Bicycle Transportation Alliance Releases
“Blueprint for Better Biking: 40 Ways to Get There”
Plan to Ensure Portland is America’s Bicycling Hub

In October 2005, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance released its “Blueprint for Better Biking: 40 Ways to Get There” report, listing the 40 projects the group believes would most improve biking in the Portland Metro region.

The top ten projects are (in no particular order):

• The Sellwood Bridge
• Central City Bicycle Plan improvements
• East-west bikeways in North/Northeast Portland
• Highway 43 and the Willamette Shoreline Trail, connecting Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Portland
• Tonquin Trail, connecting Wilsonville, Tualatin, and Sherwood
• Low-traffic Suburban Routes
• Fanno Creek Trail, connecting Portland, Beaverton, and Tigard
• Expanded Low-Speed, Low-Volume Bikeways
• Enforcement campaigns against dangerous road users
• Safe Routes to School programs

The other thirty projects are (in no particular order):

• South Waterfront path
• NW Flanders St. as a bike boulevard
• Morrison Bridge bike lanes
• Rose Quarter connections
• North Willamette Greenway Trail, linking the Eastbank Esplanade to St. Johns
• St. Johns Bridge bike lanes
• I-5 Bridge to Vancouver bike improvements
• NE Cully bike boulevard
• I-205 bike path crossings of streets
• Gresham-Fairview trail, connecting the Springwater trail to the Columbia River
• Springwater Corridor trail to Mt. Hood
• SE 92nd Ave improvements
• North-South connections linking NE and SE Portland
• Closing the Springwater Gap
• Lake Oswego to Milwaukie crossing the Willamette River
• Trolley Trail from Sellwood to Milwaukie, Oregon City, and Gladstone
• West Linn to Oregon City crossing the Willamettte River
• Stafford Road bike lanes or shoulders
• Beaverton Powerline trail from the Tualatin River to Forest Park
• Closing gaps in suburban bikeways
• SW Hall Boulevard in Beaverton
• Signs and markings to help navigation
• Bikeway maintenance, including sweeping, painting, and repair
• Increased employer-based incentives
• Launching a Tourism Center
• Education campaigns for drivers and cyclists
• Car-free events
• Improved bike parking facilities
• MAX Station bicycle hubs with signage and lockers
• Oregon Center for Bicycling and Walking research institute

The projects were selected through an extensive two-year process that included a survey of over 900 bicyclists, meetings with technical experts, and meetings with bicycle advisory committees. The 40 projects on the list were winnowed from over 400 suggested projects, and include infrastructure projects, improved enforcement, encouragement, research, and education projects.

Last week, Portland was recertified as a Gold-rated bicycling city by the League of American Bicyclists. The City and the BTA are working to make it a Platinum-rated city. In 2005, City of Portland counts indicated more than three times as many bicyclists crossing Willamette River bridges as crossed the bridges in 1992.

For a copy of the Blueprint, click here or call 503-226-0676 x10.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a nonprofit organization that has been opening minds and roads to bicycling since 1990. The organization has 4000 members and ten staff members.