Dirty bike lanes have been a persistent problem for the Portland Bureau of Transportation for years. The influx of protected bike lanes too narrow for PBOT vehicles to fit into has made the problem worse. Portlanders of all stripes have complained about the issue; but rocks, gravel and other road detritus continues to plague our bikeways.
At a June 20th meeting of the PBOT Budget Advisory Committee, PBOT Director Millicent Williams addressed the issue. “We’ve heard the voices,” she said. “We just ordered a bike lane sweeper.”
I reached out to PBOT to learn more and turns out the sweeper hasn’t been ordered quite yet, but it’s coming soon. The bureau is on the verge of buying a new electric sweeper designed for spaces as narrow as 48-inches wide.
According to PBOT communications staffers, they’re looking at two models, a Tenax Electra 2.0 Evos and a Madvac LS125E. Both are electric sweepers built for tight spaces. PBOT says they’re getting demos of each model and have set up rental periods for prolonged test rides before pulling the trigger on the purchase. They want to be sure because the Tenax would set them back $345,000 and the Madvac goes for $283,000.
The new sweeper would be used in addition to their other mini-sweeper used for curb-protected bike lanes. That one, a Mathieu MC 210 I profiled back in 2021, works OK, but PBOT says it requires “quite a bit of maintenance.”
In a speech at Bike Happy Hour last week, mayoral candidate Keith Wilson said PBOT had cut all of its street sweeping, and “especially to bike lanes.” I asked PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer about that. She said it’s not true. “We are still continuing with bike lane sweeping and it is incorrect to say that we have stopped.”
Despite the maintenance delays with the Mathieu sweeper, Schafer told BikePortland they’ve swept 343 miles of protected bike lanes in the last 12 months, which exceed their goal of 300 miles. One reason Schafer said PBOT has focused on sweeping bike lanes is because striping crews can’t paint fresh lines on dirty roads. So far this season, PBOT has striped 1,664 miles of roads, with 91% of all high crash corridor streets already receiving at least one pass (they try to do at least two passes of striping on all arterials as Portland winters wear down stripes significantly each year).
Regardless of the reason for doing it, cleaner bike lanes are an essential part of keeping people in the saddle. And folks that ride bikes have a right to well-maintained facilities.
PBOT should make a purchase decision on the new sweeper by this coming October. Stay tuned for a BikePortland video where I ride-along on one of the test runs.
Those numbers seem incredibly high to me.
It’s one thing to buy an expensive toy
It’s another thing to actually use it. Too bad it’s not pedal assist. Unfortunately given what I’ve seen since the pandemic here in Portland I’m not holding my breath they’ll put it to use.. It is pretty cute though. Reminds me of the ebike truck profiled in the NYT’s today.
https://fernhay.com/equad/
PBOT needs way more than two. As much as we cyclists may like the buffered bike lanes with wands/bollards, it has resulted in protected bike spaces that are filthy. PBOT has installed them without any idea how they would be maintained. Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy. is an example. It appears it was swept with the small sweeper after this winter’s gravel event but not since. Some sections have so much gravel and debris that weeds are growing. The poor level of maintenance along with sketchy system gaps, which have remained for decades, send a clear message. No wonder our bike share % is in the gutter.
Glad to see this, the path on cully often has yard debris type stuff blocking the path more regular cleaning of the paths would be much appreciated.
This is all well and good, but pointless if not CONSTANTLY utilized. What were the stats on the old mini sweeper that they auctioned off? I seem to recall it had relatively low run time hours?
If they want to make meaningful changes, PBOT needs to create a bike lane maintenance unit and fully fund it. You could easily keep a work truck and small crew busy year-round supporting this sweeper, and bike-specific infrastructure; signage, signals, curbs, bollards, paint, etc..
Where do I sign up?!
https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/portlandor/jobInterestCards/categories
So that was a lie.
Actually, the earlier statement is likely true. Cities and other government entities often have to go through a long procurement process that usually involves state vehicle ordering pools and federal grant permission processes that can take many months. They “ordered a bike lane sweeper” but the correct authorization likely came only recently, now they are looking at several vendors (usually at least 3), some of whom may have the same product, make and model, but with different features and prices. Now they need to pick which vendor to purchase from and “make a purchase decision” on the new year’s day of the Federal fiscal year, which starts on October 1st of every year.
Standing in front of the new sweeper will be a great photo op for those running for council.
In an ideal world the sweeper would be in use constantly and would not be available for staged photos. I’m not optimistic.
They should not even consider ordering it, until they get concrete feedback from a current user with at least two-years positive experience. We can all think of multiple new technologies that use the first buyers as guinea pigs.
Maybe they can check for reviews on Amazon? Get a used one on eBay? Maybe a discounted pirated version built with slave panda labor in China?
Finallly!
There are signs with a phone number for potholes. How about similar signs for lane sweeping? At least put the number on the sweeper itself.
Yes, have a hotline–the Sweeper Cell.
Mm, soon. I see…About the same time the city is finished installing all the curb cuts that they are required to install?
How many of us have biked through parts of Portland where the “clean up” after a motor vehicle crash has left debris in the bike lane? This has happened twice recently just on the Sellwood Bridge. They didn’t need a special sweeper; they managed to clear the random car parts out of the lanes of motor vehicle traffic, but they just didn’t bother with the bike lanes. So a new sweeper may be an important investment, but we also need to train whoever keeps the roads/stroads clean to also see the bike lane as part of their duty.
Oregon law requires tow truck drivers to clean up debris, in my experience even if you speak to an officer on the scene to make them aware of the law and ask that it be followed they do not clean up debris. Insurance companies are paying for a tow that includes the legally required clean up but tow truck drivers cut corners and enforcement is needed.