Here’s a quick public service announcement from the Portland Police about why it’s actually more dangerous to bike on the sidewalk that to bike in the street.

Last night, a 22-year-old guy was biking on the sidewalk on the north side of Powell Blvd just near SE 50th Avenue. Meanwhile, a Portland Police officer was pulling his Chevy pick-up out of a parking lot on the northeast corner of 50th and Powell, aiming to turn west onto Powell. According to the police, the officer pulled forward to see oncoming traffic and, after believing the sidewalk was clear, pulled forward to enter the roadway. That’s when the guy on the bike, who was traveling at 10-12 miles an hour (according to a witness) crashed into the side of the police truck and “suffered small abrasions.”

The police determined that while the cyclist had a front light, he was responsible for the crash because he was biking at a “speed greater than an ordinary walk” when he approached the driveway. While it’s legal in Portland to bike on the sidewalk everywhere except downtown, you have to bike at the speed of a pedestrian when crossing driveways or entering crosswalks. No citations were issued, but this means the cops don’t have to pay for the cyclist’s injuries.

Of course, the larger question is: Why was he biking on the sidewalk? Probably because SE 50th and Powell is a terrifying street to bike on. That’s the clunky three-way intersection where Powell meets Foster and 50th Ave—there’s four lanes of traffic on each side, no bike lane, and if you’re not a rider who’s super confident about saying your prayers and taking the lane, riding on the sidewalk seems to be the safer option. Fix that, please.

UPDATE 3:50PM— I just talked with the witness of this crash, who happens to be Joe Doebele, owner of local bike shop Joe Bike. Doebele was walking his dogs when he saw the crash and says while the cyclist was going faster than pedestrian speed, he thought the driver was “90 percent responsible” for the crash.

“If he had looked with relative care to the right and left, he would have seen the guy coming, he wasn’t going that fast and he had lights,” says Doebele. “The first thing I noticed is the driver immediately blamed the cyclist when he got out of the truck. ‘I didn’t see you, you were in my blind spot.’ … Then when a motorcycle cop showed up, the first thing out of the driver’s mouth was, ‘No damage to the rig!'”

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

23 replies on “Bike on the Sidewalk, Crash into a Cop Car”

  1. BIKES ARE A MENACE TO SOCIETY. I HOPE THAT THE CYCLIST GETS CITED FOR AN INFRACTION OF ORS 814.410; EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT ACTUALLY CONSTITUTES A “SPEED GREATER THAN AN ORDINARY WALK”. ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA THE AVERAGE HUMAN WALKING SPEED IS 3.1 MPH, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SLOW ENOUGH TO BE DANGEROUS FOR A BICYCLE TO TRAVEL AT AND STILL MAINTAIN BALANCE. BUT STILL, THE LAW IS THE LAW. THROW THE BOOK AT THE HOOLIGAN.

  3. As an avid cyclist I gotta side with the cop on this one. There are reasons you are supposed to go slow if you are biking on the sidewalk and this is one of them. 50th and Powell is too dangerous for bike? Then don’t fucking bike there! There are a lot of route options in that area. I know because I bypass that interesection everyday. Bikers need to start honoring the rules of the road. When they don’t they make us all look like assholes.

  4. I guess all drivers are assholes too then, since I see drivers running red lights, speeding, failing to signal, and violating cyclists’, pedestrians’ and other motorists’ right of way many times each day on a daily basis.

  9. There is no good reason to be riding your bike on Powell, also known as US Route 26. There are plenty of perfectly good sidestreets like Gladstone and Clinton that are only a few blocks out of the way and specifically cater to bicyclists. Don’t ride your bikes on major thoroughfares that don’t have bike lanes. God I hate getting stuck behind a bicyclist on 39th at rush hour. There are maps and signs that can help you find a safer route for everyone involved and not impede cars that are traveling at the speed limit.

  10. @MARQ @WamosA, @ RADZPXD: OH NO YOU DIDN’T JUST CALL OUT A CYCLIST FOR BEING A FRED WHEN THEY DID SOMETHING SOMETHING SOMETHING. CAN’T WE JUST STOP WITH THIS INTRACENE FIGHTING AND TAKE ON THE REAL VILLAIN IN THIS CASE? RANDY LEONARD

  11. People ride their bikes on major arterials like Powell for the same reason motorists drive there, to access commercial and other destinations that are primarily located on arterial streets, duh.

  13. I saw my superhero Mr. Bad Example last night biking up Hawthorne. He was drunk and had no lights so I flagged him down to let him know there was a traffic cop running a sting up ahead. Then suggested he run up Salmon a few blocks over. The stripper on the handlebars asked if they were doing anything illegal. “Nah, I just don’t want you get hassled by the cop.”

  16. Find a better place to bike. There are streets for bikes and streets for cars.

    I’m seeing more people biking up Sandy or MLK slowing a whole lane of traffic down to 15 mph, and I seriously want to just run them over.

  17. While I agree that Powell needs a makeover and that intersection could be greatly improved, this is a case where cyclists should be using the designated bike boulevards parallel to Powell. Bike lanes would not be good on Powell due to high speeds and conflicts with the bus line.

  18. PROTIP: DO NOT BIKE ON POWELL. DO NOT BIKE ON MLK. DO NOT BIKE ON GRAND. DO NOT BIKE ON 82ND. DO NOT BIKE ON 39TH. DO NOT BIKE ON COLUMBIA.

    SANDY NEEDS BIKE LANES. BIKE ON IT ALL YOU WANT TO PROVE THE POINT.

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