussion has been multifaceted and sometimes contentious. Carfree spaces popped up all over the city during the pandemic to encourage people to get outside safely, and former PBOT Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty boosted carfree plazas as an effective way to prevent gun violence. But others are fearful of these spaces being overtaken by drug paraphernalia and camps, which has led to stagnated planning efforts.
However, the benefits of these public spaces are clear — it’s just a question of how the city will go about developing and maintaining more of them. What unfolds at O’Bryant Square over the next few months will be a good case study in hot-button urban planning issues and could inform future plans.
PPF will host two events next week where the public can help come up with ideas for what they want to see in the future O’Bryant Square: an open house from 8:00 am to 7:30 pm on March 8th, and a public forum from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on March 11th, both at 820 SW Washington St. These will be opportunities to hear from urban planning experts and imagine the best future for downtown Portland. PPF has also created a survey asking for input about what people want to see at O’Bryant, which you can find here.
“There’s a potluck element to it,” Gragg said. “We’re thinking of O’Bryant as a table, and we’re inviting people to bring their best dishes.”
You can find out more about PPF’s initiative at their website.
Founded in 2007, Cycle Portland is a cornerstone bike shop, now located in the beautiful Historic Merchant Hotel, three blocks from the popular Waterfront Park. Managed by a young family of entrepreneurs with a shared vision, our mission is to support and inspire visiting and local cyclists alike through guided bike tours, affordable well-maintained bike rentals, and high-quality repairs.
We are hiring likeminded staff with a passion for all things bikes and an interest in showcasing Portland’s history and unique progressive bike culture with visitors. As part of our small team, you’ll have the opportunity to advise travelers about your favorite local attractions and hotspots, fit folks on rental bikes, help plan their route, lead guests around town as part of our easy-going cycling excursions, and lend a hand to our full-service bike shop.
While primarily focused on tour guiding, this position will encompass guiding up to two tours per day (2-5 hours of outdoor time, rain or shine) on our Foodie, Brewery, or City bike excursions. Back at the shop you’ll help guide clients through our bike rental process, answer questions about the products and services we offer, and help keep the shop running smoothly. You’ll also be provided with resources to help you dive deeper into the history of our city in both past, present, and future as we work to keep our tours engaging, fun, and informative.
Part-Time position and Full-Time position available.
Seasonal with the possibility of staying on year-round.
Semi-flexible scheduling; 20-35 hours/week preferred.
Preference will go to those with weekend availability.
Shop hours are Daily 10am-6pm
Compensation:
$15-17/hr starting DOE (plus gratuities and incentive-based compensation)
Free occasional use of rentals
45% Discounts on quality bike products and shop services.
1 week – paid vacation (accrued)
1 week – paid sick leave (accrued)
Requirements:
• Must be 21+ years of age.
• Must obtain a First Aid/CPR certification within 30 days of hire
• Must be a confident cyclist and know or be willing to learn how to repair a flat tire
• Ability to lift bicycles and other objects up to 50 pounds on a regular basis, however reasonable accommodations can be made for qualified applicants
• Must be LGBTQ friendly. We encourage POC, Trans, Non-Binary, Gender-Non-Conforming, Women, and Marginalized Groups to apply
Knowledge and skill in the following areas is preferred (but not required), and represents core strengths as part of this position:
• Genuine desire to work with and listen to the public both as a tour guide, and as part of our shop staff to meet client where they’re at with their needs
• Excellent public speaking skills, comfortable working with and projecting to audiences of up to 12 individuals at a time
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Curiosity! We love learning about Portland, and it’s up to us to be informed as our city and region evolve
• Self-motivated and comfortable asking for support when needed
• Experience in the performance arts, previous bike shops, bike mechanical knowledge, and tour guiding while not required, is a plus
Thanks for your interest in working for us!
How to Apply
As part of your resume, please include two current references and a brief paragraph about why you’d be a good fit for this position, as well as your weekday/weekend availabilities.
Email your resume, references, and paragraph of intent to pdxbikeshop@gmail.com with “Tour Guide Applicant” as the subject line.
For more information about Cycle Portland, check out our website portlandbicycletours.com or visit our Facebook or Instagram page! We look forward to hearing from you~
Portlander Devin Bailly is no stranger to epic rides. So it’s a bit ironic that perhaps his most daring ride ever happened on his commute home from work.
He’s the mastermind behind the challenging hill climbing series PDX Classics – Chasing Lions, which includes the original Ronde PDX among four other difficult, climbing-centric routes where just finishing earns bragging rights. His Strava account reveals that Bailly is often more of an extreme ride artist than merely another strong rider. When I hear about his adventures, my first reaction is not “Wow!” but rather, “OMG why?!”
On the evening of February 22nd, when we got walloped with the biggest snowstorm in 80 years, Bailly found himself with limited options for his bike ride home. Bailly works at Nike in Beaverton and lives in northwest Portland. His usual route through the west hills (using SW Barnes, Burnside, and Hewett) were non-starters because without any traffic or plowing, the snow made them impassable.
“Highway 26 was my best option,” Bailly shared with me yesterday. “All my other options felt worse.”
(Photos: Devin Bailly)
And in case you’re wondering, it’s 100% legal to ride a bicycle on this stretch of Hwy 26. Oregon Administrative Rule 734-020-0045 lists only seven sections of freeways where cycling is prohibited. (Footnote: In 2006 an ODOT staffer tried to ban bicycles on this and other Portland-area freeways in the name of “safety” and was forced to shelve the idea after BikePortland posts revealed she lacked rationale or evidence to do so.)
Adding to the challenge was that Bailly was on his road bike with fenders and 32mm slicks (narrow tires without knobby tires for traction). “I was going to take my gravel bike with knobby tires but all the forecasts predicted rain, not snow,” he recalled.
Adding to the epic-ness of this short but fraught jaunt on Highway 26 was the fact that it was immortalized on Twitter by KATU News Photographer Mike Warner:
Of course the KATU guy assumed Bailly was someone whose truck got stuck. Because seriously, what type of person would actually choose to do that? Devin Bailly would.
“What seemed like a clear choice for me was understandably viewed as idiotic from a motorist with a different perspective,” Bailly said. “Worked out great though.”
The City of Portland has released its first draft of changes they want to make to 82nd Avenue after the former state highway became their property last spring.
With $55 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has begun design of key elements of their Critical Fixes: Major Maintenance Project on a 2.5 mile stretch of 82nd. The project will focus on “near-term critical safety and maintenance repairs” on two separate sections: from NE Fremont to NE Schuyler, and from SE Mill to SE Foster.
82nd will look a lot different once this project is completed. The draft calls for planting a lot of trees in concrete medians in the middle of 82nd Avenue.
PBOT laid out five goals for the project in a statement yesterday:
Provide safe and comfortable places for people to cross 82nd Avenue by installing pedestrian signals, bike signals (at neighborhood greenways), and median islands
Reduce the risk of serious injuries and fatalities for all people traveling by installing median islands in areas with a high crash history
Mitigate the impact of extreme heat events by planting trees where possible
Improve accessibility by installing ADA curb ramps for people using mobility devices, wheelchairs, and strollers
Address maintenance needs through repaving, signal reconstruction, and updated street markings
As you can see in these images, PBOT does not show any bike or bus-only lanes — those will be considered in separate projects. Instead, this project is about helping people cross 82nd and taking initial steps to tame car drivers. While new types of uses aren’t yet on the table, PBOT does show a lot of small lane striping and operational changes (a.k.a. “access management”) for drivers at key intersections. At 82nd and NE Siskiyou, for instance, PBOT plans to remove right turn lanes on Siskiyou to “improve safety.”
Perhaps the most substantive piece of this draft concept are the median islands. PBOT has over 30 of them planned. These concrete islands will not only create shorter crossing distances for walkers, bike riders, and other users, they will also calm drivers by narrowing lanes, removing the center lane altogether, and limiting the types of turning movements people can make.
Some form of the word “restrict” in relation to driver turning movements, is used 19 times in the draft concept document.
SE 82nd near Harrison with PCC campus in the background, where a new concrete median with street trees is planned.
In one segment of the project, PBOT will install a nearly continuous median from SE Holgate all the way to just north of Powell. There will be a new center median outside Portland Community College between Division and Harrison that will include numerous street trees (dots on the concept map do not equal trees — PBOT says it’s too early to know exact number).
The focus on trees isn’t just for their traffic calming or aesthetic impacts. As we covered over the summer, the lack of shade in east Portland directly contributes to “heat island” effects and as hot summers become more common due to climate change, PBOT wants to construct cooler streets.
New and upgraded signals are another big-ticket item in this project. Those will also allow PBOT to facilitate safer crossings and more efficient traffic flow.
One thing to keep in mind with this project is that PBOT already has many plans and years of public feedback for how to improve 82nd Avenue. So they are not starting from square one and we should expect the public outreach process to reflect that. It’s also early in their effort to turn 82nd into a thriving main street — this being just the first of many phases to come.
Design of the project has begun and will continue this year and PBOT expects to break ground in 2024. The changes should be completed by the end of 2026. Check out the full draft concept here (PDF).
Not an “accident.” (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
If you’ve read BikePortland for a while, you know that we are serious about language and word choice. Way back in 2006 we were one of the first outlets to cover the idea that the way we talk about traffic crashes in America is deeply problematic. Since then, the “crash not accident” movement has grown considerably.
The latest step forward on the march toward making “crash” mainstream is a bill in the Oregon Legislature that seeks to rewrite over 100 existing laws. House Bill 3374 would replace all references to “vehicle accident” and “vehicle collision” in the Oregon Revised Statutes and two sections of Oregon Administrative Rules with “vehicle crash.”
The bill is sponsored by House Representative Jeff Helfrich, a Republican who represents the district (52) that covers Hood River, east Multnomah County, Sandy, and Government Camp. Rep. Helfrich lives in Hood River and is a 25-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau.
Helfrich’s Chief of Staff Natalie Newgard said the bill was introduced on behalf of former House Rep. Ron Noble. Noble is a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on DUII and this bill is one of their priorities.
The bill hasn’t been assigned to a committee yet and is still awaiting a public hearing. It should have broad support among transportation safety advocates, many of whom believe that using the term “accident” implies a collision was unavoidable.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program wrote in an email newsletter today that using the term “accident” does not align with their goal of making streets safe. “When we use the word ‘accident’ rather than ‘crash,’ we’re implying that a collision was somehow inevitable. We’re not only absolving the person driving from responsibility but also the local transportation agency,” they wrote in the newsletter. “PBOT has strategic commitments to realize Vision Zero … part of [that] strategy is reminding ourselves and our communities that crashes are preventable and predictable.”
We’ll monitor the bill and keep you posted on any developments.
Lights in Irving Park illuminated huge crowds at the Loud ‘n Lit Redux ride last August. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
Last week, the Portland Parks & Recreation bureau announced a plan to remove 243 lampposts from 12 parks around the city due to “structurally unsound anchoring systems that may pose a life and safety hazard to the public.” The news concerned many Portlanders who use these parks and don’t want them to go dark after sunset. And given the list of parks where the lights are set to be dimmed, Parks’ decision could hit Portland’s bike community especially hard — because some of the parks on the list are popular gathering spots for evening group rides throughout the year.
The parks affected by the lamppost removal include Irving and Colonel Summers, both of which are frequently used as the meeting/after-party spot for group bike events that sometimes go on late into the night. Those days are over, it seems — even if you can light your own way with headlights, all of the parks in question will now be closed at 10 pm — hours before post-bike ride dance parties could even get started. PP&R will be sending Park Rangers to affected parks to make sure the rules are being followed at night.
What’s the impetus for this? According to a Friday story in the Willamette Week, PP&R may be shutting off the lights because of litigation fears. WW acquired documents revealing that the city began investigating park lampposts after receiving a tort claim by a person who was injured last summer when a light pole fell on her after she tied a hammock to it. Some public responses indicate frustration that the bureau’s reaction to this lawsuit is to limit a public resource for everyone.
“Am I the only one frustrated about PP&R’s reaction to remove light posts over load-bearing that poles weren’t designed to do and because we live in a litigious society?” one person asked on Twitter.
“So endanger everyone’s nighttime safety because of one person’s accident. Yep, makes perfect sense…in Portland,” a commenter on the WW story said.
This incident has also brought to light (sorry) some of the budget woes facing Portland parks. Evidently, similar to the Portland Bureau of Transportation, PP&R has a substantial maintenance backlog ($600 million). This means they can’t afford to replace all the lampposts they’re removing, at least not anytime soon.
“PP&R redirected $5 million from already budgeted major maintenance funding to remove the light poles and begin the partial replacement process. Currently, the project is estimated to cost $15 million.” a Portland parks statement says. (That means $60,000 for each lamppost.) “PP&R does not currently have sufficient funding to replace all light poles in the park system.”
The parks bureau has provided a timeline for replacing only the lamps at Irving and Mt. Scott, where they plan to install replacements within 16 months. That’s a pretty long time, but it’s a better prognosis than what we have for the other parks, which are to remain without lamps indefinitely.
According to PP&R director Adena Long, one in five park assets could be removed or closed within the next 15 years if the bureau doesn’t find a new, sustainable funding source.
One of the ways the city might find the funding for PP&R’s maintenance backlog is by creating a new taxing district for parks funding, allowing the bureau to access its own pot of money just for local parks and recreation needs. For now, though, Portlanders are going to have to deal with the cuts.
So, how will this impact bike meetups? The full reality of the situation might not hit until Pedalpalooza goes into full swing this summer, but I asked Moorland Moss, who leads rides for Naked Hearts: PDX all year-round (many of which are based at Irving Park), and he’s not too worried about it.
“I am prepared to host rides and parties even if the world literally ends,” Moss told me. “We can definitely survive the city taking down some lampposts. I am prepared for the apocalypse.”
Those who aren’t as prepared as Moss might have a more difficult time adjusting to the dark. But it’s good to know that Portland’s bike rides will carry on.
You can find more information, including a list of all the planned lamppost removals, at PP&R’s website.
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Bike commuters headed to Portland’s central city via Williams in May 2016. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
(Source: Here for Portland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is trying out a new strategy to encourage people to commute downtown by biking, walking or public transit: free coffee. Every Wednesday morning in March and April, PBOT staff will hold a pop-up somewhere downtown with coffee and $50 Kuto gift card credits for anyone who traveled downtown without a car.
PBOT’s “Ride Every Wednesday” initiative is part of Here for Portland’s larger “Every Wednesday” program, which intends to highlight Wednesday events happening in Portland’s central city to encourage people to get out of the house and visit some places downtown that could use some love.
“‘Every Wednesday’ is a new tradition we hope you’ll embrace,” the Here for Portland website states. “It’s a series of perks and pop-up events to brighten up your midweek and make your time in town as fun and productive as possible.”
Knowing the divisive reactions that are quick to follow most discussions about downtown Portland, Here for Portland offers a disclaimer about their new initiative:
“Every Wednesday is not a cover-up or Band-Aid for the very real challenges facing our city. Revitalization requires structural change,” the website says. “But at the same time, we recognize change is only possible if people show up and spend time in affected neighborhoods.”
It’s good to see PBOT encouraging people to commute with active transportation — though it might not seem like much, some free caffeine really can be a game-changer for overcoming your late-winter hump-day blues. However, given this initiative is happening in the midst of a concerning decline in bike ridership, one wonders if programs like this will really make a dent. Like Here for Portland said, revitalization requires structural change, not just coffee pop-ups.
At a Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting earlier this month, members discussed strategies to prompt PBOT to more assertively incentivize cycling for transportation, and how doing this might mean some hard decisions for the bureau.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s a lack of information on PBOT’s part [about declining bike ridership],” BAC member David Stein said. “It’s more the the willingness to go out and do work that might not initially be politically popular.”
There’s also the question of how many people are actually physically commuting downtown given the prevalence of working from home. At the February meeting, BAC Vice Chair Joseph Perez asked whether PBOT should rethink how they measure bike ridership in the age of remote work.
“It’s somewhat challenging to conceptualize that ridership is actually declining in Portland if people are working from home and not commuting to work,” Perez said. “So why are we exclusively measuring commuting relative to Portland ridership?”
Advocates think tactics like closing streets off to cars on a weekly or monthly basis and improving safety for people walking and biking would be the most effective measures for reversing declining bike ridership. It’s an ongoing problem on which the BAC will continue to focus. But hey — I’m sure they wouldn’t say no to free coffee, too.
So, back to the coffee: PBOT will hold the kickoff “Ride Every Wednesday” event this Wednesday, March 1st. You’ll be able to grab coffee and download the Kuto gift card (which you can use at a variety of downtown establishments) from 7:30 to 10:00 am at the Congress Center at 1001 SW 5th Ave. Find out more about the program at PBOT’s website.
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.
Shannon’s recent column, Our sometimes difficult resolution to keep activities close to home, struck a chord with many readers. She described how the extracurricular activities of her growing family challenged her resolve to get around by bike, and to be true to her and her husband’s “vision of what we want our family life to look like.”
One commenter, Zoe, offered what read like a companion piece to Shannon’s post. Saying that she wanted to “push back gently in one regard,” she went on to describe the many social policies that support — or don’t support — the individual choices we would like to make.
Here is what Zoe wrote:
This is a struggle that resonates a lot with me. Previously a bike or transit commuter and a recreational cyclist, I found myself driving a lot more once I had a child. And I hated/hate it.
However, I want to push back gently in one regard, namely on the framing of this issue as one to be solved through individual mobility choices. I think it’s important to connect the dots between the need for broader societal changes. Parents’ decision to drive are frequently the result of a lack of family-friendly policies that would enable everyone in the community to live richer and car-free/car-light lives. And I’m not just talking about urban planning measures but broader social reforms.
However, beyond looking for changes in individual choices, I’d like to see us also continue make explicit the connections between the US social policies and how these policies (or lack thereof) ultimately impact and constrain individual choice.
As a point of comparison, I’ve spent about 5 years living in Europe (in Scandinavia but also in lower-income Eastern European countries). In general, families, including the many who were carless, had many more options available not only because of higher urban densities, national policies supporting families. For example, within just a 5-minute walk of one apartment I lived in in Eastern Europe (and not in a wealthy neighborhood), there was an elementary school, two preschools, a small grocery store (that contained a pharmacy), a playground, a dog park, a library, a few cafes and restaurants, and a bus stop for a frequent service line (and children routinely rode city buses by themselves from age 7 onwards). Social policies that support families: national healthcare, paid parental leave for 1 year (or more!); the presence of neighborhood medical clinics, subsidized childcare, subsidized public transit, etc. (Also there were the ‘sticks’- expensive gasoline, extensive paid parking zone, and the cost to get a driving license was roughly the cost of an average monthly salary).
By comparison, I find that even when living in a relatively walkable/bikeable/transit-rich neighborhood in Portland, my decision to drive as a parent has been shaped by myriad factors that at first glance seem only peripherally related to urban form: what neighborhoods I could afford to live in (and tax policies that incentivize home ownership); lack of “third spaces” or insufficient funding for those third spaces in the public sector (parks, community centers, libraries); private health insurance governing where we could get care; the location of affordable (or even available!) childcare; the need to retain my employment as a new parent (because of the need for health insurance, and the lack of any paid parental leave) and insufficient vacation and sick time, Portland Public Schools’ lack of support for the neighborhood school model (I have personal experience with this) resulting in more cars on the road, and TriMet’s family-unfriendly policies (requiring parents to fold strollers upon boarding; not sure if this has changed) making transit a challenge for parents to navigate. And most recently we have employers forcing employees who work remotely to return to the office (when they can effectively WFH).
Individual solutions will come in various shapes. In my case, I chose to limit my carbon footprint by having only 1 child. I will drive my child to some activities (within limits- no traveling sports), in part because I can’t afford to live in neighborhoods where many of the amenities are available, and also to participate in activities with my small cultural community (which is scattered across the region). But I also have been teaching my child from a very early age to ride transit, cycle in traffic, and to navigate his neighborhood on foot, and we try to support local activities. However, beyond looking for changes in individual choices, I’d like to see us also continue make explicit the connections between the US social policies and how these policies (or lack thereof) ultimately impact and constrain individual choice.
Thank you Zoe for taking the time to share your broad perspective. You can find Zoe’s comment, and many other engaging comments too, under the original post.
Welcome to the week. Hope you’re staying warm and safe from the cold temps and ice!
Here are the most notable stories our writers and readers have come across in the past seven days…
Another look at why young people aren’t driving as much: In last week’s Monday Roundup, we featured a story from The Economist about why young people in North America and Europe are turning away from cars as transportation. But the media momentum for this phenomenon isn’t over yet. Here’s another story on the youth’s war on car culture. (Washington Post)
USDOT backs off about freeway expansion: The U.S. Department of Transportation has previously been encouraging states to spend money from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs act on fixing highways instead of expanding them. But Republican backlash has prompted to rethink this strategy. (Politico)
How state departments of transportation can help unhoused people: What role might state DOTs have in addressing homelessness? Turns out, there are some things they could do to make a difference. (Streetsblog)
Why Portland Parks is removing lampposts: The City of Portland is dealing with an impending lawsuit by someone who was injured after a lamppost at Irving Park fell when they tied a hammock to it last summer. Now, the Portland Parks Bureau is removing hundreds of lampposts from parks around the city. (Willamette Week)
Which states give the most (and least) money to transit?: New research from Transportation for America and the National Campaign for Transit Justice show how U.S. states allocate money to public transit. Most of them dedicate less than $12.50 per person to public transportation annually, but Oregon is doing slightly better. (Transportation for America)
How public transportation access impacts community college students: Apparently, nearly 50% of community colleges in the U.S. are located more than 4.5 miles away from a public transit stop, putting affordable education out of reach for people who don’t drive. (Streetsblog)
Walking is good for you (who knew?): Data shows that people who live in walkable cities are healthier. Unsurprising, maybe, but just another reason to prioritize planning for active transportation. (CityLab)
The War on Cars turns 100: One of our favorite podcasts, The War on Cars, released its 100th episode last week, and it features some shoutouts to Portlanders like Jenna Phillips and local organization the Parking Reform Network. Check it out here (or wherever you listen to podcasts).
Home organization tips for bike people: Need help fitting a bike in a small space? This article has some advice for storing your bike if you don’t have a lot of room. (Washington Post)
California may recognize the dangers of heavyweight cars: People who drive heavy SUVs and trucks in California might need to pay more for vehicle registration due to the increased threat these cars pose to vulnerable road users. (Los Angeles Times)
Taylor talks biking in Europe with Active Towns: BikePortland staff writer Taylor Griggs was featured on the Active Towns channel last week for an interview about her recent bike-centric trip to Europe. Check out the video or listen to the audio-only podcast. (Active Towns)
When the Oregon Department of Transportation quietly released the news that they planned to shut down 181 crosswalks in the Portland metro area two weeks ago, people had a lot of questions — like which exact crosswalk legs were on the chopping block and why ODOT was making this decision. Transportation advocates were also confused and frustrated about the agency’s lack of transparency and public involvement in the process.
“There was no public process, no public notification, no public input of any kind. All of these crosswalk closures just started popping up,” said Tiel Jackson, co-chair of the Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC) at a meeting earlier this week. “And that makes it really difficult to build a climate of trust with ODOT, especially with these other major projects that we have going forward.”
These “major projects” include the I-5 Rose Quarter expansion and subsequent plan to cap the freeway and reconnect north Portland’s Albina neighborhood, which has faced scrutiny and backlash for a long time. Given the particularly dangerous conditions for people biking and walking on ODOT-owned streets in Portland, transportation advocates are asking the agency to refocus their financial priorities away from increasing freeway capacity and toward making their streets safer.
To ODOT, these crosswalk closures are essentially a formality — the agency says the crosswalks they’re blocking off have been closed in essence long before now — and keeping them open would pose safety problems.
“The whole point of this is a safety question to make sure we’re directing pedestrians to the safety possible crossing at each state road. We don’t want people crossing at unsafe places across the highway,” ODOT Public Information Officer Don Hamilton said to BikePortland. “We want to make sure that they get to the safest possible crossing specifically on Powell Blvd, where we’ve had some problems in the past.”
Active transportation advocates say this strategy is misguided and puts the onus of safety on vulnerable road users instead of traffic engineers and planners who could make these streets safer with more ambitious — and less car-centric — redesigns. But ODOT is going ahead with their plan — many of the crosswalks are already closed. And without any pushback against ODOT from other local transportation agencies, it’s unclear what the path forward is for fighting these closures.
Reasons for closure
The initial information ODOT provided about the crosswalk closures was sparse in details, but the agency has now released a full list of crosswalk closures in Portland with specifics about which leg of the crossing will be closed and the criteria for the decision.
Some of the criteria ODOT outlines for closing these crosswalks include: median obstructions in the middle of the street with no cut-throughs; lack of pedestrian facilities or shoulders; inadequate sight distance for people driving to see people walking across the street and crossings aligned into driveways.
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staff were caught off-guard by the announcement, as ODOT staff didn’t inform them about it ahead of time. But they ultimately came to the consensus that these criteria were acceptable and well-informed.
At a Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting this past Tuesday, PBOT Interim Pedestrian Coordinator Gena Gastaldi gave an update regarding PBOT’s temperature on the crosswalk closures.
Another newly-closed crosswalk on Powell at 57th Ave.
“We didn’t know this was coming — we were not briefed on it beforehand, either. It came as just as much of a surprise to us as it did to everyone,” Gastaldi said. “What my colleagues and I found looking at the list of crossing closures is that a lot of them were just formalizing crossings that were already closed…I think there was some room for improvement with the unveiling or messaging around [ODOT’s decision], but from what we’ve all discussed at PBOT, these are all locations we would probably be closing as well.”
Another reason ODOT cites for closing a crosswalk is if there’s a crossing nearby they deem safer that they want people to use instead.
This is the case for several crosswalk closures on Powell Blvd, including at 45th, 57th and 70th Aves. ODOT also cites this as a reason for closing the westerly crosswalk on Powell and 61st, an intersection due for an enhanced crosswalk on its eastern side through a TriMet plan. (ODOT has already shut down the western crosswalk at this intersection — but TriMet has yet to deliver on its planned crossing on the other side of the street. TriMet planners didn’t know about ODOT’s plan ahead of time.)
The ADA lawsuit
When ODOT announced their decision to close the crosswalks, they said it was a way to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb ramp standards at crosswalks that are “unsafe and inaccessible.” But the decision raised eyebrows among people involved in the lawsuit, who thought it may have been ODOT’s attempt to get out of their legal responsibilities.
In 2016, a group of Oregonians sued ODOT, alleging the state hadn’t build ADA-compliant curb ramps while constructing and maintaining state highways. They later settled out of court. Per the settlement agreement, ODOT completed a survey of curb ramps on state highways and found that 97% of the 26,000 ramps they inspected didn’t meet ADA standards. Ten Oregon counties didn’t have a single compliant ramp.
According to the terms of the settlement, ODOT needed to remediate 7,770 curb ramps statewide by December 31, 2022 (30% of the total ramps that need work statewide). Per a 2021 audit report of the ADA Settlement Agreement (pdf), the agency had completed 3,744, leaving about 4000 more to be done in 2022.
Tom Stenson, a senior attorney with Disability Rights Oregon who has been involved in the lawsuit, believes part of why ODOT decided to close the 181 crosswalks is because they weren’t meeting the timeline for fixing the ramps, and he is skeptical about the other reasons the agency cited for the crosswalk closure plan.
“I think what’s troubling is under their own rules, they can’t just close a whole swath of crossings. There are actually pretty specific rules that they have to follow,” Stenson told BikePortland. “And it seems unlikely that they’ve been able to follow the very exacting requirements for closing in this context for hundreds of crosswalks in one go.”
Closing crosswalks is a legally acceptable way to comply with ADA requirements, and ODOT has done this to fulfill ADA standards at a variety of crossings across the state. But Stenson said he doesn’t think this is a good faith reading of the settlement agreement.
At the PAC meeting on Tuesday, Portland ADA Coordinator Lisa Strader — who was ODOT’s ADA Coordinator in the aftermath of the lawsuit settlement — offered a different perspective. She said the locations ODOT chose to close are genuinely unsafe and can’t be remedied, and many of them have already been closed for a long time. The formalizing of the closures is to meet the ADA settlement requirements, but not due to nefarious reasons.
“One of the ways that they can make a corner or the curb ramp compliant is by closing a crossing…ODOT recognized that they already had closers in place, but they didn’t have all the documentation because the process changed over time,” Strader said. “It’s mostly a clean-up process to be sure that they’ve formally done everything they need to do under their under their settlement agreement related to where they close a crosswalk and effectively then close the curb ramp.”
BikePortland reached out to ODOT’s communications team for a comment on the relationship between the settlement and the lawsuit, but haven’t heard back.
What advocates are thinking
A press statement issued last week from advocacy non-profit Oregon Walks states the organization’s intent to keep fighting these crosswalk closures.
“For pedestrians in Oregon, crossing the street is more dangerous than it has ever been. In just the month of January, three pedestrians in Portland were killed on streets that the public has begged ODOT and PBOT to make safer for years,” the statement reads. “Be assured that we are reviewing these closures and where appropriate will advocate for not only the reversal of the closures, but an investment in their improvement.”
Oregon Walks is one group opposed to the crosswalk closures. (Source: Oregon Walks)
Per Oregon law, a crosswalk exists at every public road intersection, whether or not it’s marked. Many of the crosswalks ODOT is closing are genuinely unsafe for a variety of reasons. But advocates still want to know why those problems couldn’t have been remediated instead of just shutting the crossings down entirely.
“It seems once again that the burden of safe behavior is being placed entirely on pedestrians and bicyclists. Nothing is being asked of drivers,” said PAC co-chair Tiel Jackson at Tuesday’s meeting. “What problem is this really trying to solve and it’s the best way to go about solving it? In what world does giving us fewer walking options actually make us safer?”
PAC member Mary Lee Turner, an accessibility advocate who is blind and uses a white cane to help her get around the city on foot, pointed out another safety concern about the crosswalk closures.
“What if I’m out there and I go across the street and the crosswalk is closed? How am I going to know it as a person traveling who’s blind?” Turner asked. “Now it’s getting even scarier [to walk in Portland].”
Jackson said the way ODOT went about this process is only contributing to the feelings of distrust many advocates have about the state transportation agency. Above everything else about the specific qualms with the crosswalk closures, this is the big takeaway many advocates appear to be getting from this situation.
“I started off very challenged with trusting ODOT,” Jackson said. “And I continue to be very challenged.”
