Some folks are confused about these
rack-shaped objects on the new transit
mall.
(Photos: Victoria Gilbert)

Here’s a bit of good, bad, and confusing news about bike parking on TriMet’s transit mall in downtown Portland (we’ll get to the issue of actually riding on it in a separate story).

Back in January, we reported on how stringent design guidelines that call for expensive bike racks have resulted in a major lack of bike parking.

TriMet architects, in their quest to create an aesthetically pleasing streetscape on 5th and 6th avenues, require the City to pay for silver, brushed steel racks that are much more expensive than their standard issue blue ones ($367 compared to $87). In addition, crews actually removed existing staple racks that didn’t conform to the design guidelines (including racks directly in front of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance office). [Read more…]

Portland Mall crews remove a bike
rack on NW 5th Ave. last Friday.
(Photo: Michael O’Leary)

Staffers at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance offices on NW 5th Avenue were surprised when they noticed work crews removing the bike racks outside their offices on Friday morning of last week.

When I rode by later that evening, all that was left of three staple racks were holes in the bricks (see photo below). With a lack of bike parking capacity already an issue on the new Portland Mall, why would existing racks be removed?

The answer has to do with design standards — the same standards that I reported on back in January.[Read more…]

TriMet’s recommendation: become a
pedestrian and use the crosswalk.
Is there a better way?
See Oregonian video below.

When TriMet announced how they expect people riding bikes to turn off of the new Portland Mall downtown, many of you said, “Huh?”.

In an attempt to create safe conditions, TriMet said people on bikes who want to turn right (and across the bus/MAX lane) off of the mall should; move over to the curb, enter the crosswalk, become a pedestrian, and walk and ride at walking speed (that’s the law in crosswalks) across the street.[Read more…]

TriMet and Shift will bring
you free breakfast next week.
(Photo © J. Maus)

TriMet, in partnership with bike fun promoting non-profit Shift, will host three Breakfast on the Bridges events at the end of this month.

The purpose of the events is to spread the word about how bikes are expected to navigate safely along with buses, MAX trains, and cars on SW 5th and 6th Avenues along the new Portland Mall. TriMet says they’ll be handing out free breakfast snacks, hot coffee, and “information about the new Portland Mall cycling environment.”

Colin Maher, TriMet’s bike specialist, also passed along a new graphic (below) that shows how bikes are expected to turn right from their left-side travel lane (the right lane is reserved for trains and buses).[Read more…]

A sharrow in action on
NW 9th in Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet are discussing the idea of installing shared lane markings (a.k.a. sharrows) on the entire length of the new downtown transit mall.

Sharrows are a type of pavement marking that are placed on streets with relatively heavy and/or high motor vehicle speeds, where there is not sufficient space to put a bike lane, and where bikes and cars share the same travel lane (for more on sharrows, see this fact sheet published by PBOT).
[Read more…]

Looking south SW 6th Avenue at
SW Yamhill Street.
(Photo: PortlandMall.org)

As part of their Portland Mall Light Rail project, TriMet has announced several “major changes” for bike traffic on 5th and 6th Avenues.

According to TriMet Planner/Bike Programs staffer Colin Maher, effective January 12th, bikes (and cars) must obey the following traffic laws:[Read more…]