A new traffic signal on North Going Street at its crossing of Martin Luther Junior Boulevard finally went live last week. Portlanders first identified a need for the signal in 2017 as part of a batch of crossings to make getting to nearby schools safer and funding for it was adopted by Portland City Council in 2020.
NE Going is one of Portland’s most heavily used neighborhood greenways — which are streets that prioritize biking and aim to be low-stress and family friendly. This signal was highly anticipated because Going is such a key east-west bikeway and the state-owned MLK Jr. Blvd is four lanes of relatively high speed traffic. PBOT installed median islands in 2010 to make the crossing safer, but it remained stressful. In 2012 we shared an article by noted local lawyer Ray Thomas who called this crossing an excellent example of an “ambiguous intersection” where crossing behaviors can be unpredictable by both drivers and bikers.
Unfortunately, based on my observations yesterday, it doesn’t appear like the new signal will be as effective as many folks hoped. The problem is that the Portland Bureau of Transportation opted for a “beg button” instead of automatic sensor detection of bicycle riders. A person who wants to cross must push a button to make the signal function.
There are two buttons on each corner — one for people using the sidewalk, and the other for people biking in the street. The sidewalk button works well because it’s placed right where walkers typically wait to cross. But the bike button is placed about 10-15 feet behind where most bicycle riders wait at the intersection. This means the vast majority of them don’t see it and don’t use it. Once the button is pressed, it takes about 30 seconds for the light to turn green for NE Going traffic. So not only do you have to push it, the wait felt longer than other new bike signals in town (like the northern landing of the Blumenauer Bridge) that use automatic sensor detection.
The result? Most people biking across this intersection do so while drivers on MLK Jr. Blvd have a green light. I find that inherently problematic. This means So in some ways, the intersection is more dangerous because drivers now have the legal right-of-way when a bicycle rider is in front of them on a green signal, whereas before — when there was no signal — they were legally required to stop if a bicycle rider was already crossing. There are still too many unpredictable behaviors and close calls at this location. Keep in mind this is what PBOT calls a “half signal” where the major road (MLK) has a full red/yellow/green signal, but the minor road (Going) has no signal. That means bike riders don’t have to push the button and can legally cross after yielding when there’s a break in traffic. In a perfect world, this would all work out. But what we see in practice are some bike riders not making safe decisions and MLK users who see a green light and assume they have the right-of-way regardless of whether or not a bike rider has already established themselves in the intersection.
Note the people crossing against the signal in the four photos below. I’ve got more interactions recorded on video that I’ll share later today.
To see this after we waited four years for the signal was a bit disappointing.
PBOT Communications Director Hannah Schafer told BikePortland that the decision to use a beg button for this signal was a matter of dollars and cents. “The NE Going/MLK signal is part of a bundle of seven different signals that started off very low on funding and then was sent to bid twice before construction to meet our budget,” Schafer wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, this meant keeping the project as bare bones as possible, which meant not adding detection/bike signal heads into this design which would have added to the cost.”
That’s the bad news. But the good news, Schafer says, is that now that the signal is up and running and all the electrical bits are in place, it “would not be a major lift” to retrofit this intersection with detection down the road if/when funding is identified. Asked if the project is 100% complete and whether new pavement markings to encourage riders to push the button might still be coming, Schafer couldn’t say for sure at this time.
The full project (including six other signals) isn’t complete, so there might be room to add pavement markings in the future when the city goes through their final list of tasks. In the meantime, hopefully more folks push the button and no one gets hit.
Have you used this signal yet? What do you think about the change so far?
UPDATE, 10/16 at 10:02 am: I learned in a comment below from Ted Buehler (someone I know in real life and who’s knowledge I respect) that since this is a “half signal” — where only the traffic on MLK has a signal and Going just has the “Walk/Don’t Walk” sign — bike riders on Going can treat this like a de facto stop sign. That means if you don’t want to push the button and wait for MLK traffic to get a red signal, you can just roll up, yield, and then go if there’s a safe break in traffic. Learn more on why and where PBOT uses half signals here.
Thanks for reading.
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I’ve used the signal. I like it.
This is a classic “Half Signal”. PBOT hasn’t put on in in many years. But they work very well.
The big benefit is that there are two options for people riding bikes — either 1) push the beg button, cross on the walk signal, or 2) just wait at the stop sign and proceed when clear.
At night, or on quiet times of the day, you don’t need to wait for the signal to change. You don’t have a red light as a bicycle rider on Going. You only have a stop sign. You can go any time. But, you have the benefit of pushing the button to get the red signal if traffic is heavy or if you don’t want to cross 4 lanes unassisted.
There are lots of the legacy half signals around Portland. Many are popular on greenways.
Taylor and Cesar Chavez on the Salmon/Taylor greenway. Brazee and 15thShaver and 15thFoster and 56thFoster and 78th on the 70s greenwayAlberta and 42nd on the Going greenway33rd and Hancock on the recently rerouted Tillamook greenway
“Hawk” signals are a type of half signal. But since they don’t have a green phase, they can be overlooked by drivers in a night time environment already saturated with red and yellow lights.
Vancouver BC Canada has 100s of half signals like the ones listed above (Portland has about 40 of them) and they are the backbone of the pedestrian and bicycle crossing system. They have a variation — they use a flashing green signal instead of a steady green for the major street. That way people in cars know that bicycles just have a stop sign, and may be crossing in front (when clear) when the major street has the green. It’s been an essential part of the traffic toolkit for Vancouver to be one of the best cities in North America for talking and bicycling.
I fully support PBOT in installing this! Don’t be too harsh just yet. Try it out. Consider the benefits before asking for something different.
Though. The “beg buttons” are in the wrong spot for bikes. Need to be moved out into the traffic lane a bit so you can see them and push them. Or just a bigger sign on them.
Ted Buehler
This is useful, thanks for writing this, I learned something new. There are some half-signals along the Burnside light rail bike lane as well, at minor intersections (108th and 117th for example).
thanks Ted! I knew this was a half signal but it didn’t occur to me that people on the minor road can treat their crossing like a stop sign. I’ve added an update to the story and will clean it up best I can.
My understanding is that PBOT is getting rid of half-signals where it can. Which is a bummer, because they are great in some applications.
That’s not true, quite the opposite. PBOT is back to putting in half-signals after a long hiatus. Hence this project.
I didn’t realize this was a half signal until I saw JM’s update. I’m glad to see I was misinformed (or that PBOT changed their mind).
One downside of this change is that it changes the ROW from cyclist to driver.
“You don’t have a red light as a bicycle rider on Going. “
Yes but now cars have a new green light right there on MLK and someone is going to get creamed if they treat it just like a crosswalk
Just like before except now there’s a way to stop all traffic with the signal
no the solid green light for cars on MLK at that intersection is absolutely new
The way a half-signal works is that cars on the major road have a green light, but cars and bikes on the side street have a stop sign and can choose to cross if there is a gap and it’s safe to cross. The green light doesn’t change anything, because before the light was installed, cars on MLK had the right-of-way, and now that the light is installed, and when it’s green, cars also have the right-of-way. So the legal situation when a bike crosses without pushing the button, treating it as a stop sign situation, is completely unchanged.
Legally, the situation may be the same as before, but as a driver, I treat a crosswalk with no signal much differently than a signalized intersection. At the latter I’m going to assume that when I have the green light, the cross traffic has a red, and peds have a “don’t walk” hand. That is how most signalized intersections are configured. If there is a crosswalk or intersection with no signal or stop sign, I’m going to treat it as an unmarked intersection. In particular, I’ll look for crossing traffic and expect that I might have to adjust for it.
Agree with this. Should have done NO LIGHT / RED LIGHT for cars like the hawk signal on NE 26th and Broadway. Why was GREEN LIGHT for this the way to go? If price was a factor, why not just a couple RED lights instead of full 3 light signal system?
Although, I do appreciate the effort at making signalized crossings. MLK is such a sketchy road to cross for any human.
In similar news, the street button at EB Mason and 33rd has been operational for awhile, so you don’t have to roll-up on the sidewalk. But more significantly, the WB sensor box now works (i.e., coming south on the 33rd cycle track), so you no longer need to ride the 33rd sidewalk or awkwardly contort around the unleashed dogs to hit the pedestrian button.
Oh, nice! I was wondering when they would finally get around to that.
This is very disappointing. Once again PBOT has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a supposed “bike” project which will actually speed up cars and slow down pedestrians. In the prior situation a person walking had the immediate right of way as soon as they expressed intent to enter the crosswalk, as long as drivers had time to see them and stop. Now the green light gives drivers the right-of-way at all times, unless people on foot push the button, and a 30 second wait is a long time. I have frequently used this intersection and it usually only takes 10 or 15 seconds to find a break in traffic, or for a driver to proactively stop.
If the plan was to use a beg button, it would have been much better to use a Hawk signal like at 41st and Burnside, where the light changes almost immediately, and drivers do not have a green light. I believe Hawk signals are slightly cheaper as well: https://nacto.org/case-study/h-a-w-k-beacon-at-41st-ave-and-burnside-st-portland-or/
I like the idea of a Hawk signal here. Either way, 30 seconds is waaaay too long. Every time I’ve gone through, I’ve had cars actually stop for me against the green light before it turned. The easiest, cheapest, and fairest change to make this work better right now is to remove the delay, or shorten it to around 5-10 seconds, which is more consistent with current behavior. Add a countdown timer too if you’re looking for compliance.
Maybe to figure out the timing, have people stand in the rain next to speeding traffic and tell them to start counting. Whatever the average number people get to before they’re over it, that’s your timing…
Interesting, out 122nd way I’ve noticed in the wee hours of the morning when there’s hardly anyone around that even though there’s no one there pushing a button or setting off a sensor the light turns red for north/south traffic. It happens at other times of day, but it’s very noticeable when there’s no one around.
So why isn’t PBOT doing the same thing in other parts of town? Why isn’t this light just auto-magically changing green for cross traffic and red for cars going north/south throughout the day at timed intervals? Still changing of course by request.
Seems like what good enough for 122nd should be good enough for MLK?
Additonally, there is no indiction to the cyclist that the signal has turned red for the cars on MLK, other than a “walk” signal. Anyone used to the old intersection, and doesn’t see the new (non-obvious) signal, is going to think it’s still the old traffic pattern.
A bike green light (such as we see at many other intersections) would have made much more sense.
Hawk signals are less effective and more confusing to drivers, and have been out of fashion for a while now. They are also not any cheaper than a half-signal. It’s exactly the same number of signal poles and signal heads, so it costs the same. And the faster time for it to change is literally just a decision made by the transportation agency. There’s nothing inherent about a Hawk vs a half-signal that affects how quickly the light changes. It has to do with whether the traffic signals along the road are “coordinated” or not.
Why I will rarely use this beg button:
1. The signal timing is achingly slow. The worst I’ve ever experienced.
2. The beg button is very awkwardly placed
Even during rush hour it typically takes less time to play frogger using the center median than it does to wait so very many minutes for the light to activate.
Build dumb infrastructure, get stupid results.
Crossed here the last couple of mornings and noticed some of the same behaviors you mentioned in your article, Jonathan.
More confident riders who are used to crossing without a signal are still doing so because that’s what seems easiest. Some may not even be fully aware of the green light above them as they cross. The concerning thing is that drivers now see a green light which makes them less likely to stop for bikes and pedestrians in the intersection – perhaps more likely to be on “autopilot” assuming no cross traffic is coming.
I think a simple interim improvement could be one of those bright orange signs alerting folks on NE Going to the new traffic pattern so they opt to use the signal more often. This intersection has been without a signal for so long, it’ll take some time to change behaviors.
I didn’t even think about how there is now a green light for drivers on mlk at going.
People crossing the way they always had until last week – as a crosswalk – are now crossing against a solid green for the cars on a major road, possibly not realizing that the intersection has changed/ activated
PBOT is killing our bike network one horrible design decision at a time
It’s funny that any time the city puts in cross-bikes, everyone here complains that it’s creating the impression that drivers legally are supposed to stop for bikes, when it’s not doing anything of the sort, and say it creates ambiguity. But at MLK and Going, drivers have been stopping for bikes for years without any legal obligation to do so, and now that a signal has been installed and discourages drivers from stopping for bikes, everyone on here complains.
To be clear, I am complaining about their series of poor decisions: To not place the greenway on Prescott instead of Going, to not continue the bikes lanes on Skidmore from Michigan to 7th (and use existing signals), to poorly locate a beg button, to use a beg button instead of a sensor or simply include regular cycles for bikes and peds, the commitment to this crossing even through the greenway route to the west is convoluted and has a series of unsafe crossings, the abject failure at creating a bike route along 7th or 9th, the extremely lazy and poor job PBOT did at implementing the Going Greenway- inadequate lighting, poor signage, people parked right up to the intersection blocking the view of stop signs and crosswalks, no stop bars for cross streets, etc.
I actually really like half signals and I loved using the greenways when I lived in Vancouver. Vancouver created complete greenways on streets that provide a direct route and connect to other bike routes to forma useable network. They also use diverters with the half signals to create bike routes that are safe, predictable and efficient for cyclists. PBOT has done none of that, and people are right to complain. Over the last 10 years, if PBOT had spent the same amount of money but made solid design decisions that prioritized creating a safe bike network, these routes would be amazing. Instead, we continue to get terrible compromises that waste money and degrade the cycle network.
The median across MLK at Going literally is a diverter with a half signal. If this was a full signal without the median, wouldn’t Going have a ton of traffic?
I use this intersection a lot but the button takes wayyy too long. Even the beg button on 26th and Broadway is faster. Would be nice if they added sensors that detect riders before they even get to the intersection because Going is relatively flat and it would be nice to be able to maintain speed.
I crossed Going with the working signal the other day. I crossed how I have for years. A car that was barreling down MLK toward was honking and noticeably angry, to which I lipped “You are legally required to stop”. They were angrily pointing at something. Once I got across I looked back and up and found that the light which has been dark for over a year was now working. I didn’t even notice. Now I know. It would have been nice to have a sign about it or something. I’ve been excited to get that signal working.
This should be a blinking yellow, except for when the beg button turns it red
The term “beg button” kinda sums it all up, doesn’t it?
I wish I lived in a world whereby all car and truck drivers would have to stop at any and all signalized intersections, turn off their engine, exit their cars, lock doors, then walk to a beg button, hit it, then walk back to their vehicle, unlock the doors, get in, and wait for the signal to change – or maybe not as many are broken or malfunctioning – and do it all over again…
Imagine being given the power to force everyone else to stop so you can go, at the press of a simple button.
So disempowering.
Imagine having to have a button to remind people in cars that humans and cyclists like cross roads to get to where their going too.
A crosswalk sign is a reminder; a signal is a direct order, with stiff fines for disobedience.
I could be wrong but I think that because of how this signal is set up, cyclists are not required to push the button and wait until the walk symbol comes on before proceeding through. Eg. think of a car rolling up to the stop sign, they stop (theoretically) and then proceed to turn while the MLK light is still green. If there’s no traffic or a cyclist feels comfortable rolling through, they can. If they want the protection of traffic fully stopped on red, they can.
This looks like it would have been a great location for a RFB (flashing yellow pedestrian signal). Cheaper to install and features instant activation.
eh, I would rather have a full crossing than an RRFB. I’ve had too many cars blow through the one at 17th by the MAX crossing to feel safe with them – especially on a wide and fast road like MLK
You should always wait for the cars to stop before stepping into the intersection, whatever form it takes, but I’ve crossed Powell a number of different places many times, day and night, and never had a problem with adherence. Maybe there are sight line issues by that Max stop? There’s some slightly weird geometry there.
I’ve also had cars not stop for the full signal at 13th & Powell, so a red light is no guarantee of results, and you have to wait longer to get results.
There are sight line issues there yeah, it’s really annoying too since it’s a jersey barrier. It also spits out a proselytizing message about how “vehicles may not stop”, which I find to be inappropriate to broadcast to pedestrians
I feel better if cars get a full red
Though, as you point out, vehicles may not stop, and the reminder is probably helpful if you are more concerned with safety than “disempowering pedestrians” or something.
It sounds as if sightlines may be the issue here. They don’t appear to be an issue at the location I was commenting about.
Sure, but it also erodes the idea that a pedestrian even has the right of way, and that we should just be thankful a car stops at all. I reject that notion, and find it demeaning to people using the crossing. Everyone knows to be cautious when crossing a road, having a robot voice tell you that you should be extra cautious serves only to preemptively victim blame
I understand your POV; I’m just making the argument, that physical safety trumps subtle messaging.
My argument should resonate in a forum where everybody thinks everything that isn’t protected by a jersey barrier is inherently unsafe. The messaging that sends is far more insidious: bike riding is too dangerous for most people.
I second this!
The signal at Powell and 13th changes really quickly though.
That’s probably because it’s a fire signal that isn’t subject to the normal phasing restrictions. I still prefer instant gratification, but if all signals responded that quickly, I’d be fine with them.
I used it over the weekend. It seemed like it took forever for it to activate which is weird. Why not make it start the signal cycle as soon as it is pressed, what is the thought behind that 30 second delay? Cars will stop (or not) once it turns yellow for them, regardless of how long the lead time was – they have no idea whether it was 5 seconds or 100. They see the light change and adjust speed accordingly
I didn’t ask why the 30-second delay. But it might be able to be tweaked now that they’re hearing feedback.
NOTE: I’ve corrected this comment because I mistakenly said MLK was an ODOT-owned road. That was wrong. PBOT controls this portion of MLK, ever since it was transferred from state to city ownership in 2002. Thanks to everyone who educated me about this.
I still dream of a clear, updated map of who owns what. AFAIK nothing like that exists for the layperson without a bunch of clicks and/or GIS knowledge.
This is a PBOT road.
That’s correct, but believe it or not part of the operating agreement between ODOT and PBOT for this segment of MLK (which elsewhere is still owned fully by ODOT) means ODOT has a say on signal timing and vehicle throughput here :/
They actually don’t.
What!?! How am I first heading about this now
They do and they don’t. Yes, you are correct, this is a PBOT stroad now, not ODOT, but any signal within a mile of any freeway gets scrutinized by the state DOT since it affects traffic on and off the freeway – that’s the theory anyway. In practical terms, both agencies have to follow federal guidelines, so occasionally PBOT will act like ODOT so much that you can’t tell them apart.
please also ask why there appears to be radar detection for northbound southbound car traffic, and nothing for eastbound westbound bicycling. It seems like radar or FLIR or lidar or something else would be perfectly appropriate and potentially may need to be considered for an upgrade in a future project. we have a goal to make riding a bicycle more attractive than driving a car. This signal does not do that. PBOT is clearly prioritizing the detection of cars over bicyclist at this intersection. With the radar the way it is now, the signal could be red all the time for cars and only turn green when cars are on approach. please see the signal at Lloyd Blvd & NE 7th as an example
I would rather have six good bicycle priority traffic signals than seven bad ones
Jonathan, just FYI it’s free rein, not free reign
Just Google “ODOT TransGIS” and click on street classifications, and there are layers for state highways and non-state roads. Easy to use, publicly available.
This is a good point. I don’t know if the automatic lights (the detector things) can differentiate between a bike and car, so they might not want those to start the cycle immediately, but a beg button is always going to be a bike. If it started the cycle immediately, I might even like it better than the detector.
My guess is because it messes up the timing of the other lights on a busy arterial. It’s the same reason you don’t see instant changes on Chavez, Powell, or 82nd. It would cause cars to build up at other lights and screw up their timing which has downstream effects. They could probably figure out a more complicated pattern that occasionally changes it at a faster rate but I doubt it’s a high priority. It’s easier to make pedestrians and cyclists wait until the optimal time in the sequence for them to go.
I deal with this almost every day on 82nd. Sometimes I just run it or go right and then left when I know I missed my window otherwise I’m waiting for another cycle before I can be squeezed into their timing.
You do see instant changes with the flashing yellow beacon all up and down Powell. Those are great, and cheaper, too (so we can afford more of them). I wish we had more of those instead of full signals that require an interminable wait.
The light at Powell and 13th changes almost instantly when you press the button as a pedestrian
I don’t understand the logic here. Wouldn’t it mess up the flow of the other lights regardless of it took 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 10 minutes to change? It’s still being activated at random. Vehicles will always platoon up at signalized intersections.
Most likely, it waits until some phasing schedule has been triggered to change. I’ll bet if you timed it right, the signal would change almost immediately after pressing the command button.
The other reason is that people have been crossing this intersection for 15 years without a signal. It worked fine without one and people are just continuing with their crossings in a way that makes sense to them. The signal just creates unnecessary delay for bike riders. Has there even been an accident here in the past 15 years?
Is there a bike signal here? If not, then bikes are just using the stop sign to cross the street. They wouldn’t need to push the button to cross if there’s not a specific signal related.
The best reason to like it is that it’s great for crossing with a family. Love it for that! But, not surprised that most people aren’t using it.
I rode through this intersection last night and didn’t notice there was a button or a signal, I just proceeded since there was no traffic coming either direction..that said, give people time to adjust to the new infrastructure; there’s years of habits to break here, for both drivers and cyclists.
Minor quibble – but the city of Portland has owned MLK since the 1990s (from the crossing of Columbia Blvd to Powell). This ODOT map has detail on jurisdictional ownership of roads in the city, and this web map has ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the city
Hey if mayor elect Carmen Rubio doesn’t have to follow the rules of the road why do I?
Yep, I used it twice yesterday and didn’t notice the lights were working until half way through the second time. First time across there was a break in traffic (going east, good visibility) so I didn’t even stop.
Beg buttons are so stupid, it seems like they’re in the wrong place 90% of the time, and on a big cargo bike with a kid, it’s actually really hard to correct course when you already pulled up to the intersection. I miss the button almost every time there is one.
Give drivers a beg button and see how that goes.
Just want to add my experience, now that I knew the button was there. Crossed eastbound yesterday. The button is definitely easy to miss and on a bakfiets or other long cargo bike, hard to correct if you do.
One driver in the near lane stopped almost immediately like old times, but the other lanes (that are harder to see with the near line waiting for me) showed no hesitation so I had to wait and try to visibly shrug while the driver waited for me to go. I’ll still just skip waiting if traffic is clear, but it seems drivers are now happy to have a light telling them they can ignore the crossbike.
I feel like the green crossbike is really misleading now. It doesn’t mean anything at this point, unless as others have suggested, riders are still allowed to cross as if it was a stop sign.
They could always ignore the “crossbike”. It has no legal meaning, and only works because people get confused and think maybe it does.
Once again seems like infrastructure designed by PBOT employees who don’t have first hand experience cycling in the city maddening.
Just checked it out. Awkward to reach or see when a car is parked near it. Especially on a cargo bike, which is an issue with several other beg buttons that I am also supposed to use. Would be nice if the island was a little wider as well.
Let’s just tape those buttons down. It’s a good enough solution until PBOT identifies funding.
Glad they finally finished it. I hope they can reduce the wait time. For now, just push the button. It’s not that hard.
Agreed 100%. Before when riding my cargobike (slow bike) I would avoid this intersection like the plague, driver behavior was wildly inconsistent.
I very much prefer and appreciate a button and short wait to ensure a safe crossing vs the previous situation.
“We didn’t have enough money so we made the intersection worse” is PBOT’s unofficial motto.
I use this intersection regularly and have been dreading the light since they started putting it up. Without a light, it only ever took a few seconds to either catch a break in traffic or wait for observant drivers to stop. Now cars can’t choose to stop for bikes or pedestrians. The light tells them what to do. What used to be relatively frictionless for bikes and cars alike now stops both bikes and cars for much longer than necessary. And you have to untrain the cyclists from some pretty deeply ingrained behavior. I don’t know why they would spend so much money to ruin a perfectly functional intersection.
When it comes to bike infrastructure, sometimes less is more.
What sad, sad waste of money! There isa perfectly good signal at Skidmore. The Going route is terrible west of MLK. PBOT really needs to extend the buffered bike lanes on Skidmore from where they abruptly end at N Michigan to NE 7th. That would allow people biking to use existing signals to cross MLK, Williams, and Vancouver, and use a 4-way stop at Mississippi. Plus, the route is straight, simple, and direct and it crosses 1-5. This bike route would connect to bike routes on Concord, Interstate, Michigan, Vancouver/Williams, Rodney and 7th making getting around by bike easier and safer. That excuse about saving money is total BS, they have could just put it on a timer so bikes and peds got a regular, predictable green light.
I bet they could have afforded real sensors if they stopped using money to install so many unnecessary pedestrian beg buttons at other intersections.
Society spends 11 figures on freeway expansion, no problem. But we have to look for loose change between the couch cushions in order to make busy urban intersections safer.
This is on my regular commute to work. I honestly didn’t even know the signal was active the first time I went through it, post “activation” as I waited in the median island was getting very frustrated why no one was stopping for me as usual. There was no posting or signs indicating it had changed from the inactive signals. The beg buttons are in a terrible spot where the curb kicks out and out of the regular cycling line you take to cross the road. When I did use the beg button to cross, it took like what felt forever to the point where I wasn’t sure if it was actually functioning. After waiting and waiting and hitting the button multiple times I finally got the cross signal, 3 cars proceeded to run the red light on MLK before everyone was stopped. In my opinion the light on MLK should NEVER be green for motorized vehicles. It should be either flashing warning yellow or red when the crossing signal is fully activated.
Ding, ding ding: we have a winner! There is no reason to give traffic on MLK a green light at Going. As someone who drives MLK in a car once or twice a month, I would not expect crossing bike traffic if I have a green light. I hate crossing MLK on Going because there is frequently the awkward situation of one lane stopping and expecting you to cross right in front of the other lane, which is carrying agro drivers going 40 or more mph. If that same situation happened while MLK traffic had a solid green it would be even worse.
I learned about the lights in a tweet last week. The next day I got out there, noticed that someone had already triggered the crossing signal, and confidently zipped across MLK at Going for the first time since EVER.
Using the beg button isn’t a matter of education IMO. I don’t love these things, but it was pretty obvious to me, even at a sprint (or at least what passes for one on a cargo bike) across an intersection that I’d given up on for anything but special occasions. The center island doesn’t even work for me when I have a trailer on the longtail bike…
Jonathan wrote:
“So in some ways, the intersection is more dangerous because drivers now have the legal right-of-way when a bicycle rider is in front of them on a green signal, whereas before — when there was no signal — they were legally required to stop if a bicycle rider was already crossing.”
Jonathan — I don’t think this is correct.
Drivers have a legal requirement to stop when there is a pedestrian at a crosswalk. Regardless of whether the crosswalk is striped, or whether there is a diamond yellow sign with a pedestrian silhouette in it.
Drivers do not have a legal requirement to stop when there is a bicycle at a stop sign. Even if there is a diamond yellow sign with a bicycle silhouette. And indeed I think I have read somewhere that they are instructed *not* to stop.
The confusion is when you have a yellow diamond sign with both a pedestrian silhouette and a bicycle silhouette. That sign means, as I understand, that people in cars *must* stop if there is a pedestrian signaling intent to cross. And should be aware that there may be bicycles in the area, but are not expected to stop for bicycles. These are state laws, as I understand.
(The ambiguity is perpetuated in the Oregon Driver Manual. Page 9 — the yellow diamond with a pedestrian doesn’t explicitly say to stop for pedestrians. And the combined pedestrian and bicycle doesn’t point out that you don’t need to stop for bicycles. Page 9
https://www.oregon.gov/odot/forms/dmv/37.pdf.
Page 45 and 46 explain better. But Page 9 could use a clearer one-sentence summary. And pages 49-50 don’t do anything to explain what the yellow bicycle diamond sign means).
The confusion in Portland among the driving public about whether they need to stop for bicycles at an intersection marked with a “ped + bike yellow diamond” sign began in about 2010 at this very intersection. Going and MLK. I don’t think there was a widespread tradition of people driving stopping for bicycle traffic as if it was a crosswalk until this time and place.
The practice was embraced by the city’s bicycle program. I recall Roger Geller, the city’s Bicycle Coordinator, commenting that “it’s a miracle” that people in cars would routinely stop on NE MLK to allow bicycles to cross on Going.
I was skeptical at the beginning, and still am. I think I posted in the BikePortland comment forum that it was putting bicycle riders at risk. Legally and physically. Because the car drivers have the right of way. And if someone on a bicycle was proceeding across MLK and got hit by someone in a car in the last of the 4 lanes to cross, you’d be in a bad spot. You violated the right-of-way, you got hit, and the driver will not need to pay for your losses.
But, it’s come along for fourteen years, and I haven’t heard of anyone being hit at 14th and Going under the old system.
Just clarifying, though. That under the old system people on bikes did *not* have the right-of-way. Under any circumstances when cars were approaching.
I’ll try to check a few things later, but my understanding is that this is the case.
Ted Buehler
Yellow signs are warning signs and have no legal requirement. Just like the yellow speed signs you see on greenways or on tight turns. They are not regulatory speed limit signs they are advisory speed signs. If the public is confused about that they should stop driving. It’s written out clear as day in the drivers manual.
As far as your post about Ray is concerned the truck driver was in the wrong. They shouldn’t have passed a driver stopped at a crosswalk. It was dangerous and in violation of, at the very least, the requirement to exercise due care while driving.
I think the issue bigger than the yellow sign is the green light. The bike traffic may not have a red light and you might argue they can legally cross, but now, instead of no signal, bikes will be crossing through an intersection whose cross traffic has a green light. I think that is a very different scenario in terms of safety and legality.
Here is the link to an earlier story explaining that people in cars don’t need to, and are likely prohibited from, stopping to let people on bikes cross on Going at MLK. (In the 2011-2024 configuration)
https://bikeportland.org/2012/08/29/ray-thomas-on-the-unintended-consequences-of-ambiguous-intersections-76698
“I saw two bicyclists stopped at the stop sign on Going, waiting to head eastbound across the throughway of MLK. To my surprise, the car in front of me slowed down and stopped before the marked pedestrian crosswalk at Going to let the bicyclists ride across MLK.”
“Suddenly, we heard the screeching of skidding tires behind us. I looked up and saw a pick-up truck skidding in my lane, then sliding into the B lane and up onto the curb… Fortunately, no one was hit or hurt.”
“When I observed the intersection, I discovered that a number of motorists stop for bicyclists that are waiting at the stop signs. When a motorist stops without legal basis to do so on a through street like MLK, it creates a hazard for overtaking traffic and is arguably illegal. ORS 811.550, “Places Where Stopping, Standing, and Parking Prohibited”, provides that a person commits a Class D traffic infraction if “a person parks, stops, or leaves standing a vehicle in any of the following places…”
From Ray Thomas’s guest post on BikePortland.org, Aug 2012
Thank you for offering some sanity on this topic. This half-signal resolves that ambiguity, making it so cyclists either have to wait until there is a gap to cross safely (rather than traffic stopping for them to cross), or press the button and wait for the pedestrian signal phase to stop traffic so they can cross.
How is a bicyclist supposed to prevent traffic from stopping for them?
SDOT installed a few leaning rails adjacent to beg buttons serving bike lanes that I thought were an interesting piece of infrastructure. They provided way finding to the button and a slight incentive to use it when riding. They must have been fairly inexpensive and definitely saw further use after the first one was installed in 2015.
The first installation at a highly trafficked intersection on the Burke Gilman trail near the University of Washington got a fair amount of coverage which is easily searched for with “leaning rail sdot bike”.
This video from Seattle DOTexplains it well:
https://youtu.be/U96fNfvyGGk?si=g5dtUtWG6uwejzp_
https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2014/11/12/raised-crosswalk-bike-leaning-rail-better-signal-timing-coming-to-burke-gilman-near-u-village/
Charlotte has a curb-protected two-way bike lane through downtown on West 6th St that has leaning rails at every intersection, but not necessarily in both directions. They rely on infrared sensors for bike riders to turn the lights, though there are beg buttons for pedestrians at the same intersections as well. https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2307011,-80.8430106,3a,75y,105.19h,73.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGWE94Ec6OJUZ0vXYMIih1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e3?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
I used the beg button today eastbound at this crossing. No other cars, bikes, or pedestrians were around. The light changed for me within 10 seconds. Not sure if that means they’ve already adjusted the timing or if I just got lucky – but I barely had to wait.
The beg button for bikes going EB is definitely in a tricky spot where the curb curves to narrow the intersection opening. I can see it would be very awkward for cargo bikes.
I also wish there was a clearer “go” signal for bikes, as has been mentioned the only indication is the crosswalk lights for pedestrians.
IDK if its the case here, but many 1/2 signals are on what I’ll call, for lack of a better term, a “timer”. Let’s say it’s set at 45 seconds (like SE Chavez/Salmon is). If you push the button at 44 seconds you’ll get the walk light immediately. If you push it at 1 second on the timer you’ll have to wait 44 seconds. Push it at 25 seconds you’ll have to wait 20 seconds, and so on…. Apologies for my awkward description, but this is often how half-signals work, in my experience.
This reaction is so odd to me. The fact that this signal gives the option to cross the same way we have in the past (stop at the stop sign, wait for a gap in traffic, and cross), or push a button and wait for a dedicated signal phase, is a feature and not a bug. Experienced, confident cyclists can use it as a stop sign, and less experienced, less confident cyclists can push the button and use it as a signal. Also, during low-traffic times I think most people would just find it easier to cross after looking both ways and verifying a gap, whereas in really congested times many of us might rather have the confidence of the signal stopping traffic. It’s the best of both worlds, and the fact that many people cycling currently don’t feel the need to use the button doesn’t mean it was a bad idea. We’re trying to get more people to ride bikes, right? This solution gives more people more options, but doesn’t have any impact on those of us who never found it difficult to cross MLK at this location. And people crossing as pedestrians also benefit, of course.
exactly this.
AstroBot,
I hear you. But I don’t agree.
Yes, less confident cyclists can push the button, but they won’t (and don’t, based on what I’ve seen) if it’s placed where they never see it.
And more confident folks who treat it like a stop sign are now crossing in front of drivers with a green light. That seems very bad given the broken traffic culture we live in and the fact that MLK is a relatively fast stroad.
“The button came out of nowhere!”
I’d buy this argument more if we had info about one of the longstanding half signals that Ted listed in his comment. Do people seem to use those more than MLK & Going? If so, what you noticed probably is the effect of riders who are used to not having a signalized option more so than an issue with this particular signal. This is brand new for both drivers and bikers, I’m just not sure it’s worth writing off quite yet.