Speak up for new bike lanes on NW Bethany Blvd in Washington County
Posted by: MargauxMar 09 2010, 9:51 am
People who live or bike in Washington County are invited to attend a neighborhood open house on Tuesday, March 30 to discuss proposed improvements, including bike lanes, planned for NW Bethany Boulevard between NW Bronson Drive and West Union Road.
Tell the county and project team that bike lanes are a critical part of the plan to make this important connector street safer for all users.
The proposed project will widen NW Bethany Boulevard to five lanes (two travel lanes in each direction and a center turn lane), with safety and intersection improvements, bike lanes and sidewalks. Other improvements include roadway lighting, a new storm drainage system, and limited landscaping.
What: Neighborhood Open House
When: Tuesday, March 30, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Where: Oak Hills Elementary School, 2625 NW 153rd Ave, Beaverton
Section of NW Bethany scheduled for bike lanes, sidewalks, and more improvements.
If you want to get more involved in the project, there's also an opportunity to join the Project Focus Group. Here are more details from Washington County:
As part of the project’s public involvement process, a Project Focus Group (PFG) will be formed. The PFG will consist of local residents and business owners who want to be involved in the project and assist the project management design team in the design of the project.
It is anticipated that the PFG will meet on a monthly basis for approximately 6 to 8 months at a mutually agreed time and location. If interested, a short application form will be available at the open house or on the project website.
For further information please contact:
Matthew Costigan, Sr Project Manager
503-846-7800 phone
503-846-7810 fax
Or access the project website: http://projects.whpacific.com/bethanyblvd/
Bethany/Kaiser is in dire need of bike lanes from West Union all the way to Springville. Springville west to 185th also is a dangerous section that needs bike lanes. This needs to be a priority before we some more fatalities in the area!
Hello Mark,
My name is Jeff Oberst and I am the development and construction manager for Central Bethany Development the owners of Bethany Village.
I am interested in joining the focus group for this project and cannot seem to locate the application form on the website.
If you could forward one to me that would be great or I can wait and pick one up at the open house.
Thank you, jeff@bethanyvillage.com
I wouldn't call this a win for bikes in Washington County. They should have built bike lanes on that road years ago, but instead they're waiting until they are expanding the two lane road to 5 lanes.
Oregon law will require bike lanes and sidewalks, so getting those will pretty much come without asking. What won't come without asking (and pushing) is good landscaping (they'll probably actually remove a number of trees that are 'in the way') between the sidewalk and the road (protection for pedestrians and shade for cyclists) or on median islands (which they don't usually do because they cost more and get in the way of turning).
But yeah – a 5 lane expansion should not be called an 'improvement' when it leads to higher traffic, higher speeds, and is just rewarding sprawling development.
(And FYI – Washington County plans to eventually tear out all the nice landscaping on Bethany between West Union and Springville when they convert that to 5 lanes too.)
Holy Cow! I just looked at the project page for the Bethany project…
The thing costs $14.3 million dollars (for something that is less than a mile long). That could buy a lot of bike lanes somewhere else…
FYI, the meeting actually starts at 5pm. I just had it confirmed by the project's Sr. Project Manager Matthew Costigan.
The link http://www.whpacific/bethanyblvd is incorrect. I added .com to the name and it found a server there, but there's no bethanyblvd page.
The "Win" for bikes would be to widen the paved path that starts at West Union near Oak Creek Dr. and goes through the power line greenspace south to Jocelyn, extend it past Jocelyn, across Spyglass/Crystal creek park and connect it to Avondale or Bronson.
I also searched for the application noted in the public meeting flyer and had no luck. Bethany Blvd. needs bike lanes, crosswalks and traffic lights when it is widened. Those of us living in the subdivisions along that mile stretch get pretty frustrated waiting to get across on foot and bike.
It's really important for the project team to hear comments like these from people who live nearby or ride along Bethany Boulevard. Please attend the open house tomorrow or email your comments to Matthew Costigan at the contact info above.
Sorry about the broken URL, I'll repost the correct link.
This is not about bike lanes–it is about removing people's homes from the Bethany Blvd area.
All they need to do is add a center turn lane, add the two bike lanes, improve the Eastern sidewalk, add a light at Oak Hills Drive and at Bronson and that would be a real improvement and not cost people their homes or yards.
Instead they want to add another lane in either direction for a total of 4 travel lanes instead of the existing two lanes, a center lane, and two bike lanes. There is no room for all of that.
By going from a two lanes to five lanes, the people who live on Bethany Blvd will either lose their whole home or lose half of their tiny yards (after they change the law to enable them to take the land and make it substandard). We have already had a car run into a home with the two lanes and the home is would be much closer to the road than it would be under the new project.
Bike lanes are fine but but the project is about making a mini-freeway at the expense of the people in the neighborhood.
Here's the correct URL: http://projects.whpacific.com/bethanyblvd/
(Also corrected in the original post.)
Five lanes is too much. Ok, great a bike rider can go north or south along it but would never be able to turn across the traffic without getting killed. More lanes mean more distractions and without a stoplight into Oak Hills, cars will just fly along Bethany.
Three lanes would be sufficient. I'm afraid that 5 lanes will decrease the property values of homes in these neighborhoods. I wouldn't buy in a neighborhood where I had to try to pull out against 5 lanes of traffic. Look at TV Hwy, is there any neighborhoods that are forced to pull across 2 lanes of traffic without a light? NO! If they go to 5 lanes they need to give the neighborhoods safe access to the roadway.
This is what I was searching lately ! Thank You.
As one of the homeowners whose -already tiny- yard will be further nearly halved by the encroaching five-lane road proposed, I cannot protest enough. Five lanes is simply too many. Three lanes (two directions plus turn lane) with sidewalks and bike lanes would be enough, even welcome.
We have a lovely neighborhood, but walking and/or biking across or along Bethany is impossible. Five lanes of traffic would be a nighmare to cross, especially as I have seen no plans to add the necessary lights or traffic controls to make crossing possible– whether in a car, on a bike, or on foot. I cannot see how five lanes of speeding traffic can possibly add to the neighborhood, and I do not look forward to seeing my trees cut down to enable cars to drive through what used to be my yard.
Biking has been part of me and I expect to have better experience with my biking with the plan… this is my conscious effort not only to be fit but to be contribute a little something for mother earth… Ijsut hope that the plans are not too much for our neighborhood
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