New buffered bike lanes on Front Avenue can’t get finished soon enough for this fellow.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

A major gap in our central city cycling network is about to be filled. For years people riding bicycles have had to share lanes on NW Front/Naito Parkway between NW 15th and 9th where there were five wide lanes, 40 mph speed limits, and no dedicated cycling space. Now the final piece of a project that began in 2017 is close to completion and it will come with fewer driving lanes and new buffered bike lanes that will run behind updated bus stops.

As residential and commercial development on NW Front has skyrocketed in recent years, so too has the need for a safe bicycling connection on Front/Naito between the Steel Bridge, the Pearl District and the Northwest Industrial Area. PBOT added bike lanes north of 15th Avenue back in 2017 and now they’re about to fill in the gap to the south.

Here’s what it used to look like:

And here’s a look at the new bus stops (new lane striping isn’t done yet):

The changes come as part of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s NW Front Avenue – Naito Parkway Local Improvement District (LID) created in March 2017 with Park Office LLC, owners of a major nearby development. They contributed $1.1 million toward the project (and received System Development Charge credits) to repave Front/Naito and improve cycling conditions.

During a ride through the area over the weekend I noticed the paving is done and preliminary striping marks are down. In addition to the new bike lanes, what really caught my eye are the new transit islands located just south of the Fremont Bridge near several large office buildings. PBOT has designed the bike lane to run behind the stops in order to avoid the “leapfrog” phenomenon where bus operators service stops at the curb and encroach into the bike lane. These new transit islands also allow bus operators to stop in the sole driving lane, so they act as traffic calming as well.

These new transit upgrades will be key if Portland is ever successful in attracting a Major League Baseball baseball team whose new stadium would be located on the riverfront along Front Avenue.

In addition to the new lane configuration, PBOT also plans to upgrade curb ramps and partially rebuild traffic signals at 9th, 15th and 17th avenues. The project is likely to be fully completed before the start of winter. I’ve asked PBOT whether or not the bike lanes will be protected and when we can expect the project to be finished. I’ll update this post when I hear back. Also stay tuned for full photo recap once everything is done.

UPDATE, 4:49 pm: Here’s what PBOT says about the bike lane design and schedule:

Bike lanes on either side of NW Front Ave will be 7’ wide with a 3’ buffer from NW 9th to NW 17th. From NW 17th to a little north of NW 18th, the bike lanes will be 6’ wide with a 3’ buffer. The buffers will include surface mounted tubular markers spaced approx. 20’ apart for the majority of the project and will be parking protected in a few spots.

With the clear weather window that we have this weekend, contractors will be doing the long line striping (centerlines, bike lanes and buffers) between Friday and Tuesday. We’ll have more information on the rest of the striping schedule after a meeting with the contractor later this week.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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“It’s a celebration!” beamed a helpful person at the check-in desk as I walked into the big open house for the Central City in Motion plan last night at UO’s White Stag Building. “We have cookies and temporary tattoos!” It was indeed an upbeat vibe as PBOT presented projects to the public for the first time since the plan passed City Council in November.
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There’s a new way to roll between Better Naito and the Steel Bridge.
(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Slowly but surely, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is claiming Naito Parkway as a major bike corridor — and improving access between Waterfront Park and downtown in the process.

First they took Better Naito under their wing, and now they’ve flipped the switch on new bike-only signals that create a lower-stress connection between NW Davis and the Steel Bridge. The $166,000 project was funded by the Fix Our Streets program.

We hinted at this new connection — and Naito’s larger role in PBOT’s downtown bikeway plans — back in May. I checked it all out yesterday just hours after the signal was activated.

Here’s what I observed.
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New striping near the Steel Bridge at Naito will be done in the next few days.
(Image: Portland Bureau of Transportation)

Safety advocates are trying to balance enthusiasm for the city’s newly announced Naito bike lanes with concern over one key detail.

After nine years of delay, the plan to close the “Naito Gap” in the next few days drew joy from people like Reza Farhoodi, planning and transportation committee co-chair at the Pearl District Neighborhood Association and a member of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. But Farhoodi said it would be a “terrible mistake” for the city not to use a right-turn arrow signal to protect bikes from right-turning autos as the bikes head north across the Steel Bridge onramp.

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This 1,500-foot stretch of NW Naito has been a barrier to biking between downtown and northwest Portland, but it’s about to change.
(Image: Google Street View)

After nine years of sometimes elaborate plans to connect NW Naito Parkway’s bike lanes north and south of the Steel Bridge, the city’s transportation bureau has found a way.

The secret: it’s removing an unnecessary passing lane in each direction between NW Davis and NW Ironside Terrace to create continuous bike lanes that will be, at their widest, 10 feet with a four-foot buffer.

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No, this isn’t the NW Naito Parkway of your dreams, it’s a rendering of future bike ‘superhighway’ in London.
(Image: Transport for London)

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