Anonymous Dec 18, 2012 at 11:22 am

Comments

1
According to Wikipedia, the Hawthorne Bridge has 30,000 "vehicles", which I assume means cars, cross it every day. So about 1/8 of the traffic is bike.

But like Anon says, it's the busiest bike bridge in town. I think I read somewhere that the city wants to eventually get 25% of traffic on bikes, or something? Totally unrealistic.

But people hate cars because they want to be like "sophisticated and civilized Europe," with trains and bikes everywhere. The fact that most of those cities were designed for horse and carriage, while our cities were designed for the car, doesn't seem to register.

If Portland were really serious about alternative transportation, they'd make a transit system that could get you from Beaverton to Gresham in less than an hour, and didn't leave you stranded after 9pm.
2
Yeah, those last two paragraphs.
3
God, everyone thinks they're "unique" here.
4
First, the bike counter was funded by a donation from Cycle Oregon. Your tax dollars had nothing to do with this. Second, while it would be awesome to have the Amsterdam infrastructure here in Portland, I believe that the people making the changes here are realistic enough to know that's not going to happen. They are merely trying to make it easier for people to get around on bike. Of course ridership is going to decrease in the winter. I rode the bus today because it would have been a miserable ride to work. However, getting more people out in the summer is just as important.

But damn! 4000 trips! That's 4000 cars off the road so that your sorry butt can get to work 30sec quicker each day.
5
Logic and common sense have no place in this discussion I,A. Bikes are always good, and cars are always bad. If you apply logic or point out a naked emperor, then you clearly need to "move to Vantuckey."

But don't worry, there are reprogramming centers about town where the Kool Aid is doled out liberally, and free of charge. Such as the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, or "Sarah Mirk's keyboard."
6
You're right, those of us on bikes don't deserve to be safe because we're in the minority. Minorities should never be safe.
7
"However, getting more people out in the summer is just as important."

Not to me.
8
I don't understand this IA or any of these comments except a little of Jamdox'. What in the fuck is everyone talking about?

Anyway, i like the counter, and 4000 trips (2000 riders, whatever) seems like a lot to me.
9
Yes, wait until it's below freezing and use that as an example to criticize the number of riders on a single bridge. A+
10
who the fuck Wikipedia's the Hawthorne Bridge?
(Anon's: keeping Portland weird, one Wikipedia search at a time)
11
And arenit, when do you suppose that the bike advocates do their surveys? Would the height of summer be a fair guess?
12
So several thousands of people bike in Portland daily. That rules, because have you ever seen the difference in size of several thousands of bikes vs. several thousands of cars... Guess which one takes up a whole lot more space?

Thanks to cyclists, pedestrians, and public transit takers, there are several thousand LESS cars on the roads and in parking spots downtown then there would otherwise be. Please remember this the next time you're driving all mad at a cyclist. Angry driving = not good for anyone.
13
Blabby "And arenit, when do you suppose that the bike advocates do their surveys? Would the height of summer be a fair guess?"

Gosh, it's like you're the first person in the world to discover that more people ride bikes in the summer than in the winter. Seriously, be a little less obvious about cheerleading in the comments section of your own IA submission.
15
"Gosh, it's like you're the first person in the world to discover that more people ride bikes in the summer than in the winter." That's precisely the point you made first, so if it is a stupid point, then burn on your own dumb head! Ppppbbbttthhh! (That's the sound of me administering a devastating raspberry.)

I've never made an I,A submission. I do find it heartening that more and more people seem able to see through the fog of buzzwords and greenwash everyone spews in this city.
16
Bro you're so enlightened and deep with your uncanny ability to see through the corporate lies of ... greenwash is it?
17
@jamdox

"The fact that most of those cities were designed for horse and carriage, while our cities were designed for the car, doesn't seem to register."

Uh, unless you live in Phoenix or Orlando, most cities were designed and laid out before the automobile. Portland wasn't founded in 1950, more like 1850s.

Ever notice the horse tie up rings on the curbs? Those are real, by the way.
18
Blabby, yes, last year's count was taken between July 20 and Sept 30. http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportati…
19
One place you can definitely count on receiving no love as a cyclist is Cully. We do not have your inner SE sensitivities. Best to stay away entirely.
20
For my part, I don't want "love" as a cyclist or anyone sharing my so-called sensitivities; I want people to obey traffic laws and respect others' safety regardless of type of vehicle.
21
ROM:

The 2011 bridge count from that report shows over 8,000 trips on the Hawthorne. If you check the actual data from that bike counter website, since August, the trips only reached that number twice (in late September). This week, its under 3,000 per day. Yeah, it's rainy and windy and cold, but this is Portland.

I think part of what Blabby and other commentators questioning the "anything bike = good and green" are getting at is that the actual impact is not what the planners, government, and bike blog / activist types profess it to be, now or likely in the future. Its overblown and it is couched in "greenwashing." Hell, Sam Adams is Mr. Green Bike mayor, but he's pushing hard for the unnecessary development of Hayden Island, which will likely have a detrimental environmental impact equal to or greater than any increased "bike traffic" during his tenure.

We'll have a small number of dedicated year round commuters (I'm one and have been for over a decade), and then when the weather's nice, that number will increase. And, when the weather's nice, people will ride their bikes to the bars and movie theaters. That's great. Our system is pretty well built out for that sort of thing to allow folks to get around pretty safely, at least in the inner areas where folks actually bike.

But, for the vast majority of our citizens, its simply not the year round (or even the majority of the year roun) option. Because, weather, and time, and darkness, and long distances from the east or west side to whatever job they can get because they can't afford to live close in anymore, or kids to shuttle around to various events.

Please wait...

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