To bike or not to bike

How to develop a bike/pedestrian trail to Portland is the question

By Kara Hansen

The Lake Oswego Review, Oct 15, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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A proposed bike and pedestrian trail between Lake Oswego and Portland is gaining importance as the popular bicycle route through River View Cemetery faces possible closure.

Part of a long-term list of projects supporting “active transportation,” namely bicycling or walking to get from place to place, a proposed Lake Oswego to Portland path would run 5.7 miles along the Willamette River and flank Highway 43, a corridor considered hazardous for bicyclists. The road, constrained by the river and hills, is filled with blind corners and sporadic safety shoulders.

To avoid it, some bicyclists opt for a steep climb on Taylors Ferry Road, a high-speed route that like Highway 43, has few if any bike lanes or sidewalks and only intermittent shoulders.

Many instead choose to wind their way through the private property at River View Cemetery, a route lauded by bike activists as a safe alternative for those pedaling from the Sellwood Bridge to places like Lake Oswego.

But with increased use comes more conflict, and the nonprofit cemetery’s directing board will soon consider complaints over safety and bicyclists’ behavior on River View’s grounds.

The looming ban on bikes worries people like Matt Tipton, who despite bicycling between school and work most of his life, stopped for awhile until he determined a safe route – through River View – to get to his job as an engineer for the city of Lake Oswego. He cycles here from 68th Avenue in southeast Portland three times each week. On the remaining workdays he commutes in a vanpool with other city employees.

Tipton called the cemetery route a “vital link” between Lake Oswego and Portland.

“Highway 43 is what kept me from riding those few years,” he said. “I have no interest in riding it during rush hour or at any time. … Getting hit by a car is my main concern.”

And Tipton is among a growing group of bicyclists who pedal to work in Lake Oswego.

In September, 16 local workplaces, ranging from three employees to 325, took part in the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commute Challenge, an annual month-long event that encourages cycling to work in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Seven people logged trips to jobs with the city of Lake Oswego, said Susan Millhauser, the city’s sustainability coordinator. And she knows of others who commute by bike but didn’t register for the BTA event.

Architecture firm OTAK’s 15 riders logged the most distance of local participants, traveling 2,326 miles over 137 trips. But the Bike Gallery team, including eight of the 10 employees, biked a bigger proportion of workdays: 37 percent. The Lake Grove Post Office had a strong showing with four riders commuting 876 miles.

Brad Kilby of OTAK said it can be difficult for employees to travel such long distances, and at least a few commute to the Boones Ferry Road firm through River View Cemetery to avoid dangerous areas.

“But the firm recognizes the value of it,” he said.

Planners and public agencies also recognize the unique challenges presented by suburban commutes.

On Sept. 30, a panel of European bike experts visited Lake Oswego, where they discussed how governments and businesses have helped create cycling infrastructure in Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands.

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