Apr 27 '06 - 459 W - Vote Good + 8 :: Bad - 10 Look for these signs of bike trips to come
Published April 27, 2006 by The Oregonian
By Anne Laufe
Portland, OR -- "Lloyd District 2.4 mi., 14 min." "Downtown 4.1 mi., 25 min." "Gateway 3.4 mi., 20 min."
You might need your reading glasses to make out the small print, but that's one of the few complaints cyclists have about the new bike signs going up around town.
Portland received a $128,000 federal grant in 2000 to create the bikeway network signs. After six years of haggling with state and federal transportation agencies about the design, the city began installing the signs in January.
The green signs display mileage and how long it should take the average cyclist to get to a specific place. Roger Geller, the city's bicycle coordinator, says the time estimates are for a "no-sweat pace" one could comfortably ride in work clothes.
Three hundred signs are being installed to direct riders to 70 destinations. Signs are installed wherever cyclists face a decision about which way to turn, typically at the intersection of two bikeways.
The project also includes painting white circles with the image of a bike on 32 miles of bicycle boulevards -- low-traffic streets developed for bicycling -- as a signal to motorists and cyclists that they are traveling on a bike route.
Seasoned Portland riders may not notice the new signs, but Geller says one of the project's main goals is to draw in new and potential cyclists.
"The misperception about biking is that it takes a really long time to get from point A to point B," Geller says. "The hope is that people who aren't riding will see the times and get inspired to ride."
Woods Stricklin has been commuting from his home near Southeast 39th Avenue and Powell Boulevard to Portland State University three days a week since last fall.
He's enthusiastic about the signs. "I think they're awesome. Once I realized that the marked routes were the best way (to get downtown), I started using them," says the 36-year-old. "The spots on the ground are really useful. You can carry a map, but you aren't going to take it out and look at it."
Theresa Egan is another fan. Egan teaches outdoor education at Tubman Middle School and regularly leads students on a 6.5-mile bicycle loop along the Eastbank Esplanade.
"They're great," she says of the signs. "It's good to know mileage and distances, and they help kids make better choices about bike paths and routes."
Even confirmed bike geeks have good things to say about the signs. When Geller asked for feedback on bikeportland.org, one respondent wrote, "Roger, the signs are flippin' fantastic."
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