Year: 2023

82nd Avenue design proposals weigh value of driving convenience with human life

Looking southwest at NE 82nd and Glisan intersection. (Photo: Paxton Rothwell/BikePortland)

As part of a $185 million jurisdictional transfer with the Oregon Department of Transportation completed in April 2022, the City of Portland is hard at work transforming 82nd Avenue from a deadly, state-run stroad into a tamer, safer “civic corridor.” Part of that work requires the Portland Bureau of Transportation to weigh public opinion on convenient driving with our city’s adopted goals for zero traffic deaths and a “Safe System” approach to road design.

The current projects on the table are traffic signal rebuilds on NE 82nd at Glisan and Davis that will come with ADA upgrades at the corners, concrete medians to manage car traffic, and other changes aimed at improving safety. These intersections (just one block apart) are important to the community because they’re adjacent to Vestal Elementary School, Montavilla Park and several popular businesses.

To help guide the final design, PBOT is seeking public feedback via an online survey open through the end of this month. City staff also attended a meeting of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association Monday evening (if anyone attended, we’d love to hear how it went). These proposals are part of what PBOT refers to as the 82nd Avenue Critical Fixes — a list of projects funded by $80 million in federal pandemic relief grants that must be spent the end of 2026. PBOT has described this as a “lightning fast” timeline for them to identify, design, engineer, and build the projects.

So… why is PBOT focusing on Glisan and Davis?

Detail from PBOT survey that weighs pros/cons of a full median at NE Davis.

In 10 years of crash data (2012 to 2021) PBOT found that there were 236 collisions within this two block section of 82nd. Two people died and 8 people suffered serious injuries as a result of those collisions. 86% of the serious and fatal crashes involved people who did not comply with the traffic signal. This is typical behavior on a five-lane stroad where cars and their drivers dominate the landscape.

Seven of these collisions resulted in 8 serious injuries and 2 deaths. Both of the fatal collisions involved a vehicle and a pedestrian, and both occurred at signalized intersections – one at Glisan and the other at Davis. PBOT found that 86 percent of serious injuries and fatal crashes involved travelers who disregarded their signal. In 2023, a third person was killed in a crash where the victim was crossing Glisan in a wheelchair.

In addition to new signals, PBOT’s proposed design solutions (see them below) include concrete medians that aim to reduce left-turn crashes. PBOT’s analysis found that drivers making left turns are a common source of injury crashes near 82nd and Glisan. “The proposed traffic separators and medians on NE 82nd Avenue will reduce or eliminate the risk of these crashes,” PBOT said in the survey.

Even with their Vision Zero goal and clear data on turn risks, PBOT is trying to balance safety with accessibility for drivers who want to turn into adjacent businesses without going too far out of their way.

Design proposal for NE 82nd and Glisan.
PBOT’s Option A for 82nd and Davis.
PBOT’s Option B for 82nd and Davis.

The city’s draft design for 82nd and Glisan (above left) includes a concrete median and “traffic separator” for about 250-feet north and south of the intersection. South of the intersection, they are proposing a gap in the median so northbound drivers can turn left into a car wash business.

There’s a similar auto access compromise being proposed south of Glisan at the T-intersection with NE Davis. PBOT wants to build a concrete median across the entire width of the front of Vestal Elementary School (about 300 feet from NE Everett to just north of Couch). PBOT is showing the public two options: One without a break in the median at Davis (above center), and one with a break in the median (above right).

According to PBOT, benefits of the continuous median are that it prioritizes the safety of families and children who walk and bike to Vestal, minimizes cut-through traffic on Davis, and creates more space on the median for street trees. The “drawbacks” are that drivers would have to take a different route into a nearby food cart and would have to travel a few extra blocks to get to homes in the neighborhood just east of 82nd.

Because of those “drawbacks” PBOT is also proposing a design option that has a 40-foot gap in the median so drivers’ access to Glisan will not be changed.

If you’re wondering why a city ostensibly committed to Vision Zero and a Safe Systems approach to road design is willing to sacrifice safety for driving convenience, keep in mind what PBOT just went through two miles east of NE 82nd and Glisan on SE Division Street.

PBOT faced withering criticism from business owners and other activists who said the median hurt businesses and made it inconvenient and unsafe to drive. People opposed to the median testified numerous times at city council, were the focus on several local media stories, blamed PBOT for inadequate public outreach, and garnered the ear of PBOT Commissioner Mingus Mapps and Commissioner Dan Ryan. Ultimately, PBOT returned to Division back in September with a demo crew and punched a hole in the median outside the business of the person who led fight against the median.

Suffice it to say, PBOT doesn’t want to repeat that episode on 82nd Avenue.

You can help them make a good decision by taking the online survey. It’s open through November 30th. Once a design is chosen, construction will start in 2025 and the project should be done by 2026.

Budget concerns could nix plans for carfree bridge over Columbia Blvd in St. Johns

Drawing of bridge over N Columbia Blvd shared by Portland Parks bureau at an open house in 2020.

After several years of design, planning, and promises, the City of Portland says budget concerns might shelve plans for a bridge over Columbia Boulevard in St. Johns. Instead of a bridge over the wide arterial where large freight trucks rumble along at 40-50 mph, the Portland Parks & Recreation bureau has recommended to Parks Commissioner Dan Ryan that they should move forward with an at-grade crossing.

This decision has riled advocates who see the bridge as a key part of their visions and say they’ve been kept in the dark about its potential demise.

The bridge project has been planned since 2014 as part of the North Portland Greenway project and is a key link in the 40 Mile Loop. The bridge would take people from an existing paved path in Chimney Park, across Columbia Blvd, and onto another piece of path that would ultimately connect to Kelley Point Park, the lakes at Smith & Bybee Wetlands, and beyond.

Looking north on Columbia Blvd where the bridge is slated to be built. Chimney Park is on the left.
(Source: PP&R)

A strong partnership between the City of Portland, Metro, and the Oregon Department of Transportation has come up with over $9.5 million allocated toward the bridge project so far. As recently as Spring of 2020, Portland Parks & Recreation held an open house for the project where they showed renderings of the bridge based on 30% design plans.

But now, PP&R says they don’t have enough money to complete the project and are recommending an at-grade crossing instead of a bridge over Columbia Blvd.

“NP Greenway and 40 Mile Loop have been strung along for years on this project, supporting multiple rounds of funding for the bridge,” said one advocate who reached out to BikePortland to share this news. “PP&R has not been transparent at all on this project. A bridge is called for in the original trail master plan and there’s been no public outreach from PP&R about change of plans.” 

According to a project briefing prepared for Commissioner Ryan, the funding problem stems primarily from an ODOT consultant on the project, engineering and design firm KPFF, who wants to revise their contract upward to the tune of $938,129. PP&R says when that amount is added to other expected costs, the project will end up with a price tag of $11.5 to $15.5 million — leaving them $2-6 million short with, “no currently identified funding sources to bridge the gap.”

Pending negotiations around an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between Metro (who’s currently managing the project), ODOT, and PP&R seek to give PP&R sole responsibility for the project. That means, if the project moved forward with the bridge and it no other funding was identified, the City of Portland would be left alone holding the bag.

In the briefing for Commissioner Ryan, PP&R staff lay out three options: move forward with an at-grade crossing, continue with the bridge plan, or do nothing. PP&R staff recommend the at-grade crossing because they say it will allow the project to move forward within its existing budget. But even if that option moves forward, PP&R says it comes with several risks. Among them? “The Port [of Portland] freight community may push back due to impacts to traffic flow in this industrial area,” and “The general public could be disappointed at not getting a bridge.”

Construction on the bridge was expected to start next year.

Ultimately Ryan will have final say on which position the bureau takes and the issue will be discussed at a city council meeting soon. I’ve reached out to PP&R and Ryan’s office for comment and will update this post when I hear back. I’ve also heard that the boards of NP Greenway and 40 Mile Loop will hold emergency meetings to discuss the issue. Stay tuned.

UPDATE, 4:19: Commissioner Dan Ryan and Parks Director Adena Long strongly support the bridge and are actively appealing to Metro to find funding. Below is a comment Commissioner Ryan’s office sent to BikePortland:

“I wholeheartedly believe there needs to  be a bridge over Columbia Boulevard connecting Chimney Park with St. John’s Prairie.  I will be requesting that Metro Council fully fund this project to ensure safe pedestrian and bicycle crossing while maintaining the flow of traffic on Columbia Boulevard.”

UPDATE, 11/10 at 2:00 pm: NPGreenway, a nonprofit working to realize a riverfront path between the Eastbank Esplanade to Kelley Point Park, has released the following statement:

“We’re very unhappy that this bridge is being scuttled after many years of commitment from local government agencies. The bike and pedestrian bridge across North Columbia Boulevard would be a significant link on the 10-plus mile North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail, that is, in turn, a critical part of the 40-Mile Loop.

Despite promises to the public, PP&R has slow walked the Columbia Blvd Bridge for years, going back for additional funds each funding cycle, in total acquiring $9.5 million dollars. Since 2014, at least a half million dollars has been spent on design and engineering for the bridge.

Columbia Blvd is a busy freight route and PP&R’s proposal to replace the bridge with an at-grade crossing is dangerous for people and inefficient for truck traffic. It’s frightening to think of a mom or dad pushing a stroller across a 4-lane road with semi-trucks barreling along at 45
mile per hour.

We appreciate the recent announcement by Commissioner Ryan and PP&R Director Long that they support the bridge and are searching for additional funds. After so many delays North Portland residents and other future trail users deserve to have construction begin in 2024.”

Comment of the Week: Parking and bike lanes in neighborhoods

The comment thread under Friday’s 33rd Ave bike lane story was among the strongest I’ve seen. The expertise that many BP commenters share sometimes goes beyond the original story, and the comments themselves end up being a whole new information source. That’s what happened with this thread.

One theme running through the comments was the city’s obligation (or rather, lack of obligation) to provide parking for private vehicles in public spaces.

Half of the comments were strong enough to be the “Comment of the Week,” I went with Keith’s for a few reasons. One, he’s read the other comments in the thread and is adding to the conversation. Keith is well-informed about local and state policy. And finally, he steps back from the immediate issue and looks at the big picture.

Portland is making a difficult transition to becoming a city which relies less on cars. Can we improve how we’re going about this so that cycling doesn’t have a big bulls-eye on it’s back?

I also thought it was interesting that Keith’s comment aligned with an editorial by Jonathan back in 2012 where he wrote, “Despite Portland planners’ dreams, most people still own cars and they need a place to put them… This increased demand on neighborhood parking has a lot of real consequences — many of which have come up in bike-related projects.”

Here’s what Keith had to say:

I agree with Woodsong’s comment about an agency in chaos. PBOT has historically had its problems, but it is clearly entering a new phase and beginning to spiral out of control.

Quickly following the SW Broadway debacle, we have another! This is disturbing on multiple levels – many articulated in the preceding comments. I’ll add a couple more.

First, PBOT is quick to point out that it doesn’t have sufficient funding to implement planned bicycle infrastructure projects in the TSP and In Motion plans, but then has no qualms about wasting it by installing a facility and then taking it out! Your tax dollars at work.

Second, the policy to not require off-street parking is appropriately intended to reduce housing cost (as with the 4-plex in the story), but the city (and state that now mandates this approach) has failed to recognize how this will only make on-street parking removal for active transportation needs more difficult politically and practically.

The transition to a car-free society will take time, and we need neighborhood parking strategies to deal with this issue so we don’t inadvertently create political roadblocks to providing the active transportation infrastructure that is essential for us to become car-free.

Thank you for your insights, Keith. A lot of other comments in this thread touch this same subject and are worth reading.

City says NE 33rd bike lane in ‘limbo’ while talks with neighbors continue

Portlanders stood in front of a truck to prevent it from removing bike lane striping on NE 33rd last Wednesday. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

It’s been five days since protestors stared down a City of Portland contractor in a striping truck and forced them to stop removing the bike lanes on Northeast 33rd Avenue.

Now the situation is in an awkward pause while the Portland Bureau of Transportation talks to individual residents along the street between NE Holman and Dekum to figure out a course of action. It’s awkward because the bike lane that PBOT hoped to erase is still there, yet it’s not technically a bike lane because the City says they won’t ticket anyone for parking in it.

While we wait for whatever happens next, I want to make sure everyone reads the official PBOT explanation of what happened. You might have read what PBOT told me during an interview on Thursday; but the official response is worth reading too.

The response below was sent out from PBOT’s constituents services coordinator at around 4:00 pm last Thursday:

Good afternoon, I am the Constituents Services Coordinator for the Portland Bureau of Transportation responding to your email on behalf of Director Williams. I would like to thank you for sharing your concerns around the four blocks of bike lane we prematurely striped on NE 33rd Avenue. We have postponed our work to grind it out for now. However, we want to share some helpful background on what happened here as well as next steps.

Background

After the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) completed the Columbia-Lombard Mobility Plan and council adopted it in 2021, PBOT staff were supposed to do a parking study, look at the impacts and tradeoffs, and do proper outreach to the community about certain elements of the plan, including the removal of parking for the proposed bike lanes on NE 33rd Avenue from Holman to the over-change. These steps are supposed to be routine as our planners hand off to our project managers who then continue to do outreach as projects move through phases of design and pre-construction. 

We clearly skipped these steps around this portion of the bike lane. Staff included this striping in the design but had never spoken to affected neighbors or told them when these changes would be coming. This went straight into work orders and our crews striped it without knowing we skipped these steps. We realized the error too late to stop it or properly notify neighbors outside routine notification we do whenever we do paving work.

Community concerns

If we had done the parking study and outreach like we should have, we would have learned months ago how some adjacent residents don’t have off-street parking and that others live in multigenerational households who need safe access to their homes. These are concerns we are hearing now after this mistake. We commit to doing further outreach to learn how we can find a solution. 

To be clear, our bike and walk maps have long identified this stretch of NE 33rd Avenue as a difficult connection for biking. Putting a bike lane here has been part of the Columbia-Lombard Mobility Plan as well as the 2030 Portland Bicycle Plan and the Transportation System Plan. However, adopted plans are exactly that: plans. They are not final. It’s not only customary but a sign of good governance that we talk to community members and affected neighbors throughout a project’s life, sharing designs, talking through access issues, and using community feedback to make projects work better.

Next steps

Fast forward to today. Regardless of how they might feel about the new bike lane, neighbors were rightfully surprised, even upset, we gave them no notice. Likewise, biking advocates are rightfully upset we planned to grind out this much-needed bike lane at a spot noted to be difficult for biking.

Until we can do the outreach we should have done before anything got to this point, we’re going to be in limbo. We’ll be out talking to the community and deciding a path forward. Whatever happens, we recognize this is a painful, costly mistake at a time when PBOT’s budget crisis is forefront on our minds.

Again, we appreciate you taking the time to contact us regarding your concerns. We hope this background has been helpful. 

So that is where things stand. We’ve heard from a few homeowners (including folks who asked for a bike lane back in 2017) that PBOT staff have already met with them and they say the conversations have been very encouraging.

The community will have an opportunity to hear from PBOT’s Director of Policy, Planning and Projects Art Pearce when he visits a joint meeting of the city’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees next Tuesday (11/14) at 6:00pm. Pearce is on the agenda to talk about “NE 33rd Avenue: What went wrong? Lessons learned.”

Video for further context posted to our IG account Monday afternoon:

An ode to the joy of Portland and Bike Happy Hour

Last week’s crowd at our winter location (Ankeny Tap & Table across the street from Gorges Beer Co. patio).

Sometimes all it takes to stoke gratitude for our city is to see it with fresh eyes.

While I was gaining perspective of my own in New York City two weeks ago, a visitor from the California Bay Area was in Portland. Eleni Jacobson is a bike advocate who works with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. She came to Portland to visit Breadwinner Cycles and spent a few days riding around town. Jacobson also stopped at Bike Happy Hour and met one of our regulars, who passed along a blog post Jacobson wrote about her time here.

That blog post says so much about Portland and I recommend everyone give it a read. It will remind you why the place we live is so special. 

During just a few carfree days in Portland, Jacobson visited a handmade bike builder, did a trip to see waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, ate great food, visited beautiful parks, was helped by new bike friends, did fun bike rides (“What a perfect vacation so far” was the title of one of her rides on Strava), used our transit system, and even swung by Bike Happy Hour.

It was that visit to Happy Hour that I loved reading about most. 

“San Jose bike friends had recommended Wednesday Bike Happy Hour at Gorges Beer Co. to meet some of the community,” Jacobson wrote. “On arriving, the hostess acquainted me with a table of new friends. I grabbed a fistful of great stickers and learned about some of lovely creative projects these folks are working on…”

Steph Routh

When Jacobson told her new friends she was visiting and needed a bike to use for a few days, two of our regulars (thank you Pamela and Rupert!) stepped up to loan her one. “This is where the magic of this whole trip really kicked into full sparkle,” Jacobson recalled.

Yes! The magic of Bike Happy Hour (BHH) in full splendor. It made me so happy to hear about that — especially since I wasn’t even there. This is what’s possible when we create a welcoming, reliable, and accessible community space.

Speaking of which, we’re getting ready for another fun event this week. Last week we had the worst weather since the event started 32 weeks ago… But it didn’t stop a bunch of you from showing up! The downstairs space at Ankeny Tap & Table worked well, and we even had a group of folks spill out onto the plaza.

This Wednesday will be another “Swap & Share Night.” That means, bring your stickers, t-shirts, zines, patches, pins, or whatever else you’d like to share or swap. We’ll also have the mic open if you have stories to tell or event/campaigns you want to promote. On that note, City Council District 1 (East Portland) Candidate Steph Routh is signed up to speak. If you’d like to learn more about her and/or ask her questions, come on out!

Come and experience the “magical sparkle” of Bike Happy Hour for yourself.

Hope to see you there!

***

Bike Happy Hour – Every Wednesday All Year Long
3:00 to 6:00 pm
Gorges Beer Co / Ankeny Tap – SE Ankeny & 27th (On the “Rainbow Road plaza)
$2 off drinks (includes non-alcoholic and coffee from Crema)
BikeHappyHour.com – “See you Wednesday!”

Monday Roundup: Guerrilla bike marathon, RTOR, bike lane removal, and more

Welcome to the week.

Here are the best stories we’ve come across in the past seven days — from sources you can trust.

The e-car future: The experience of Norway should be seen as a cautionary tale for what happens when a government leans too far into electric car enthusiasm. (Vox)

Biking in Memphis: Always fun to see profiles of cities where cycling is just about to pop. This time, it’s Memphis, Tennessee’s turn. (Commercial Appeal)

What Earl has meant: I was interviewed for this AP story on Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s retirement after 27 years on Capitol Hill. (AP)

NYC’s best unsanctioned ride: Traffic-free streets are so rare and sought after in New York City that the pre-NYC Marathon ride has become something of a cult classic. (NY Times)

RTOR debate: Good summary of the growing national momentum — and debate — around banning right turns on red. (Associated Press)

Disappearing bike lanes: Since removing bike lanes has become a thing in Portland, it’s time to stay up on how it’s happening in other cities. First example: Los Angeles. (Streetsblog LA)

The walking decline: Cell phone data from major cities across America shows there’s been a 36% decline in people walking since the pandemic hit. (Bloomberg)

Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.

Six years ago, 33rd Ave residents asked the city for a bike lane on their street

Newly striped NE 33rd. By the way, that’s the new fourplex without off-street car parking on the right. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

“Remove on-street parking to install bike lanes between Holman and Dekum.”

– 2017 letter from NE 33rd Avenue residents to PBOT

As the city regroups and dust settles on the Northeast 33rd Avenue bike lane removal saga, I came across an interesting piece of history yesterday.

In September 2017, a group of people who live on the street were so concerned about speeding drivers and other safety issues on the stretch of 33rd between NE Holman and the Columbia/Lombard overpass, they penned a detailed letter to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Atop their list of requests was to remove the parking lane and replace it with a protected bike lane.

To refresh your memory, PBOT installed a bike lane (unprotected, with a painted buffer stripe) on that exact stretch of 33rd last month; but then tried to remove it after some residents complained and the bureau says they forgot to give any notification of the change. Now the bike lane is in limbo as PBOT scrambles to engage with residents and find a path forward.

2017 letter from “residents of 33rd Avenue and Concordia Neighborhood Association.

In an interview yesterday, PBOT Director of Policy, Planning and Projects Art Pearce said complaints from some residents about access to parking (specifically at a new fourplex without off-street car parking built since the plans were finalized) was one of the major reasons for his decision to remove the bike lane.

But back in 2017 the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) endorsed a letter to PBOT and city council that supported the removal of the parking lane in favor of a bike lane. The letter was signed by “the residents of 33rd Avenue area.”

“We wish to address the frequent disregard for the speed limits between NE Holman and N Lombard that creates risk for those using 33rd,” the letter states. “Many of the residents who have been here for decades and those new the neighborhood have seen auto accidents, hit and runs, cyclists being struck, risky attempts to pull out of parking lots, smashed garbage cans, cars speeding up to get onto Lombard, cars neglecting to slow down from Lombard, cars hitting parked cars, a car hitting a house, and pedestrian near misses.”

The letter went on to say CNA hoped to collaborate with PBOT to develop a safety plan for the street.

The lack of a bike lane was one of the specific problems identified in the letter. “Cycling route is disconnected. No bicycle signage, speed bumps or lanes are present from the Holman Street bike boulevard until Dekum despite the fact that this is the main route cyclists must take in order to connect to the Marine Drive Trail,” the letter stated.

Under a heading labeled, “Options to reduce community safety risk,” CNA requested that PBOT, “Remove on-street parking to install bike lanes and/or cyclist pavement markings between Holman and Dekum.”

One of the people who wrote the letter was former CNA board member and Land Use and Transportation Chair Garlynn Woodsong. I spoke to him on the phone this morning.

Woodsong, who’s no longer on the CNA board, said PBOT’s response to the letter was to say the street would be repaved in a few years and the city would address the issues at that time. Fast forward six years and that’s exactly what they did.

Woodsong said he’s frustrated that PBOT doesn’t follow their own plans and policies as outlined in the city’s Comprehensive Plan and he feels PBOT, “Has a big outreach problem.” “They either do too much of it, or they don’t do it at all and they don’t do it right.”

When I asked Woodsong to address the fact that some of the complaints Pearce is hearing loudest come from longtime Black residents, Woodsong acknowledged that there is a racial dynamic present. “But what I see is that PBOT will always find an excuse to not do the right thing when it comes to bicycles. If it’s not a Black person, it’s ‘We heard from this disgruntled business owner. If it’s not a disgruntled business owner it’s this white-dominated neighborhood association.”

That last point matters. The City of Portland weighs neighborhood association feedback much differently in 2023 than it did in 2017, and there’s widespread belief at PBOT and other city agencies that neighborhood associations often don’t include the voices of everyone in the community — especially Black, Indigenous and other people of color.

That being what it is, Woodsong continued, “It’s a sign that this is an agency in chaos, without effective leadership. They don’t have good direction, they don’t know where they’re going, they don’t have a good game plan. It’s just this constant scramble. And they’re like, in a frenzy.”

Right now that “frenzy” consists of having direct, one-on-one conversations with people who live on 33rd. A meeting with CNA isn’t scheduled yet. PBOT’s Pearce shared yesterday he’s reluctant to call a public meeting given the racial make-up of who’s pushing for and against the changes. His bureau has bolstered their commitment to transportation justice in recent years, and this episode is an opportunity to demonstrate progress toward it.

And so far, I haven’t heard back from current CNA board members whether or not they will wade back into the issue.

Stay tuned.

Design revealed for advisory bike lane on SW 40th

Note: Image tilted. North is to the right. Sorry. Map of project location overlayed with PBOT design drawing for what’s coming. (Graphic: BikePortland)

(Editor’s note: PBOT uses the terms “advisory bike lane” and “advisory shoulder,” but there’s almost no difference in the design. They choose the term based on whether or not street has a curb. If there’s a curb and/or a sidewalk, they call it an “advisory bike lane.” No curb, and it’s a shoulder lane. BikePortland will stick with “advisory bike lane” because I find it provides the most clarity.)

Back in April we shared news that the Portland Bureau of Transportation would install three advisory bike lane projects this year. Now we’ve learned that two of those are postponed and one will move forward.

The project on SW 40th between Huber and Wilbard has been planned and designed and will be installed late this year or in early 2024 according to PBOT’s updated website.

(Map: BikePortland)
Advisory bike lanes on SE Rafael. (Photo: PBOT)

As I shared in April, the SW 40th project is just one block, but will create dedicated cycling space between Jackson Middle School and a pedestrian walkway over I-5 that feeds directly into the Barbur Transit Center. This is a low-volume, low-speed street that currently has no lane striping of any kind. The idea behind these advisory bike lane projects is that they provide stronger cues for how the road can be used.

As you might have seen in our previous coverage, advisory bike lanes use a dashed striping pattern instead of a solid white line. They are implemented on streets that have two directions of car traffic, but PBOT doesn’t feel there’s adequate width to stripe standard bike lanes on both sides. So the idea is that, if no bike riders or walkers (in the event there’s no sidewalk) are present, people can drive onto the bike lane and use the street as they always would have. However, if a bike rider or walker is present, the street becomes a shared environment where drivers must yield to advisory lane users and wait before making a safe pass.

This design has a lot of potential in southwest Portland because of the high number of low-volume streets where PBOT is unlikely to ever stripe conventional bike lanes.

The SW 40th project plans (below) show that PBOT will stripe the entry to each end of the block with a sharrow and a short double-yellow line. Then it will transition into the shared, advisory environment for most of the block.

Along with revealing plans for 40th, PBOT has also announced that the two other advisory bike lane projects planned to be installed this year — on SW Talbot from SW Fairmount to SW Gaston and SE Ellis from SE 84th to SE 92nd — are delayed “while additional pavement condition assessment and neighborhood outreach takes place.”

Here’s how PBOT says they ‘dropped the ball’ on NE 33rd

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is scrambling to clean up a very messy situation on Northeast 33rd and a 25-year veteran of the bureau is taking full responsibility for having caused it.

Art Pearce is PBOT’s director of policy, planning and projects (he was also a finalist for director position that went to Millicent Williams back in July). Today, after yesterday’s direct action protest that prevented PBOT contractors from removing bike lanes, Pearce told me the entire unfortunate episode is all on him.

“This is an uncomfortable moment for me. This mistake happened under my watch,” he said during a 40-minute video call.

Before I asked him and PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer several questions about what happened, Pearce offered his take. He said his team took all the right steps in terms of identifying the bike lane project, finding funding, and getting it designed and queued for installation. But when it came to public outreach, they messed up.

“We really jeopardized trust with the residents along those four blocks,” Pearce said, “And in particular, in multi-generational households who feel as though this is being done to them with painful associations with other things we’ve done as a bureau over the years.”

Pearce was referring to previous projects such as the North Williams Avenue bike lane and the Lloyd-to-Woodlawn neighborhood greenway where longtime Black residents of north and northeast Portland strongly objected to PBOT plans.

“It does not indicate a shift of commitment for me or from the bureau towards cycling and the importance of cycling. There is no shift in terms of our policy approach, or our work toward those outcomes.”

In addition to not properly notifying residents about changing an on-street parking lane to a bike lane and the complex racial dynamic, Pearce mentioned another factor: a new four-plex built without on-street car parking was erected between the time the plans were conceived, to when the bike lanes were installed.

Pearce called the response to the bike lane from some residents of 33rd Ave “valid outrage” because, “there was no outreach other than a staff person scrambling around the morning the crew was out there to provide some level of notice that we were making this change.”

“This was a situation where we dropped the ball. And that’s mine to own, sadly.”

What about PBOT Director Millicent Williams? She’s been the source of anger among many in the community given her role in the SW Broadway bike lane scandal. Pearce and Schafer said they consulted Williams, but she was not directly involved. And since the project was in Pearce’s portfolio, the director is letting him handle the community fallout and response.

Relatedly, Schafer interjected that what happened on NE 33rd was completely disconnected from Broadway:

“I understand we have a very significant trust deficit right now. And that is largely because of what happened with Broadway; but I want to emphasize this was not related. And I know that that’s hard for people to see because of that trust deficit right now. But this is not related.”

– Hannah Schafer, PBOT Communications Director

Below is an edited Q & A from the rest of our conversation.

BikePortland: Was Commissioner Mapps’ office aware of the removal decision?

Art Pearce, PBOT: Not to my knowledge. We did not do a briefing with his office. I consulted with the director, and then, given the complete lack of notice, I felt like the best answer was to remove it and regroup rather than to simply try to retroactively do a level of involvement and consultation.

When did you realize that something was amiss on NE 33rd?

AP: When I heard the bike lanes went in. I was tracking the [project] list two years ago, in 2020.. But I had completely forgotten, candidly about them. I wasn’t tracking this as a specific thing that was happening.

There was a project manager that didn’t send the notification letters out. That person was was leaving the bureau and didn’t pass on the fact that they didn’t complete this activity. But that even if they did, it would have felt inadequate. I think even if they’d gotten a 30-day notice saying ‘We’re going to change your street,’ they probably wouldn’t have also felt consulted enough.

Hannah Schafer, PBOT: And we would have probably had a different type of storm.

The project management team realized [no notification took place] extremely last minute, and in an effort to course-correct, went and handed out in-person notifications as the striping was happening. So, a lot of internal errors led to this moment, unfortunately.

To be clear, you’re saying people never got notice of the bike lane at all, besides its recommendation in the Columbia/Lombard Plan?

AP: There was no direct communication around the decision to make this change to the street

HS: In a travel advisory for the paving project [sent out in August] we’d typically mention a major change like this bike lane, but we didn’t do that either.

Why did you determine that removal of the bike lane was the best course of action?

AP: Given some of the affected households, we felt like simply asking them to come to a meeting to tell them what we’ve already done — it didn’t feel like a very appropriate type of convening. And, bringing them into a big gymnasium [for a neighborhood meeting] with a whole bunch of people who are interested in seeing this from a system benefit, but maybe not as affected directly, it just felt like we were going to have a hard time creating the right kind of respectful convening to allow for their concerns to be addressed.

And so that’s what led us to say, ‘Alright, this is really painful, but we’re going to have to go back [and remove it] and then start a conversation going forward again.’

What about the communication around the removal? Was that done in a way you would have preferred?

AP: No. I think we were still living in a little bit of post-traumatic moment from the Broadway process and were like, ‘Oh my God, we’ve gotta go through it again.’ So we felt, let’s just remove this and then we’ll get to regroup.

Did anyone who lives on the street reach out to PBOT after the bike lanes went in?

AP: Yes. Even when the traffic engineer went out to mark the dimensions in advance of the striping, the concerned emails came into the general inbox.

So it was resident complaints that led to PBOT’s realization that there was insufficient outreach?

HS: No. It all happened at once. We were striping something that we hadn’t told people about, until like literally the day it was being striped… As soon as that striping went in, the weekend of October 7, we started getting emails.

There are a lot of internal lessons here that are going to be learned. This is a very big moment, and we are reviewing our internal processes. This is an embarrassing public mistake.

I also want to make a note about the costs. The whole 33rd project striping was $52,000. The cost to remove it would have been $25,000. So we are not talking about millions of dollars here. But we are calling it a costly mistake because we acknowledge that we need to be extremely fiscally responsible right now. And I acknowledge that people would say, ‘What is going on here?!’ but we want to own this and we want to make sure that we are following up internally and and making sure that these mistakes don’t happen again.

To be clear, if no one complained about the bike lane, would this removal still have been ordered just based on the lack of notice?

AP: No, I think we would have had some internal conversations about what happened. But no. It just happened to be, there’s also the specific character of this location as well. [“Character” is a reference to the racial dynamics at play with some concerned homeowners.]

You mentioned that residents had “valid outrage.” What about the protestors who showed up to stop the trucks? Do you feel their response was valid?

AP: Yes, absolutely. I think the same level of of outrage in response to a lack of consultation happened in both directions. And I think, from the sort of, either/or binary nature of the situation we found ourselves in [bike lane or no bike lane]. It’s a hard space to navigate your way out of.

What happens next in terms of public process?

AP: I haven’t had a chance to connect with the team about the exact approach, but the thought is that we will do direct engagement with affected neighbors first to better understand the trade-offs and the concerns — and then think about the specific remedies.

What just feels key right now is is careful, direct communication, acknowledging peoples’ concerns.

I’ve talked to [BikeLoud PDX Chair] Nic Cota and [BikeLoud Vice Chair] Kiel Johnson and they are very upset with me as well.

What we’re trying to figure out is, is there a non-binary solution that we can deploy? I’m hoping staff consultation with some of those affected parties can come up with some more subtle design solutions as the next step — rather than removing the bike lane and then talking about how to move forward — which was what we had been shifting to thinking about doing.

At this point, I’m hopeful that there is design solution that can address the concerns. That’s where I’m pinning some hope for the next step. And I don’t know necessarily what those might be, depending on what the specific concerns are, but we’ve got some work to do on the ground, quite literally, with those adjacent property owners to figure out what the answers might be.

[Pearce mentioned they might consider helping homeowners make changes on private property like wider driveways for parking.]

What we need is better understanding of the specifics of the hardships of these residents and then ask, ‘Are there ways to solve them?’ Or, are we willing to tell them that this is a change you need to accept.

We’re going to work to remedy this. It does not indicate a shift of commitment for me or from the bureau towards cycling and the importance of cycling. There is no shift in terms of our policy approach, or our work toward those outcomes, we just need to do better engagement.

PBOT won’t enforce bike lane parking on NE 33rd as it ‘cleans up’ removal mistake

Looking north on NE 33rd from the middle of NE Holman. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation says what transpired on Northeast 33rd was “an embarrassing public mistake” and they are in the process of cleaning it up.

Their planned removal of two blocks of bike lanes on 33rd was met with a direct action protest that prevented crews from completing the job. Then a PR debacle ensued.

I had a phone call today with the PBOT communications director and the high-level staffer who’s taking full blame for the situation (no, it was not PBOT Director Millicent Williams or Commissioner Mingus Mapps). I learned more about PBOT’s version for how it all went sideways. I’ll have that story up soon, but wanted to share something I just received a few minutes ago from someone who lives on NE 33rd where the bike lane was installed.

On Tuesday morning, residents along the two block stretch of 33rd between Holman and Dekum received a letter on their doorstep. It said, “beginning Wednesday, November 1… PBOT will deploy contractors to remove lane striping in this section and return this section to its original condition.”

Today, those same residents received another letter from PBOT. Below is the text of that letter (emphasis mine):

Dear Northeast Portland Neighbor,

I am writing to follow up on the recently installed bike lanes along NE 33rd Avenue. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) installed bike lanes on NE 33rd from NE Holman to NE Dekum streets at the beginning of October, effectively removing on-street parking for these two blocks. PBOT did not give adequate notices to the adjacent residents, and we immediately heard concerns from residents with hardships presented from removing the on-street parking.

PBOT continued to communicate with the concerned residents and ultimately decided to remove bike lane striping in this section and return it to its original condition with on-street parking. Contractors started to perform this work on November 1st. However, work was stopped when protesting in the streets made it unsafe to continue the work. At this time, there is no schedule for the removal of the bike lane striping to continue. We recommend not parking in the bike lanes, but at the same time we do not plan to issue tickets with fines.

We would like to take this time to continue our conversations with directly impacted residents to ensure access and safety needs are being met before we continue with any additional action. We are also having conversations with area cyclists that support the bike lanes. If you have a concern you would like to share with PBOT, please call, email, or set up a time for us to meet in person. We will continue engagement and notify the community before taking any further action.

An extant bike lane that won’t be legally treated like one, is a really awkward — and potentially dangerous — situation. It sets people up for verbal or even physical interactions on the street — in the form of both potential traffic collisions and potential disagreements between how the road should be used.

This situation underscores what a mess PBOT finds themselves in for the second time in the past month or so.

From what I heard from PBOT’s Policy, Planning & Projects Group Director Art Pearce today, the city is in a really awkward position too. “It’s an uncomfortable moment for me,” Pearce shared with BikePortland in a video call a few hours ago. “This mistake happened under my watch.” Pearce is taking full responsibility for what happened on 33rd. Now it’s his job to clean up the mess before it gets worse.

Stay tuned for a recap of that conversation. And be careful biking on 33rd Avenue until this all gets sorted out.

Weekend Event Guide: Fall colors, warehouse sale, sausage fest more

North Williams Ave just north of Russell. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Welcome to the weekend.

Check out our ride and event picks below.

Saturday, November 4th

2023 Oregon Cyclocross Championships – All Day in Mollala, OR
An OBRA champ jersey is on the line at the new Fernwood course in Molalla. Make it a weekend, because Sunday is race #5 of the Cyclocross Crusade series at the same venue. More info here.

Showers Pass Warehouse Sale – 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Showers Pass HQ (2101 SE 6th)
The massive annual sale is on and it’s your chance for big deals on not just SP raingear, but also: Vvolt e-bikes, Portland Design Works parts, bags from Black Stone Stitchworks, Coava Coffee, and more. Get their early before the good stuff is gone!

Verboort Sausage Ride – 9:30 am at Shute Park (Hillsboro)
You heard about it on the BikePortland podcast, now it’s time to see the sausage fest for yourself! And getting their by bike means you’ll burn the calories you’ll consume in beer and brats. More info here.

Fall Colors of Portland – 2:00 pm at Pod 28 (SE)
Get all your leaf-peeping done in one convenient ride. Scott B will lead you on a tour of trees in all the best neighborhoods. More info here.

Dead Baby Bikes Monthly Ride – 7:30 pm (ride at 9:00) at Rocky’s Sports & Spirits (SE)
Yes it’s a bike club. But all are welcome to join. If you like freak bikes and fun, creative, bike-riding folks, these just might be your people. More info here.

Sunday, November 5th

Cyclocross Crusade Race #5 – All day in Mollala (OR)
It’s the penultimate race in the illustrious, 30th annual series. More info here.

Bike Train to Thorns Playoff Match – 12:30 pm at Moda Center (N)
Join cycling soccer fans for a ride to support the Thorns in their first playoff match. Ticket to get into the match required. More info here.

— Don’t see an event? Please tell us about what’s going on in your neighborhood by filling out our contact form!

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