Separated Bikeways in Portland

I know I rabbit on about places like Portland, Oregon, but it seems to me that they are in a similar place to us. A reasonable amount of cycling at present (~6% commuters) largely based on developing a network of cycle lanes. But now that they aspire to be a “world class cycling city”, they are starting to get very serious about trying out a range of treatments to reinvent their streets.

One recent project is NE Multnomah St, which was featured recently on Bike Portland. This busy street is in the heart of a main commercial district just to the east of the CBD and features a convention centre and large shopping mall nearby. When I was there a couple of years ago, this street looked like this:

“Old” NE Multnomah St, with a standard cycle lane (BTW note the signage for roadworks in the bike lane)

Two lanes of traffic each way and a typical bike lane squeezed in next to it; hardly the environment to attract the “interested but concerned”. So the City of Portland have now added some additional separation and treatments at side-crossings:

New-look separated bikeway. The existing planters on the right will be shifted over to the yellow buffer zone (c/ Jonathan Maus, BikePortland)

It’s still a work in progress (and the treatments will be temporary for a year or two to evaluate things before making anything permanent), but it perhaps provides some indicators of what you could do relatively easily in Christchurch (and indeed seem to be planning for Ilam Rd).

Vertical delineator posts help to provide separation from traffic (c/ Jonathan Maus, BikePortland)

In case you think this is a bridge too far for Christchurch, I can tell you that similar thinking is currently being considered by the City Council. Without being able to reveal too much yet, I have seen some fairly innovative designs being proposed for draft cycle design guidelines for the city – watch this space!

What do you think – is this kind of treatment a good option for Christchurch?

 

3 thoughts on “Separated Bikeways in Portland”

  1. Just what we need I think. This offers real safety rather than relying on a high vis, prayers and a flimsy piece of plastic on your head. Separated cycleways should become the norm rather than the exception.

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