Last week the Portland Bureau of Transportation opened the SW 4th Avenue Improvement Project. It’s the most substantial investment they’ve made in the bike network in many years and it’s the most ambitious project yet to come out of the 2018 Central City in Motion Plan.
When we first began talking about that plan in 2013, I said it was a “golden opportunity” that we could not afford to pass up. Of course, back then we had a downtown bicycling mode share of 11% (according to a survey from the Portland Metro Chamber). It feels like everything has changed in the past 10 years, but our need for a high-quality, north-south bikeway and better bus service on SW 4th remained. From what I’ve seen, experienced, and read (from all your messages), this new bikeway has lived up to the hype.
In this video, you will see the entire facility from SW Caruthers to SW Taylor. What really stands out to me — beyond the smooth new pavement and generous width that allowed me and a friend to ride and talk side-by-side with plenty of room! — are the signals. They’re all optimized for bike users on a level that’s very rare to see in the United States. In a few spots, a detector embedded in the pavement mid-block senses your presence and turns on a flashing yellow warning light.
PBOT just raised the bar for what we can expect from bikeways in Portland. I’d love to know what you think about it so far!
Thanks for reading.
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I’m a little concerned about the turn conflicts. After watching the video I’m still having a bit of a hard time understanding at what points there might be turn conflicts.
It looks like when you have a green signal the drivers will always have a red light preventing them from turning into you with the only exceptions being those two points with the flashing yellow lights plus a few driveways. Does that sound right? Or maybe drivers can make a left on red in some circumstances?
Another question is, even if drivers legally cannot make a turn that would lead to a conflict with a biker, how big a risk is it that they _illegally_ make such a turn? Rare?
Hi Adam,
Drivers are not allowed to make left turns on red signals. And yes, there are bike-only signals at almost every intersection — and when there are not signals there are other mitigations like the design that forces sharp turns which are impossible to make quickly and unexpectedly.
Every time you get on your bike there is risk. No bike infrastructure is 100% safe – not even the best ones in Europe!
Actually they are, when turning onto a one-way street (i.e. most streets in downtown). This isn’t allowed in most states AFAIK, but it is in Oregon. See page 14 of the Oregon Driver Manual.
Thanks Iain. In this project, PBOT has installed “No Turn on Red” signs at the signalized intersections.
Ah, good! (And sorry, I misread both comments about the general law, rather than the design of the specific project.)
In Oregon, you can turn left on red onto a one way street.
On the signalized intersections that come into SW 4th, there are “No Turn on Red” signs.
Ah, good! (And sorry, I misread both comments about the general law, rather than the design of the specific project.)
Only if you’re turning off of a one-way street. In other words, it’s legal when turning from a one-way to another one-way. Not if you’re on a two-way street.
Incorrect.
Unless there are signs restricting turns on red, you may turn left from a two-way street onto a one-way street, after a full stop, and yielding to other traffic.
You learn something new every day. Thanks for that correction!
I did not see “no left on red” signs- did they include them? Unless it is posted, it is legal to turn left on red from a one-way on to another one-way street. I appreciate having dedicated green time for bikes while cars have a dedicated red. I wish that 1) the signals were on cycles so they would be consistent and predictable so that there was a green cycles for bikes during every signal cycle, and 2) after the dedicated green for bikes, the bike signal and left turn signal BOTH turned to flashing yellow for caution so bikes going straight and cars turning left could figure it out without unnecessary delays. I think the overly controlling signals might lead to a lot on noncompliance which is self-defeating
Gotcha, thanks for clarifying Jonathan, that all makes sense.
And as for the question of how likely it is that drivers illegally make such turns, I hear ya about how there will always be some risk, but I think the magnitude of the risk still matters.
Something I struggle with is that I really would love to see good data to answer these sorts of questions, but at least from what I understand, this data is lacking. Which means I have to use my judgement and ask others what their judgement is. But given that this is a question of life and death, I worry about the possibility of misjudging things, and so err on the side of being quite cautious.
Ultimately I think I’ll have to get out there and give it a shot; it’s hard to tell without being there. But my best judgement is that it seems like it’s safe enough, even for me. I like that they have those wands and barriers at intersections that slow cars down so that if there is a collision, it’d be at a lower, less fatal speed.
Edit: That said, Naito is just four blocks over so in practice I think I’d usually prefer to just hop over to Naito.
Or maybe SW 6th. I like how on SW 6th you’re a little more visible to cars who might hook you than you are when you’re in a bike lane. Given that most collisions happen at intersections I feel like that makes SW 6th safer all things considered, but that’s just my not-super-educated best guess.
This is a threat anywhere, on any street, at any time. What you have to look at are the sight lines. Where can and can’t the driver on the car see you, and vice versa? The weird thing about this one as a commuter is you have to watch over your right shoulder vs your left, which might take a bit of practice. Try it out, take it slow at first, be prepared when you hear heavy rolling tires behind you that they might pull in front of you with little to no notice.
Absolutely love it! Congrats to everyone involved in this outstanding project!
Looks promising. One question: do all of the bike loop detectors in the pavement pick up carbon bikes? I shelled out to get a carbon gravel/rain bike to save weight, but it is unfortunate when traffic infrastructure turns my bike into a stealth machine.
Hey Dan, it’s likely since you will still have conductive material (e.g., aluminum rims) on your bike.
Both my upright city bikes are not detected by any loop detector in Portland unless I get off the bike and tilt the crank close to the detector. PBOT traffic engineers tune loop detectors with ancient heavy steel mountain bike rims and have a retrogrouch attitude towards anyone who does not ride a tank.
That’s interesting, none of my bikes have problems being seen by the detectors. Sometimes you have to line your wheel up right over the wire.
I agree- these seem to be very sensitive and only work intermittently. The sensors do not want to pick up my carbon bike.
Both are carbon frames with carbon wheels. (I like the ride feel of carbon wheels.)
Dang soren that sucks. My dad has 3 cars and none of them predictably trigger the light at the intersection near his house. I’m not sure if this problem just takes a tweak by PBoT or if it’s something that often needs replacement.
The loop detectors seem to have a very short shelf life. The left turn signal at Interstate/Overlook has been repaired a few times in the last couple of years and only seems to work for a few months. I hope they have a back-up plan.
Interesting. Do you know if it’s corrosion or something else? I wonder if camera sensors are more reliable?
Are you sure the detector is not working? Could the same observations be explained by the hypothesis that the signal was ‘optimized’ to facilitate car traffic on interstate? At Greeley and Ainsworth the signal used to be very responsive to bikes travelling E on Ainsworth (I rarely unclipped). Recently, I’ve been waiting much longer (like a minute or more). The pedestrian signals also become much less responsive at the same time (when the LPI was implemented). This makes me think that the change in my experience is due to changes in the signal programming, not malfunctioning equipment.
Quite a few induction loops in Portland show damage due to asphalt degradation and or erosion of the tar they use to seal up the circuit. I suspect that if PBOT tallied the cost of replacing/repairing these loops with fixed ultrasonic/flir/radar detectors there would be long-term savings. This would also solve the inability of loop detectors to detect modern light-weight bikes (as opposed to the 19th century technology frames many Portlanders quixotically prefer — dreaming of the 1890s).
It could be a programming change, but the waits are now so long I usually just run it! That is obviously not ideal, I would prefer to participate in a functional system, but since bikes are so low on the priority list, I tend to just look after my own safety and convenience. I hope these detectors work well and continue to work.
Carbon rims and cranks are pretty common. The outer shells/races of press-fit BB are often durable/stiff plastic. Pedals, hubs, and chainrings are still reliably metal (but the latter two are often aluminum)
I’m not too familiar with carbon stuff, but there are some tricks people with carbon bikes use to get the detectors to work.
And what happens when the detectors ultimately fail, thanks to our challenging NW weather? PBOT already can’t maintain the existing infra, nor can ODOT. The loops on Barbur, before the two bridges, are broken about half of the time. I don’t expect PBOT to do any better.
The front loop on Ladd at 7 Corners has been broken for years. It’s been reported several times, and PBOT can’t (or won’t) fix it
I didn’t even know there was a sensor there. I figured the signal holds for the bus on Division and then everything else is on a timer.
Agreed Fred! I hate the sensors! It is a nice idea that promises seamless riding, but they tend to stop working pretty quickly. The sensors on Greeley worked great at first but not so much today. The sensors at the Broadway Bridge means bikes have to wait every single time! I really would prefer dedicated green time for bikes and pedestrians – loops and beg buttons are bullshit.
The sensor at Going and Greeley always sees me, and I almost never (<10%) have to slow below 15 mph to navigate the intersection (where you switch from one side of Greeley to the other) on my trip downtown. It’s a great feeling to have all the auto traffic stop just so that I can flow effortlessly down the hill…. Maybe it’s cuz I ride such low budget bikes??
Do you ride Greeley north too? I fid that the sensor works well southbound but poorly northbound. I just realized that I now have 4 (!) bikes, steel, titanium, aluminum and carbon. I will start testing sensors on different bikes
It’s true that I ride N on Greeley much less frequently than S, and I do usually wait at the light when I do. But I don’t mind as much because it’s uphill! 4 bikes seems like a good quiver.
thanks!
Both directions sense me every time, I’ve never had an issue and ride it multiple times/week.
Admittedly, I ride in a pretty narrow subset of the city, but this feels like a non-issue. An overwhelming large number of intersections rely on induction loops to detect all types of traffic, and in my experience, they work.
Carbon wheels or alloy?
That being said my Hed Belgium+ winter wheels also don’t work reliably with 34 mm tires.
Alloy rims for me. Tires between 40 mm and 55 mm wide.
But I’m speaking broadly here. I mean induction loops work nearly everywhere around the city, regardless of if they’re tuned for bikes. The point is that the weather doesn’t seem to be impacting their performance like Fred is claiming.
I think people with mega-alloy 36h rims and spokes the thickness of vienna sausages simply don’t appreciate the joys of cycling on sensible light-weight crabon fibre rims with double-butted spokes.
Yeah. That’s definitely not what I’m riding.
Haven’t ridden it yet but the signals look hecka confusing – for bike riders and for drivers. Looks like you’ve got about four different signal configurations (left-turn signals, flashing turn signals, flashing warning signs etc). Inconsistency of traffic infra in Portland is a HUGE problem (try teaching your kids to drive here), and this project only adds to it.
Someone has apparently tried to design away any possible conflicts.
New motto: “PBOT bike infrastructure. Designed by lawyers!”
I’ve driven SW 4th in my car and noticed the new left turn signals immediately. They were intuitive… to me at least. I’m glad to see the new lanes, because after years of driving this road, it was obviously under-utilized by cars.
Fred,
Yes I address the signal confusion directly in the video. And yes, PBOT did in fact, “tried to design away any possible conflicts,” — which is exactly what they are supposed to do!! It’s pretty simple: obey the signals and use the road with caution and consideration and everyone will live in peace.
Only in Portland would the cycling community demand 100% guided infra. In most places, you ride with traffic until you have to give way. Think of a roundabout in the UK: it works b/c every user knows when to go and when to give way. Cyclists have to be more vigilant b/c they are slower and have more to lose, but still if they behave in the right way, cars will yield to them.
The reason traffic circles work so poorly in the US is that drivers and cyclists are waiting to be told (by a signal) how to use them. Our systems infantalize all of the users – and this design on 4th is the creme de la creme of infantilization. I feel pretty confident that I could use a bike lane on 4th and avoid cars and trucks turning across my path, but this design doesn’t trust me to do that. Instead I need to be told when to stop and when to go, everywhere. May as well automate ourselves!
I think “anti-woonerft” is the term you are looking for.
Vehicular cycling is a failed and outdated idea. It doesn’t work for the general public, it is a bad suggestion. I felt ok riding on 4th before, although I avoided it for years, and even when riding it it’s an adrenaline rush. Fun for me, but adrenaline rush for me is most people’s “nope, never doing that.”
For that reason, we need to repeal whatever that law is that says you need to use the bike lane if it’s there. It should be easy to please the vehicular cyclist minority by just doing that.
Shit take; they have bike lanes and traffic signals in the UK too. In fact, London didn’t see a measurable uptick in cycling among regular people until they started building protected bike lanes. The US has tons of roundabouts that work just fine. Your screeds about “infantilization” are so frustrating to read; they are only one step away from John Forrester’s screeds about “segregation”. You just think everyone is stupid except for you and everyone should just choose be smart and competent like you. You are deliberately choosing not to see the fact that most people don’t want to ride in the car lane. The data from pretty much everywhere shows that protected bike lanes are safer and get more people riding. Certainly more than calling them fat, lazy, and stupid like you so often do.
Have you even ridden your bike in the new lane??
Not only did London see an uptick in mode share but it actually went up in recent years. In contrast Portland’s bike mode share is now at generational lows — not that you would know this from reading the Baghdad Bob positivity of Bike Portland.
Yes for sure. Road design in the US prioritizes speed, which places cars in groups, which require signalization. It’s a get there fast to wait phenomenon where most of the time without signalization and a constant slow speed (e.g., 15mph) people would get there just as fast.
But generalizing that overuse of signals in the US for stroads to an entirely different context of signal prioritization on PBLs is just a silly argument. It’s time to accept this was not built specifically for you (that’s ok!), but for everyone who isn’t currently riding a bike and kids/old farts/people with disabilities. Otherwise, all we have are MAMILs.
London, Paris etc. have gone through the exact same process. People spoke about the infantilization of bike riders prior to the bike boom there. Biker’s rights means take the road. Stupid shit like that.
It was pretty much inevitable that once they expanded and made their network practical (prioritizing separate space for people on bikes including bike signals), ridership would skyrocket. It’s a new thing here and sometimes change is difficult for people to adjust to. But it’s happened countless times before. You’re beating the wrong drum on this one Fred.
Awesome recon, it’s not always intuitive, so I love to have some clue what to expect before tackling a new “bike friendly” route.
Y’all really need to get out more (i.e. leave Portland and visit other cities.) Philadelphia, Seattle, Charlotte, DC, and many other cities have had these for years now – Portland is actually quite far behind the curve now – and DC even put in a Dutch-style bike lane (sidewalk, trees/grass, bike lane, more trees/grass, parked cars, traffic lane(s), median, traffic lane(s), parked cars, trees/grass, bike lane, trees/grass, sidewalk.)
So the northbound is done, what about southbound? Is that scheduled for 2038?
as of nov. 3, 2025, i don’t think the northbound bike lane is done. isn’t it supposed to go to burnside?
Yea david, agreed. We’re a little isolated, but Portland’s now joined the 20th century.
Southbound is Broadway and it’s not as nice as this but it is a continuous bike lane, much of it protected. It’s not great but it exists.
David,
Who said we didn’t know that other cities have this type of infrastructure already? I don’t recall saying anything in the video or the post that makes it sound like Portland is any better than those other cities. I will say, however, that our signals game is the best in the country. I don’t have the numbers, but I bet Portland has the most – and highest quality – bike signal network in the entire country.
Also, the southbound is already there. It’s SW Broadway, which also has a protected bike lane – albeit not nearly as nice. But folks should know that someday SW Broadway will look more like this. Just a matter of funding and time.
I believe David was responding to the title: “…Bike Lane Sets a New Standard“. Considering that this facility is no where near as nice as many, many previous facilities built in North America the overly celebratory description (e.g. “New Standard”) deserved a bit of push back.
Soren,
And my title was referring to Portland. Not North America.
Well, we didn’t know that, did we? JM, a lot of your posts are total civic boosterism about how great Portland is, so it’s hard sometimes to tell when you are being boosterish versus sarcastic versus just telling it like it is.
You need at least a paragraph in the title to please all the pedants.
And the “both sides” accusers. You know who you are.
“pedants”
The City of Portland won federal and metro funding for protected bike lanes downtown about a decade ago. I don’t feel like celebrating because I view the reckless delays that prevented build out of this infrastructure as an enraging missed opportunity. If this and other funded infrastructure had been built 6 years ago perhaps we might not have seen a ~60% decline in bike mode share from its 2015 peak.
“infrastructure had been built 6 years ago perhaps we might not have seen a ~60% decline in bike mode share from its 2015 peak.”
Probably we would have. There is no evidence that people stopped riding because the infrastructure didn’t improve quickly enough, and that explanation doesn’t really even make sense, especially downtown.
Absolutely, but I don’t understand the bad faith policing of someone saying “look at this good thing that got done”.
Yes it should have been sooner and more. But separately and aside from that, it’s worth saying cool, glad that got done.
Perhaps some space could have been made to point out the delays too.
I don’t know if it is just a learning curve for the drivers but I see the buses trying to turn left at Mill street having trouble doing so. They are needing to swing fully into the next right lane to make the turn without hitting the new concrete barrier. It’s kinda funny but also not.
Fabulous video and explainer. Nice job, PBOT – really thinking through the complexities of the street and how all the modes interact.
As someone who rode to 200 market, daily, for years, this is what we always wanted. The 2nd/3rd ave lanes nearly wrecked me several times due to the mid-block parking lot driveways (frequently used) and tall trucks parked blocking visibility, and the lack of any real buffer between moving car traffic and bike traffic.
Based on your video, this looks several orders of magnitude better than anything we’ve had before. Thanks for pulling it together!
We need those blue detection confirmation lights at every intersection that has a bike detector. They’re far too infrequently used, in fact I can only think of 3 offhand including this new one.
You must not cross MLK in the NE much. Whoever at PBOT shepherded the installation of those blue detection thing-a-ma-bobbers at every signal over a 30 block span of MLK deserves a gift certificate (not kidding).
I’ll use the traffic lanes. They seem safer. No turn conflicts. It’s downhill going north. Project would have been sufficient as sharrows or as a painted lane. More flexibility for a biker. A downhill dedicated lane is far more than necessary. But, ok. That’s money that could’ve been stretched much further with greater benefit. I’ve never used the 2nd Avenue bike lane for the same reason. Plainly: feels less safe to me.
I rode this last night and had a couple of thoughts:
Maybe I shouldn’t be so shocked by the anti-protected bike lane contingent. I guess adding 1-3 minutes to one’s commute really is that bad. I agree that bike lanes/paths/routes should get cyclists where they’re going efficiently and without undue delay. That is not what’s happening here, though.
I’m personally looking forward to the completion of the bike lane to Burnside. I never enjoyed taking the lane on 4th and being surrounded by cars. Plus it was confusing to cross Burnside to turn left on Flanders. I hope that connection is clarified in some way.
I really just want to bike in peace, away from heavy machines, so I’m grateful for this pretty muscular curb protection and I look forward to seeing more of it rolled out.
Paige, I am not sure I agree there is such a strong anti-protected bike lane contingent. There are some commenters noting that the street was fairly comfortable and very efficient before, and hoping the efficiency isn’t compromised by the new infrastructure. This is also a significant investment and people are questioning whether this was the right place to put those resources. Jonathan is heralding this as the establishment of a new gold standard, and the project did come with a lot of street reconstruction, reconfiguration, and millions of dollars in new hardware. I think that warrants skepticism and honest criticism. If this is the best PBOT can do, and if it the standard of the best we can hope for, is it good enough? There is a fair bit of new stuff- what works well and what doesn’t? PBOT put a lot of resources into mitigating left turn conflicts in a new and novel way for Portland. It remains to be seen if this approach will be effective and durable. For all the rebuilding of the street, PBOT did not alter the street geometry leaving the bike lane to double as the stormwater collector and distributor, concentrating leaves and puddles. I guess I would urge you not to write-off critics as being opposed to protected routes or advocates for vehicular cycling. I think readers are comparing the VC route with the current route to evaluate what works and what doesn’t, and to decide for themselves if this level of investment is worth it or if they want to advocate for something different.
MaxD, criticism of infrastructure is warranted, but do you actually have enough data to support that criticism yet? Does anyone??
The curb protection on 4th is the best I’ve seen in the whole city, and it’s closer to what’s used in Seattle, Vancouver, BC, and even Victoria, BC. That it’s collecting stormwater during an atmospheric river is not surprising, especially since bike lanes across Portland are collecting water and leaves. That criticism isn’t unique to this lane – that’s a city-wide critique that I agree needs to be addressed.
I’d love to hear what you think about it in a month. In the meantime, stay dry out there. Cheers!
In terms of safety, I’d break the facility into two parts — north of the Hawthorne Bridge and south of it, because 4th is very different in those two places.
My feeling is that the south will prove safer, and the north won’t (not because it’s now more dangerous, but because it was pretty darned safe to start with). To evaluate safety, we should see what the crash data shows after, say, a year, allowing for random variability.
Paige,
thanks for the reply. Of course, you are right- I do not have enough data to evaluate the route- the southern portion is brand new and the north end hasn’t even been finished! I think a post-occupancy evaluation will be much more valuable. However, to put my critique in context, I have some design experience and can observe details now, and the details matter. Also, people are reading about his now, and learning about it and forming opinions in a way that may not be as compelling in a year or 2. I think PBOT missed a few opportunities to make this better without a huge cost increase. Talking about those details increases the chance that well-connected advocates or even PBOT staff will see them and consider them (delusional? maybe!).
With respect MaxD, I share Paige’s reaction to the pointed criticism of the new bike lane. I put a lot of stock into what you say (so much so that I detoured my normal ride a bit today to test the induction sensors on northbound Greeley), and your comments have certainly influenced my views. You and other critics have made some good points against the new lane (4th was already pretty chill to ride, the left side configuration is weird and exposes cyclists to left hooks, drainage could be better, etc.). It just seems like the critics are unwilling to acknowledge the inevitability of imperfections in actual built projects. I understand that PBOT leaves A LOT to be desired. I also think there is power in building visible bike specific infrastructure, and PBOT is the entity that can do that. This project has a lot of good traits — PBOT has avoided a lot of things that cyclists have complained about in previous efforts. This lane is long, curb protected, wide, smooth. Could it be better? Of course. Is it worth thinking about how it could be built better? YES! But I don’t find it problematic to take a few minutes to high-five and celebrate a new protected bike lane through the heart of downtown. Maybe my expectations are too low, IDK. I’m a confident cyclist who had no trouble navigating 4th before, but I will enjoy riding this lane when I’m traversing downtown from the south. I think a lot of other folks feel the same way.
Micah, Thanks for the response. I think your criticism is fair- I did not do a good job of noting some of the positives of the new route. Here a few things I think PBOT did well:
Agreed Paige. Really good points. I find myself thinking along the same lines consistently on this site. Critiques of new infra like MaxD’s can be really invaluable (particularly when I’ve not yet been able to use it). I don’t feel moved to prolong the high-five phase to celebrate a new PBL (though I agree with Micah below that it’s certainly warranted).
From my perspective I try to take a step back and note who is often commenting here, what their assumptions/biases are, and who is frequently left out of the conversation. I would not be surprised if it were mostly MAMILs who, by their very nature of cycling in a place such as Portland (and using what are considered racing bikes outside the US), already have adjusted to cycling frequently with cars.
We rarely hear from that other casual group who don’t really identify as “biker” or care that much about exactly what comprises a separated bike lane, because we don’t have a safe network to allow them to participate. Quite a few people who bike don’t see the point of physical separation or it’s connection to the normalization “boringization”? of cycling.
Portland is starting to move from asking whether we need a network of protected bike lanes to how that fundamental requirement of a separated network works best. It’s a really good start.
Can I get some clarity on why they went for a left-side lane when there are no bus lane conflicts on the right side? I think I read they analyzed traffic patterns and didn’t want to disturb people making right turns – people in cars? So we installed a world-class bike lane on the wrong side of the street to accommodate cars?
You can tell people feel safe riding this exact type of infrastructure because they’re regularly seen going the wrong way (no snark intended!).