The Portland Bureau of Transportation is ramping up work on a project that will bring safer crossings and upgraded bike lanes to SE 148th Avenue. The project, funded by a $7.1 million federal grant awarded by Metro in 2022, aims to address safety and make it more comfortable for people to walk, access transit and ride bicycles on 148th. PBOT considers 148th one of the city’s most dangerous streets and it has a tragic record of fatal crashes.
The project will add eight new crossings and update the existing bike lane between NE Halsey St and SE Powell Blvd. PBOT is set to build safer crossings at; NE Couch, midblock between E Burnside and SE Stark, SE Alder, SE Taylor, SE Market, SE Lincoln, SE Grant, and SE Clinton. Existing bike lanes will be widened and a buffer space will be added. PBOT says they will use a mix of paint-only buffers and some curb-protected bike lanes.
Despite its substandard bike facilities, this section of SE 148th is classified in the Transportation System Plan as a Major City Bikeway, which means it should be built to encourage a high level of bicycle use. One reason it’s an important street in the network is because it connects to other existing and future bikeways. The better bike lanes planned in this project will connect to a future (already funded) neighborhood greenway at SE 148th and SE Mill and a protected intersection coming to SE 148th and SE Stark (similar to existing one at SE Division).
PBOT released a project survey Monday where they ask the public for feedback on the revised cross-sections.
Their plan involves removing some space on the road currently used as free parking for car users. In wider sections of the road, parking will be removed on one side of the street (see above); but in narrower sections, parking will be removed entirely to make room for wider bike lanes and median islands at the new crossings (see below). As is always the case on projects like this, PBOT makes every effort to retain as much parking as possible.
Total project cost was estimated to be $7.9 million back in 2022, so it’s likely higher now. Metro’s grant was for $7.1 and PBOT was expected to come up with about $800,000 in local match. Back in May, this was one of projects PBOT threatened to delay due to budget constraints; but thanks to the Mayor’s budget proposal that rescued the bureau’s funding situation, that outcome was avoided.
If you care about this section of SE 148th, be sure to take the survey and let PBOT know what you think of their plans thus far. The survey is open until July 15th.
— PBOT project website. Also, I biked this section of 148th with City Council candidate Timur Ender in February 2024. Hear us talk about it and view more photos here.
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This will be massive. Creating AAA riding facilities to/from Powell Butte and connecting up Burnside/Division/Powell is phenomenal!
It would be nice if, in addition to buffer paint, PBOT would make use of traffic zebras or rubber dividers for lower budget “buffered” stretches. Non-curb-protected bike lanes need better delineation between the violence-prone SUV lane and the sustainable-transportation lane.
I think this is great! There’s a few specialty stores I like in the area so it’ll make it easier for me to hit those up after work. TriMet just started running a new bus line on 148th too.
Pretty excited for this. I’ve found myself in the 100s on sketchy bike lanes a few too many times and any upgrade is welcome in my book. Seems like pretty good value for the budget to me as well – though of course I wish we had more money to spend to make the bike lanes even better
on the side where they are keeping parking, why isn’t the bike lane parking protected? I think there was another project (Broadway maybe) where the preserve door zone bike lanes and I am wondering why there isn’t more of an effort towards parking protected lanes?
Simple answer is likely due to the number of driveways along the corridor. Driveway access creates conflict points between traffic modes and “floating” parking lanes can limit visibility of turning vehicles versus people in the bike lane (and sidewalk) unless additional parking space is removed in the approach to each driveway access point. See Page 9 of the SE 162 Ave Safety and Access to Transit Project presentation to the Bicycle Advisory Committee for a summary of considerations for parking-protected bike lanes in East Portland.
One thing I can’t tell from the information here or in the survey is whether any thought has been given to the view down the street from a driver’s perspective. Painted buffers without physical barriers tend to add apparent width to the lane, encouraging faster vehicle speeds. If the lane shifts frequently enough with a barrier at each start, it creates a kind of chicane that effectively narrows the street on the long view and slows most drivers. I don’t get from these designs whether a chicane effect may be an intentional part of having curbside parking on one side, then on another.
When I lived in EP 2008-15, I remember a crash involving a van driver killing 3 bicyclists on 148th and another crash involving a school bus driver fatally hitting a cyclist at 148th and Division. These upgrades are as usual long overdue, but I hope they do a better job than they’ve tried to do on Glisan.
148th was built so wide (along with 122nd, 162nd, and 182nd) because it was designed to be a major interchange on the cancelled I-80 Mt. Hood Freeway. The section south of Powell is really interesting, half the street south of Bush was never built.
I’ve always wondered why those streets seemed overbuilt. Thanks for the explanation.
148th Ave is only two lanes, bike lanes, and parking for most of its length, so it’s actually one of the narrowest collector/arterial streets in East Portland.
I just moved out this way, and this is desperatly needed, but it seems like PBOT is not willing to go far enough to make protected bike lanes, which are whats actually needed. A buffer zone alone does nothing imo. And they should really put the bike lane on the right side of parked cars, but we dont want to inconvience cars to much, do we?
One thing that is pissing me iff about the area is the amount of cars I see just parked in the bike lane. There shouod be heavy enforcement and the cars should get towed.
Cars parking in the bike lane is going to be many times worse once they remove parking and add large buffered bike lanes.
There are numerous apartment complexes on this stretch and residents typically own more vehicles than they are allotted parking spaces for with their units. Not sure where these are going to go once the project completes.
They’re going to sell their cars and start riding bikes, obviously.
I’ve been out here for 8 years now and it’s great any change is coming but it moves at a glacial pace. I bet by 2050 things will be half decent. I’ll be 74, maybe not riding, hopefully not in East Portland (please, God, do not let me be out here when that time comes), but 2050 seems about right.
I have bad news about parking enforcement anywhere in the city but especially east of 205….