(UPDATE, 5:15 pm: I just added a photo gallery with new images taken a few minutes ago. Scroll down to browse.)
Christmas has come early for Portlanders who care about great streets: The new protected bike lane on Southwest 4th Avenue is open for business. While the full project isn’t finished yet, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced today that the southern section — from just south of I-405 to SW Taylor — is fully functional. TriMet buses are servicing stops in their new Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes and the new bike signals have been switched on.
The last time I checked in on this $21 million project was back in June and it was already apparent what a massive transformation it had made to the street. I’ll reserve final judgement until I spend time on it myself, but it’s worth noting this exciting milestone.
The newness begins at SW Caruthers, just south of I-405. At that location, you’re in a bike lane on the right side and PBOT has installed a new bike-only signal to get you across that (beast of an) intersection and into the new protected lane on the left side of 4th. Eventually you’ll be able to ride about 1.3 miles north in a bike lane that’s separated from other lanes by a large, concrete median.
Why is the bike lane on the left? PBOT felt it was much safer given that right turns off 4th Ave are much more frequent than left turns, thus there will be fewer conflicts.
The idea is that 4th is the northbound couplet to SW Broadway, as envisioned in the Central City in Motion Plan adopted by Portland City Council in 2018.
For transit users, the new BAT lane is open between SW Grant and Mill. In addition to speeding up bus service and making stops safer, PBOT says the BAT lane, “supports the long term durability of the new pavement on SW Fourth Avenue by consolidating heavy buses into a reinforced concrete lane, reducing the likelihood of rutting and cracking over time.”
While the Portland Metro Chamber decried the project last years as “wasteful” and urged the then-Commissioner-in-Charge of PBOT to cancel it, Mingus Mapps was undeterred and it moved forward. On the contrary, this bug upgrade to a high-profile corridor (SW 4th — and the new bike lane! — goes right in front of City Hall) is fully-supported by the Downtown Neighborhood Association.
DNA Vice President Xavier Stickler told BikePortland this week that, “Downtown is so excited to utilize this right-sized right-of-way.” “I want to sincerely thank PBOT for this major investment in our streets. Downtown is the economic engine of our city, region, and state. Its workers, residents, students, and visitors alike need and deserve smooth roads for driving, fast movement for transit, and safe infrastructure for walking and biking.”
PBOT will continue working in the coming weeks to complete the bike lane all the way north to Old Town as weather allows. I’ve heard there’s an official ribbon-cutting planned for December. Stay tuned for more coverage once I get the chance to get over there and ride this thing!
See how it looks below. These images were taken today:
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I’m looking forward to seeing how PBOT’s overhaul of one of the best streets to ride on through downtown. I’ll be curious how they reduced the left-hook danger that led me to ride in the center lane. And I hope there’s an easy way to turn right.
It would be unfortunate if PBOT spent a whole bunch of money to create an inferior and more dangerous situation for bikes heading north from the Hawthorne Bridge.
I feel the same way! I always enjoyed riding down 4th and I am hopeful, yet skeptical, that the improvements will actually be improvements. I am very concerned about the bike-only signals. PBOT recntly installed some bike-only signals along SW Broadway. Their intention is to reduce right-turn conflicts between people driving and turning right and people biking and going straight. The problem is, PBOT is not very committed to bikes. This means that the bike signals don’t always turn on, and when they do, they have a very short green then go right through a quick yellow and then a solid red. It would be much better if they gave bikes a little leading interval, then make it blinking yellow for bikes and right-turning cars. When PBOT (and TriMet with tier gates) get so heavy-handed and over-protective, people just stop using it. I appreciate a bit of protection, but bikes should have the ability to legally ride through in intersection when cross traffic is stopped and noone is turning right. The signals are extremely paternalistic and severely reduce the quality of the bike infrastructure. It reminds me of the north side of the Blumenauer Bridge which is all designed to slow down bikes and make them wait at signals while cars get straight lanes and automatic signals. I haven’t ridden 4th, yet, but I my confidence in PBOT is basically gone after the last few bike projects they designed.
I know we’re not allowed to criticize a $21M investment in bike and bus infra in Portland – or at least JM isn’t. But I’m really worried that this design will be over-engineered in the sense that bikes will be stopping on practically every block to press a button to request a signal that will stop all of the cars in every direction until it is SAFE for bikes to proceed.
Also the possibility of left hooks is not something I’m excited about. The time I’ve come closest to being killed in Portland was a left hook on N Williams by a truck whose driver had no idea he should expect a bike passing on his left. I predict that drivers heading north on 4th will be similarly unaware of bikes on their left, no matter how many signs try to warn them. Or will every single intersection be signalized so they can’t turn unless they have a green left-turn arrow? We shall see.
When driving this yesterday, i noted two things: one, some of the dividers actually extend into the perpendicular travel lane, meaning cross traffic will keep hitting and damaging them.
More importantly, the left turn I made – we waited at a red for quite some time while the bicycle light cycled through, and then instead of a grenn we got a blinking yellow arrow! So there is an attempt to make drivers do a bit more looking around before taking that left. Frankly, ‘no turn on red’ signs would also be useful, but the flashing yellow was a well-thought addition.
The metal manhole cover and bridge expansion joints in the photos caught my eye.
I always wonder if PBOT is following best practices when having potentially slick steel is a dedicated bicycle lane unavoidable. There’s got to be a cost effective way to make these features more conspicuous or less slippery.