As Portland marches forward in an effort to reform streets from auto-centric speedways into more humane and safe spaces for a variety of users, not everyone is taking it well.

Back in March we reported on someone who had painted red X’s on the sidewalk outside homes of people who supported changes to make SE Lincoln safer for bicycle riders. A month later we shared how vandals defaced dozens of orange “20 is Plenty” signs on a north Portland street that’s frequently used as a cut-through.

And now we’ve seen more of this anti-safe streets vandalism. [Read more…]

This just in from PBOT…

Friends of Gateway Green achieves major milestone in increasing access to park.

Gateway Green wayfinding signs have been installed! Many thanks to Tom Badrick, Linda Robinson, and the army of community volunteers who saw this project through. Funding for preliminary planning and siting was provided by Prosper Portland. The signs were designed by Propel Studio. The last $5,000 to print and install the signs came from People for Bikes community engagement grant as part of PBOT’s Gateway to Opportunity project. Throughout these past 2 years, Friends of Gateway Green have been championing this effort to provide increased signage to help Portlanders more easily access Gateway Green Park by foot and bicycle. This was truly a team effort and we are so appreciative for all who made these 20 signs possible.

Pictures are courtesy of Tom Badrick.

The new signs aim to present a unifed brand aesthetic no matter where you find them.
(Photos/images: Metro)

With dozens of different jurisdictions managing over 100 walking and bikings paths and trails in our region, the design of route signs is all over the map. There’s no consistency from one path to the next and many signs are outdated and not nearly as helpful as they should be. Thankfully Metro is working to change that. They plan to put up 400 new signs on paths and trails in 2016.
[Read more…]

The sign on the left is being phased out in favor of the one on the right.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

What does a “Share the Road” sign mean to you?

The State of Oregon has decided that those signs mean different things to different people so they’ve taken the step of officially phasing them out. Oregon isn’t the first state to do this. Delaware banished Share the Road signs in 2013 after that state’s advocacy group (Bike Delaware) made the case that its ambiguity “invites conflicting interpretations.”
[Read more…]

The path in Waterfront Park is no place
to be riding fast.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland

With the BTA’s Bike Commute Challenge in full swing and warmer than usual weather sticking around, there’s a lot of bike traffic in and around downtown Portland these days. Especially on the Waterfront Park path, which is also popular with joggers, tourists, walkers, and lots of other types of users.

Concerns about unsafe passing and crowded conditions have spurred the Portland Parks Bureau to partner with the Bureau of Transportation to install signs encouraging faster bike riders to use Naito Parkway and all others to ride slowly and use caution when the path is crowded. They’re calling the path a “Pedestrian Priority Zone.”

Here’s a first look at the new signs:[Read more…]

One of two new signs installed on Interstate. The bike lane narrows to just 3.5 feet wide as it passes under the overpass in the background.
(Photo by J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has installed new signs on N Interstate Avenue in order to raise awareness of the dangers posed by a narrow bike lane.[Read more…]

ODOT has installed 36 new signs to help make it easier for bike traffic to navigate the shared-use path between Delta Park, the Marine Drive interchange, and the I-5 Bridge.

As promised, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has installed 36 new signs on the bike path between Delta Park and the I-5 bridge. I rode out there yesterday to take a closer look.

[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 still hasn’t come forward to take credit, but many in the community are hailing them as a hero. The serpentine approach to the I-5 bridge has been a thorn in the side of many people for many years.

We followed up that story with word from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) that — despite sympathies for frustrated bike riders — they planned to remove the signs eventually because they were non-standard and hadn’t gone through an officially sanctioned process.

And then late Friday afternoon I got a phone call from ODOT Region 1 Manager Jason Tell with some very good news.[Read more…]

This sign was posted on NW Lower River Road in Vancouver. It has since been removed.
(Photos: Marcus Griffith)

For the third time this month, an unauthorized road sign has been discovered in the greater Portland metro area; and the trend has now hopped across the Columbia River into Vancouver. [Read more…]

These new yield markings have been installed to warn bike riders of potential cross traffic.
(Photos © J. Maus)

[Read more…]