A bicycle ride across the Hawthorne Bridge, Portland, Oregon

A video of a bicycle ride across the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon, an important crossing of the wide Willamette River, with narration discussing features of the ride. Videogrphy: Kat Iverson; editing and narration: John S. Allen

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bicycle
• Portland
• Oregon
• Hawthorne
• Bridge
• sidewalk
• pedestrian
• cycling

[jpete3027666]

Nice video but I don't understand why you merge in to vehicle traffic lanes when going through intersections.

[jsallen1946]

@jpete3027666 I'm following normal rules of the road instead of the arbitrary and hazardous ones the bike lane establishes. Keeping to the right would place me in motorists' blind spot and invite them to turn right from my left side. Staying too far right also would reduce sight distance and maneuvering room, rendering me defenseless against collisions with cross traffic. Please read my Bicycling Street Smarts (Google on the title, it's online). Also see previous comments.

[degnaw]

@jsallen1946 I'm not sure if you've seen bicyclists use that intersection, but in practice, it works very well by creating a separate right-angle intersection, and bicyclists don't tend to even slow down. The route you took puts you directly in right-hook range of motorists exiting at relatively high speeds, the exact danger you complain about at the other intersections.

[jsallen1946]

@degnaw I wasn't riding haphazardly -- I scanned left and merged into a line of travel leading me directly to the bike lane, also putting me in clear view of any motorist who might exit (though there weren't any). The bike route puts cyclists out of view of motorists and requires motorists to come to a complete stop -- bicyclists also, to be sure there is no conflicting motor traffic. It would have to result in some delay and confusion when bicycle traffic is heavy.

[degnaw]

@jsallen1946 I also don't understand your move at 4:25 - instead of taking the bike route, which reduces conflicts with exiting vehicles, and instead of taking the lane, according to "rules of the road for vehicles", you instead choose to haphazardly ride in the cross hatched area, and across the offramp at a location extremely prone to right hooks?

I'm not really buying the 'faster' argument over the bike route - I can't see you saving more than 2 seconds.

[jsallen1946]

@TheBalooUriza I should keep right and then slow down to be safe going through the intersections? Then check behind me and stop if I'm about to be right-hooked? While also looking ahead? Sorry, too complicated and slow. If I'm going faster, and going straight through, I merge farther left to avoid these complications and hazards, just like any other driver, and the law supports this. Also, by the way, the basic speed rule has existed since horse-and-buggy days.

[TheBalooUriza]

@jsallen1946 There's this new thing called "riding at a speed appropriate for the conditions." If you can't hold your lane, you're going too fast, slow it down.

[jsallen1946]

@TheBalooUriza Thank you very much for your comments, but I am much more interested in staying alive than in rendering myself defenseless against right-hook collisions or riding one foot from a 12-inch drop to a grid deck carrying fast motor traffic. Please try thinking for yourself, and being perhaps just a bit skeptical about what is spoon-fed to you.

[jsallen1946]

@TheBalooUriza Also, you are wrong about leaving the bike lane. Oregon's (unfortunate) mandatory bike lane law allows an exception to avoid hazards. Oregon, unlike any other state, has a law requiring motorists to turn right from the left side of the bike lane -- clearly a hazard! Go ahead, be a lemming...or think again.

[jsallen1946]

@jpete3027666 There are sight obstructions before the intersection. Though I had the green light, traffic could still enter from the right -- typically, to make a right turn on red. Riding away from the edge of the roadway made me visible earlier and gave me maneuvering room for a quick turn to the right, starting before I reached the intersection, in case needed. I was going downhill, fast, and so I needed even more to hold my option for an escape route open.

[degnaw]

@jsallen1946 I can understand merging with car traffic lanes when there's right turning traffic approaching, but what's the purpose of doing so at 4:58?