Sometimes the path to safer biking and walking infrastructure is to simply keep what we already have clean and clear of obstructions. That’s one reason many cycling advocates talk about bike lane maintenance and sweeping as a core concern.
That’s also why about a dozen Portlanders showed up Sunday morning to clean up the shoulder of Northeast Rocky Butte Road. Their focus was on clearing the last half-mile section of the road that’s marked by sharp curves. With vegetation that has grown into the shoulder, these sweeping turns — which also create short sight lines — push bicycle riders and walkers even further into traffic and create dangerous conditions for everyone.
Rocky Butte is an extinct volcano surrounded by natural areas and homes just west of the I-84 and I-205 interchange (across the freeway from Gateway Green). It’s a very popular route for folks looking for an escape from city streets and test themselves with a climb that’s rewarded with a panoramic view from the park atop the butte.
The event was hosted by Friends of Rocky Butte and was sponsored by the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), whose mini-grant program helped pay for supplies and refreshments. Friends of Rocky Butte is a nonprofit that works to activate the area for recreation and community use. Their long-term goal is to bring together the patchwork of agencies that currently control land around the butte (Oregon Department of Transportation, City of Portland, and Oregon State Parks) under one coordinated management structure. Once unified, the group hopes to see investments in trails for walkers, runners, mountain bikers, and climbers — making Rocky Butte an urban recreation hub. (Last month the group hosted a live music concert in the historic tunnel that cuts through the butte.)
After coffee and donuts at a nearby park, volunteers split into two crews: One group tackled the hazardous turn (cutting back thick brush, widening the shoulder, creating a trail); the other group cleared vegetation along nearby sections, removing trash and vegetation and smoothing uneven ground. Before they got out there, the Portland Bureau of Transportation sent out a maintenance truck to cut back the thickest brush.
Before and after photos show their work has made a dramatic difference by opening up several feet of road space for folks on bikes and on foot. “There were loads of walkers and bikers all morning saying ‘thanks!’ as they went by,” Friends of Rocky Butte Board Member (and Executive Director of Oregon Walks) Zachary Lauritzen shared with me after the event.
“Sunday’s work — to create a safe alternative to walking in the road to access the summit — is a first step forward in achieving our vision,” Friends of Rocky Butte Board Treasurer (and NW Trail Alliance board member) Daniel Stuart added.
Lauritzen said the event should be a model of how the city works with community groups. “It’s a great example of a public-private partnership stretching the public dollar. PBOT did a first pass with their big machinery so that volunteers – people who care about improving their neighborhood and are willing to do something about it – could pick up tools and finish the job. For Rocky Butte to be a success story, this will be the first of many opportunities to improve the area.”
Stay tuned to Oregon Walks to take part in a series of walks to the Rocky Butte summit and keep your eyes on the Shift Calendar for group rides to the top of the butte. Biking up for the sunset is a rite of passage for Portland cyclists.
Thanks for reading.
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Thank you for covering this event, Jonathan! If you can, go check it out in person. But, if you can’t, here’s a timelapse from bottom to top of the area we worked on. Thanks Devery for putting this video together! See ya’ll out on Rocky Butte!
https://youtube.com/shorts/_bUkiEIpWv8
Yay Friends of Rocky Butte !!
Yay NW Trail Alliance !!
Yay Oregon Walks !!
Yay PCEF !!
You all are so awesome !!
Yay PBOT too!!!
And yay PCEF for funding yet another not-clean-energy project!
The slush fund marches on…..
That is fantastic, thanks too all who made it happen!
Question: there are speed bumps on the the north side, down by the religious institution, and by the residences above the tunnel. Have they ever been considered for this long steep stretch on the east side?
Yes, there are speed bumps down below but not above where we were working. As to whether they’ve been considered above, I don’t know.
I’ll put in a request to PBoT; seems like since the road is the de facto walkway it would be prudent to slow drivers down a bit.
Thanks so much volunteers!!
Ditto! Thanks for covering the event Jonathan, looking forward to helping out again with the crew. It was worth the trip from East County just for the food lol.
Great work, especially on the curved section! That is the most nerve-wracking part of biking up the butte, as you have no shoulder/room and just a ditch and a wall. Improved sight lines hopefully mean drivers see you and leave more room.
I’ve often thought this section of RB would work well as a one way road, leaving the downhill lane open to cars, while blocking off the uphill lane to cars and leaving it open for bikers and walkers.
Rocky Butte has so much potential as an urban park. Walking and biking trails, rock climbing, a connection to gateway green, etc. It needs to be more than a campground that keeps getting trashed.
Fair dinkum effort by the volunteers — hats off to every one of them! Amazing what a dozen legends with some tools and a bit of elbow grease can achieve before lunch. They’ve made Rocky Butte safer and more inviting for everyone on two wheels or two feet. It’s a fun ride with a nice view at the top.
But I’ve got to ask — in a city with some of the highest taxes in the country, why’s it up to community volunteers to keep vital bike and walking paths usable? Shouldn’t clean, safe public infrastructure be a given, not a weekend DIY project?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for community spirit — but when everyday folks are doing the work that should be baked into basic city maintenance, maybe it’s time to ask: where exactly are our taxes going?
Still, full credit to the crew. If there were medals for civic pride, they’d be dripping in gold
I feel you. That said, the government isn’t going to do everything, ie there is always a line of what they have resources to do and not do.
I happen think all levels of government in our lives–from the city, to the county, to Metro, to the state–are WILDLY inefficient. However, even if they were perfectly efficient, there still would be limits to what the resources can achieve. Right? Considering this, there are always opportunities for volunteers to improve their community.
Should there be money to maintain this trail to the top? I sure wish so! I’m not really sure how to determine if that’s the case. I will say this: it’s my sense our government bodies are so far from having the resources do this type of work that I’m thrilled these volunteers did. As you said: hats off to every one of them!
Why do you blur the bottom of all the pics you post recently? Please don’t.
Hi PTB,
I don’t do that on purpose. It’s just baked into the software. The idea is that it makes captions easier to read and the blur goes away when you click for the full image. I can consider turning the blur off as a default. Thanks for feedback.
I appreciate the added readability of the captions. Thanks.
Is the idea that bikes will ride on the gravel shoulder, or is this more of a visibility thing? It seems like a big job, but I am not understanding the benefit for cyclists. The lane is not wide enough to share with a car, no matter how far to the right you ride.
Site lines and keeping blackberry thorns off of the road.
This work specifically is intended as a benefit for pedestrians and was a low bar to tackle immediately. Future efforts are intended to include hiking/cycling trails in the forest to the east.