Photo by Steve Allen, The Environmental Blog
Portland is nationally recognized as a leader in the movement to create bicycle-friendly cities. Portland is so nationally recognized as a transit leader that it lands on the New York Times media publication quite often as can be read in "Developers Cater to Two-Wheeled Traffic in Portland, Ore." and "Portland Plans for Transit All Powered by Electricity" and "36 Hours in Portland, Ore.". About 7 percent of commuters here travel by bike (the national average is under 1 percent) and the city has an ambitious plan, adopted last year, to increase that proportion to 25 percent by 2030, which can be read on another blog post we wrote about here.
Bicycle oriented development is beginning to appear around the city as can be seen by residential and commercial projects built near popular bikeways, green streets, and cycle tracks. Businesses and residential developments are increasingly catering to the bicycle community by outfitting with cycling-related services and amenities such as increased bicycle parking and storage and some businesses will lend you a bike lock if you forgot yours at home.
The change seems to be coming from private businesses who recognize that a really strong market exists with the bicycle community or phenomenon in Portland. Some people say that the development that spurred from the streetcar being built in the Pearl District by means of transit oriented development, is also occurring with bicycles in North Portland because of high bike traffic, particularly, N. Williams which continues to bring businesses oriented for the bicycle community.
The city of Portland's ambition plan to increase bicycle ridership in the city include:
Attract new riders
Plan and design for people who are not yet riding by developing safe and comfortable low-stress bikeways (such as bicycle boulevards and trails) that reduce conflicts between people riding bicycles and people driving.
Strengthen bicycle policies
Adopt policy changes outlined in the Plan, including a new bicycle transportation policy of making bicycling more attractive than driving for short trips.
Form a denser bikeway network
Expand the network of bikeways in Portland to achieve a fine-grained system that offers riders an array of route choices.
Increase bicycle parking
Implement measures to satisfy the growing demand for bike parking.
Expand programs to support bicycling
Expand established programs, and develop new programs, to encourage and support bicycling.
Increase funding for bicycle facilities
Pursue multiple strategies to increase funding for bicycle facilities and other green transportation modes.
People who think that investing in bicycle infrastructure is a waste of time and money should try hopping on a bike sometime and experience how liberating it can be. Also, it would help those that oppose bike infrastructure understand the ways it can be improved and why it should be improved. Some of the reasons bike infrastructure investment should be a line item in the city budget include:
Streets can carry far more people with far less wear and tear if people are riding bicycles instead of driving cars. That means the streets and bridges of Portland will work better for moving goods and for buses and streetcars.
Forty percent of Oregon’s carbon dioxide emissions come from transportation, the fastest growing source. Meanwhile, about half of all trips in Portland are three miles or less — a distance easily covered on a bicycle without breaking a sweat.
The Centers for Disease Control say that “automobile trips that can be safely replaced by walking or bicycling offer the first target for increased physical activity in communities. “ Studies suggest getting more people bicycling instead of driving helps make everyone safer.
With the average cost of owning and operating a car now estimated at more than $7,000 a year, bicycling is the most affordable form of personal transportation. Improved bikeways will give even more Portlanders the choice to bicycle to jobs, school, shopping, and transit.
Each year, about $800,000,000 circulates in Portland’s local economy that would leave the region if we drove as much as the U.S. average. The bicycle industry itself annually contributes about $100,000,000 to the city’s economy and now accounts for nearly 1,000 green jobs.
Bicycling is distinctly Portland! Bicycle trips promote interaction between neighbors, strengthen the rider’s connection to the community, increase the chance of shopping locally, put more “eyes on the street,” and contribute to a sense of place.
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