You know what makes me happy? New bike-friendly infrastructure! And the other day while I was wandering around in the sunshine, I found some fun improvements on SE 34th between Clinton and Division.
34th here used to be a two-way street with parking on both sides, which left it feeling rather narrow and pinched. Purportedly it’s a bike boulevard, in this case a safe north/south route crossing many of the major SE Portland streets — but it sure didn’t feel super safe or person-friendly when you were sandwiched between a car coming at you head-on and another one right on your tail with no place for anyone to pull off because of the parking.
But! Now it’s a one-way street heading north, with one side for parking, one lane for cars, and bikes able to go both directions. Everyone has their designated space and there’s enough space for everyone. Awesome! This is the kind of thing that makes a street feel safe for all people rather than only for people in cars. Yay Portland!
(Next steps according to my very in-depth (heh) urban planning knowledge: do the same thing to a few more of these streets, or extend the one-way-ness of 34th more than two blocks;)
(Parking, northward sharrow reminders, and bike-only southward lane. Good deal! And these guys were firing on the new striping as I went by: thanks, everyone!:)
Bravo, Portland! Quelle vision!