Portland plans to test 'buffered bike lanes'

[depakid]

Not impressed with the http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/adams_promises_to_sacrifice_a.html">cycle track conceptabout to be tested on a stretch of Broadway near Portland State University? Well, the Portland Bureau of Transportation says there's another way.

It's called the "buffered bike lane" and it's coming to Southwest Stark and Oak streets. "It's a demonstration project we're running concurrently with the cycle track to determine which works better for cyclists and what impacts this configuration has on motorists," said PBOT project manager Kyle Chisek

Also called an "enhanced bike lane," the design calls for a motor vehicle lane to be removed on Stark and Oak from 13th Avenue and 10th Avenue, respectively, to Naito Parkway in order to create a wide, bike-only lane. The six-foot-wide bike lane will be buffered by a two-foot striped "shy zone" on both side, separating bike traffic from parking and motorized traffic.

The cycle track, on the other hand, will remove one of three automobile lanes on Southwest Broadway for a dedicated 7-foot-wide bikeway between Clay and Jackson streets. Parking spaces on the west side of the street would be moved several feet to the left, away from the sidewalk, creating a barrier of parked cars between cyclists and auto traffic.

There would also be a 3-foot painted shy zone between parking and the bikeway, allowing people to get out of cars without disrupting bike traffic.

For more information about the "buffered bike lane" proposal, check out the http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/05/Oak%20stark%20buffered%20lane%202.pdf">PBOT pdf or go to the http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=50346">project's official web site.

[phantom power]

1. Cool experiments.

I still can't shake the feeling that in the end we're just gonna go for it and let god sort it out.

[depakid]

2. Damn!

Can't even get rickshaw through that!

Having ridden in the "bike boxes" around town, I can tell you that they do make a world of difference at certain intersections that used to be... a bit disconcerting.




--------

[phantom power]

3. I can see how that would mitigate the Biker Left Turn problem

We don't have such things here in Tempe, although they might be receptive to the idea.

[Berry Cool]

4. Ah, what bliss it must be to bike in those!

It seems to me that nothing gets drivers more needlessly pissed than seeing a bike in the left turn lane ahead of them. They're like friggin' jackrabbits and they don't want anyone interfering with their golden opportunity to spring off the green light ASAP...

[depakid]

5. Or people in oversized SUV's on cell phones

Been within an inch of my life due to that more times than I can count over the years.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. They don't need to on cell phones, or in SUV's

I've been cut off by all sorts of automobiles over the years in all sorts of conditions. Just call me the invisible cyclist.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. There's nothing like physical separation

When the bicycle is taken seriously as a mode of transport, roads will be engineered appropriately.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. That's lovely. Looks like an old-fashioned country lane just for bikes. :^)

[Dead_Parrot]

9. The Milton Keynes redway system is good(ish) for that

As well as running parallel to some roads, the cycle paths also take separate routes between key points, thus getting away from the fumes.



Granted some of them get rather dodgy at night, and the endless underpasses are a pain, but I think the principle is sound. There's a PDF map here for the curious. (3.4MB)