While students scurry to school this fall, Portland eyes a looming five-week shutdown of southbound I-5 starting September 11, of all dates.
To manage the anticipated influx of vehicles, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) asks commuters to ditch motorized wheels in favor of public transit, carpooling, working from home, and biking.
According to KATU, the city anticipates heavier traffic on major corridors including N Greeley Avenue, N Interstate Avenue, and NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
To dissuade drivers from short-cutting through neighborhood routes to school, Portland will add traffic barrels, limit intersection access, and prioritize road maintenance, including pothole repairs and signal timing adjustments.
But not everyone is happy about these changes. This new shift in traffic patterns has raised safety concerns among bicycle advocates who note that increased vehicle volume will necessarily increase tension between motorists and cyclists.
In Portland, both groups rely mostly on painted lines rather than physical barriers to avoid the other.
To help students and commuters who are new to biking, the city will offer a special “Bike Bus” every Wednesday from Sept. 16 through Oct. 14, with group rides from North and Northeast Portland into downtown. PBOT also encourages new riders to use the city’s bike network maps to plan safer routes before they leave.
For Portlanders who still need to drive, PBOT spokesperson Hannah Schaefer urges commuters to “pack your patience” for safety, whatever that means.
