Although Portland, Oregon has been designated a Platinum Bicycle City, bicycling downtown is best done by cyclists who are very athletic and courageous. Here are three suggestions to make downtown Portland more accessible to a broader spectrum of bicyclists.

1. Downtown Portland Could Be Friendlier for Bikes
Levin Nock September 2008 Copyleft CC-BY v2.0
The Portland City Planning Department is revising the “Portland Plan”
this year. The following ideas would make downtown Portland more
friendly for bicyclists of various ages, abilities, and levels of risk-
aversion.
1) Bike/ped-only street network
A bike/ped-only network should cover all of downtown. This is a step
beyond bike boulevards. Every third or fourth street, running N-S and
running E-W, would be a bike-only street with wide pedestrian
sidewalks. If a street is shared with the MAX or streetcar, then
pedestrians could walk on the tracks, and the adjacent non-track lane
would be for bikes. Deliveries by truck could be allowed in the early
morning, and possibly by special permit. Some components of the grid
might be bike boulevards, but a substantial portion of these streets
would be car-free, during most of the day and evening. These streets
would become meccas for sidewalk cafes with less traffic noise and air
pollution, and retail spaces would generate more sales from
passersby. The 60% of the Portland population that wants to bike
more, but doesn’t feel safe now, would bike downtown. This idea
would fit very well with the existing goals for a bike rental Velibe
program, and large bike-parking facilities downtown.
2) Multiple-use PARK(ing) spaces
The City should allow residents to lease on-street parking spaces on an
annual basis, at the prevailing local price of parking. For instance, a
restaurant could lease one or two on-street parking spaces to extend
the seating area of a sidewalk café. A bicycle shop, or any shop that
wants to provide convenient parking for 15 potential customers at low
cost, could lease a parking space for a rack to hold 15 bikes. A
retirement home could lease a few parking spaces along the sidewalk
on the way to a park or grocery store, to hold benches for resting and

2. socializing, and maybe a potted tree or two. The city government
could support a greenstreets program on a very small budget. In
areas where parking is free, a percentage of spaces (perhaps starting
with 10%) could be allotted for non-vehicular uses such as these, that
provide a public or semi-private benefit.
3) Time-share car-bike cooperation
The Sunday Parkways idea should be extended in time and space. In
time, perhaps it could grow to once a month on Sundays, or once a
week in some places. In space, there could be more locations. For
instance, imagine if all 4 streets around Pioneer Courthouse Square
were closed to motorized vehicles on one Sunday each month. People
from all over the city could walk or bike on the Sunday Parkway, or
take the MAX, to the square. The square would have a magical feeling,
with no traffic noise or danger. This would help more and more
residents and merchants experience how a space can feel transformed,
when cars are removed, and the commercial space extends onto the
pavement. This could also help generate more supporters for the ideas
above, as more and more people appreciate the joys of urban spaces
with less motorized traffic.