THINK BICYCLE SAFETY: All users of the road deserve respect, and all users of the road have responsibilities. When you use the road, think. Be careful. Watch for others. KEEP OUR ROADS SAFE.With the news of yet another severe automobile-bicycle collision that has led to major cyclist injuries on the intersection of N Interstate and N Greeley, we want to the public to know about what we've been doing in our office both in response to these specific tragedies, and to ensure that similar tragedies are prevented at all problem intersections in the future.
Sam Responds on Bicycle Safety
Sam, PDOT, and other stakeholders have already been working diligently on a wide-ranging bicycle safety plan that is a major component in the Safe, Sound, and Green Streets proposal Sam has taken to the public, as well as a central part of the Platinum Bicycle Master Plan, which is currently undergoing a comprehensive update.
But in addition to these projects that were already underway the Office of Transportation, Sam and PDOT have mapped out and taken a series of immediate steps to directly respond to these fatalities. These steps include:
1. Fast-tracking and moving forward with immediate bike safety engineering fixes for SW Burnside and 14th and N Greeley and Interstate.
2. Closing off the right southbound turn onto N Greeley from N Interstate to traffic until permanent safety redesigns are identified and installed.
3. Convening a nearly 25 member stakeholder group with people from the bicycling community, PDOT's safety engineering team, freight haulers, Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County, bicycle lawyers, and others, who have tackled the bike safety issue from multiple angles.
4. Requesting that Portland City Council immediately fund $200,000 worth of new bike safety improvements.
5. Authorizing and unrolling a new pilot program for "bike boxes" - an innovative bike safety improvement used in many other parts of the world, but not yet in our neck of the woods - which would get bicycles in front of auto traffic at stop lights (instead of next to or to the right of automobiles) and prevent vehicular right turns on red.
At its first meeting, which was on the Friday, October 26, the Bicycle Safety Committee had a very fruitful discussion and its members have done great initial work that includes brainstorming a draft list potential action items that we've attached at the bottom of this post. These items will be considered further by the committee and traffic safety engineers at PDOT to identify the top priority steps we can take and laws/projects we can implement to help improve bicycle safety in the city. (Please see bottom of post for entire DRAFT list of potential responses and solutions to bicycle safety concerns.)
And, we also are well aware that people want to have a forum in which they can bring up concerns, issues, and ideas for moving forward. Following up on our first initial Bicycle Safety Committee meeting (which was made up of a small group of people in order to identify urgent emergency steps that could be implemented immediately) we are convening again with a meeting that will be open to the public.
We are actively soliciting public testimony to hear whatever you have to say about bicycle safety in the city of Portland. Please attend to share your thoughts with Sam and the Bicycle Safety Commitee.
THE BICYCLE SAFETY COMMITTEE WILL MEET NEXT WEDNESDAY EVENING TO TAKE PUBLIC TESTIMONY FROM ALL WHO WANT TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FOR HOW TO TACKLE THIS ISSUE WITH SAM AND THE COMMITEE.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY - BIKE SAFETY COMMITTEE
7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2007
PORTLAND BUILDING, ROOM C . (2ND FLOOR, SW 5TH & JEFFERSON ST.)
All are welcome to attend this meeting to testify to Commissioner Adams and the Bike Safety Committee.