Screen grab from TriMet video (watch it below) shows new I-205 path section on new bridge to Gateway Green bike park.

A $206 million project that will improve service on TriMet’s Red light rail line will also come with significant benefits to bicycle riders.

The “Better Red” project will extend the Red Line further west in Washington County; but what we’re watching closely is how the improvements will impact the I-205 path in east Portland.

According to TriMet, the project will add a second track on two sections of existing single track between Gateway Transit Center and the Portland Airport. Adjacent to these new tracks and stations, TriMet plans to build multi-use paths. The project will also re-align the existing path.[Read more…]

“Hey honey, let’s grab the bikes and check out Whitaker Ponds!” says absolutely no one, ever.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

By next summer, Portlanders will have a new park they can bike to — and a popular route to the airport will be vastly improved. Furthermore, an industrial area with thousands of jobs will be easier to get to.
[Read more…]

Portland is already tantalizingly close to providing a really solid biking connection from Northeast Portland’s working-class Cully neighborhood to the airport area.
(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland)

This post is part of Gap Week, a special series made possible by our sponsors and subscribers.

Portland has a problem: like most U.S. cities, it’s been losing middle-wage jobs, especially the kind you can get without a fancy degree.

Many of the middle-wage, blue-collar jobs that remain are spread in industrial centers along the rivers with limited public transit access. And one of the most important clusters is one in Northeast Portland that many Portlanders know well: Portland International Airport.

[Read more…]

A map of existing (solid lines) and planned (dotted lines) bike access to Portland’s airport. Green lines are multi-use paths; blue are on-street lanes.
(Click to enlarge)

Portland International Airport’s new bike-pedestrian plan is probably thicker than the average city’s.

Fifteen years after a rising bike-commute rate among airport workers led PDX to begin a strategic focus on its biking and walking connections, links to the airport keep getting better. Now, the airport is preparing to double outdoor bike parking, and, in the longer term, help the City of Portland pay for a multi-use path looping the entire airport plus three bike lanes that’ll greatly improve airport access from the city.

[Read more…]

Northeast Portland resident Erinne
Goodell enjoys the new lane.
(Photo: Kirk Paulsen)

A new pair of buffered bike lanes across Lombard Street in Northeast Portland will improve both work and fun trips to the Columbia River area this summer.

The crossing will uses the bridge at 33rd Avenue to link the river and slough, as well as nearby port, airport and retail land, to the rest of the city. It also bears traffic on 33rd across a series of railroad tracks just north of Lombard.

[Read more…]

A bike path leads directly to the bike parking at PDX.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Port of Portland wants your feedback on bicycling in and around the Portland International Airport (PDX). They’re hosting an open house next week (3/19) to share information and hear your thoughts on existing facilities and what they can improve on in the future.

The impetus for this open house is an effort to update the Portland International Airport Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (PDF). That plan was the first biking and walking plan ever created for a commercial airport; but it came out in 2003 and it’s slated for an update this year.

There’s plenty to talk about when it comes to bicycling around PDX. As we’ve written about several times over the years, the Port has some bike-specific routes, wayfinding signage, bike parking, and other amenities that make bicycling to the airport a viable option for some. A recent study about bike-friendly airports by the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley held up PDX as an “exemplary” model of how to provide bicycle access. But while steps have been made, biking to the airport remains something reserved for the “strong and fearless” and much more can be done to make it as safe and convenient as driving or other modes.[Read more…]

We all heard the big news back in April when Frontier Airlines removed the flat fee for checked bicycles. Long before that, we’d floated the idea of having Portland International Airport (PDX) become something of a bikes-fly-free oasis. Imagine the symbolism (and huge win for PR/tourism) if PDX convinced all its local carriers to make a clear statement that bicycles (and their people) are welcomed with open arms!

Well, one reader who happens to be an employee of Southwest Airlines, has been pushing on that idea internally and he’s made a bit of a breakthrough.[Read more…]

New bike assembly station at PDX Airport.
(Photo: Port of Portland)

[Read more…]

Riding in other cities can be fun
and fascinating — like this ride in Baltimore.
(Photo © Elly Blue)

The holiday travel season is coming up. If you’re leaving Portland, maybe you’ve thought about bringing your bike along for the trip this time.

A bike doesn’t make sense for every trip or every destination. But if it does fit in with your plans, the experience of traveling with a bike comes highly recommended. A bike can give you independence, flexibility, adventure, and a surefire way to meet people wherever you go.

How you bring the bike, what kind of bike is best to bring, and how much it costs all depend on whether you’re flying or taking the train. Here’s the rundown:[Read more…]