Sep 11 '06 - 476 W - Vote Good + 3 :: Bad - 6 More Portland bikers cross that bridge when they come to it
Published September 8, 2006 by The Oregonian
By Spencer Heinz
Average daily summertime bicycle trips across Portland's four busiest cycling bridges have increased by 18 percent over last year. And for the first time that four-bridge total has passed 12,000 daily trips.
The new figures, considered preliminary, come from the city's annual summer count on the Hawthorne, Burnside, Steel and Broadway bridges. The city's Office of Transportation, which conducted the count, says the upswing probably represents the effects of rising fuel prices and bicycle-friendly measures in recent years.
"It's sort of a crescendo of bicycling," says Jeff Smith, bicycle specialist in the Transportation Options Division.
Between the 2005 and 2006 summertime counts, average daily bicycle trips increased by 8 percent on the Burnside Bridge, 12 percent on the Steel and 15 percent on the Hawthorne. On the fourth main bridge, the Broadway, the count was up 37 percent, a huge jump. Smith speculates the increase is related to anything from possible Eastside demographic changes to bridge-fixing detours that cause cyclists to change routes. At times the Broadway Bridge was closed for renovation; now it is open.
The Hawthorne continues to lead with almost double the average daily summertime bicycle traffic of the next-leading bridge, the Broadway. The Hawthorne's average daily count this summer is 5,557 trips compared with the Broadway at 2,856. The four-bridge average daily total is 12,046, up from last year's 10,192.
The counting process: For all but the Burnside Bridge, Smith says, the city placed automatic traffic counters on the sidewalk bridge paths and left them for up to several days. On the Burnside Bridge alone, which has a roadway bike lane that doesn't lend itself to an automatic bikes-only count, the city stationed a person to tabulate bicycle trips from 4 to 6 p.m. on a weekday. Smith says the city extrapolated the Burnside data, based on other known factors, to come up with Burnside's daily average.
Smith says seasonal weather changes and Burnside's extrapolations might slightly alter the year-to-year comparisons. But he says this annual four-bridge tally, requested by city bicycle coordinator Roger Geller, seems in line with other indicators.
Reasons for the upswing in trips, Smith says, could include more and better bike-route signage; increased parking for bicycles; talk about global warming and cutting back on fossil fuels; events such as the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's annual Bike Commute Challenge to encourage commuting; Shift's Breakfast on the Bridges program of free pastries and coffee to passing cyclists on the last Friday of every month; the city's efforts to encourage cyclists and motorists to share the road; word of mouth; and cycling information sources such as BikePortland.org.
"It snowballs," he says.
Spencer Heinz: 503-221-8072; spencerheinz@news.oregonian.com
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