This is what the bike lane on SW Terwilliger Parkway looked like yesterday during the evening commute. Those two white lines on the left are a buffer zone, the actual bike lane is to the right, buried in leaves.
(Photo: Steven Mitchell)

On Monday morning we highlighted a Tweet from Portlander Steven Mitchell who rides regularly on SW Terwilliger Blvd.

“SW Terwilliger bike lanes are terribly dangerous right now,” he wrote, tagging @BikePortland and @PBOTInfo, “Piles of slick leaves and standing water. Be safe!”

Then yesterday he posted video (watch it below) that showed him trying to avoid the slimy accumulation of leaves, only to be the victim of an unsafe pass by a man driving a pickup truck.
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It might not look like much, but it makes a big difference.
(Photos by J. Maus/BikePortland)

Slowly but surely, the City of Portland is improving bikeways in southwest. Case in point are the recently completed changes to the intersection of SW Capitol Highway and Terwilliger (a.k.a the “teardrop”).

People who ride in this area know the intersection well because it was a common place for close-calls. I experienced this first-hand during a ride-along with a southwest Portland family in 2012 (see photo below). The curvature of the road, mixed with the unprotected bike lane was a bad combination. Fortunately a Portland Water Bureau project provided the impetus to finally fix the bikeway and make something much safer (and we were fortunate that a volunteer advocate spoke up to make sure it happened – thanks Keith Liden!).

Before I share more photos of the new bikeway, here’s how it used to look (note the pinch-point and how the younger rider opts wisely for the sidewalk):[Read more…]

Gap? Check. Curve? Check. Narrow road? Check. Dangerous driving? Check. This one has it all (unfortunately).
(Photo: J Maus/BikePortland)

Part of Gap Week.

So far this week we’ve covered a gap in downtown, one out east, and now we’ll travel over to southwest. Today’s gap is one that I had the displeasure of discovering during our Southwest Portland Week last February: southbound Terwilliger between Chestnut and 7th/Caldew (map).
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What do you think?
(Click to enlarge, or see below for details and links)

As we reported earlier this week, the City of Portland is trying to hone its massive transportation to-do list by asking people to rank their 10 favorite projects.

In a letter circulated this week, the citizens’ committee that’s most closely tied to Portland’s biking policies shared theirs.

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The Stedman family — Helena (5), Barbara, and Ken — getting started on their day.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Helena Stedman doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Portland bike commuter. At just five years old, she’d rather talk about kindergarten than bike lanes and her most prized bike accessory is her favorite stuffed elephant.

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After bollards were uprooted — and despite new signs that say “No left turns” — this taxi pulls onto Terwilliger from Condor. This is the same maneuver that resulted in serious injuries to a bicycle rider in August and spurred PBOT into action.
(Photo: BikePortland reader)

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No more left turns from SW Condor onto Terwilliger and no more left turns off of Terwilliger onto Condor.
(Photos: Armando Luna)

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Following an injury collision involving a Multnomah County Judge last month, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has re-striped the intersection of SW Terwilliger and SW Condor.

Here’s how the intersection looked prior to the new treatment:

(Photo: PPB)

And here’s how it looks now (photo sent in by reader):[Read more…]