Car abuse continues on a section of the I-5 bike path north of Marine Drive.
Last Thursday, BikePortland reader Israel L., was headed back to Vancouver from Portland and had just left Delta Park en route to the Interstate Bridge. As he crossed the I-5 offramp toward the bike path he noticed the driver of a large, black tow truck turn left (west) from N Union Court. That seemed odd to Israel, since the truck driver was headed onto a one-way off-ramp. “I thought, ‘Oh they might be doing some kind of weird highway access maneuver,'” Israel shared.
“Then to my horror, they did not go onto the off-ramp, they went onto the bike path.”
Israel was on an electric bike and kept riding while he tried to process what he was seeing. “Then it dawned on me: The truck driver just used the bike path to get around traffic.”
Israel said the driver was honking their horn to warn possible path users of his presence.
The driver stayed on the path and headed north under NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and then twisted around toward the underpass of the I-5 freeway ramps. Israel didn’t think the truck would fit under the short tunnel, but it did. He pulled out his camera and took video of the driver on the path inside the cloverleaf of freeway ramps just as he exited the path and continued onto I-5.
Here’s the path the driver took (according to Israel):
Despite being on an electric bike, Israel said he wasn’t able to catch up and get close enough to get a license plate.
Chalk this up to yet another breach of what is supposed to be safe infrastructure for non-drivers. The Oregon Department of Transportation must do more to prevent drivers from using these paths. What’s next, it shows up on Google Maps as a way to bypass traffic?!
According to readers, car and truck drivers use these paths very often. This is the third instance I’ve shared. In July 2024, someone was driving northbound on the path over the Columbia River, and earlier this month a BikePortland reader was forced off this path by the driver of a large SUV. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is aware of this problem, but has so far not shared a plan to prevent it from happening.
Thanks for reading.
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This is NOT the first time this driver has done this! I encountered the same vehicle while biking on this path within the last month. At least he has started honking to warn people.
Good job, Israel, for getting photos. I was too stunned to react quickly enough.
Thanks for reporting, I saw the same thing, probably the same person do this a couple months back. I’ve repeated contacted ODOT to place bollards back here but thus far, no change.
Most paths, including bridges and tunnels, built by state DOTs are specifically designed so that police cars and (bulky) ambulances can access them “in an emergency”, so I rather doubt ODOT will ever put up bollards on them.
Towing is a state regulated industry so the business could potentially face non-criminal consequences that wouldn’t apply to other commercial vehicles if the vehicle or company is ever identified.