Note: I'm currently on a family trip and not working normal hours. Email and message responses will be delayed and story and posting volumes here and on our social media accounts will not be at their usual levels until I return to Portland September 4th. Thanks for your patience and understanding. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
Southbound path of Interstate Bridge will have to handle more bikers and walkers going both directions from today through August 9th.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) The Oregon Department of Transportation issued a statement last night to warn travelers that the northbound biking and walking path on the Interstate Bridge will close for 10 days. The closure … Read more
House Rep. Kevin Cameron thinks people who ride bikes don’t pay for roads and he wants a bike toll on a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River.(Photo: Cameron for Oregon) A new bill has been introduced in Salem that would toll people on bikes for using a new bridge over I-5 (if one ever … Read more
Mock-up of one of 29 new signs created by ODOT to guide bike traffic near I-5 bridge. Last week we reported on unauthorized signage near the I-5 Bridge that was installed by a citizen activist to help bike traffic navigate the winding paths to Vancouver. The person who painted the stencils and posted laminated maps … Read more
Unauthorized and subject to removal.(Photo: Todd Boulanger) The new signage and markings on the paths leading up to the I-5 bridge have been hailed as a much-needed improvement. Unfortunately, since they are unauthorized, the Oregon Department of Transportation says they plan to remove them. After getting a phone call from a reader this morning who … Read more
Someone has posted this map and a series of stencils on the pavement to help riders find their way onto and over the I-5 bridge.(Photo: Beck) A laminated map and stencil markings have mysteriously appeared on the shared-use paths leading up to the I-5 bridge. We haven’t figured out who’s behind them, but several people … Read more
As if the I-5 Bridge needed any more safety issues, yesterday’s job fair hosted by Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler at the Red Lion Hotel turned the biking and walking bridge crossing route into a parking lot… View of biking and walking path to I-5 bridge.(Photo: Marcus Griffith)
Where the I-5 bridge path ends.(Photos: Marcus Griffith) Despite the City of Vancouver’s efforts to redesign an adjacent parking lot in 2009, the blind corner at the northeast end of the I-5 Bridge continues to have frequent collisions between people bicycling and illegally parked cars. The parking lot where the bridge path comes out belongs … Read more
Gate on I-5 bridge.(Photo: Todd Boulanger) Yesterday we received information from a reader that the gates on the I-5 bridge sidewalk had malfunctioned, staying closed for over 30 minutes on Wednesday night and blocking access across the bridge for people on bikes and on foot. That reader, Todd Boulanger, has since been contacted by Kimberly … Read more
As part of their ongoing Drive Less/Save More campaign, Metro has produced a new video to demonstrate how to cross the I-5 bridge. Here’s their blurb about it: The bridge does pose some challenges like narrow paths, curving railings and traffic noise. The video provides riders with important knowledge of the bridge. It gives you … Read more
Aftermath of bike crash on the I-5 bridge Saturday.(Photo: Todd Boulanger)
One of two new stencils comingto the Interstate Bridge. With no guarantee that a new bridge over I-5 between Vancouver and Portland will ever be built, transportation planners from the City of Vancouver are working on several projects they hope will improve bicycle and pedestrian travel across the existing span. According to Senior Planner Jennifer … Read more
Pretty tight, but it’s better than riding on the highway — isn’t it?(Photo © J. Maus) Anyone who has attempted to ride across the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington knows that it’s not for the faint of heart. The bikeway/sidewalk is barely wider than a cargo trailer and there’s … Read more
Comment of the Week: Gratitude for N/NE Broadway project