This summer season, the Portland Bureau of Transportation will break floor on probably the most thrilling bike infrastructure undertaking we’ve seen in a few years. On Wednesday PBOT launched 100% design plans for the North Willamette Lively Transportation Hall Mission that make it crystal clear simply how transformative the modifications will likely be for this important connection to and from St. Johns.
The $6 million federally-funded undertaking will include a big replace to the bike lanes and street profile of a 3 mile stretch of N Willamette Blvd between N Rosa Parks Means and N Richmond. PBOT plans so as to add concrete curbs to guard the bike lane, set up prohibitions on driver turning actions and lane entry at key intersections, prolong median islands to scale back visitors publicity for bicycle riders and walkers, add velocity bumps, and make a bunch of different security and visitors calming-related modifications.
100% design plans aren’t remaining or precisely what we’ll see on the bottom, however they’re very shut. Shut sufficient for PBOT to place the undertaking out for bid to allow them to break floor this summer season. With the discharge of recent paperwork on Wednesday, PBOT has given us much more detailed visualizations and plans than the 60% plans they shared in March of final 12 months. Together with the plan drawings, they’ve shared narrative explanations of a number of key modifications at particular intersections.
Beneath is what we’ve discovered due to an annotated map of the total hall design…
Driver speeds on Willamette are more likely to come approach down due to 41 new “fire-friendly velocity cushions” being put in alongside the three-mile stretch.
PBOT will debut a brand new design of their bike lane curbs. As an alternative of a symmetrical profile with bevels on each side just like the at the moment used curbs, the brand new design may have a squared-off profile on the drivers’ aspect. The overall peak appears to be like a bit shorter (though I’m undecided about that), however the drivers’ aspect will now be a sharper 4-inches excessive as a substitute of a 2-inch peak with a bevel.
Ranging from the southern finish, PBOT plans to make large modifications to the Rosa Parks Means intersection. They’ll widen the street, add concrete curbs to guard the bike lane for everything of the curve, separate the southbound bike lane utterly from the street, and add extra sturdy medians to calm automotive customers and restrict their turning actions.
The place N Willamette intersects with N Oatman/Liberty and N Vincent/Saratoga, new giant concrete medians will scale back the width of expansive intersections by about 80%.
On the N Bryant/Wabash neighborhood greenway intersection, PBOT will add bus islands, prohibit automotive drivers from utilizing N Wabash and add a number of islands and new crossings to tame visitors and invite extra strolling and bicycling.
At N Chautauqua, PBOT will tighten nook radii to drive drivers to decelerate. They may even add concrete curbs to the centerline to forestall impatient automotive customers from passing stopped buses and different automobiles (similar to of us turning left from Willamette to Chautauqua). It is a big enchancment that’s badly wanted as a result of many drivers at the moment dive into the bike lane each time a driver or bus operator slows or stops at Chautauqua.
At N Woolsey (Columbia Park), PBOT will use extra concrete curb dividers to forestall harmful lane modifications. They usually’ll take it one step additional with a brand new ban on left turns from Willamette to Woolsey. For drivers going south on Woolsey, they are going to be pressured to solely flip proper (west) onto Willamette. That is being performed as a consequence of make motion extra predictable and forestall what PBOT says has been a “cluster of crashes” on the intersection in recent times.
On the intersection with N Harvard (simply earlier than College of Portland curve), PBOT will increase the bike lane up (much like NE Sofa at Burnside Bridge strategy) as a result of lanes are too slim for concrete curbs. Simply after N Harvard, PBOT will prohibit drivers from accessing Willamette from N Olin and drive all automotive visitors to make use of Harvard.
On the entrance to College of Portland close to N Haven Ave, PBOT will take away one of many two southbound lanes. “Site visitors modeling confirmed proper flip lane not mandatory for visitors circulation and it will increase threat to pedestrian crossing so it will likely be eliminated,” PBOT says.
On the bridge over the railroad (“the lower”) between N Carey and N Ida, PBOT says they can not set up concrete curbs to guard the bike lane as a consequence of bridge weight restrictions. So that they’ll set up plastic wands and curbs as a substitute.
On the northbound bike lane onto N Ida (Fred Meyer, Roosevelt Excessive Faculty), they’ll increase the bike lane (much like NE Sofa curve). Additionally at N Ida, going southbound, PBOT will take away the left flip lane, enhance the bus cease and add crosswalks.
I advised you it was thrilling!
PBOT is so happy with their designs they’re providing two on-line “webinar-style walkthroughs” (January twenty second and twenty third) for anybody who needs to be taught extra. You’ll be able to join these on the undertaking web site.
Building on this undertaking ought to begin this summer season and is predicted to take 12 months to finish.
