Only one hour until the big 1:30 pm BUILD IT bike plan rally at City Hall and our old friends the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) have chimed in with their official stance on the city plan to boost bike ridership: "generally supportive" but "concerned about specifics."

The PBA submitted six page letter (pdf) to the Mayor's office yesterday afternoon, spelling out its issues with the proposed 2030 bike plan. Their concerns mostly revolve around a fear that prioritizing funding and infrastructure for bikes will put freight and cars in the back seat.

From the letter:

We are concerned about the plan’s Green Transportation Hierarchy, which we read to call for prioritizing investment in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure over transit and commercial auto needs. While the Alliance agrees that investing in alternative modes to auto is critical to reducing congestion and maintaining capacity, the plan cannot undermine the need to maintain the infrastructure that supports freight and commercial vehicles. Their mobility is essential to the local, regional and state economy.

The PBA has some specific criticism and suggestions, too:

"The Alliance would like to suggest that there be a performance evaluation process for bike facilities that results in the reduction of auto parking or travel lanes.... While some bike corrals are well used, others are not and could be converted back to auto parking spaces without significantly reducing the availability of bicycle parking. Similarly, travel lanes that are removed to accommodate bikes should revert to auto use if they are not experiencing the anticipated increase in bicycle use after a reasonable period of time."

In response to the PBA's letter, Bicycle Transportation advocate Michelle Poyourow says, "We think it's fantastic that the Portland Business Alliance supports the bicycle plan. It shows how far we've come as a city that we can all be aligned in working for healthy safe transportation." Last week, the BTA announced that 127 local businesses have signed a letter of support for the bike plan.

In other news, if I took the Oregonian editorial board seriously, I would address their column today saying "we like bikes... just not spending money on them" but at this point I just assume they will be against all things rational.