2009 accomplishments in the Bike Boulevard Campaign
Posted by: MichelleDec 15 2009, 12:19 pm
The BTA is rounding out the third and final phase of our Bike Boulevards Campaign as we look forward to the Boulevard improvements coming to Portland in 2010. The advocacy begun by then-BTA advocates Jessica Roberts and Scott Bricker in 2006, and continued by Emily Gardner, has borne fruit.
Here are some accomplishments you can look forward to enjoying on Portland streets next year:
Photo by Greg Raisman.
–Spokane Bike Boulevard. The BTA successfully advocated last year for funding for new bike boulevards in Portland; the City committed to fund 15 miles by July of 2010. The first of those miles are on SE Spokane (above photo) and are almost complete (and there is a grand opening celebration this Saturday, December 19th).
–Boulevards on N/NE Going, N Bryant, N Concord, SE Mill, SE Center, and SW Terwilliger-Westwood will be built by the end of next summer.
–Another 30 miles of boulevards on N Central, NE/SE 87th, SE Bush, SE 101st, SW Illinois-Vermont, NE Holman and NE Kickitat will be built by the end of the following summer (in 2011).
–All existing Portland boulevards will get big, new pavement markings and signs in 2010 (like the one shown above), thanks to a $1 million federal stimulus application by the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
–Construction on a NE/SE 50s bikeway, funded with federal dollars (which BTA advocacy helped secure back in 2007), will begin in 2010.
–A NE/SE 20's bikeway, also funded with federal dollars secured with BTA support and advocacy, will be developed starting in 2011.
With bike boulevards in the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, widely supported by Portland residents, and now rolling out slowly but surely in a neighborhood near you over the next two years, we are pleased to move onto the last element of this campaign: funding.
The City of Portland has the technical expertise and the popular support to bring safe, quiet, low-traffic bike routes to neighborhoods, and City planners and engineers are doing great work on a small budget.
But the small size of that budget does not match our aspirations for Portland. Making the city sustainable and healthy for all residents will take not just expertise and good ideas, but significant strategic investments in active transportation.
I love bike boulevards and use them regularly. However, I do not understand the purpose (and expense) of the "channelizing islands" on SE Spokane in Sellwood. I ride that route nearly every day. I do not use them as they force you into the gutter and make it harder to see traffic coming from the sides as you enter the intersection, and rarely do I see other bikers go on the outsides of them. Or is the purpose to hinder car traffic? I don't get them. Can you explain?
It seems to me, after clear markings on the pavement, the biggest value to bikers on these boulevards would be to limit side traffic, maybe adding stop signs to the side streets, to create longer stretches of un-interrupted pedaling.
Dan, I agree with you totally on channel islands and "longer uninterrupted stretches". But don't expect a response here from BTA, I don't know if they read this or just ignore it, but have never gotten feedback from them in comments section. Maybe you/we would have better luck e-mailing them direct?
One thing to know about SE Spokane St – and all new Portland bicycle boulevards – is that the LAST thing the City will do is turn the stop signs so they face the side streets. First, they will put in all the things that slow down and reduce auto traffic (the channelizing islands, speed bumps, diverters).
As for the channelizing islands themselves, this is the first time they are being used for a bike boulevard so I am very interested in this feedback. And I expect the City engineers will be too. You can pass feedback like that, or specific traffic safety concerns (like places where people speed, or run stop signs, or pass too close) to the City via their Traffic Safety Hotline – (503) 823-SAFE, or safe[at]pdxtrans[dot]org.
Finally, the author of any BTA Blog post gets a direct email when you comment on that post. Sometimes when people ask questions that I think are best answered off line I reply directly to them; otherwise I reply in the comments. If you do want to ask a direct question, or request a public response in the blog comments, feel free to skip the wait and contact us directly:; http://www.bta4bikes.org/contact/index.php
PS – I mean, they will turn the stop signs as the last step in the Bike Boulevard construction process (I did not mean as a last resort).
I am curious why a successful campaign like this would be closed at end of year as stated in headline? Seems like we (PDX) are just beginning. Also projects are ongoing into 2010 and 2011 seems like some one from BTA should stay involved to ensure successful completion.
The campaign had distinct phases, and the final phase has been successfully completed. "Closing" the campaign doesn't mean we will not longer be advocating for investments in Portland's bike network; quite the contrary. But we will be doing so as part of a new campaign, with new strategies and goals.