Category Archives: Bike Boulevard

Bike Boulevard Improvements at Going/Martin Luther King Jr.

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The Portland Bureau of Transportation is beginning work on Northeast Going Street at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to construct intersection improvements for cyclists and pedestrians. The project will consist of extending the median barrier on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and two striped crosswalks where there are higher traffic speeds and traffic volumes on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and pedestrians and cyclists have difficulty crossing the
street. No parking removal is necessary to accommodate the median island on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. In addition, auto traffic will be regulated to right turns at this intersection only.

The project is scheduled to start in late March dependent on weather and construction crew availability. Construction of the intersection improvements should be completed relatively quickly within about a week and a half. This location was identified as a location where cyclists and pedestrians may have trouble navigating and crossing the busy intersection. This improvement will shorten the distance pedestrians and cyclists are exposed to traffic and will increase the visibility of pedestrians and cyclists to motorists and to each other. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to make a two stage crossing, with the benefit of a concrete refuge to wait for traffic to clear for a safer crossing. The project team has visited neighborhood associations after holding two initial public meetings to get feedback from neighborhood residents on North and Northeast Going Street so that feedback and neighborhood input could be incorporated into the proposal. Access will be maintained in the area during all construction phases. Some road access will be limited while work is occurring in the street but access will be maintained through the duration of the construction. No complete road closure is anticipated.

The Bureau of Transportation is sensitive to the use of this connection in the neighborhood and will endeavor to complete the work as quickly as possible to minimize the inconvenience these improvements may cause.

Support the Portland Bicycle Plan

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A hearing before City Council to adopt the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 has been set for Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., time certain. The public is welcome to attend, and to testify if you wish. The Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 provides a blueprint for making Portland a world-class bicycling city, reducing the causes of climate change, improving public health, promoting prosperity, and building close-knit communities.

VOICE YOUR SUPPORT:
Below are two ways you may express your support for the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030:

1. The quick and easy way:
Express your support for the six key principles of the plan listed on our web page by just clicking “yes!” on the Portland Bicycle Plan support form!

OR

2. Write a letter to City Council.
Address your letter to “Dear Mayor Adams and members of City Council:”
You can e-mail your letter to bicyclemasterplan@pdxtrans.org
or mail your paper letter to:
Portland City Council
c/o Ellen Vanderslice, Project Manager
Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030
1120 SW 5th Ave, Suite 800
Portland, OR 97204
Either way, we’ll make sure your letter is distributed to the Mayor and Commissioners before the February 4 hearing.
The project team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the final draft plan. We’ll send you another message when the draft is posted on our website along with our report on the changes made since the public comment draft. For more information, visit the plan website: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/BicycleMasterPlan

2030 Bicycle Plan Final Draft Available

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Portland’s Bicycle Plan for 2030 is now available for download online on the Bicycle Plan website, http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/bicyclemasterplan/. Included on the download page is a report on how the final draft differs from the public comment draft released last October.

A hearing before City Council to consider adopting the plan is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 2010. The hearing is “time certain,” which means it won’t begin before 2:00 p.m. Testimony at the hearing is welcome, but there are other ways to express your support, including a simple support form on the Bicycle Plan website.

N/NE: A Bike Infrasructure Hole

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At the next KNA meeting on October 14th, Roger Geller, Bicycle Coordinator for the City of Portland will present his proposal in coordination with Metro for a Bicycle Demonstration Project in North and Northeast Portland.

The attached proposal calls for creating an urban demonstration project in a 13 square mile area of North and Northeast Portland. Metro sent a grant application to the federal government that, if successful, will fund this project.

N/NE Demonstration Project Proposal

For more information on Metro’s Active Transportation Partnership, please see this web site: http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=30078
To see the report “The case for an active transportation strategy”, please see this pdf: http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files/brc_final_report.pdf

CITY SEEKS INPUT ON PROPOSED PORTLAND BICYCLE PLAN FOR 2030

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bicyclistFrom October 5, 2009 through November 8, 2009, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is inviting public input on the Public Comment Draft of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030. During this public comment period, Portland residents are invited to review the plan, confirm that it includes the elements that are most important to them, and submit comments on the plan. The Portland Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the plan at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, in Room 2500A, 1900 SW 4th Avenue. A hearing before City Council is tentatively scheduled for the evening of January 20, 2010.

Portland’s first Bicycle Master Plan was adopted in 1996. Since that time the bicycle network doubled to more than 300 miles, the City developed innovative programs to promote bicycling, and Portland experienced an exponential rise in the number of people bicycling. In 2008 the League of American Bicyclists recognized these efforts, granting Portland platinum-level status as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

The Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 grew out of a project to update the 1996 plan. Guided by a distinguished Steering Committee and assisted by a broad-based Technical Advisory Committee drawn from partner bureaus and agencies, the Bureau of Transportation has developed a new plan that positions Portland to support climate action goals and address many of the 21st-century challenges we face by further growing bicycle transportation. The new plan proposes fundamental changes to city policy, implementation of new street designs, a much expanded bicycle transportation network, and an array of supporting actions and programs.

The Public Comment Draft of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 is available for review at:
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/BicycleMasterPlan .