FeedsNew Bike Boxes Debut in Portland!
After several accidents and deaths, the City of Portland said "Enough!" They decided, after negotiation, to install many bike boxes throughout the city. These boxes are designed to give cyclists extra safety at busy intersections, allowing them a space in front of cars and denying the cars behind them the ability to turn right on red. The rubber (or paint) finally hit the road today, as the first of these bike boxes was completed at SE 7th and SE Hawthorne.
The Oregonian, covering the story, notes how the process came about:
City officials endorsed the plan in January after logging six fatal bike accidents in 2007, including the October deaths of cyclists Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek within two weeks of each other. Both involved "right hook" turns, the most common type of Portland bike crash, where a car turning right fails to see a bicyclist riding along the street's right side.The colorful green boxes reserve a spot for cyclists in front of cars when both are stopped at red lights. When the light changes, bicyclists will be able to move ahead of cars, whether continuing straight or making a right turn.
City crews laid down the green, non-slick thermoplastic sheets in the bike lane Saturday, and this morning laid down the green in the box itself. The plastic will then sprinkled with corundum, a mineral that contains aluminum oxide and gives the sheeting its non-skid characteristics, city officials said.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Maus over at BikePortland.org was on-hand to watch the boxes' final touches. By his language, he sounds downright optimistic:
This morning, in well-timed nod to St. Patrick’s Day, City of Portland crews finished the installation of the green bike box and bike lane at SE Hawthorne and 7th. They also installed new permanent signs adjacent to the intersection warning motorists to yield to bikes in the green lane and reminding them of “No Turn on Red”.The box is large, highly visible and offers quite a welcome mat for cyclists. The box is 14 feet deep and the green stretches across an entire standard-width lane and the adjacent bike lane.
In addition to the Oregonian article, the city has a website up devoted to bike boxes. I'm so happy to see Portland installing these boxes. We're one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, and we'll have to work to make sure we deserve that reputation.
I can't wait to give these bike boxes a whirl. While I feel safe riding a bike in Portland, any advantage like this is useful -- especially considering just how expensive gas is getting. While it might slow down traffic slightly, the cost in saving a life (and in other advantages) is completely worth it. Anyone who wants to quibble about tax dollars can go down to look at Los Angeles' roads and safety, and then come back here and tell me it isn't worth it to invest a little more in better transportation solutions.
Any thoughts about these incoming bike boxes? Beyond this one, there is already one at SE 39th and SE Clinton, and the next one will be installed at SE Hawthorne and SE 11th. Are there locations you'd like to see one installed?
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Comments from site editors have a darker background than comments from everybody else.These are probably a good idea, but I stress probably because I worry about this quote, which I've seen repeated every time the boxes are covered:
*Cars behind the boxes will not be allowed to turn right on a red light, which city officials admitted could slow traffic a little, especially during off-peak driving hours when light traffic makes right-on-red easy.
But the 14 intersections are for the most part busy, central-city intersections where cross traffic and pedestrians usually delay right hand turns.*
"Usually delay"?
Couldn't the department could have done at least a bit of research to see how frequent drivers were able to make rights on red, particularly downtown, where traffic snarls are more and more frequent.
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I don't actually get how these help cyclists.. All I see are big green boxes that let cyclists get in front of cars, which seems like a silly place to be.
THEN, drivers can't turn right on red at these intersections, meaning that instead they'll be rushing to turn right early or late, crossing the bike lane, and making it more likely they'll cut off cyclists. As a driver and cyclist, I think these suck for both drivers and cyclists.
Someone, please enlighten me. What's the point?
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I think it's mainly a visibility thing. I know when biking I generally come up right next to the person at the light and I'm always worried about not being seen.
I still have no idea if these are a good idea but I'm leaning towards "no fucking way." I hope I'm wrong, though.
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I hope they serve their effective purpose, and, I guess in that case, I hope you're wrong too... it would suck if they're not useful. Big time.
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I hope these things are really skid proof. I took a 5mph fall on a wet blue handicap emblem in a parking lot today. As of right now I think would qualify for a handicap sticker.
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Oooh. That's a good point.
Anyone want to place bets on the forethought of our rainy city government?
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ben, my worry is mainly downtown, where traffic is already at a standstill much of the day. i can't imagine making things even worse downtown.
the boxes also make me a bit worried that the Council is doing what I think they do way too often--deciding on the fly that they have the genius solution to a problem that they are not really sure exists.
the two cyclist deaths were a tragedy to be sure, but were they indicative of any increasing rate of danger to cyclists? That is, if you did a statistical analysis of the rate of cyclist accidents in Portland over the past ten years, has this been going up, down, or remaining flat?
The two cases were certainly notable, but they were taken as indicative of a trend, then a "solution" was proposed.
Classic policy making to be sure (read Kingdon't classic Agendas Alternatives and public policies) but they may endup being less than helpful.
As it is, we barely go downtown anymore, anyway. the traffic is just too bad and parking too difficult.
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