Will Bike Boxes Bring Safety To Portland Streets?

GENERAL NEWS 

By Andrew Theen

Portland, OR  January 3, 2008 3:59 p.m.

The Portland City Council heard a presentation Thursday about making the city safer for people riding bikes. As Andrew Theen reports, bike boxes are on their way to Oregon.

In Portland, bicycling deaths and accidents are actually down recently, despite more riders on the road.  But two high-profile cycling deaths in October put cycling safety on the front burner.

That's where bike boxes come in.  They are painted squares on the pavement in front of where cars stop at traffic lights.  They're meant to help drivers notice the cyclists.

Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams calls them "innovative treatments."

Sam Adams: "Employing these in the central business district, on both sides of the river where you have 14 intersections is going to be a lot more effective in sort of educating people what they're about."

Adams, who is running for mayor of Portland, says education and enforcement are critical to the success of the bike box experiment.

The city already has the $200,000 needed to put in the boxes and new signs.  Officials hope to begin that as soon as possible.

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