The future of Portland

Note: As I'm reading this I keep copy and pasting and then finding something much much worse and having to start over. This is very discombobulating. It's an Orwellian read but Portland really is going to force you to ride a bike... for your own good.

Here is the main page with links to the entire bike plan 2030


This image, the Green transportation hierarchy, pretty much sums it up:




A vision for Portland in the year 2030 (page 21)
It is the year 2030, and Portland looks much diff erent than it did a generation ago. In 2030, bicycling is a fundamental pillar of Portland’s fully integrated transportation system.


It is the year 2030, and Portland looks muchdiff erent than it did a generation ago. In 2030, bicycling is a fundamental pillar of Portland’sfully integrated transportation system.


Portland’s thriving economy derives from its fit, healthy employee base. Every business encourages employees and visitors to bicycle and off ers high quality, plentiful bicycle parking. With more money in their pockets and circulating in the local economy due to reduced transportation costs, the business community has come to embrace bicycling as a hallmark of the Portland region.

The rise in bicycle use has been accompanied by a sharp increase in safety for all residents due to the use of international best practices in bikeway design, cyclist and motorist safety campaigns, enforcement of high-risk traffic behaviors and evolution of laws and attitudes. Improved safety is tied to the increasing numbers of cyclists, many of whom have reduced their driving trips and come to appreciate the lower stress experience of pedaling for daily transportation. Related to the decline in driving-related stress has been a burgeoning civic commitment to mutual courtesy.

This vision did not just happen as a result of geography, climate or historical happenstance.
It was carefully planned and fully funded by citizens determined to set a threshold for
sustainable urban living in the 21st century. The vision came about because Portland’s leaders recognized that bicycling could be a significant and incredibly positive means of transportation for tens of thousands of residents...

It reads like a high school thesis paper but is written by people who control hundreds of millions of your tax dollars and have the ability to force behavior on you through social engineering.


One of the reasons that Portland wants to force you into biking is that it's just not fair that poor people can't afford cars:


(Page 5)
Equity in access to transportation is an important measure in creating a sustainable city. With the annual average cost of owning and operating a car now estimated at more than $7,000 bicycling offers a more affordable transportation option that still provides ‘doorto- door’ service.


As inner-city neighborhoods experience continued gentrification, minorities and low income residents are increasingly pushed to the fringes of Portland, where transportation options are often more limited. The relative affordability of bicycle infrastructure and programs can help provide transportation equity to neighborhoods that may not yet have sufficient access to transit service or where walking is impractical.

Some notable sections worth reading:

2.1.4 Putting green transportation first (Page 20)
Specific strategies that could support a green transportation hierarchy include designating car free or car-limited zones, reforming system performance standards to favor the movement of people over the movement of vehicles, and further developing the 20-minute neighborhood concept.

3.2.2 Principles for bikeway design (Page 61)
Attractiveness: Good design and a ‘sense of place’ should enhance the look and feel of the bicycling environment
Portland is actually wants to tell companies how to design bikes...

4.2.3 Road safety (Page 97)
By law, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is responsible for establishing speed zones on all Oregon highways. Oregon cities and counties are not allowed to set or change speed limits but may appeal speed-related zoning recommendations to the State of Oregon’s Speed Zone Review Panel. This system significantly limits Portland’s ability to control speed limits to
make streets safer and more attractive for bicycling.

When have pesky laws ever gotten in the way of totalitarian governments...

The City of Portland’s TSP calls for reducing local traffic speeds through enforcement and design in designated high-density Main Streets, Regional Centers, and Town Centers to levels that are safe and comfortable for bicyclists and pedestrians. With more control over speed limits, the City of Portland will better achieve regional and local objectives while creating improved bicycling conditions.

So ODOT may set the speed limit but Portland will design the street to make traffic go slower.

Throughout this huge document are quotes from Portland notables such as Jeff Mapes:

“Driving a mile to the store for a quart of milk seems to me as much overkill as using a highpowered nail gun to hang a picture.” - Jeff Mapes

I'm so glad that Jeff buys a quart of milk at a time. What about the rest of us who buy two gallons when we go grocery shopping? The answer: move out of Portland. This is scary stuff.