Originally Posted by BTA

As you know, the Sellwood Bridge has extremely dangerous and inadequate bicycle and pedestrian facilities (a single 4-foot sidewalk on one side only). In fact, the BTA has determined that the Sellwood Bridge is the major barrier to bicycling in the Portland region.

Multnomah County is leading a process to design and build a new bridge. The Sellwood Bridge project team has just released a survey related to cross-section and alignment options for a new bridge. Responses to this survey will be used to narrow down the range of alternatives, including bicycle and pedestrian alternatives.

Please take this survey and emphasize the need for outstanding access for bicycles and pedestrians.

Specifically, the following points are key:

Questions 14 and 15: if a 4-lane cross-section is chosen, it will look and operate much like the Ross Island Bridge (as opposed to a human-scale bridge like the Hawthorne Bridge). Please support options that either limit the number of lanes, or that reserve additional lanes for transit purposes.

Questions 16 and 17: support ALL options (bike lanes, sidewalks AND multi-use path).

http://sellwoodbridge.org/Surveys.aspx

Encourage your friends and family to voice their support for a bicycle/pedestrian-friendly bridge as well.

This is our once-in-a-generation chance to demand a great bridge!