Lewis & Clark proposes bike and pedestrian safety projects
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This fall, the Lewis & Clark community is collaborating with the Collins View Neighborhood Association to advocate for the inclusion of some essential neighborhood bike and pedestrian safety projects in the citywide Street Fee Proposal project list.
After several discussions with the Collins View Neighborhood Association, and in consultation with Lewis & Clark’s Sustainability Council and Transportation and Parking Committee (TPAC), Sustainability Manager Amy Dvorak and Graduate School Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Program Assessment Damian Miller have drafted a letter help gather signatures for the proposed improvements. Both Dvorak and Miller serve on the Sustainability Council and TPAC. The letter was sent last week to Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick and to Mark Lear and Jamie Waltz of the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
The letter recommends the following list of projects for inclusion in the City’s list of proposed transportation projects, in the context of the Street Fee proposal, or the longer-range Transportation System Plan update:
Crossing and Pedestrian Improvements:
- A crosswalk and flashing light at SW Primrose across Terwilliger. Adding a crosswalk would entail extending the sidewalk 2 blocks south from the retail district on Terwilliger/Taylor’s Ferry to Primrose to meet ADA requirements. SW Primrose is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists and is also a bus route/stop, and one can wait upwards of 10 minutes for traffic to stop and allow crossing.
- A sidewalk and lighting along Terwilliger from Boones’ Ferry to the Law School. This roadway has no shoulder, and is the main route to the Lewis & Clark campus for pedestrians who live in the neighborhood and/or commute using the #38.
Protected Bike Route:
We recommend the implementation of a neighborhood greenway between Lewis & Clark College and the retail area at Terwilliger / Taylor’s Ferry. The Primrose/Palatine Hill Route provides the main access to the College for L&C students, faculty, and staff. For cross-town cyclists, it is also provides the main access from SW Portland to the Cemetery Route and the Sellwood Bridge. Dangerous and intimidating intersections at Terwilliger/Primrose, and Boones’ Ferry/Primrose pose significant barriers to bike access to this critical route. These intersections have been the site of multiple serious bike crashes. SW Primrose is a dedicated 2030 greenway and currently marked as a bike route on most maps. It’s also a SW Walking Trail. Despite all of these designations, these streets and intersections prioritize auto speed, and they are DANGEROUS for pedestrians and cyclists, especially at night and in wet weather.
“If we can gather a significant number of signatures for these proposals, we stand a reasonable chance of working them into a citywide process that has understandably focused on longstanding unaddressed bike/ped safety issues in east Portland,” Miller said. “I hope you will sign our letter to the city’s transportation planners, and pass it on to others you may know.”
If you have questions or suggestions about the process, please email Damain Miller.
