A tour of bike parking gems in southeast Portland

Words and photos by first-time contributor Alison Grover, who’s been biking in Oregon since 2017.

It’s a chilly December evening in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland. I’m sipping tea while scrolling on my phone. It’s warm and toasty in the comfort of my home, but outside, the sun has set and the wind is whipping. Then comes a familiar question. What should we do for dinner? And should we bike or drive there? 

It’s so hard to motivate on these cold nights, but I remind myself: I love the freedom and social quality of biking. I love not having to search for (car) parking. I love reducing my carbon footprint. And knowing that my destination has a secure, accessible place to lock my bike seals the deal and gives me an added peace of mind. I am more eager to patronize businesses that go the extra mile to accommodate bikers. And many times, secure bike parking is the deciding factor between biking or driving. 

With that in mind, let’s take a tour of my favorite bike parking in southeast Portland. This is not an exhaustive list. And it’s slightly Buckman-centric. But all of these places give me the sense of safety and security that I look for in quality bike parking.

One more thing before our tour starts…

Here are the important qualities I consider when choosing where to lock my bike: rain shelter, lighting, proximity to building entrances, rack spacing, rack quantity, and the style and heft of the rack itself. On top of those, I also value separation from vehicle traffic and proximity to people. I want bike racks to be separated from speeding cars so that I can finagle my U-lock and cables in peace. And I want my bike to be safely in view of window shoppers, outdoor dining folks, and shop employees, whose sole presence can deter theft. The more eyes on my bike, the better. 

Great Separation from Drivers

When I’m locking up my bike, I’m always fumbling with my U-lock and cable and dropping my keys. It’s a scramble! I prefer to spend this chaotic time up on the sidewalk, as far away from speeding car traffic as possible. I like when bike parking is located on a quiet side street rather than directly on a main thoroughfare. Well-sited bike racks can increase cyclist perceptions of safety while decreasing stress.

Bike corrals at Hinterland Food Carts (SE Sherman St & SE 50th Ave) and Oma’s Hideaway (SE Division St & SE 32nd Ave) are both integrated into the sidewalk. It feels safe to be elevated above street level. 

The Zed Food Court (SE Reedway St. & SE 92nd Ave), which is next door to Zoiglhaus Brewing, has gone a step further than putting bike corrals on the sidewalk. Bike racks are placed within a pleasant outdoor dining zone, well away from street traffic. Similarly, the Bollywood Theater (SE Division St. & SE 30th Ave provides an artistic metal bike rack onsite, inboard of the sidewalk, fully separated from the street. 

Although the bike racks at Cartopia Food Carts (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 12th Ave) are old and bent, I appreciate that they are situated up on the sidewalk and protected from the busy intersection by a bollard-buffered bike lane at street level. I would feel even safer when locking my bike here if these racks were made of a thicker metal material.  Portland Community College Southeast campus (SE Division St & SE 82nd Ave) has integrated a cluster of bike racks and even some bike lockers into the pedestrian-oriented center of campus. (More on those racks in this 2022 BikePortland post.)

Great Proximity to People

I prefer to park my bike in view of people. Whether they are people working in stores with a clear view through the window, people eating outdoors at a cafe, or passersby on the sidewalk, their attention can help deter bike theft from happening in the first place. Here, visibility functions as a front-end security measure, whereas a strong, secure bike rack and bike lock function as the last line of defense, preventing an attempted theft from being successful. Using a combination of both will ensure that your bike is as safe as possible while parked.

On-street bike corrals at the Bagdad Theater (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 37th Ave), Por Que No? (SE Hawthorne Blvd. & SE 47th Ave), and Taqueria Los Punales (SE Belmont St. & SE 33rd Ave) offer bike parking in highly social locations; adjacent to a plethora of shops, restaurants, and grocery stores that generate pedestrian traffic and an outdoor dining population. 

Market of Choice (SE Belmont St. & SE 11th Ave) and Whole Foods (E Burnside St. & NE 28th Ave) have located their bike parking next to busy, social entrances. To improve these racks, quantity could be increased at both locations, and the Whole Foods racks should really be thinner in diameter to better accommodate a U-lock. 

Revolution Hall (SE Stark St. & SE 13th Ave) bike parking is fully in the pedestrian zone. Racks are surrounded by multiple clusters of outdoor tables and nearby dog park visitors, building tenants, roof deck visitors, and people queueing for concerts. To improve this facility, the quantity of racks could be increased. The recently completed Holgate Library (SE Holgate Blvd. & SE 79th Ave) has public bike racks at highly visible locations at the front and back main entrances. Large windows also allow people inside the building to see the bikes. 

Covered

This final category of bike parking facilities exemplifies businesses that achieve both great separation from cars, great proximity to people, and they have a roof protecting bikes from the elements. Yes, a few of these are technically in Northeast, but they’re close enough to Southeast that they deserve to be included. 

Hope you enjoyed this tour of bike parking. Aren’t we lucky to live in a city where we have so much excellent bike parking?!

— Story and photos by first-time BikePortland contributor Alison Grover. Alison has a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture and has bike commuting in Oregon since 2017.

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Josh G
Josh G
1 month ago

Speaking of exposure to cars, I feel safer in the Bagdad theater corral than the rack right in front of theHollywood Theater that’s on the sidewalk, but so close to Sandy that it’s scary

blumdrew
30 days ago

Nice overview. I find the old bike racks near SE Hawthorne (like this one on SE Elliott) to be interesting. I’ve seen a few of them (definitely at least one more around the 40s maybe?) and they seem quite old and not well used. Street view is showing they were installed between 2007 and 2009, if anyone has more info on them I’d be interested to read more.

Watts
Watts
30 days ago
Reply to  blumdrew

This one, and the one up near 36th-ish, were built by a movie company as a thank you for disruption caused by a movie filmed on or near Hawthorne at the time. I don’t recall the film, nor any more details, but that’s why they’re so much more luxe than any other public bike racks, and why their locations don’t really make sense from a planning point-of-view.

Alison Grover
Alison Grover
30 days ago
Reply to  blumdrew

I find these interesting too- these are PBOT’s “bike oasis” racks.

https://bikeportland.org/2007/06/06/hawthorne-bike-oasis-no-longer-an-illusion-3924/amp

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)
Admin
Reply to  blumdrew

What a strange coincidence. I was just prepping a video and an explainer post about what these are with a bit of history attached. Yes these are what were known as a “bike oasis” parking structure. First one went in on SE Hawthorne and 36th in 2007 followed shortly by the one on NE Sandy/Hancock/43rd and then the one on SE Elliott/Hawthorne. Initially funded with a $50,000 gift from Paramount Pictures for filming of The Hunted (2003) as the story goes but I haven’t verified that. I do know that PBOT said they cost $40,00 back in the day. And the initial design was really bad because they put staples way too close together. They’ve since updated the Hawthorne/36th one but the others are still bad.

Here are the four stories I wrote about them back in the day https://bikeportland.org/tag/bike-oasis <-- fun to read the comments on those to see how folks reacted to such a luxe bike parking facility.

blumdrew
29 days ago

Cool! Thanks for the context and history. I love learning new things about Portland, doubly so since I just moved to fairly close to SE Hawthorne/Elliott bike oasis.

Jeff S
Jeff S
30 days ago
Reply to  blumdrew

One of the bike oases installed with the money from the movie where they filmed on the Hawthorne Bridge, perhaps?

Lois Leveen
Lois Leveen
30 days ago

May I nominate the bike racks at the People’s Coop on SE 21st? All are off-street, some are covered (and you can peruse the community billboards as you are locking or unlocking) … and it’s a community-focused place to shop, a great alternative to New Seasons, which is anti-labor. I love riding my bike to places where the workers who serve me are well treated and respected, way more than biking or driving or cartwheeling to places where they aren’t.

Duncan
Duncan
30 days ago
Reply to  Lois Leveen

Agreed on the People’s Coop bike racks. Could use a few more.

Separate comment:
Re. 7-corners New Seasons, for all the positive points, for me there is one negative: most of the staples are several inches too close to the wall, for those of us who use a U-lock through the frame, the front wheel, and the staple. That’s a common problem for Fred Meyer stores as well.
Above was mentioned staples that are too wide. I wonder if they are the same as the Beaverton Kaiser (SW Western Ave)?

Lois Leveen
Lois Leveen
29 days ago
Reply to  Duncan

The bike parking is often spec’ed by the architecture firm, just to meet minimum code requirements with no understanding of how the bike parking would actually be used.

Watts
Watts
29 days ago
Reply to  Lois Leveen

The code needs to be clear and robust, and do that “thinking” for designers.

That comes with the added benefit of allowing builders to complain that the code is overly prescriptive and burdensome and making rents high in order to get the requirement repealed altogether (see bike rooms, thank you Commissioner Rubio).

qqq
qqq
29 days ago
Reply to  Watts

Commenting on this and the previous comments…

I agree about clarity. Also, many people who complain about code requirements point to how long and prescriptive it is, but those often add clarity.

Lois is right, too, about architects often designing to meet code requirements without understanding what users need (same situation with ADA requirements).

Duncan’s examples actually sound like racks that don’t even meet code requirements. The code requires 2′-6″ clear from the rack end to the wall (with some other requirements for diagonal racks, etc.). The code also states that racks “must be designed so that the bicycle frame and one wheel can be locked to a rigid portion of the rack with a U-shaped shackle lock, when both wheels are left on the bicycle”. That’s pretty clear, yet they don’t allow that.

Duncan also mentioned racks that are too wide to use. That also violates the code requirement above.

So if/when bike parking gets installed that doesn’t meet code, and the code IS clear, then it’s not just the architect who’s at fault, it means the contractor, subcontractor, owner and inspector also didn’t notice, or care. The plans reviewer may also not have noticed if the racks match the permit drawings. It’s not that all these have a legal obligation to know the code, but on the other hand, if more people biked, or at least cared about biking, the chances of poor racks being built would be reduced (obviously).

Anyone can file a code violation complaint for non-compliant racks (or ask the business to correct them, and use a zoning violation as leverage if they try to blow you off). Note that if the racks are not required, the code standards don’t apply. Few places have non-required bike parking, though. You don’t have to know that to file a complaint. Sometimes the City checks out complaints, sometimes it doesn’t.

https://www.portland.gov/code/33/200s
(see 33.266 Parking and Loading, starting on p. 266-21)

david hampsten
david hampsten
30 days ago

Any bike racks east of I-205 yet? Just curious.

dw
dw
30 days ago
Reply to  david hampsten

A few, mostly incorporated into the construction of new buildings or renovations of schools & libraries. I asked a business I frequent nicely and they had the city install a rack on the sidewalk out front but usually I am locking to fences, poles, trees, and the like. I don’t really usually mention it to anyone because I don’t want to be “that guy”.

Most of the bike racks I see east of 205 have been used to mount “Crosswalk Closed” signs.

JaredO
JaredO
30 days ago
Reply to  david hampsten

Bike parking is required to be provided with most new development (except fourplexes and smaller), regardless of where it is in Portland.

frizzle
frizzle
30 days ago

as a Lents resident, who often is biking into these areas you listed, thank you for the attention! 🙂

Can we give a demerit to the bike parking at the Pickle’s Stadium?! Can we shame them into having more bike parking?

blumdrew
29 days ago
Reply to  frizzle

Seriously, every time I go to a Pickle’s game the bike parking is overflowing! I usually end up locking my bike to a pole or fence where I’m clearly not supposed to

dw
dw
30 days ago

Good bike parking is so important and it feels good when you can lock up somewhere safe and sane. Lots of events I’ve gone to have really dropped the ball on providing adequate bike parking. The one that sticks out to me was the Cathedral Park jazz fest – so many people biked there and locked to every fence, signpost, and tree they could. A lot of people couldn’t find a place to lock up and just laid their bikes in the grass next to them while they watched the show.

The jazz fest itself it totally free to attend so I don’t think putting the onus on the organizers is really appropriate – they already have enough on their plate! If anyone from some cool bike org is reading this – ya’ll should get in touch with the Cathedral Park jazz fest organizers and get some bike racks or a bike valet set up!