Advocacy & Safety - Portland OR is dangerous for bike/walk

Portland OR is a city where you are very likely to get hit by drivers who are turning corners and do not look for bikers or pedestrians. This is not just my opinion. So if you are ever in Portland, even though there are a lot of bikers and bike lanes, you better watch your self 100%. A lot of people here, even people who do not seem that bad tend to turn their brains off and turn in to crazy death machines once they get in their car. That's for real and people should know.

Sounds just like Dallas, TX. I'll bet most everyone here can say the same about where they live.

Mark,

I was out there on business recently and, while I didn't get to ride, it looked like cycling paradise. I've been living in Michigan for awhile now and driving in Portland the other drivers are so considerate I felt like I was in some kind of bizarro land.

At least the drivers there see a bicycle more than once a month and probably have some inkling that it is actually legal to ride a bike on the road. You might want to try some riding in Detroit to broaden your perspective!

no place worse than las vegas nevada

no bike lanes

and local govt. takes tax dollars for bike lanes and spend elsewhere

be nothing left there in 10 years, except casinos,strippers,booze

no place worse than las vegas nevada

no bike lanes

and local govt. takes tax dollars for bike lanes and spend elsewhere

be nothing left there in 10 years, except casinos,strippers,booze


For Detroit that would be an improvement.

no place worse than las vegas nevada

be nothing left there in 10 years, except casinos,strippers,booze

that all I thought there was anyway

Portland OR is a city where you are very likely to get hit by drivers who are turning corners and do not look for bikers or pedestrians. This is not just my opinion. So if you are ever in Portland, even though there are a lot of bikers and bike lanes, you better watch your self 100%. A lot of people here, even people who do not seem that bad tend to turn their brains off and turn in to crazy death machines once they get in their car. That's for real and people should know.

Obviously you had some sort of bad experience here. Although it's not perfect, I haven't experienced any other major city where cycling is easier and safer than it is in Portland. One valid point, though, is that there are areas of town where people are not as friendly with cyclists. For the most part this is the case in the suburbs rather than downtown. As for the SE area, it has truly been a great experience for me riding around here the past 3 years. You still always have to be aware, as you would anywhere, but not frightened for your life as you suggest.

Hey, I thought Seattle/metro was a great city for cycling culture until I spent time in Portland last week (doing the charity VineRide and how cool was that--perfect weather, rollers, people, scenery). It must be a law in Portland that everyone own a bike, yes? Although I have to agree, idiot drivers in Oregon too, like the red-faced, head-shaking, horn-blowing, double-trailer tanker truck operator blasting "just that close to" single file riders at 60 MPH or so on a twisty country-narrow two-lane headed into Newberg. Scary, angry driver, big, big truck. Just wish I'd gotten my camera out to capture his license with, or had been able to read it in the dust he raised. I guess he was in a hurry to make his delivery.

the worst i've had are idiots that tailgate me instead of getting into the other lane and people that pass me WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY too closely at probably 40mph faster than i am going (this is on a 45mph LIMIT road) ... many a nice though. certain times are worse.

This is not just my opinion.

Ah, actually it is just your opinion until you furnish more data and/or opinions from others - which you do not. There are HORRIBLE drivers in every city. Why do you single out Portland?

Perhaps the one grain of truth in the original post is that you do need to be very careful to watch for right-turning drivers at many intersections in Portland where the through bike lane is to the right of the travel lanes and there are serious conflicts due to the presence of large numbers of both through cyclists and right-turning motorists.

Theoretically the right-turning motorists are supposed to yield to the through cyclists in the bike lane, but many unfortunately don't. IMO, this is an inherent problem resulting from poor bike lane design, and is not completely the fault of the motorists. I avoid the bike lanes in many places where this is a problem, such as SE Hawthorne at SE 11th and NW Everett at NW 16th. I'm sure there are also other similar poorly designed intersections in the city that I'm just not as familiar with.

Aside from the usual suspects, who probably make up only 5 to 10 percent of the motoring public, for the most part I think motorists in Portland are much more likely to be aware of the presence and rights of cyclists on the road than in many other similar cities without the number of cyclists that Portland has. But, as Gonesh says, even in Portland, it's a different story in the suburbs...

I must say, Portland is fabulous for biking. The bike folk are practically pouring into the streets and there seems to be a bike shop for every square mile of the city. Although I've had/heard instances of bad accidents, generally I feel very safe biking in all parts of the city. It doesn't mean you can let your guard down, DON'T ever think that is possible on a bike.

Thank you to the original post for bringing up the most common potential auto/bike accident in the city!

be nothing left there in 10 years, except casinos,strippers,booze

Sounds like my kinda paradise

Portland OR is a city where you are very likely to get hit by drivers who are turning corners and do not look for bikers or pedestrians. This is not just my opinion. So if you are ever in Portland, even though there are a lot of bikers and bike lanes, you better watch your self 100%. A lot of people here, even people who do not seem that bad tend to turn their brains off and turn in to crazy death machines once they get in their car. That's for real and people should know.

I don't agree. I have been cummuting for over a year here and no one has cut me off. Why because I don't put myself in the wrong spot. don't get clear over to the right. if there are cars stopped and you can't tell if they are going to turn right don't get up in front. or better yet just get in line with the cars.
watch a lot of commuters hug the right curb. thats a big mistake. yes drivers don't pay attention but don't put all of the blame on them. you have to use your brain too.

I must say, Portland is fabulous for biking. The bike folk are practically pouring into the streets and there seems to be a bike shop for every square mile of the city. Although I've had/heard instances of bad accidents, generally I feel very safe biking in all parts of the city. It doesn't mean you can let your guard down, DON'T ever think that is possible on a bike.

Thank you to the original post for bringing up the most common potential auto/bike accident in the city!

I agree I have not had any real problems. even less at night. there are a lot of ways to go to one place so you can choose too. I can take non busy streets and not have to use the bumpy bike paths (G)

Perhaps the one grain of truth in the original post is that you do need to be very careful to watch for right-turning drivers at many intersections in Portland where the through bike lane is to the right of the travel lanes and there are serious conflicts due to the presence of large numbers of both through cyclists and right-turning motorists.


Indeed! I have not found any evidence nor have much personal experience to support the idea that lots of bike lanes/paths/etc. imples a bicycle safe or friendly community. I recall reading someone's study showing that the most common bike/car accident is being right hooked, followed by being doored. Being hit by a car overtaking is (as I recall) quite rare. Does anybody have any imperical evidence supporting marked bike lanes? Or the opposite, does anybody have any imperical evidence showing marked bike lanes to be as dangerous as sidepaths?

Bike lanes are supposed to attract novice cyclists by providing a 'safe' place for them to ride. IMO, and I've posted this opinion elsewhere, the 'safety' provided by a bike lane is often false, for a variety of reasons I'll not repeat here. I've looked at crash stats for Portland, and I don't think you can use those stats to conclude one way or the other that bike lanes are safer than no bike lanes, or visa versa. More cyclists on the road, whether they are in bike lanes or not, makes motorists more aware of cyclists, and does affect their behavior. For example, in Portland over the last ten years, crash and fatality stats for cyclists have stayed flat, while the number of cyclists has increased 2X or 3X, indicating some level of increased safety (but not as good as in many European cities). On the other hand, supposedly only about 10% of all crashes involving cyclists are actually reported into the city's database, so many crashes involving cyclists go unreported. In particular, I think this is true of most dooring incidents, which seemed to me to be underreported in the stats.