Planner: Portland bike plan doesn’t go far enough

By Anita Kissée KATU News and KATU.com Staff Published: Oct 27, 2009 at 6:10 PM PST Last Updated: Oct 28, 2009 at 12:03 PM PST
Planner: Portland bike plan doesn’t go far enough »Play Video

PORTLAND, Ore. – One urban planner said Tuesday that the city’s new plan to increase the number of people riding their bikes to work doesn’t go far enough.

The city wants to get one-quarter of the commuting population to start biking to work by 2030. It plans to do so by tripling the 300-mile bike network currently in existence.  The plan is touted by many as the most innovative, most ambitious bicycle master plan in North America. But George Crandall of Crandall Arambula of Portland said if the city really wants to meet its goals, it needs to think even bigger by keeping cars and bikes apart.

Crandall is an urban designer who reinvents cities around the country, but thinks his own isn’t ambitious enough. He said that it settles for a little paint on streets instead of more protected bikeways that are proven to attract riders like those in Europe and the new cycle track near Portland State University.

“The reason most people don’t ride is because of safety issues and concerns,” Crandall said. “We need to see a system designed for the entire community and that’s what’s lacking in the plan. That piece is just not there. It’s a pretty big plan; our concern is just how to get it all done.”

Ellen Vanderslice with Portland’s Department of Transportation said the city intends to spend $10 million on 100 miles of bikeways within five years, some of that money going toward bike boulevards and buffered bike lanes. But she said it’s a balance.

“Most of the places are places where we would need to take away on street parking or take away a traffic lane in order to make it work, and in those places we may not be quite ready for that yet,” she said. “We need more people riding, more demand for facilities before that can happen.”

Meanwhile, Crandall said that Portland is very progressive when it comes to biking, but said he’s a little disappointed that the plan doesn’t reflect that.

“The plan is troubling because it’s a great opportunity and the rest of the country will be looking to us for leadership,” he said.

Portland thinks of itself as a world-class cycling city with six percent of its commuters riding their bikes to work. That’s more than anywhere else in the United States but still far behind Copenhagen and Denmark where about half bike to work.

Studies show that with bike lanes alone only 10 percent of people will ride but with more protected bikeways the number jumps to 40 percent.

The plan comes with its supporters and its critics.

“It’s gratifying to see a bold plan come out of the city offices; one that is not afraid to make controversial recommendations,” said a supporter during a hearing downtown held by the planning commission.
 
But another disagreed.

“The end result is a one-sided plan that treats bicyclists like elitists with special privileges and immunity, allowing bicyclists to continue acting like spoiled little children whom expect mommy and daddy, in this case other taxpayers and motorists, to pay for the specialized infrastructure they clamor for and exclusively use.”