Platinum: A Nine-Part Initiative For America’s #1 Bicycling City
Tom Miller
A page right from the Executive Summary:
The City of Portland and community partners will take between now and August 2006 in our effort to make Portland the first large city to receive a Platinum award from the League of American Bicyclists. Portland is now one of only four U.S. cities in the Gold category. Davis, California is the only city to previously have received a Platinum rating.
A Portland Platinum Steering Committee, chaired by Commissioner Sam Adams, with Vice-chair Evan Manvel, Executive Director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, is coordinating this comprehensive community effort.
To reach Platinum, spur Portland’s economy, and improve the health and safety of Portland residents, we are running a focused and energetic one-year effort to increase bicycle use by 15% and celebrate – and expand – Portland’s commitment to bicycling.
This effort has 9 main components:
- Significant enhancement of Portland’s existing bikeway network, including installing 700 markings on bicycle boulevards and installing bikeway destination signs and maps across town, funding more bicycle staple racks, installing two to five bicycle oases in Hawthorne, and addressing missing links in the bikeways.
- Significant expansion of bicycle-friendly infrastructure, including striping a bicycle lane on Naito Parkway, fixing bicycle travel through the Rose Quarter transit center, improving bicycle facilities downtown, and identifying 1 - 2 new bicycle boulevards through North and Northeast Portland.
- A comprehensive update of Portland’s Bicycle Master Plan, including incorporating innovative techniques, such as advance bicycle boxes and shared lane markings, and a refinement of the bikeway network priorities.
- Targeted educational efforts that serve as national models, including the launch of the nation’s leading urban Safe Routes to School program at eight pilot schools, an interactive bicycle map web site that provides travel directions, and individualized TravelSmart marketing efforts.
- A mountain of bicycle encouragement activities, including over 1,000 bicycle events and celebrations, from the BridgePedal to Pedalpalooza to daily racing rides, including a comprehensive web database of bicycle rides, events, workshops, etc. that includes customizable e-newsletters.
- Expanded programs with law enforcement, including police handing out free bicycle lights, the creation of a web site to report bicycle thefts, and bicycle crashes and near misses, and neighborhood bicycle safety committees that address local bicycle safety issues
- Integration of bicycling into Oregon’s tourism and economic development efforts, including opening a bicycle path to the airport and expanded marketing efforts.
- Finding and committing to increased funding for bicycle improvements and services using federal, state, and local resources.
- Adoption of a City Council resolution on Platinum and review of possible City policy changes, including requiring car rental agencies to distribute bicycle safety information, requiring major events to encourage bicycling, and enforcing actual speed limits.
Posted by Tom Miller on February 2, 2006
(7) Comments | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under Transportation
Comments by site visitors
I commute by bicycle every day, and thank my lucky stars that I live in Portland and have that option. Most people are not so fortunate. It looks like the improvements I would suggest (web-based bike route finder, better connections, more bike lanes) are already being planned. My only ongoing concern is bike safety education. Our couple of sunny days last week brought out a lot of bicyclers who don't normally bike; I saw lots of people dressed in black on black bikes with no lights or reflectors blasting through red lights and stop signs, or going the wrong way up busy streets. I guess there is always Darwinian selection to reduce that population, but probably obeying traffic laws and wearing bright colors would be less messy.
Posted by: Amy | Feb 2, 2006 1:16:26 PM
OUESTION: What do the OHSU Tram and bicycle infrastructure have in common?
ANSWER: The costs keep rising. Both have platinum price tags. The tram cost is currently at 55 million plus. As for bicycle infrastructure; the costs are far more than a miniscule amount of any budget. Here are but a few examples: $165,000.00 (15 percent of eleven million) for exclusive bike lanes on Naito Parkway that will take up approximately 15 percent of the street surface, 3.6 million dollars for the proposal to convert NW Flanders into a bicycle boulevard and 1.5 Million for Morrison Bridge bike lanes. Other examples include millions of transportation dollars spent for the East Bank Esplanade transportation corridor and Steel Bridge connection (shared with pedestrians), to widen the sidewalks on the Hawthorne Bridge to accommodate bicycles that wiz by pedestrians at a high rate of speed, for the Portland International Airport area bicycle infrastructure, connections and paths, for the NE Tillamook Street make over into a bicycle boulevard, and to clean bike lanes including those on the Hawthorne Bridge approaches so bicyclists don’t demonstrate road rage towards bus drivers.
QUESTION: What is the difference between the OHSU Tram and bicycle infrastructure?
ANSWER: The tram is designed to relieve congestion. OHSU as the primary beneficiary and user is currently on tap to contribute 30.7 million for the one time project. The probability exists that more money will be required. Building bicycle infrastructure is ongoing and presumed to reduce congestion. However, when motor vehicle capacity is reduced to accommodate bike lanes, congestion is often increased. Furthermore, it is a misnomer to suggest that just because a bicyclist owns a car, that person is paying their fair share of transportation taxes. That is a kin to stating that a person who owns two cars should only pay the taxes and license on only one of them because they pay their fair share on the other one. Bicycle infrastructure is 100 percent subsidized, mostly by poaching motor vehicle taxes. Bicyclists scantly pay no direct user fees.
QUESTION: Just because an activity is deemed good for your health, should it be free of charge?
ANSWER: If bicycling is free, then so should be golf on public courses, the use of sports fields in public parks and free admission to all public swimming pools. All are healthy activities that should be encouraged. Better yet, free water and sewer service. We all need water to survive and there is just something constitutional about flushing a toilet. Yet the government assesses user fees for all these endeavors because there is a financial cost to providing them. Sharing the road must also mean sharing the financial responsibility. Considering money for transportation projects is inadequate to keep up with demands, it is time to initiate a bicycle tax whereby the primary benefices and exclusive users of bicycle infrastructure, the bicyclists themselves, must start directly paying for the government services received.
Posted by: Terry Parker | Feb 3, 2006 6:02:37 PM
Terry,
I hope you are well. It was good to talk with you at the city budget forum at David Douglas School the other night. Thanks for your passionate email.
If you read the recent congestion report, you know this region is headed towards transportation gridlock caused by congestion. Meanwhile, construction costs are going up through the roof while transportation funding is flat or declining.
With an avalanche of new money for transportation unlikely, our key focus is to be smart and creative in getting the most capacity out the $6.5 billion local transportation system that we already have.
Eliminating non-repeating delays is one cost effective way to speed up traffic. For example, up to 50 percent of congestion is due to non-repeating delays, like vehicle crashes.
A high percent of vehicle crashes are due to driver distraction. Hand held cellphones are a preventable driver distraction. Other cities have banned hand-held cellphones. I have to go to the state legislature to ban them in Portland. I will.
Another way to get the most out of our $6.5 billion local transportation investment is to prioritize the swift movement of certain kind of trips over others.
Portland is the third most dependent city on trade in the US. So, for example, a high priority for me is to ensure the swift movement of freight throughout the region.
People who drive alone to get from one point to another when they have another viable travel options are my lowest priority for speed of travel.
Not everybody can realistically use transit or a bike, so I am not talking about them. But for those that do, the swift movement of freight is more important to me than moving someone driving alone who has other travel options.
That’s where the City’s bike infrastructure comes into the picture. It is a relatively cheap way for taxpayers to get people out of their cars. The more people driving alone we get out of their cars and on to bike, the less congestion for higher priority travel trips like freight.
We know we will get more people on bikes if we offer them a more comprehensive and safer bike system.
I look for a balance in terms of were we put bike lanes verses auto travel lanes. For example, this year we kicked off a bike boulevard program that gets bike riders to where they need to go in the city but guides them to quieter and safer side streets.
As I understand it, the vehicle travel lanes on Naito Parkway are NOT being narrowed to accommodate the bike lanes. Maybe I’m confused, but I think you need to check your math on the percentage going to the bike lanes on that project, too.
You are right; most bike riders own cars and pay gas taxes. Just like most pedestrian own cars and pay gas taxes. If I take your argument to its conclusion we would not be able to use gas taxes for crosswalks either. Terry, that doesn’t make sense to me.
Just to be clear, I am not anti-car. I own and drive one. Most of the projects I approve are for the benefit of motorized vehicles only.
To move freight we need to reduce the number of people driving alone clogging up the streets. We will get more solo drivers out of their cars if we offer them a convenient alternative. Bikes can be that alternative for thousands more Portlanders if we build a safe system for them to travel on.
Sam
Posted by: Sam Adams | Feb 4, 2006 3:31:08 PM
Where's the website for reporting crashes? I was hit last week (driver made an unsafe left turn -- totally his fault, agreed his insurance company) and the police still haven't returned my calls. How do I get this statistic recorded?
As a year-round bicycle commuter since 1993, I've seen how well-planned, effective, and fiscally responsible PDOT's bike improvements have been. I'm glad to see my hard-earned tax money go to something so worthwhile.
Posted by: Martha | Feb 7, 2006 2:23:19 PM
I can not get out of this town quick enough. We have child.. need i say more
Posted by: jeff | Feb 7, 2006 9:37:52 PM
Terry, $165,000 out of $11 million is actually equal to 1.5%. Also, $165,000 is approximately $60,000 LESS than the median house price in Portland - a steal for bike lanes that, once built, will allow Portlanders to commute on.
Note - bicycle commuters do not pollute. No air, water, or noise pollution. They take up far less space on the roads. They do not impinge upon freight movement. They do not scare pedestrians away and kill them when they run them over. They take up hardly any space when parking. They DO NOT wear down the road like automobiles and heavy trucks do - you could essentialy pave a bike lane, and come back maybe 100 years later to repave it; whereas you have to repave a street with cars every 10-15 years.
Bikes are a great investment - and requires hardly any upkeep.
Also, bicyclists are going to live a lot longer than you are. Please play nice and pay your taxes. Thank you.
Posted by: Justin | Feb 16, 2006 10:31:33 PM
Post your comment
Please note: your email address, although required to post, will not be visible. We remove inappropriate or offensive content, and content deemed improper by State and City election and ethics law. The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of the office or the City of Portland.
This puts Portland on the bike path to be the best city in the country. Cycling to work is the best medicine for many of our ills. It improves our health and enviroment. Reduces foreign oil dependence and traffic congestion. Saves our roads and bridges from wear and tear. Best of all, cycling is so inexpensive.
Congratulations to Portland for winning Best Overall in Bicycling Magazine's (03/06) Best Cycling Cities issue. Keep pedalling.
Posted by: John | Feb 2, 2006 12:07:20 PM