The Oregon Department of Transportation manages a highway near Portland’s southern border that’s the only way for some bicycle riders to travel between Sellwood and Lake Oswego. Unfortunately this highway, Highway 43, poses extreme risks to cyclists who encounter a shoulder full of rocks and dirt with just inches of space between themselves and car users driving over 50 mph.
68-year-old Rutilo Jorge learned that the hardest way. He was killed while bicycling on Highway 43 on November 11th. Police officials say he hit a rock in the shoulder, lost control and then was involved in a collision with a driver.
It’s unclear exactly what happened that night; but it’s clear the current conditions cannot stand. ODOT must provide a greater level of safety for bicycle riders in this corridor.
As I reported last month, ODOT Vulnerable User Crash Response (VCR) team took a closer look at the location of Jorge’s death with an eye toward identifying changes that might prevent future tragedies. I’ve been in touch with ODOT Region 1 Public Affairs Manager David House about the ODOT investigation. He said the goal of the team is to, “identify risks and potential options to reduce risks to vulnerable users such as cyclists.” House shared that the VCR team has dedicated funds to implement projects, but those are limited and very uncertain at the moment given ODOT’s current funding crisis.
House says the VCR team has recommended the installation of warning signs, “as an immediate measure that can be done with available funds.” The plan is to identify four to six location in the area where Jorge was hit where caution signs would be installed. House says the signs, “would increase car driver awareness of cyclists.” The signs are expected to be installed sometime this spring.
As for longer-term options like widening the highway or restriping existing lanes to make space for a protected bike lane — those would require a much larger financial commitment that ODOT is unwilling to make at this time. It’s worth noting that this location has already been identified as a top priority for investment, and Jorge’s death only makes it more so. It will be up to advocates and community leaders to hold ODOT’s feet to the fire and push for more substantive solutions. “We would need to develop long-term solutions with the local communities’ transportation plans as well as coordination with local cyclist and pedestrian proposals – such as Lake Oswego to Portland Trail Plan,” House shared with BikePortland in an email.
“While our current funding situation is in limbo and a long-term funding solution for ODOT may be years away, ODOT Region 1 traffic investigations will be maintaining and tracking a list of requests/improvements that we can put into effect once an alternative source of funding is found,” he added.
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“As for longer-term options like widening the highway or restriping existing lanes to make space for a protected bike lane…those would require a much larger financial commitment that ODOT is unwilling to make at this time”
Been using this stretch for 23 years now. when is the time?
ODOT needs to widen a bunch of freeways first.
How much is ODOT paying for a gallon of paint these days??? Restriping, even if just in a few sections, is absolutely the cheapest thing they can do,
Other than nothing, of course.
A broken link like Highway 43 is one reason that you see few people on bikes in Lake Oswego, along Willamette Drive (with its stranded bike lanes) or in West Linn. Hell, anybody who grew up there had no use for a bike, their parents would probably rather they ate shrooms or went BASE jumping than ride a bike.
I wonder if any studies have been done around the efficacy of those types of signs. Do they affect driver behavior enough to make a difference, or are they like thoughts and prayers?
Apparently ODOT’s response to a cyclist being killed on Highway 43 is to install a few signs reminding drivers that cyclists exist. Bold strategy. Meanwhile the road itself remains a gravel-strewn death chute with inches of shoulder and cars flying by at 50+ mph.
If we’re being honest, the only sign that wouldn’t be pure performance would read: “CYCLISTS: THIS IS A DEATH ZONE. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. ODOT AWARE.”
Will they also install signs to increase driver awareness of signs? If they’re not paying attention to actual vehicles on the road what are the odds they’re paying attention to a sign on the side of the road?
I suppose the problem could be they saw the cyclist they just didn’t care to drive around him safely. What kind of sign could we put up for that?
Speaking of I haven’t seen a sign for the person who died on Harrison and Chavez. They haven’t updated their Deadly traffic crash response page since 10/21/2024. Is the page outdated or have they stopped doing it? Has anyone else seen any of these signs going up in the past year?
Put a warning sign up on the road that has deadly conditions. That will surely fix it.
Putting up signs is ODOT’s version of “thoughts and prayers.”
These signs will do absolutely nothing. They are the worst kind of performative governance.
I bet ODOT would have the cash to stripe some bike lanes if they weren’t paying hunks of cash to email job consultants to make dumb trafficpocalypse slideshows.
This is a great point. ODOT seems to spend almost as much time and energy telling us all what they can’t do if they don’t get funded, as they do in their actual job.
It would cost less than a billion dollars to widen Highway 43 so it is just uninteresting.
These signs are a waste of money. Maybe better to warn bicyclists about the dangers of this road. “ODOT knows you can be killed on this road — and doesn’t care.”