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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Bikes Morrison Bridge Bike Path Opens Today

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 11:17 AM

First ever bike breakfast on the Morrison Bridge
After 12 years of process and a last, disappointing two week delay, the Morrison Bridge bike/ped path is FINALLY opening. For real, guys. And nothing like a 51 degree day with chance of thunderstorms to celebrate a path that should make biking to work safer and more comfortable.

Today at 12:30 pm, bigiwgs like County Commissioners Jeff Cogen and Deboroah Kafoury are cutting the ribbon on the just-completed path separated from car traffic on the south side of the bridge. But last Friday, Shift 2 Bikes christened the path in its own way, hosting the first ever breakfast on the Morrison bridge, handing out donuts and coffee to bike commuters.

I've snuck over the bridge on my bike a couple times this month, partly out of spite over the delayed official opening and partly just to check it out. My thoughts: it's great to be separated from cars, I feel super safe from traffic, but it's a pretty small path, really. The 15-foot-wide path is supposed to fit two way bike traffic and two way pedestrian traffic. That's going to be pretty tight. Especially if we're also making room for delicious donuts and coffee.

Has anyone else ridden the path yet or walked across the bridge? Joys? Concerns?

 

Comments (13) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
I drink your bridge. I drink it up!
Posted by idrinktheline on March 30, 2010 at 12:00 PM · Report
2
Look everyone, BIKES!!1!
Posted by Blabby on March 30, 2010 at 12:16 PM · Report
3
I'll take it home after work to check it out. Honestly though, nothing beats the Steel Bridge.
Posted by I Like Your New Haircut on March 30, 2010 at 12:25 PM · Report
4
What ever happened to the idea of a pedestrian/bike bridge over 1-405 between Nob Hill and the Pearl? Budget problems?
Posted by Reymont on March 30, 2010 at 12:35 PM · Report
5
it came down to money-- it was gonna be really costly to move the bridge, strip the lead paint (as required by EPA) and such.

http://bikeportland.org/2008/05/06/adams-w…
Posted by Chunty McHutchence on March 30, 2010 at 12:45 PM · Report
6
I'm happy about this because it'll be another alternative to wave in the face of whiny twats who complain about the Hawthorne Bridge bike lanes being "overcrowded."

Some of the bikeportland commenters expect a utopian bubble where everyone's nice all the time and doles out congratulatory handjobs for every timid, greenwashed piece of fluff they participate in. It's as if they do all their grocery shopping at New Seasons.
Posted by Chunty McHutchence on March 30, 2010 at 1:02 PM · Report
7
@Chunty: I really do expect congratulatory handjobs. They're wonderful.
Posted by Graham on March 30, 2010 at 1:30 PM · Report
8
It's nice to have, but man, Water Ave really needs to be repaved.
Posted by feralcow on March 30, 2010 at 1:32 PM · Report
9
Any longtime pedestrian-user of the Morrison can tell you that the "modern" standards of structural engineering to which it was built permit much larger deflections than do the "ancient" standards of the Broadway, Steel, Burnside, Hawthorne.

We get bounced around a lot when a heavy vehicle, exiting I5 at speed, hits the movable section in the middle. Remember! a cell-phoning lady drove over the barrier into the river there several years ago. My friend Gabe was killed there riding his motorbike between late night jobs.

I intend to check it out once. Then I'll avoid it like the plague! I do not intend to be the third recipient of THE CURSE OF THE MORRISON!
Posted by Jim Lee on March 30, 2010 at 1:35 PM · Report
10
Sarah: merely "Shift"... the website address shift2bikes.org (as well as shifttobikes.org) was registered only because shift.org was already taken (and still being sat on by a scumbucket domain squatter).

I know, it's a teeny quibble.
Posted by organic.brian on March 30, 2010 at 1:51 PM · Report
11
Thanks Brian. I called it "Shift 2 Bikes" because I wasn't sure if people know what Shift is and wanted to make clear it's a bike group.

Do most people know what Shift is? Besides people who are in Shift, I mean?
Posted by s.mirk on March 30, 2010 at 2:02 PM · Report
12
Thanks for the link, Chunty. Tell Graham to give you a congratulatory handjob. :)

I remember when they decided not to re-use the Sauvie bridge, but had the impression there were other options on the table. Like "build a brand new one" or something. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Smirk - I didn't know what Shift is, if you're taking a poll.
Posted by Reymont on March 30, 2010 at 3:15 PM · Report
13
Chunty FTW! Also, I don't know what Shift is.
Posted by pork chop on March 30, 2010 at 4:33 PM · Report

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