Check Out Portland’s New Bike Traffic Circle

Here’s an exciting concept for carving safer bike infrastructure out of an overly wide intersection: Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland reports the city has installed its second bicycle roundabout.

This design, along with its bright green color, helps connect cyclists with an off-street trail, giving them a protected spot to wait for an opening in traffic.

Portland’s first bike roundabout was installed in 2016, but it was paint only, Maus reports.

This new design, at the intersection of SE Milwaukie and Mitchell is much more robust. The design gives cyclists a curb-protected refuge, and it helps reduce crossing lengths in an over-wide intersection at the same time.

Maus said last weekend he went to visit the site and “saw all types of riders using the circle.”

Bike roundabouts aren’t a totally new concept but they are very rare in the U.S. U.C. Davis has several on its campus dating back to the the 1960s, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Here’s another example on a Cape Cod rail trail.

This high-flying Dutch example has gotten a lot of attention as well.