Portland has long been known as a bicycle-friendly city. Our nationally recognized Bicycle program is working to provide a comprehensive, safe bikeway network to increase the number of residents who bicycle to work, on errands and for exercise or pleasure. As more people choose to make Portland their home, we are looking to increase the number and share of bicycle trips in order to help manage congestion and air pollution and preserve Portland's livability.

 

To accomplish this, we have installed close to 200 miles of bikeways--bicycle lanes, boulevards, and multi-use trails (also known as off-street paths). As a result of this and other factors, many more residents are riding bicycles, for all types of trips. For example, in 1975 about 200 cyclists used the Hawthorne Bridge daily; today, that number has increased to 2400. We have seen similar increases throughout the City, especially in areas with new bicycle lanes.

 

Bicycle lanes provide enormous benefits to all users. They define a space in which to ride, eliminating the need to weave in and out of traffic or parked cars; they help novice cyclists feel more confident and willing to ride; they increase the visibility of bicyclists in our transportation system; and they give motorists the security of where to expect cyclists. With the addition of new bicycle lanes, however, have come questions. Motorists may be unaware that it is illegal to drive and park in bicycle lanes. Even more critical, they are unaware of the need to yield to cyclists when crossing a bicycle lane to turn right or get into a right-turn only lane. The result of this is a relatively high level of conflicts in these areas--both in terms of crashes and "near misses."

 

Over the past two years, we have been researching techniques that could help improve the situation in these conflict areas. We found that the most promising, cost-effective technique is to use colored pavement markings to delineate the conflict area. This technique is used in many European cities and has been found to greatly reduce conflicts. Currently, however, this technique has not been used in American cities, and is not included in traffic markings standards.