This is very cool. I definitely agree that the lack of consistent bike crossings and intersections will be an issue for the future. Standardization and familiarity are key to having people feel comfortable and safe while on their bikes. But progress is progress and this is definitely a great example for other US cities to improve upon.
I'm glad that they are enthusiastic about adding infrastructure but I wish they would just import the tried and true model that is already used all over the Netherlands. The mix of methods in this video just seems kind of confusing and inconsistent
This is a huge problem in America in general, we have to fight tooth and nail just to get the scraps of good bike / pedestrianized infrastructure so it ends up looking atrocious
Great video! I'm especially proud of the Ned Flanders Bridge, since I worked on the grant application for it and successfully pitched the idea of naming it after Ned Flanders. Gotta keep Portland weird! Sorry to point out a nit-pick like this, but in the Flanders section, when it says "northbound" it should say "westbound", and when it says "southbound" it should say "eastbound." Flanders Street runs east-west.
Jonathan Maus is a wonderful guy, you definitely interviewed the right person! Portland definitely has a lot going for it in terms of North America, but still has a LONG way to go. It's only inner southeast, northeast and waterfront of west side that's relatively safe.
This is what I was wondering. So it’s only certain areas of the city that has the good infrastructure. Not the entire city? Is it also safe to say that the suburbs of Portland are just like every other North American car dependent suburban hellscape?
I currently live in Dallas. I like cycling, I like bike commuting, but cannot safely and reasonably bike commute in Dallas. Seeing the Portland bike infrastructure makes me jealous, this is so good, it's 10x better than what I had in Chicago! I hope I can find a job in Portland and move there.
Great video, but man I still can't get over the fact that we chose that ugly green paint for bike lanes. Dutch and German cities look so much nicer with their red asphalt. I think we'd get more buy-in for bike lanes if they were as pretty as the Dutch ones.
At one point Portland and one or two other cities went with Blue. But the federal govt stepped in forcing the green standardized rule nationwide. And that was that in the late 2000s.
@@StreetfilmsCommunity that's sad. That's not the case in Canada. It seems to be a province by province or region by region case. For example, much of Canada uses green for bikes but Alberta uses red. I prefer the warmer tones of red and yellow, like some sections of bike lanes in Rotterdam. But I do agree that our bike infrastructure needs to look good too, no matter the colour. It doesn't cost much either, especially if you create nice underpasses. 🙂
Why do we see bold green paint on the straightforward protected part of bike lanes, and then wimpy dotted green hash marks across intersections? The place where we need the support is in the intersections, where we are liable to get killed.
In the USA I have seen quite a few. DC, Seattle, Pittsburgh, even Minneapolis I think had one. Thus they are not uncommon but in many cities they don't have more than a couple. In Portland just riding around I biked by 4 without even actively looking, which means they probably have many more, which would place it probably near the top in the USA for number.
@@StreetfilmsCommunity / Thank you. I thought the idea was inspired. I would love to see it everywhere. Some riders in bike lanes are oblivious to pedestrians.
THAT'S NICE!! - I live in Northern Virginia and travel to Portland/Salem annually and it's nice to see it expanding. We have similar markings on the road near the Metro stations in Virginia and a new path opening along I-66, but nothing like this. I wish we had faster signal changes to move cyclists along faster. Also, automated ticketing of drivers should the fail to stop for the signals, which is very common here.
I very much appreciate these efforts to make cycling easier in America. Tho I feel like some measure are somewhat of an overkill...that new Flanders Crossing for instance could have been wider and host some greenery and beaches, while all that green paint could have been avoided 😬
Maybe tell trucks to stop parking in the middle of the street could help too, every time I drive through town there’s at least 1 usually more, trucks parked with their flashers on
I really enjoyed watching the video. I wih, however, it could've been filmed in the spring or early summer. Portland looks its best then. But, thank you.
Great, next thing that needs to happen is to have more bicycle bridges that go over the train tracks in north portland so that i’m not stuck going over lombard, st lewis, or Willamette which are all really busy streets and not safe for traveling compared to the side streets and neighborhood greenways.
I lived in Berkeley for more than 20 years and now live in Portland and I have to say that the whole 'Bike Blvd / Bike Greenway' concept is such a half-assed solution and doesn't work. I can't tell you how many times I've been riding on one with a car pinned to my ass, sometimes honking at me to get out of the way. Drives do not understand the concept and can take my life if we were to collide. This is especially true in the era of Doordash where delivery driver's livelihoods are dependent on making as many deliveries as possible in residential neighborhoods. The only solution is to separate bikes from cars as much as possible.
I really like the way this guy's talking about safety in Portland with all the bike Lanes in signals and the like, but he's not wearing a helmet. When you crash on a bike the heaviest part on your body is your head with physics you're going to go down like a lawn dart and smack your head on the pavement or something else. The guy should have been wearing a helmet if he really wanted to get his message across properly.
7th Ave needs to be closed to cars south of Tillamook. People drive that to bypass MLK, and they go insanely fast, even though it's a residential street.
It looks much better but still "okayish" for us, Dutch. Some thing are made weird, like still bikes lanes between car lanes and green zebra's for cyclists. They means they should get of their bike and walk to across the street. The color is your choice. Keep it up.😊
