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. 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. Suffice it to say I stressed out several times yesterday as I watched everyone negotiate the intersection.
The problem is captured well in this comment we received via Instagram today:
“As I sat there awkwardly awaiting it to ‘sense’ me, several cars just stopped at the green light which got them honked at, and I didn’t go, because I was attempting to use the lane as intended. I had absolutely no idea there was a button, it was a pedestrian across the street who eventually pushed their button for it to work for me. I now feel a little less dumb, I guess. Good to know, bummer they didn’t make it more clear.”
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 to say the least.
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?
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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.
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?
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 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.
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…
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
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. Also, keep in mind this is an ODOT-controlled road PBOT is crossing so they don’t have free reign. It’s very possible they wanted a shorter cycle length but ODOT didn’t allow them to and since they need ODOT permission to do this, they can’t exactly push back on them.
This is a PBOT road.
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.
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.
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.