Bicycle Boulevards: the air smells sweeter here
Posted by: JessicaJun 16 2006, 8:02 am
Today's a big day here at BTA HQ. We're announcing the launch of a major new campaign to create low-traffic "bicycle boulevards" in Portland and beyond.
For the next two years, we'll be talking to bicyclists about how to create beautiful, safe, low-traffic streets that cyclists love. From developing innovative design ideas to knocking on doors to ask where people want to bike, we're hitting the pavement and biking the talk.
You can read about the campaign details here and in this morning's Oregonian, but I wanted to take the chance to tell you what bicycle boulevards mean to me.
I bike a lot; in fact, since I don't own a car, I bike just about everywhere. I bike on all different streets, with all kinds of different riders. Over the last decade I've noticed that there are some streets I just love to ride a bike on. They're bike routes on neighborhood streets, and they're peaceful, nearly car-free, and just plain make me happy to be riding a bike.
In fact, you, like me, may already know and love bicycle boulevards, even if you don't know the technical definition.
Not sure if you're on a bicycle boulevard? Here's a handy guide:
As the campaign takes off, we'll keep you posted on how you can help. For today, though, why not just think on your bike ride about what makes a great low-traffic route? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Sounds great!
I think in Portland the street network is such that the potential for bike boulevards is already there, and only minor alterations are necessary to make it work.
I think in other places (Hillsboro comes to mind, since I live there) however, there is a lot of work to do just to get to the point where bike boulevards are a possibility. And that work is long term, expensive work, because as it is now, going any distance requires using major roads, and so the necessary precursor to bike boulevards is building neighborhood roads that aren't dead ends!
I think the first step in places like Hillsboro is for the city to require more and better connections when new developments go in. That would be a big help.
Jun 16 2006 at 1:29 pmI agree that bike boulevards are a good idea and a real possiblilty . However, there has been a need for a long time now, and a lot of pressure without any results. I am a little pessimistic that they will be any easier to implement now than in past attempts.
Part of the problem is BBs often need to be on ODOT managed streets and sidewalks, and/or through business districts.
One example is the Ross Island Bridge.
Jun 30 2006 at 10:07 amPeter and Tom, thanks for your thoughts.
Peter, you're right that the boulevard approach is going to be harder to fit into a suburban transportation system, which has been designed nearly exclusively for cars, and which has few connected neighborhood streets to start with.
I agree that the first and best step we can take is to create connections (possibly just for bicyclists and pedestrians, if people still are attached to cul-de-sacs for cars). Metro is working on just that, and we are advocating for connectivity in many ways, both in new communities and retrofits for existing communities. (Do you know of any neighborhoods that might want to champion a pilot cul-de-sac connector path program?)
In terms of the BTA's Boulevard Campaign, I want to be very clear that we are choosing North/Northeast Portland for the first phase so that we can focus on a reasonable first step that fits our resources. However, our goal is to learn from that process and then take on future projects and campaigns to bring the boulevard approach to the Portland Metro region and to the state.
Tom, you make an exceptionally good point about the challenges of getting good bike facilities on urban highways, especially when they're managed by ODOT. That is something we've been thinking a lot about, and while it will continue to be a challenge, we're developing new strategies for funding and advocacy that we hope can be successful.
For example, we've been talking with ODOT already about the importance of developing safe crossings when bicycle boulevards meet busy state highways (such as Powell Blvd, or MLK/Grand), and they've been quite responsive. We're also speaking up during ODOT's funding and policy decisionmaking process to make sure that we miss no opportunity to get good crossings in place. We'll keep you posted.
Jessica Roberts
Jul 14 2006 at 2:18 pmMetro-Area Advocate
Bicycle Transportation Alliance