Portland, Oregon Transportation Director Leah Treat quietly enacted one of the nation's most pro-bike policies last fall.
Michael Andersen writes of a policy enacted in Portland, Oregon last fall, which adopts one of the most supportive bureaucratic requirements for bike infrastructure in the country. "Effective immediately, every time Portland road designers recommended a bike lane, they would need to make it a protected bike lane — or else explain why not," explains Andersen.
"Portland's policy, announced internally in an Oct. 19 memo from Transportation Director Leah Treat, applies to all city-managed streets with average daily traffic of 3,000 motor vehicles or more," adds Andersen.
According to Andersen, Treat is on the record saying the city will go even further than the terms laid out by this internal direction to staff. "The city is also preparing to consider a formal administrative rule that she said would require developers to provide protected bike lanes with new developments — much as they've long been required to provide sidewalks."
The article includes more detail on the thinking behind the policy, and Treat's goals for the city in enacting the policy.
Read the full story: PORTLAND IS FIRST U.S. CITY TO MAKE PROTECTION THE DEFAULT FOR ALL NEW BIKE LANES
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