BikePortland

Bike law expert says PBOT’s crossbike markings create confusion

This post is part of our Get Legal series made possible by Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton.

When we first reported on crossbikes in August, concerns about them began almost immediately. While some people were happy to see the increased visibility for bicycling traffic at crossings via the big green stripes, others said the treatment creates confusion.

Now Ray Thomas, the Portland lawyer who literally wrote the book on Oregon bike law, is adding his voice to the chorus of concerns.

Before we get into his critique, let’s review what crossbikes are and what problem they aim to solve.

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) was formed as a counterweight to the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The group exists to promote more progressive and innovative street designs that reflect how Americans actually want to live in cities.

NACTO has 49 member cities and just announced three new transit agency members. Portland-based TriMet is one of them. Check the full press release below…

NACTO Welcomes New Transit Members, Reinforcing Transit’s Central Role on City Streets
New Transit Members in Seattle, Portland OR, and Miami-Dade County Join Peers in New York City and San Francisco

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) today announced that Seattle’s King County Metro, Portland’s TriMet, and Miami-Dade County have joined NACTO as the association’s newest transit agency members, weeks after New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) joined the association. These four major transit providers join NACTO’s 49 member cities across North America working to build sustainable, equitable streets and transit networks.

As more people are choosing to live in cities across North America, cities and transit agencies are partnering to move more people in less space, and make sure all neighborhoods have the streets and transit access that they need. NACTO’s recently-released Transit Street Design Guide, created by this unique coalition, shows how putting transit at the heart of street design greatly expands the number of people a street can move, and unlocks street space to create more vibrant places for everyone.

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PBOT unveils design proposal and timeline for bikeway on SW Capitol Highway

Riding on Capitol Hwy today is a risky proposition.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Thanks in part to the passage of the Fix Our Streets gas tax increase the City of Portland is finally going to build what many consider to be southwest Portland’s highest priority transportation project: A redesign of SW Capitol Highway between Multnomah Village and Taylors Ferry Road.

This one-mile north-south stretch of Capitol Highway has been on the radar of PBOT and neighborhood advocates for over 20 years. It was listed as a priority in the 1996 Capitol Highway Plan and since then has been bounced around many project lists and planning documents. The reason for the delay has been the relatively high cost: Because of its topography and stormwater management issues the project has always been on the expensive side.

Last night at the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, PBOT project manager Steven Szigethy said the project is estimated to cost $10-12 million. Funding is now in hand thanks to $3.3 million from the Fix Our Streets fund and another $6-7 million from transportation and stormwater system development charges (fees paid by developers to improve infrastructure).

The Moda Center bike parking area is always full and fun on Bike Night!

If you’re excited as we are for the start of the NBA season, you’ll love this news: Blazers Bike Night is back for 2016 and operators are standing by to take your ticket order .

This year’s game is the Sunday, November 13th contest against the Denver Nuggets, an exciting young team that features former Trail Blazer Will “The Thrill” Barton.

Job Title *
Bike Tour Guide Worldwide

Company/Organization *
Trek Travel

Job Description *
Do you want to bike around the world while getting paid? GREAT! We can’t wait to hear from you!

TREK TRAVEL, voted among the World’s Best tour operators, is in search of vibrant and service driven individuals who are passionate about people, cycling and travel to lead cycling vacations worldwide. We are especially interested in candidates with strong bike mechanic skills, travel experience and fluent in another language.

How to Apply *
If you are interested in finding out what it takes to be a TREK TRAVEL GUIDE, learn more at https://trektravel.com/employment/be-a-guide/

Application deadline December 10, 2016 for the upcoming season. Completed applications are reviewed and processed in the order they are received.

Your guide to Portland’s ‘Walktober’ fest

This guest article is written by Noel Mickelberry, the executive director of Oregon Walks

It’s a special time of year for people on foot. It’s a little rainy, there are patches of sun, and it’s the perfect time to prep yourself for Halloween – it’s Walktober, an entire month of walking fun that Oregon Walks has been organizing for the past five years.

New one-block section of contraflow protected bike lane on SE Morrison Street between Grand and MLK is one of several new projects PBOT has installed in the past few months.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The merry little elves at the Portland Bureau of Transportation have been busy over the past several months. If you like to bike in the city and are waiting for major projects to be completed (like the 20s Bikeway, the bike lanes on Foster, the protected bikeway network downtown, and so on) you’ll still have to wait. But while those projects are still in the workshop, the elves have pushed out lots of smaller ones.

Today we’ll take a closer look at five places where PBOT has added bicycle access upgrades to the street: North Interstate at Tillamook, North Rodney at Fremont, North Vancouver at Fremont, 2nd Avenue, and Southeast Morrison.

Scroll down for notes and photos on the projects…

The mud in this tricky off-camber downhill section gave even the elite riders a lot to think about on Sunday.
(Photo: Dylan VanWeelden/Pushing Towards Normal)

The River City Bicycles CylcoCross Crusade kicked off in fine fashion this weekend. With a big double-header at Alpenrose Dairy in southwest Portland, we are now in the thick of Portland ‘cross season. And by thick, I mean thick mud.

Via email from G.M. on October 7th:

I witnessed part of a car-bike accident this afternoon just before 6pm on 20th just south of I84. The cyclist seemed to be hurt pretty bad – he went down face first – though he was conscious and one officer said he wasn’t going to be admitted with trauma. Along with other witnesses I gave a statement to the police. The one witness who saw the whole thing thought it was the driver’s fault. I am wondering if there’s any way to find out whether the driver was charged with anything. I am pretty sure he would have driven away if I hadn’t told him to get out of his car.

Collision Chronicles: Hit while walking bike at NE 47th and Broadway

This happened Friday, September 9th to reader L.W.:

Last Friday I was riding to a medical appointment and had dismounted my bike at Northeast 47th and Broadway waiting for the cross traffic to clear. Entered the intersection on the foot walking my bike when an oncoming van/truck with left turn indicator on entered the intersection and hit me.

Thank goodness I was on foot and I was able to jump back although was still injured. The driver would not have stopped except I dropped my bike and ran after him to get information to follow up. He was yelling at me because I was not “in a marked crosswalk” and I cited him the Oregon law as he had California plates and didn’t think I had the right-of-way on foot.

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Western Bikeworks absorbs Athletes Lounge to expand into triathlon market

Six weeks after closing its doors for good, Portland’s only triathlon shop has found new life in an unexpected place: Another bike shop.

Early Saturday morning Western Bikeworks announced an agreement with Athletes Lounge. Western Bikeworks has locations in northwest Portland and Tigard and is one of the city’s largest bike shops. In addition to their two retail locations Western Bikeworks does a robust online business as one of four e-commerce bike brands owned by Portland-based Velotech Inc (they also run Cyclocross.com, UrbanCyclist.com and BikeTiresDirect.com).

According to a statement, Athletes Lounge owner Gary Wallesen and an undisclosed number of his former staff will now be employed by Western Bikeworks in order to, “expand the areas of expertise” into trisports. Wallesen has also been hired to spearhead a new e-commerce site at AthletesLounge.com in the coming months.

This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by Bicycle Fitting Services, who reminds you that it’s the perfect time of year to dial-in your fit for maximum power and comfort.

Welcome to the week. Before we get started, here are the best stories we came across last week…

Onion on arm signals: If you need a quick laugh after last night’s depressing presidential debate, check out The Onion’s treatment of hand signals.

USDOT talks tough on Vision Zero: But it’s mostly just talk. Still. A big show was made of federal commitment to road safety, but we’re not holding our breath that they have the guts to do what it takes to really tackle the problem.

Begging for change: A man waited 26 minutes for a “walk” signal in Seattle. Thankfully he recorded it and shamed SDOT into examining the cause of the delay.

Water taxis gaining steam: NYC is planning one and now another one has been approved between San Francisco and Berkeley. Can you imagine a water taxi connecting St. Johns and north Portland to the South Waterfront and downtown?

Bike law expert says PBOT’s crossbike markings create confusion

TriMet now one of four transit providers that are also NACTO members

PBOT unveils design proposal and timeline for bikeway on SW Capitol Highway

Join us, the CCC and Oregon Walks for Blazers Bike Night on November 13th!

Job: Bike Tour Guide Worldwide – Trek Travel

Your guide to Portland’s ‘Walktober’ fest

First look at bikeway upgrades on Interstate, Fremont, 2nd Avenue, Morrison and Vancouver

Over 1,800 racers and muddy conditions kick off Cross Crusade season

Collision Chronicles: NE 20th near I-84

Collision Chronicles: Hit while walking bike at NE 47th and Broadway

Western Bikeworks absorbs Athletes Lounge to expand into triathlon market

The Monday Roundup: Hand signals, glowing bikeways, safety vigilantes, and more

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