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First Take a look at new lanes and paths on Naito Parkway

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Cycling

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(Cell viewers, click on by way of to see all photos. Images: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The celebration to mark the opening of Higher Naito is set for tomorrow (Friday) morning. However the social gathering has already begun.

Individuals on foot, on bikes, and all varieties of mobility units have been utilizing the brand new protected lanes because the Portland Bureau of Transportation introduced the completion of the mission late final month.

After spending a number of hours observing the adjustments on Wednesday, I believe there’s rather a lot to have a good time!

Friday’s ribbon-cutting comes virtually seven years to the day from after we first posted that the design of Naito between the Hawthorne and Metal bridges was in want of a change. Fortunately, PBOT was totally on-board from the beginning, and whereas it’s take a very long time and many activism to get right here, the result’s a triumph and I consider this mission may have a profound affect on our metropolis.

As you possibly can see within the pictures and video (under) we now have a bodily protected lane for biking and low-impact car customers on Naito Parkway for effectively over a mile between SW Lincoln and NW Davis because of the completion of two separate (however related) capital initiatives: Higher Naito Endlessly (between Hawthorne Bridge and NW Davis) and the SW Naito Enchancment Undertaking (between SW Harrison and the Hawthorne Bridge).

Within the video under, I make a loop from SW Jefferson to NW Davis after which again once more, whereas slowing at key intersections so you possibly can see the infrastructure. Additionally discover that I look ahead to all indicators they usually change comparatively rapidly as I arrive…

The brand new facility is a two-way lane separated from different street customers by way of a small, concrete curb. It makes use of house that was beforehand a slim bike lane and two common goal lanes and it runs alongside the east facet of Naito on the western fringe of Waterfront Park. Along with the lane reconfiguration and curb safety, PBOT has added dozens of concrete medians and metal bollards to fortify intersections, present a spot for individuals to attend for indicators, and provides low-impact car customers house to make turns.

And talking of indicators, PBOT went above and past with this mission. This facility is essentially the most Amsterdam-like expertise we now have in Portland due to the way in which the bike indicators (imported from the Netherlands) ferry customers throughout all the mission, giving them their very own protected sign section and a degree of high quality, precedence, and respect that’s solely felt in a number of different spots across the metropolis (like SW Moody in South Waterfront and the Tilikum Bridge).

(Cell viewers, please click on by way of to see all the pictures)

As I rode backwards and forwards alongside Naito, I by no means needed to push a “beg button” to make a sign change for me. The sensors are within the pavement and the place crucial there are huge “Wait Right here for Inexperienced” markings to make it apparent. I used to be very happy with the timing and felt prefer it was responsive and environment friendly. Alerts are a vital a part of this mission! I do know many individuals don’t obey them, however I’ve at all times stated our conduct and compliance match our infrastructure. That’s, crappy bike infrastructure results in crappy conduct and low compliance; however the inverse also needs to be true.

Given what I’ve seen to this point, I believe compliance with indicators and fundamental site visitors legal guidelines will likely be an enormous drawback for some individuals. A number of automotive customers both unknowingly or selfishly blocked intersections and crossings — particularly the place site visitors was excessive close to the Hawthorne Bridge ramp at Jefferson. The success of this facility will depend upon individuals following indicators and staying out of crossings, and in a society have been many individuals really feel compliance with legal guidelines is optionally available, that could be a purple flag we’ll be monitoring intently.

(Cell viewers, please click on by way of to see all the pictures)

On a brighter notice, Amidst all this pleasure about new infrastructure, we must always not overlook that this mission has additionally compelled automotive customers to behave significantly better. Not solely do drivers have a lot much less room to function (in a lane that’s narrower than the bike lane in some spots) however the velocity has been lowered from 30 mph to simply 20 mph. Take into consideration that. 20 mph is the default velocity for slim, residential neighborhood greenways in Portland; and that’s the identical velocity for this main central metropolis boulevard.

Whereas everybody’s prone to name this a “bike lane” or “bike facility”, that moniker simply doesn’t do it justice. Whereas I used to be on the market yesterday I noticed all method of individuals utilizing this newly secure house alongside Waterfront Park. I really like the scooter pavement marking PBOT has added in some spots to bolster that e-scooter customers are welcome.

Total, the brand new Naito Parkway is fairly darn nice. It raises the bar for high-quality biking and low-impact car infrastructure in Portland and vastly will increase the worth of all the community due to the way it connects to current services. That is the kind of high-profile, complete, protected infrastructure we’ve been begging for for a few years.

Bravo PBOT!

It’s been a protracted street to get right here, however I believe you’ll agree it’s been well worth the wait.

Have you ever ridden it but? We’d love to listen to your impressions.