Leaves in the bike lane

on Naito this morning.

(Photo © J. Maus)

After the burst of fall was followed by stiff winds and rain last night, leaves are covering many bike lanes in Portland. For cars, leaves aren’t a big deal, because the mass, velocity and tires on a car act like sweepers to keep lanes clean. But bikes aren’t big enough to have that same effect, so the leaves pile up.

The dangers of leaves are two-fold: Ride in them and risk slipping out in the slimy muck; ride around them and risk getting hit by other traffic in other lanes. Add in the early darkness of the evening commute and it becomes even more important to keep bike lanes free of debris and hazards.

I noticed nearly all of the northbound bike lane on Naito Parkway was completely covered in leaves this morning. I’ve also heard of major leafing up on N. Willamette on the bluff overlooking Swan Island.

Where else are you seeing big piles of leaves in the bike lanes?

To get them swept, email safe@portlandoregon.gov or call it in to 823-1700. I’d like to think that — since this is an annual problem and we shouldn’t have to rely solely on citizen reporting to keep traffic lanes unobstructed — perhaps PBOT could create a list of places where this occurs and order proactive sweeps in the future.

For now, let’s try to get a good list of locations. Ready, go….

UPDATE: Read the story we just published: PBOT says they’ll put “focused attention” on bike lanes this weekend.











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leaves, road hazards