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Old Posted Jan 27, 2011, 6:34 PM
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Bike boulevards use street grids to boost two-wheeled travel


January 27th, 2011

By Robert Steuteville



Read More: http://newurbannetwork.com/article/b...d-travel-13959

Quote:
Portland, Oregon, has adopted the ambitious goal of increasing bicycling from the current 8 percent of all trips to 25 percent in the next quarter-century — a change that would reduce personal transportation costs, improve health, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The city plans to provide trails, lanes, or streets designed for bicycling within a half-mile of at least 80 percent of residents. Currently only about 25 percent of Portland residents are within half a mile of bike facilities, and even that number represents an impressive accomplishment for a US city.

Portland has created more than 300 miles of bicycle facilities in the past 25 years. Among the most effective are “bicycle boulevards” or “neighborhood greenways.” A bicycle boulevard is a shared street with no specific bike lanes or paths. These streets have low motor vehicle volume and speed, and they possess enhanced landscaping (more street trees are planted, for example) and traffic-calming features. Automobile traffic is diverted at key points to keep volumes low. Stop signs are eliminated or “flipped” (shifted to the cross-street) to give traffic on the bicycle boulevard the right of way. Crossings are installed to get bicyclists and pedestrians across busy intersections, and special signs and pavement markings are installed.

“People go out of their way to use these routes — they are very attractive,” says Jennifer Dill, a researcher and professor at Portland State University. Portland currently has 30 miles of built bicycle boulevards, which carry approximately 10 percent of bike traffic in the city. Another 30 miles of these boulevards are funded, and an additional 58 miles are planned. Besides Portland, bicycle boulevards have been created in Eugene, Oregon; Arcata, Berkeley, Emeryville, Palo Alto, San Luis Obispo, and Pasadena, California; Tucson, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ocean City, New Jersey; Syracuse, New York; and Vancouver, British Columbia, according to Mia Birk of Alta Planning.

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