Comments
Please wait...
Comments are closed.
Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.
More In Bikes
Editors' Picks
Popular Articles
is a proud member of the
media network
media network
All contents © Index Newspapers LLC
PO Box 86208, Portland, OR 97286
PO Box 86208, Portland, OR 97286
They even let wheelchairs and small children whizz about down there like some sort of derby in and out of the cavernlike darkness created by thatunderpass as if visibility wasn't bad enough.
Whole area's a bit of a clusterfuck right now.
I've been riding north through that area for years and only discoved it through some focus trial and error.
It's invisible. Why would anyone try going in a direction they can't see?
But the reasoning here seems to be "we got here first" not "best and highest use."
The Rose Quarter is an important transit crossroads but it is also an important bike crossroads - one of the most important in the city. So "we got here first" doesn't work for me.
Dig a bike Tunnel under the bus transit center and MAX tracks From NE Wheeler & Interstate Ave., North, past NE Multnomah Street. Benefit: Zero lives lost, reasonably cheap, fast, quick and dirty solution; but thinking way outside the box, thus a bad idea.
Suggestion #2
Widen existing NE Wheeler Street, install a curbed exclusive bike lane, additionally have 4 concrete curb high risers with painted cross walks that bicyclists must yield to so TriMet can load it's people.
Benefit: as long as said law abiding bicyclist stays in special curbed path way, waits for MAX trains, never hits the MAX tracks crossed eyed, and yield to pedestrians loading in said busses due to Portland's cross walk laws, it would save the bicyclists lives. That said, bicyclist don't have that kind of time and definitely don't have that kind of patients.
Interesting document, haven't heard a thing about it.
Must be because I don't drive Portland anymore, what a shame.
I see the bus drivers point of course, but obviously they will get nowhere on this issue.
Maybe they should just put up some signs to point us in the right direction. That sounds cheaper than petitions, upcoming plans, added bike lanes, and protests of said bike lanes (to say nothing of Idea Guy's tunnels).
http://arbitraryorsubjective.blogspot.com/2008/08/train-broken-look-for-finger.html
my honest suggestion? a _small percentage_ of Portlanders ride bikes every day, how about they start acting like they give a crap about the good of everyone rather than just their own needs... they always claim to be riding a bike to "save the planet"... how about they save the planet from having to clean up the husk of their remains after they get creamed by the bus they should have been smart enough to avoid!
Since this is really the only truly free speech blog in Portland, let me express my sentiments clearly about the post quoted above,
THAT'S A FUCKING GREAT POST!
There was months of notice about the temporary 3-week MAX shuttle and the summer bus reroutes due to MAX track construction on the Steel Bridge... and this PERMANENT change was practically announced today. Where/when was the opportunity for public comment? Why no open solicitation for said comment on TriMet's website (which I check daily), so everyone could have a say?
I'm a longtime transit rider who does not bike, and to say I'm infuriated by this is an understatement. For as long as I can remember (and as far back as the oldest system map I have indicates), there have always been those stops at those locations at Rose Quarter Transit Center. This new set-up practically destroys the transit center, especially for mobility-challenged people that can't bike, so that a few bikers can joyride through, ignoring motorized traffic, pedestrian traffic, signals, MAX horns, etc. Need to transfer from MAX to a bus (or vice versa) that leaves a minute after the other arrives? You're out of luck now! Not to mention Multnomah St. used to be a throughway for autos, so I bet this is going to make motorists through the area really happy (not!) as well. I should probably add that the original bus stops had large shelters... the new stops are nothing more than a sign in the ground.
To put this in perspective (and turn the tables), let's say that the Springwater Trail could accommodate buses (it can't, but let's briefly imagine a parallel dimension where it does), so bus routes are changed so they're now in what was dedicated bike/ped space. The exact reverse of this has occurred at what was once RQTC.
For people that claim they "share the road," they've sure demanded the entire thing here. I don't want to give anyone any ideas, but when will this stop? Will bikers force buses to stay on SW 3rd and 4th through downtown? Will bikers demand half of the Banfield be shut down so they have a "bike freeway?" Or will TriMet drivers, TriMet riders, and any others that feel this is NOT equitable, demand this change be reversed?
Finally... BikePortland.org seems to be down right now... coincidence?
Thanks for reading!
P.S.–An open "thank you" to a few of the operators I don't know by name (but would probably recognize me) who drove 44 and 74 the last 3 months... thanks for being great, and good luck on your routes in the next sign-up!