Portlanders
are proud of this city's "bike-friendly" attitude, people
and policies.
Portlanders are proud of this city’s “bike-friendly”
attitude, people and policies. They want to see Portland
become the most bicycle-friendly city in the country
and imagine a future in which bicycling is a highly
attractive transportation and commuting option. The
primary concern around cycling involves safety; both
cyclists and automobile drivers feel that the current
road-sharing arrangement is stressful and unnecessarily
dangerous. Supporters of cycling also believe it deters
a large number of bicycle-friendly people from choosing
cycling as their primary mode of transportation. Separating
cars from cyclists is seen as a safety imperative, along
with better driver’s education and stiffer penalties
for cyclists who ignore traffic rules. Numerous additional
strategies emerge to increase the safety and attractiveness
of cycling, which many hope will flourish over the coming
years.
- Cycling
is good for Portland and should be promoted even more.
- More
people will ride if bicycle safety is improved.
- Portland caters too much
to the needs of cyclists.
- Cycling
is good for Portland and should be promoted
even more.
- Most comments in this section were extremely
supportive of bicycling, both as a pastime
and as a viable means of daily transportation.
- Many people cite cycling as a key aspect
of Portland’s livability, believing that the
high number of cyclists helps the environment,
reduces traffic and builds community.
- Portlanders would like to see more people
biking to work, more children biking to school
and more people biking around their neighborhoods.
- Even more effort should be made to encourage
Portlanders to take up cycling, as this is
one of the primary transportation modes of
the future.
| “I
love the encouragement the city gives
cyclists. I’ve never lived anywhere that
is so dedicated to alternatives to cars.” |
| “[In
2030] Portland is a place where a great
many people commute and travel by bike,
to the extent that there are bike-only
streets to accommodate the amount of bike
traffic.” |
| “Make
Portland the national leaders in bike
transportation and safety by making bike-only
streets.” |
- Look to Amersterdam for a model
of how to encourage many more people to ride
their bikes.
- Create more dedicated bike lanes and bike
routes that are separate from traffic.
- Expand the bike support provided by public
transportation, both busses and the MAX.
- “If everybody had a bike when they needed
one, then why would anyone steal one? Community
Bikes! Make them bright fuscia, if you have
to, but make them free to borrow!”
- More
people will ride if bicycle safety is improved.
- Many people would like to ride their bikes
to work or around town, but have safety concerns
that prevent them from doing so.
- Many feel that the only way to increase
the number of bike commuters is to make cycling
significantly safer.
- Aspects of cycling that are felt to be
unsafe include:
- Having to ride between moving and parked
cars;
- Having to ride in streets without bicycle
lanes or bicycle lanes that abruptly end;
and
- Having to share the road with drivers
that can be unaware of cyclists or bicycle
safety issues.
| "[In
2030] there is more freeway space and
roadways, and bicyclists aren’t SHARING
the roads, they have dedicated bikeways.”
|
| “…Make
cycling, walking, and riding transit easier
and more pleasant. You can’t expect many
people to ride in NW Portland without
more bike lanes; it’s dangerous, so bikes
end up on the sidewalks.” |
| “Where
the Westside esplanade ends at the steel
bridge (northern end) everyone I see and
know, including me, has to walk across
the busy street (Naito Pkwy I believe),
and jump the bike over a concrete divider,
and another curb area, to get back to
downtown. It is a dangerous and disappointing
dead end to a lovely pathway.” |
- “Community education around bicycling
and the proper interaction of bikes and autos.”
- Make intersections safer for cyclists.
- “Better demarcation of bike routes (1 ft.
in diameter circles on the road don’t cut
it, cars don’t know what that is.)”
- Portland
caters too much to the needs of cyclists..
- A small number of people in this section
feel that Portland caters too much to cyclists.
Complaints include:
- Too much money spent on bike lanes and
bike infrastructure when many roads are
in disrepair;
- Many cyclists ignore traffic rules
with seeming immunity;
- Some cyclists are rude and engage in
dangerous behavior; and
- Cyclists slow and at times block traffic
flow.
- Require that cyclists go through
driver education and obtain a license like
drivers.
- Create dedicated bike lanes so cyclists
aren’t sharing the road with drivers (cyclists
also suggest this for their own safety).
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