I've had my one streetcar track crash, and it gave me a valuable lesson that thankfully only injured my pride. There needs to be a little more awareness about the dangers the tracks pose, but I don't think the tracks themselves are a huge reason to be against the streetcar.

I go back and forth on the issue, going from sneering at Pearlites who are too fancy to take the damn bus (which is more useful AND cheaper) to my current thinking, that I'll be glad it's there in twenty years when things are a bit more dense around the streetcar's corridor.

I'll take the occasional bump in the road over people trying to kill me with their cars any day of the week.

It doesn't seem justified to be against it only because they're dangerous for bikes... but well-marked alternative bike routes would be much appreciated!! Ever since that one time I wrecked hard due to some slippery tracks I am terrified to go near them.

Operating the bus costs more than streetcar.

I can't believe someone thinks the city needs more of those silly signs. The old yarn was that the sign's so goofy it causes the accident it depicts.

"The painful rule of thumb is this: Everyone who rides a bike in Portland will crash once on the streetcar tracks. Just once, but always once. After that, you approach the tracks with caution."

this isn't a "rule of thumb", it's something idiots like sarah mirk tell themselves after they crash. most of us with functioning brains know beforehand that bike tires and streetcar tracks will not mix, therefore we approach them with caution ALL the time. biking in portland is unbelievably easy, don't try to create an issue where there isn't one.

I see people get stuck in them all the time around PSU. The most agonizing ones to watch are when the bicyclists are going slow, get stuck in it, and then attempt to turn to get out. It's a slow motion fall. What's the correct thing to do - brake and stop?

This is my friend Tom after tangling with the streetcar tracks where it makes that turn by Starbucks in The Pearl: http://www.tomsfilespace.com/Accident3.jpg. He dropped into the sunken tracks while looking over his shoulder and he says it's unbelievable how fast he want down. His hands were still on the handlebars when he hit the curb. As anyone who frequents that area knows, the Starbucks is like a Dunkin Donuts in that there are always cops there, sometimes more than just two...you'd think it's a high crime area. Anyway, someone ran to Starbucks and the cops were there in 20 or 30 seconds. They called an emergency crew who pronounced him OK even though he hadn't been wearing a helmet and struck his head very hard on the curb. He says it's weird how little it hurt and aside from a deep scratch and a lump, he was in pretty good shape. Didn't even look too bad until the next day when he saw himself (as in the linked photo) in the mirror. He said he scared children when he walked down the street even though he felt perfectly fine. (Photo used with permission, BTW.)

@ Amanda, in fairness, your friend looked terrifying to children before the raccoon eyes.

I'm sure he's a wonderful human being, but yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing...

@Christian- I was always under the impression that the streetcar costs more to buy, run and maintain than a comparable bus line, but I'm willing to know otherwise, if the opposite is in fact the case... Cite some references?

I HEART THE TROLLEY DING DING!!!

What.

I've been riding in Portland for nearly 5 years, and I've never fallen in the tracks. I know too many folks who've received concussions, so I've always been extra careful.

Biking activists complain about the streetcar. This is one of those moments that is "so Portland" that you feel limp and dirty even pointing it out.

Take this from a former streetcar-track victim and a Florida transplant: be glad you have bikes OR streetcars. Both together? Worth the concussions.

By definition, 'activists' will NEVER be satisfied.

'Portlandia' writers are going to get mad at you pretty soon Portland, since they're not really needed.

The Lovejoy situation looks like a mess. Although it was sort of dangerous before, I don't know if it's any less dangerous now-- the new alignment looks like a hassle, at best.

There's also a story at bikeportland.org about how drivers are now encroaching into the bike lane on the ramp itself in an effort to avoid the streetcar tracks. Arrgh.

I just wish the average Portland resident found much use to these damned things. Tourists can be schlepped back and forth between the Pearl and OMSI soon? Yet another route I'll never take. If you try using it to get around downtown, you'll often find it slower than walking.

MAX and the busses make sense; I'm still not convinced we need a streetcar. Will it ever see a useful, worthwhile expansion into the areas where people live? I doubt it.

Driving a car on the streetcar tracks is no fun either. When all four tires are on the track at the same time, you have little control over your car until you veer back to one side of the other

Having racked up more decades of cycling here in town than I'd care to admit, ajnpdx has it right, it takes a certain breed of idiot to not pay attention when crossing streetcar tracks.
Sorry, but cyclists that feel the need to be coddled bug the shit out of me.

This is what happens when they let children be raised without fathers.
Daddy always said:
1> Tracks are to be CROSSED at a 90 degree angle. ==|==
2> Trains aint got no brakes so stay far away from them.
3> That train aint leaving the track so watch out for their heads and tails.
4> The final right of way rule is AVOID COLLISION.
If you can't follow the rules I'll have to take your bike away.

The streetcar is for featuring on postcards. Period.

It accomplishes not one thing that can't be done by a bus. If you're worried about exhaust, switch buses to alternative full or overhead lines. The streetcar is an expensive, traffic disrupting, completely redundant, useless system to make smug Portlanders smile at themselves. Period. That's it.

Well said, Blabby. Happy New Year.

Thanks for a thoughtful write-up and some interesting comments.

To respond to some points:

1. I've fallen because of rail tracks three times in the past 10 years. After several years without falling on the tracks, I also thought I was invincible, until I caught some tracks in the rain about 6 months ago. So I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that it is simply an issue of experience or street smarts. Do you folks know Mia Birk? Unfortunately, she crashed on rail tracks recently, and she is the former Bike Coordinator for the City of Portland. While I hope everyone here does not have to experience another track crash, it really can happen to the most experienced rider.

In any case, we are pushing for improvements to PREVENT these crashes. I think this is important, particularly for the 30-60% of Portlanders we're trying to get on bikes every so often, but don't feel comfortable with our current bikeway network. In that sense, our barometer is often: would grandma be comfortable here? Would her grandson?

2. Don't underestimate the real costs of crashing on the tracks. We have received reports of $10,000+ medical bills, lots of broken collarbones, mangled bikes and the like. When you add close proximity to motorized vehicles, the risk for serious injury grows exponentially. I appreciate we all have different experiences, but we’ve heard loud and clear from riders of diverse abilites that this is a significant problem.

3. This is not a cyclists vs. streetcar class war! AROW is a multi-modal activist/advocacy group, and one of the core principles that unite us is the belief that we need to push forward on biking, walking and transit improvements across the city.

Our purpose with the Streetcar work is to (A) remedy immediate safety concerns along the new streetcar alignment which have already led to bike crashes - these include warning and wayfinding signage, painted meanders, and other quick-and-easy fixes (B) look for opportunities to actually improve bikeways along the corridor and (C) impact long-term planning of future streetcar expansion to include vastly improved facilities for bicycling, including a potential bikeway mitigation fund.

Personally, I find it interesting to see that some people who bike in Portland have such low expectations for what is possible. New streetcar projects are a great opportunity for the city to stand behind its goal of a world-class bike network. For those who have strong opinions either way, you’re welcome to join the Discussion list (link is in right column), come to a meeting, or propose a project that others should get behind. We are working to inspire a new breed of local grassroots transportation activism, so if you have passion for this sort of stuff, get in touch! http://activerightofway.org