“Bike Boulevard” in Sellwood to open in mid-December

By Eric Norberg

The Bee, Nov 25, 2009

Eric Norberg / THE BEE

White lines in the street indicate preparation for bike boulevard treatments at the intersection of S.E. 13th at Spokane Street in Sellwood. A curb will be built down the middle of 13th at the intersection to block illegal cross traffic; Spokane drivers in either direction have long been required to turn right here, but many haven’t.

As you have been reading, here in THE BEE for over two years, an effort to make Spokane Street a “Bicycle Boulevard” from various Sellwood residents, supported by the SMILE neighborhood association for Sellwood and Westmoreland, has been approved by PDOT, and installation began on November 16th.

This is not a new thoroughfare, or a bike path, but a modification of S.E. Spokane Street to make it safer for bicycles and pedestrians, and less friendly to motorists trying to cut through the neighborhood and speeding.

Affected is the nine-block section of Spokane between S.E. 19th and S.E. 6th. The project includes pedestrian crossings, stormwater management, traffic calming, reconfigured stop signs, and bicycle parking.

One of the most popular features of the whole project, for the neighbors of Spokane Street, has proven in open houses to be the north-south curb to be placed in the middle of S.E. 13th at Spokane. It has long been illegal for motorists bypassing Tacoma Street, a block to the south, to go straight through that intersection on Spokane. Signs require a right turn only — but drivers regularly have ignored the law, and whizzed straight through across 13th. The new mid-13th divider will make that much harder to do.

Dan Anderson of PDOT says that “the City will be using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus money to add more pavement markings and signs, once the weather gets warm, to help cyclists find their way.”

Eventually, plans include a similar treatment to S.E. Umatilla Street, on the south side of Tacoma.

SMILE, the neighborhood association for Sellwood and Westmoreland, plans a celebration at the Sellwood Community Center, S.E. 15th at Spokane, from noon till 4 pm on Saturday, December 19th. According to SMILE President Paul Notti, it will feature such events as a bike ride or parade, a bike safety demonstration for kids, “fun time”, and a bike raffle and giveaways. It will be open to the public.

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