4/25: Hello readers and friends. I'm still recovering from a surgery I had on 4/11, so I'm unable to attend events and do typical coverage. See this post for the latest update. I'll work as I can and I'm improving every day! Thanks for all your support 🙏. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
Reader M.N. sent us this photo. It shows the front window of a house on North Willamette Blvd near Wabash where the resident has a message for bike lane users:
“Citizens. Cut us some slack while we access our driveways! Bike lanes are for everyone. It’s the law.”
Repurposing Portland streets for something other than driving or parking cars.
Bollards that go up during certain parts of the day to keep drivers out.
Entire city blocks where people have priority over auto use.
Is this the latest gambit by Better Block PDX or perhaps a demonstration by Bike Loud PDX?
Nope.
At the Portland City Council meeting this morning two prominent food culture advocates and one food cart owner testified in front of Mayor Ted Wheeler and his colleagues that what we need downtown isn’t more room for driving, but more room for eating.
After extending the public outreach phase for their Lloyd to Woodlawn Neighborhood Greenway project last month, the Portland Bureau of Transportation says more listening is necessary to learn, “if and how the project can work for the Black community.”
As we reported in September, the project was called out in an article in The Skanner newspaper that reported outreach was, “slow to reach households of color.”
This project aims to create a low-stress, family-friendly bikeway that connects I-84 in the Lloyd to the north Portland neighborhood of Woodlawn. PBOT has shared two basic options — either using 7th or 9th avenue as the north-south route. Since the designs were first unveiled in July, a large majority of strong and enthusiastic support has emerged for the 7th Avenue alignment.
So far, all of PBOT outreach has shown that the NE 7th Avenue alignment is the overwhelming favorite. But that’s only if you measure by quantity of respondents. And as we’ve experienced in the past, it’s not just how many people speak up, it’s who speaks up.
It’s that time of year.
We stayed in all day Monday. The kids were out of school due to a Portland Public Schools planning day. My one bike-related chore was digging dozens of pieces of glass out of my tires while fixing a flat (more on that in a future post), but that was the closest I got to riding my bike.
The planning day got me thinking about planning something — anything — for the upcoming months to help keep the winter blahs at bay.
Advocacy groups will join forces for a rally on November 7th at the location where a man and young child were critically injured by a driver while they crossed the street earlier this month.
The collision happened on October 2nd in a marked crosswalk on SE 122nd Avenue just outside Midland Library. That location also happens to be where the Portland Bureau of Transportation has an open house scheduled on November 7th for their 122nd Ave Plan: Safety, Access and Transit project. As we reported back in July, PBOT has partnered with TriMet for a suite of updates on the High Crash Corridor. The idea is to bring 122nd Avenue up to a higher level of safety from Marine Drive to Foster Road so TriMet can boost transit service without worrying that their customers will be in harm’s way.
Here are the most noteworthy items we came across in the last week…
Watch car culture work: An advertising regulatory body in the UK has banned several ads by carmakers — including Ford, Nissan, and Fiat Chrysler — because they encourage dangerous driving. ‘Bout time! If only we could challenge car culture this aggressively in the US.
Trans athlete support: A petition has emerged to document support for transgender cycling athletes following the post-World Championship backlash experienced by track racer Rachel McKinnon.
Right turn ban: As part of their Vision Zero efforts, D.C. transportation officials are considering making it illegal to turn right during a red light.
The case of Mark Holzmann and the allegedly enraged revenge-seeker on two wheels is unprecedented on BikePortland.
The City of Portland is on a steady march toward safer streets through their Vision Zero program. Yesterday the Bureau of Transportation announced details of 18 “High Crash Network” streets that will get a range of safety updates in 2019.
It’s all in service to our adopted goal of ending traffic violence in the next six years.
The list includes four larger, multi-block projects (marked with asterisk below) and 14 “targeted” fixes on 14 other streets (click street name for project page):
*102nd: a pilot project will evaluate the safety impact of additional crossings, bike lanes, and safer speeds between Weidler and Sandy.
*Capitol Hwy: extensive updates are planned between Garden Home and Taylors Ferry, while more modest (but important!) safety fixes are planned from Huber to Kerr Parkway.
*Marine Dr: safety fixes from 33rd to 185th include new bike lanes, rumble strips, rapid flashing beacons, and a traffic signal at 122nd.
*Powell Blvd: new crosswalks, rapid flashing beacons, sidewalks, protected bike lanes, center turn lanes, lighting, and drainage are planned from 122nd to 136th.
92nd: upgrade signal hardware at Holgate
122nd: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (Airport Way-Burnside), bike lane extensions and conflict markings at 11 intersections (Halsey-Holgate), crossing enhancement at I-84 underpass
Barbur: sidewalk infill, enhanced crossings, rebuilt bike/ped connection (Lane, 53rd)
Broadway: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (Larrabee-Chávez), bike lane extensions and conflict markings (Irving-Oak)
Burnside, East: crossing enhancements at 16th, 129th
Burnside, West: crossing enhancements at 20th PlaceAdvertisement
Columbia: new bridge for walking & biking (Chimney Park), crossing improvements at Midway, intersection safety fixes at Cully/Alderwood
Division: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (21st-162nd), lighting (122nd-129th), crossing enhancements (64th, 77th, 78th), enhanced bike lanes, more lighting, and improved crossings (82nd-city limit)
Glisan: crossing enhancements at 108th, 128th, and 155th
Halsey: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (84th), two-way bike lanes on I-205 overpass, more lighting, enhanced crossings, protected bike lanes, and speed limit reduction (103rd-116th), sidewalk infill (114th162nd), enhanced crossings (119th, 128th, 143rd, 155th)
Holgate: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (17th-92nd), crossing enhancements (67th, 78th, 79th, 112th, 128th), sidewalk infill (102nd-122nd)
Killingsworth: sidewalk infill from 42nd to Cully
Martin Luther King Jr.: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (Dekum-Lloyd)
Sandy: larger signal heads & reflective backboards (28th-47th), median islands and rapid flashing beacons (85th, 91st)
Stark: crossing enhancements (16th, 130th, 146th, 155th, 160th)
As you view this list, keep in mind that these projects don’t just happen. They are the culmination of years of groundwork laid by PBOT leadership, staff, and volunteer advocates who help push it all through. From the City’s Office of Government Relations that lobbies the legislature for more humane speed limit laws, to the PBOT Director (Leah Treat) who made Vision Zero a top priority at the bureau, to the family members of traffic crash victims who volunteer on the Vision Zero Task Force, and the advocates (like many of you!) who help create urgency and political will — it takes an entire community ecosystem to reform our streets.
And while I don’t think we’re doing nearly enough, fast enough — and my friends at PBOT know I will continue to be impatient and frustrated at the pace of change — I also know steady progress is something worth applause and appreciation.
For more on what PBOT is doing to make our roads safer, check their latest Vision Zero program updates here.
And don’t forget that there’s an important open house for the 122nd Avenue Plan taking place November 7th at the Midland Library.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Whenever a carfree bridge over the Willamette River is being built in our region, it’s worth knowing about — especially when that bridge is the lynchpin that will someday connect 1,000 miles of paths and trails in the Portland region with the 134-mile Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway.
I’m talking about the French Prairie Bridge project. And it’s time to do some bridge shopping.
Welcome to the weekend!
While our stellar weather seems to have passed, we embrace yet another change in the season. And if you’re a cyclocross fan, this rain is what you’ve been waiting for.
Note: Some events cancel in the event of rain (always double-check event website before heading out), and this week we’ve shared two events happening Monday (10/29) just as a bonus because we like you so much.
Have fun!
In a partnership with the City of Seattle and University of Washington, delivery giant UPS announced today they will use pedal-assist, electric cargo bikes to make deliveries around Pike Place Market and other parts of downtown.
The best part about this news? The bikes being used in this pilot program come from Portland-based company Truck Trike.
Here’s more about the delivery program from a UPS press release:
In an effort to address growing traffic congestion and air quality concerns, UPS and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan today announced the deployment of an innovative downtown delivery pilot project using pedal-assist cargo eBikes and customized, modular trailers. The cargo eBikes will operate in the historic Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle area on sidewalks and in designated bike lanes.
