southwest in motion

Southwest Portland is getting some new bike infrastructure. The Portland Bureau of Transportation will be completing the SW 35th Ave Bike Lane project this month, re-striping SW 35th Ave to install bike lanes from SW Ridge Drive to SW Arnold Street, as well as adding some pedestrian facilities and crosswalk upgrades.

These bike lanes, first identified in the 2030 Portland Bike Plan and then prioritized in the Southwest in Motion active transportation plan, is part of a larger strategy to make SW Portland more bike and pedestrian friendly.

As part of this SW bike plan, PBOT also plans to create a neighborhood greenway on SW Ridge Drive, which intersects with SW 35th Ave. We’ll see a new marked crosswalk with signs at the intersection of SW Ridge Drive and SW 35th Ave through this bike lane project.

Also included in the project is a 7-foot “safer shoulder” walkway – PBOT’s term for an interim pedestrian facility where sidewalk implementation isn’t financially feasible – starting just north of SW Ridge Drive.

This stretch of SW 35th Ave provides a crucial connection south of Barbur Blvd within SW Portland. Right now, people riding bikes on SW 35th have to share the roadway with cars, so the bike lanes will be a safer alternative. Jackson Middle School is located on this road, and these bike lanes will connect the school to surrounding neighborhoods. The TriMet stop at SW Huber St and 35th Ave will remain.

Fixing Our Streets provided funding for this project along with the SW 45th bike lane, which was completed in 2019, for $185,300 total.

PBOT says installing these bike lanes shouldn’t take long – they plan to get it done in just a weekend. In the meantime, you can find out more about this project here.