The main commercial district of Northeast Broadway and Northeast Weidler from about 7th to 24th has long been known as a couplet for drivers. But for cyclists? Not so much. With outdated, door-zone bike lanes, people riding bikes have historically avoided these streets, opting instead for the neighborhood greenway on NE Tillamook (to the north) or the lower traffic volumes and better bikeway on NE Multnomah (to the south).
But that changed this summer when the Portland Bureau of Transportation finished repaving Broadway and Weidler and updated the cycling lanes at the same time. I’ve already covered the changes on Broadway, but NE Weidler now has a wider and more comfortable bike lane of its own. Given these upgrades, is it time to add Broadway-Weidler to your bike map?
Yesterday I returned to NE Broadway to see a few changes that PBOT has made since I was there last month and figured I’d check out NE Weidler while I was out there.
NE Weidler
Starting from NE 7th and heading east, Weidler is unchanged. For about eight blocks (and through the Lloyd Center Mall area) I had to ride in an unprotected bike lane sandwiched between car drivers on my left and parked cars on my right (see photo below). As PBOT upgrades bikeways citywide, this type of facility looks more and more outdated. That’s one positive consequence of progress: as more streets get better bike lanes, the old ones looks even worse by comparison, which (should) create urgency to bring everything up to the latest standards.
PBOT’s recent changes begin at NE 15th, where we now have new pavement and a wider bike lane. There are still three lanes for drivers, but PBOT has added a few feet of buffer space on each side of the bike lane. I appreciated the added breathing room and could feel my stress level go down between NE 14th and 15th. Things get a bit tighter as the street narrows east of 16th and I wish we had more protection for the bike lane here, but it’s still an upgrade from what we had before. Then at 21st, things get even better for cycling as PBOT has reduced the number of driving lanes to one and added a generous buffer zone to the bike lane.
Forcing drivers to merge into one lane in just half a city block is such a big deal that PBOT had to install not one, not two, not three, but four big yellow advisory signs right next to each other. The signs say, “Take Turns” which is quite novel and the merge symbol sort of looks like two people dancing. (I can only imagine what type of creative vandalism these will attract!)
At the infamous offset intersection of NE Weidler and 24th, where so many drivers were crashing into a house in the curve it has been vacated, PBOT has added a green coloring to the bikeway and concrete curbs for protection. At 24th the bike lane ends and you’re directed onto Weidler as it becomes a smaller, neighborhood street. If you want to access Broadway by bike and continue eastbound, you’re better off hopping up onto the sidewalk unless you’re comfortable sharing the lane with drivers on a busy street.
NE Broadway
I’ve already shared my impressions of the big changes PBOT made in their Broadway Pave and Paint project. And judging by this positive Reddit thread I came across a few days ago, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a nice step forward.
Since I was there a few weeks ago, PBOT has made a few key changes — some planned and others unplanned.
Between NE 26th and 24th, PBOT has installed what they refer to as “traffic separators” (see below). These went in last week with the goal of creating a bit more peace of mind and protection between drivers and bicycle riders. They’re four inches tall and a foot wide, with a bevel on one side and a right-angle on the other. Unfortunately PBOT maintenance crews installed them backwards and they don’t quite line up inside the buffer zone. The beveled side is supposed to face the bike lane and the sharp edge is supposed to face the drivers. But on both Weidler and Broadway, they’re installed the other way around.
I read a few posts about this on the BikeLoud Slack channel before I saw it myself, so I reached out to PBOT to ask for a clarification. They confirmed that the curbs have been installed incorrectly. However, PBOT says the current installation, “does not result in a negative impact on safety and they would also be costly to remove and reinstall.” “Given the limited benefits and additional cost of fixing the error, PBOT does not plan to remove and reinstall the separators,” a spokesperson told BikePortland yesterday.
In addition to new protective curbs, PBOT has added signage and plastic posts to medians at intersections in order to more clearly designate that the new bike lane should never be used by drivers as a right-turn lane (see below). I shared concern about this in my initial post about the project and it has unfortunately become a big enough issue that — in addition to permanent signs posted on the medians — PBOT has placed large barricades near the curb to prevent drivers from using the lane.
This is an unfortunate development, since it sullies the project and detracts from the beauty of the new infrastructure. PBOT themselves has noted that aesthetics are a very important element of bike infrastructure — especially in high-profile commercial districts. So to have to erect barricades is a bummer. PBOT says their plan is to keep them in place for just three weeks. The hope is drivers will adopt new habits, so that when the barricades are removed, they won’t use the lane for turning. No permanent barrier is planned, in part because PBOT needs to keep the space open so sweepers can fit through (and the cost of a permanent feature wasn’t budgeted for).
Hopefully drivers pay closer attention to the new design and stop using the bike lane as a turning lane.
Final verdict
It’s definitely noteworthy that PBOT upgraded the bike lanes on both Weidler and Broadway within a few months of each other. And given the amount of destinations along these streets, there’s massive potential in making a high-quality bikeway along them. On Weidler, we need more space and protection for the bike lane between NE 7th and 24th for this couplet to really come to life as a good option for cycling. The updates between 15th and 24th are nice, but I’m afraid it’s still not attractive enough for families or novice riders. The new conditions on Broadway are much better, and if drivers make good choices, I think it will attract a much wider array of riders.
And like I wrote in my intro, every upgrade we make creates a higher contrast to older, more dangerous facilities, so this is a step in the right direction. It’ll take a much larger budget and a federal government that isn’t hostile to cycling, for PBOT to create the Broadway-Weidler couplet between the Broadway Bridge and NE 26th that we need and deserve.
— Now that it’s been in place for a month or so, what has been your experience of these new bike lanes?
Thanks for reading.
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As a driver (Yes, I’m car-free but I drive for work sometimes) I like the new design with the zipper merge before the S-curve. I’m usually towing a trailer through here and it is MUCH easier to navigate a large vehicle combination through the S-curve now that it is just one car lane.
They need to add bollards like these in Atlanta to keep cars out of the protected bike lanes.
Both Broadway and Weidler are now much much better for driving and walking.
For driving, I like the angle parking but I wish it was back-in parking so that when leaving the parking spot, the view of oncoming traffic was better. But I like the Main street vibe.
I have yet to ride it as it’s so ingrained in me not to ride there.
The new layout is actually more an improvement for Drivers and pedestrians rather than cyclists.
The bike lane improvements are fine but riding on Halsey to the south or Hancock /Schuyler to the north is way more pleasant on a bicycle.
Overall this was a much needed street improvement. Business does not do well on NE Broadway, hopefully this helps.
If you are in a car, both streets move faster and better with the lane changes so Drivers can’t be annoyed by these changes.
In regards to PBOT saying the backwards installation of the bevel/right angle not being a safety issue: a bike wheel is more likely to snag running into the square edge, and a car wheel is much more likely to hop the barrier. Yes, I’ll take it as is over plastic bollards, but I don’t think the harm of them being backwards is negligible.
Being trapped in a bike lane is absolutely a safety issue and PBOT’s spokesmen has demonstrated that they’re either clueless or disingenuous by saying otherwise. I ride a bike that might hop the backwards curb but many people don’t.
Mistakes are even more expensive when they’re repeated. This is totally a situation that is deserving of root cause analysis to determine why the reversed curb was formed and poured. There could have been failures at multiple levels and this is a relatively inexpensive feature that I’d like to see widespread use in future street infrastructure improvements.
I agree it’s important to track down how the mistake was made, and also–as typical with construction–that something that gets built wrong often means multiple failures along the way, because several people and steps are involved, and it only takes one person along the way to catch a mistake before it’s built.
It could even be the mistake was made due to unclear or incorrect drawings, in which case it could be reasonable to ask the consultant (I assume) who drew the documents to pay at least some of the cost of correction.
It could be the detail drawings didn’t show the correct orientation, although I’m sure the bevel wasn’t omitted entirely, since after all, the bevel is always in the details.
I totally agree that it’s important to develop a public understanding of how and why this happened. As you and R both point out, we hope to have more of this type of curbing in the future, and new installs should be done correctly. I would posit that another important benefit (of a publically available ‘root cause analysis’) is to generate some sense that PBOT is able to improve processes. Nothing is more corrosive than the overpowering sense of institutional incompetence that seems to emanate from everything local government touches. At least show us that you are trying to do better! Similar comments apply to Parks and Rec., Portland Public Schools, BES, Urban Forestry, etc. I support a robust local government (yes to transit, to parks, to schools — let’s pay for nice services) supported by taxes. Making the argument for collective funding for such services is rendered much more difficult by apparent institutional indifference to manifest failure to deliver high quality services.
“the bevel is always in the details”
Thank you for brightening my day.
I’ve worked in construction and can see that this might have been goofed up at any number of steps. For me, it helps to know *why* a project has certain features. If the designer at the top is the only person who knows that those backwards curbs are now more easily violated by cars, *and* make it more dangerous to ride a bike there, it’s easy to see why the builders would miss the detail.
The workers who put it in, their manager, and their manager’s manager probably hate bike lanes and cyclists. Even if they understood why it’s shaped the way it is they wouldn’t care that it got put in wrong.
Construction crews sometimes have a strange cultural dynamic. A worker or a group of workers will look at something and decide that it has to be built a certain way and the plan just can’t be right. Usually these things get sorted out before the concrete trucks show up.
But they’re only in place for three weeks, right? Maybe it’s not negligible, but are we sure it’s significant yet?
No, the barricades, not the incorrectly installed curbs, are what the article says will only be up for three weeks.
Oh I see. Yeah, that’s more…bad
I had this very thought.
“installed them backwards”. Nothing but the best from PBOT.
why don’t they just paint a bike or “bikes only” in the bike lane at intersections?
Fun fact: I opened this article in a browser window this morning, intending to read it later, and then got on my bike to head downtown, via NE Broadway, to a volunteer event … and got right-hooked by a driver overtaking me to turn onto N. Flint Ave. Went down hard enough to fuck up my brake lever, abrade my leg, arm, and back pretty bad, and shatter the phone in my pocket.
At least she stopped.
Another fun fact: While I stood there with the driver, for a good little while, two fellow cyclists paused to ask if I was OK. Zero drivers did.
I have seen someone trip and fall while crossing the street. While onlookers rushed to their aid, drivers just swerved around the person, barely tapping the brakes as they rushed to the next red light. I’m sorry that you got hit. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
That section of Broadway is very dangerous and did not receive any improvements as part of this project. I have been hit very close to that intersection in the bike lane. I now avoid the Broadway bridge in favor of Steel. I do think the sections of Broadway that were improved are safe enough to ride, so I would use it to visit the area, but not to get to the Broadway bridge.
Makes me wonder if California has the right approach to right turns and bikes lanes after all.
I love it. And as someone who crosses here nearly daily, its also been interesting just how much less stressful Broadway feels as a pedestrian. Its quieter. Its calmer, people are choosing to sit and actually hangout on some some of the benches on the street. You can hear the music coming from McMenamins/Swift/Aztec Willies.I sometimes backtrack up Tillamook and then double back down Broadway just to experience it.
Overall my hope is foot traffic increases and businesses see results too. Then there’s more ‘arrows in the quiver’ for advocates and city staff to utilize for conversations with other business districts. It’s not a new observation that Portland is way behind on adding direct business access for folks on bikes of all ages and abilities.
I live/bike daily in the adjoining neighborhood and have ridden this route more in the past few weeks than I have in the past ten years. It’s a major improvement! I was also happy to see the new lane from 26th-24th last week, but something seemed amiss for sure. I also notice that more debris (leaves, etc.) accumulates daily in the bike lane from 26th-25th potentially making it even less safe with the poorly installed separators.
I used to spend a lot of time on NE Broadway/Weidler for work both as a pedestrian and biking. While definitely a considerable improvement, this project still feels like a half measure, which is the general issue I have PBOT’s street improvement projects. Particularly for Broadway at the couplet, I think the biking aspect would have ended up better if they thought of how to make this area a true pedestrian destination people want to linger in (like Hawthorne, Alberta, etc) rather than a place people primarily travel through.
As of today, those plastic barricades have been knocked down and moved “out of the way” of the cars wanting to drive in the bike lane.
I rode the Weidler portion today and remembered why I don’t. Between 7th and 9th, bus 17 passed me at a point that I was toward the left of the narrow bike lane to avoid some debris at the curb, and the bus tires were touching the line. I think the mirror missed me by a few inches. Bad choices on both our parts, I guess, me for trusting and him for passing without leaving the amount of space required by law and basic courtesy.
From 15th, though, the new buffer makes it pretty nice.
Have they halted manufacturing of new cars and stopped giving out new licenses? Have they closed the city borders to drivers? If not, I’m not sure how a three week long “don’t use this as a turn lane” lesson is supposed to work, especially when it looks like temporary construction site junk. Once it’s gone, I’m sure some faces will light up with glee over the freshly opened turn lane. I live and work in Portland and even I might not drive this stretch once within that time span. I know not to use bike lanes as turn lanes but many others do not.
If a private contractor botches a design specification or detail they have to fix it. Apparently there’s no similar accountability for the city’s own crews. Pavement repairs are installed with ripples in the track of a bike route and if you look at what happened to the speed bumps on NE 28th North of Burnside you’ll laugh to keep from crying.
PBOT needs internal standards and templates for the shape and quality of pavement around bike infrastructure. Details like the pavement camber in turns are pretty important in a space meant for two wheeled vehicles. One of the worst things about the approach to the Blumenauer bridge is the kink in the radius of the bike lane for South bound riders crossing Lloyd Boulevard. As built it’s a little flat track obstacle that’s going to create conflicts as more people on foot or on bicycles use the bridge and the side path.