by Philip Goff and Peter Mye
August 1, 1999
San Francisco, CA

• Encouragement of bicycling began in mid-1970's with the "Bicycle Bill", a state law that mandated 1% of road funds go to bike/ped infrastructure in all new roads and roadway reconstruction

• Mid-1970's - Portland losing population to suburbs, farmland paved over at voracious rates, downtown was in decline, and air quality was so poor that the precious view of Mt. Hood was threatened.
• Seminal state land-use laws mandating urban growth boundaries, regional governments, and land use and transportation planning requirements during the governorship of Republican Tom McCall
• In the late 70's and early 80's, Portland:
• Took money earmarked for a new freeway and instead built its first light rail line
• Removed a downtown highway and created a waterfront park
• Built a transit mall and capped the number of downtown parking spaces to encourage the use of public transportation

• Goals to increase cycling with infrastructure and education at all levels: state, regional, county, and city
• City of Portland policy guided by the "Bicycle Master Plan" created in 1993. The Plan's goal of creating 10% of all trips made by bike by 2015, is to be met with a fully-integrated bike network (a path, lane, or boulevard every ½ mile max.) and appropriate end-of-trip facilities, ie. bike parking.

• Much of bike network is to facilitate biking into neighborhood centers and downtown. Downtown Portland has few bike lanes, but riding is easy due to the consistent grid of one-way streets and relatively flat topography. Traffic signals timed to allow 15 mph traffic speeds on all downtown streets ensure ease of bike use and minimize the hostile environment created by autos in most American cities. The Network includes:
• Off-street trails, primarily for recreation
• Bike lanes on arterial or collector streets
• Bike Boulevards - signed routes through traffic-calmed residential streets
• Bridge Connections

Off-Street Trails

• Inner Loop along east and west banks of the Willamette River
• Outer, 40-mile Loop, including the Springwater Trail, a rails-to-trails project, the pathway along I-205, the Columbia River path, Forest Park and the Willamette River Greenway Trail

Bike Lanes

• Many of the initial bike lanes were the easiest to achieve politically, i.e. the curb-to-curb width was enough to not require the removal of parking or travel lanes
• The reduction of the available space for cars was required in many instances. Design examples include:
• The reconfiguration of neighborhood arterials with moderate traffic volumes from four lanes to two lanes with a center median for left turns (Similar to Valencia Street) Two lane roads with left-turn lanes maintain just about the same capacity as four-lane roads and are much safer for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

• The removal of a single lane of auto traffic, usually on a one-way street. One less lane calms traffic and has helped businesses on many streets in Portland by bringing a larger proportion of patrons on bike rather than only by car.
• Taking an idea from Europe, Portland has painted some bike lanes in a reflective blue to indicate conflict areas

Bike Boulevards

• Parallel to busy arterials with no bike lane, or on residential streets where volumes are low enough that bike lanes are not required and parking removal would create significant opposition
• Traffic volume and speeds discouraged on bike boulevards through traffic calming designs such as speed bumps, landscaped round-a-bouts in intersections, and traffic diverters that maintain bike and pedestrian passage

Bridge Connections

• Of the ten Willamette River bridges in Portland, two are inaccessible freeways, and about half of the rest are bike-friendly and connect to bike lanes or boulevards at each end
• The three most accessible bridges each carry over 2000 bike trips per day and are a crucial part of maintaining connectivity of the entire system.

 
• The most heavily used bridge, the Hawthorne, recently had its sidewalks widened from six to ten feet to accommodate the volume of bikes and peds who use it for commuting.


• The Morrison Bridge, off-limits to bikes but making a crucial connection from the heart of downtown to the eastside, may become more accessible in the next few years. After pressure from activists, the city and county obtained federal funds via TEA-21 to study removing a lane of traffic on the bridge and replacing it with a landscaped esplanade for non-motorized users.

• Building Code requires new structures to include minimum short and long term bike parking spaces. For renovations, long-term is voluntary.
• Hundreds of staple and ribbon racks reside downtown and at neighborhood commercial districts

• Long-term bike parking exists at all publicly-owned and some privately-owned parking garages in downtown. These are either racks set adjacent to the guard booth or are bike lockers in the nooks and crannies of the garage.
• Many bike lockers are within the public right-of-way and are rented out on a monthly basis for a small fee
• The City-sponsored "Bike Central" provides indoor, guarded parking and the use of showers and lockers for a small monthly fee at four locations downtown

• All buses in the Tri-Met (Portland Metro area) and Ctran (Clark County, WA) fleet have platform racks for two bikes
• Bikes are allowed on light rail trains at ALL times
• Bike parking at light rail and other park-and-ride stations is minimal. Few transit stations offer sheltered parking for bikes and most have a couple of bike lockers which require a small monthly fee. Motorists get to park for free which makes sense because cars take up very little space and are the environmentally-conscious transportation option, right?
• After pressure from advocates, the next light rail line will include covered parking and a single bike-commuter station with indoor parking, changing areas, and a café or bike shop adjacent. Planners are looking at the bike station in Long Beach or Palo Alto as the model.

Portland would not be where it is today without a dedicated activist community and creative bike culture:

• The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is a statewide organization based in Portland. With over a thousand members they lobby in Salem and Portland, and have been successful suing the city over non-compliance of the requirements of the "Bicycle Bill" law. They also sponsor Bike Commute Day and Month and provide free bike parking at nearly all major events during the summer

• The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is a twelve-member citizen's advisory committee that oversees bike policy and planning in the City of Portland. (Suburban jurisdictions and each of the Portland metro area's three counties have bike advisory committee's as well.) The BAC does indeed have an influential voice within the Department of Transportation, and their strongly-worded letters have, on occasion, pressured the Commissioner of Transportation to act on cyclists' behalf.

• "Bridge Pedal" is a major fundraiser for the BTA. All bridges downtown--including the two freeway bridges--are closed to auto traffic for a few hours on a summer Sunday morning. With over 12,000 participants, Bridge Pedal is the third largest bike ride in the US.

• Critical Mass began in 1993, and during the summer months attendance usually hovers near one hundred riders, while in the winter it is about half the size. Police generally ignore the Mass, but crack down and give tickets once a year or so.

• The Orlo Bike-In is one of the primo bike culture events in Portland. Held each August, it is a "drive-in" movie festival for cyclists (and pedestrians). Hundreds of cyclists typically turn up to see bike-oriented clips from feature Hollywood movies, or feature documentaries such as "Beast of Burden" or "Return of the Scorcher".

• Community Bike Center and City Bikes are collectively-owned shops that sell used parts, recycle old bikes and teach kids how to build and maintain bikes.

• The Yellow Bike Program has released over a hundred free community bikes over the past year. Unfortunately, almost all have disappeared and one was reported seen in Idaho.

Despite Portland's success, the city hardly resembles Amsterdam, or even Madison for that matter. Why you ask?

1. Despite the City's attempt to design a full-integrated and connected system, many bike lanes and boulevards are left flapping in the breeze.
2. The Bus Mall and Light Rail lines downtown should be ideal bike routes but were not designed to accommodate bikes.
3. Reorganization this year of the Dept. of Transportation eliminated the City's successful bike program, leaving only a single bike coordinator. The three other staff members from the bike program were integrated in with the rest of the department's planners and engineers. PDOT claims the move is a positive step to more fully institutionalize bikes with the transportation system, but bike advocates from both the BTA and BAC are somewhat skeptical.
4. The transit system is very effective for a city of half a million people. If it were less so, I suspect there would be more cyclists, for many bus trips are only a couple of miles.
5. It tends to rain…a lot!
6. Finally, Portland, don't forget, is in the United States of America! The "institutionalization" of biking in Portland is no match for America's Car Culture, cheap gas, free and plentiful parking everywhere outside of downtown, and a very suburban residential density despite the push to build high-density housing in certain areas. In consequence, despite Portland's efforts, ridership is still quite low: commuting into downtown by bike is only 5%, city-wide proportion of all trips is less than 3%, and regionwide it is less than 2%.

Although Portland has its problems, it does offer a great model for cities throughout the United States. The crucial components of bike policy and infrastructure here should definitely be emulated elsewhere:

1. Access over Barriers such as bridges, railyards, etc.
2. Connectivity - Maximizing connections of bike facilities and minimizing out-of-direction travel creates an integrated network which is essential to increasing ridership.
3. Reconfiguration of major traffic corridors to include bikes even if the elimination of an auto travel lane is necessary.

4. Choice - The network should include lanes on busy streets for experienced riders, but also nearby parallel routes on quiet streets for children and novice riders.
5. Secure Bike Parking should be accessible, visible, and covered when weather is an issue
6. Access to Transit for all routes and at all times.
7. Taming the Automobile via street design and traffic calming
8. STRONG, ACTIVE AND VISIBLE BIKE CULTURE!