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blueprint 4 better biking
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Wesley Kirkman
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Oct 11, 2005 13:04 PDT
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Forgive the crappy formatting, it pasted poorly and I don't have the time to
format.
Wes
http://www.bta4bikes.org/info/blueprint.pdf
Bicycle Transportation Alliance Releases
"Blueprint for Better Biking: 40 Ways to Get There"
Plan to Ensure Portland is America's Bicycling Hub
Oct 6, Portland, OR: This morning, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance
released its "Blueprint for Better Biking: 40 Ways to Get There"
report, listing the 40 projects the group believes would most improve
biking in the Portland Metro region.
Standing at the intersection of the Hawthorne Bridge and Eastbank
Esplanade, two of Portland's most recent and popular bike
facilities, BTA Executive Director Evan Manvel said, "It's time to
dream of a better region for biking – not just a Platinum-level
Portland, but a Platinum-level region. Our Blueprint provides
decision-makers with forty achievable, important projects that will
provide transportation choices across the region."
"We must continue to improve Portland's reputation as America's
bicycling hub," noted Scott Bricker, BTA Policy Director and the
project director of the Blueprint for Better Bicycling. "Ensuring
Portland remains America's number-one bike city will continue to draw
creative leaders, and with them, new businesses. These projects are
creative, affordable, and proven to increase bicycling."
Kevin Chudy, owner of Bike 'N Hike bike shops, noted "Bicycles are good
for the area's economy and local businesses like mine. As the region
makes it easier and safer to bike, more and more are people coming in
to my shops to buy bicycles. We need more projects to make cycling a
safe, healthy choice for adults and kids alike."
While the projects run the gamut, Bricker highlighted two trends.
"First, many of our projects call for bike routes with little or no car
traffic – bike boulevards and trails, mainly. Helping people avoid car
traffic is a key to safety, comfort, and getting new people to try
biking. Second, we have to greatly improve our suburban efforts. With
incomplete connections, bicycling safely in parts of the region is
incredibly frustrating, if not close to impossible. Even as
inner-Portland bike facilities bulge with overcrowding, suburban routes
are often underused and disconnected."
The top ten projects (in no particular order) are:
• Sellwood Bridge
• Central City Bicycle Plan improvements
• East-west bikeways in North/Northeast Portland
• Highway 43 and the Willamette Shoreline Trail, connecting Lake
Oswego, West Linn, and Portland
• Tonquin Trail, connecting Wilsonville, Tualatin, and Sherwood
• Low-traffic Suburban Routes
• Fanno Creek Trail, connecting Portland, Beaverton, and Tigard
• Expanded Low-Speed, Low-Volume Bikeways
• Enforcement campaigns against dangerous road users
• Safe Routes to School programs
The other thirty projects:
• South Waterfront path
• NW Flanders St. as a bike boulevard
• Morrison Bridge bike lanes
• Rose Quarter connections
• North Willamette Greenway Trail, linking the Eastbank Esplanade to
St. Johns
• St. Johns Bridge bike lanes
• I-5 Bridge to Vancouver bike improvements
• NE Cully bike boulevard
• I-205 bike path crossings of streets
• Gresham-Fairview trail, connecting the Springwater trail to the
Columbia River
• Springwater Corridor trail to Mt. Hood
• SE 92nd Ave improvements
• North-South connections linking NE and SE Portland
• Closing the Springwater Gap
• Lake Oswego to Milwaukie crossing the Willamette River
• Trolley Trail from Sellwood to Milwaukie, Oregon City, and Gladstone
• West Linn to Oregon City crossing the Willamettte River
• Stafford Road bike lanes or shoulders
• Beaverton Powerline trail from the Tualatin River to Forest Park
• Closing gaps in suburban bikeways
• SW Hall Boulevard in Beaverton
• Signs and markings to help navigation
• Bikeway maintenance, including sweeping, painting, and repair
• Increased employer-based incentives
• Launching a Tourism Center
• Education campaigns for drivers and cyclists
• Car-free events
• Improved bike parking facilities
• MAX Station bicycle hubs with signage and lockers
• Oregon Center for Bicycling and Walking research institute
The projects were selected through an extensive two-year process that
included a survey of over 900 bicyclists, meetings with technical
experts, and meetings with bicycle advisory committees. The 40
projects on the list were winnowed from over 400 suggested projects,
and include infrastructure projects, improved enforcement,
encouragement, research, and education projects.
Last week, Portland was recertified as a Gold-rated bicycling city by
the League of American Bicyclists. The City and the BTA are working to
make it a Platinum-rated city. In 2005, City of Portland counts
indicated more than three times as many bicyclists crossing Willamette
River bridges as crossed the bridges in 1992.
For a copy of the Blueprint, visit
www.bta4bikes.org<http://www.bta4bikes.org>or call
503-226-0676 x17.
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a nonprofit organization that
has been opening minds and roads to bicycling since 1990. The
organization has 4000 members and ten staff members.
###
Regards,
Daniel Kaempff
Transportation Options Program Manager
Oregon Department of Transportation
503-986-4131
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