way into the hearts of many bicycling Portlanders.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
One of the attractions to city cycling often left out of policy debates is how simply being on a bike lets you to interact with your environment in a completely different way than being cooped up in a car (allowing you to “smell the roses” as this excellent NY Times piece illustrates). It sounds sort of cheesy, but it’s common to hear daily bike commuters talk about how they love certain streets and bridges.
I think that feeling comes from the much more visceral way you experience a city while bicycling.
Two Portland icons that often get that type of praise — the Steel Bridge and Terwilliger Parkway — are celebrating their 100th birthdays this year.
Last weekend the PDX Bridge Festival toasted the Steel Bridge with a big party. With its dedicated bike/walkway just above the Willamette River away from auto traffic, the Steel is a fantastic bridge to cross on a bike. With connections to paths through Waterfront Park on the west side and the Eastbank Esplanade to the east, it’s an extremely popular place to ride.
