In May, a cyclist was riding on Naito Parkway when a driver cut in front of him and stopped, leaving no option but to slam into the vehicle and hope for the best.

The bike was a goner. The rider: scraped up, but OK.

Emergency responders did a double take when they saw the cyclist's name: Will Naito.

Naito was riding in the early evening May 6 on the protected bikeway known as Better Naito, a seasonal effort that dedicates one northbound travel lane to a two-way separated bike and pedestrian pathway during the summer and waterfront festival seasons.

The 34-year-old Portland native, a daily bike commuter, was keeping an eye out for other cyclists and pedestrians meandering to and from the waterfront Cinco de Mayo festivities. "I didn't have my radar tuned to Chryslers," he quipped.

Later this month, the Portland City Council is expected to decide where the protected bike path falls on its list of priorities for $30 million in transit and safety projects to complete in the downtown and inner eastside in the next five years. And at least two Naitos say it is time to make the bike path permanent.

Will Naito, who works in commercial real estate with his dad, Bob, said the plastic wands used to temporarily separate riders from traffic are confusing.

"I enjoy using it and I think it's a wonderful addition," he said. "I would certainly be open to an elevated cycle track," he added.

Will Naito is an avid bike commuter who uses the seasonal bike path on the waterfront road named for his grandfather.

Naito was one of many cyclists who experienced or walked away after a close call on the occasional bike lane on the key downtown street named for his late grandfather, Bill, a titan of Portland business, civic and philanthropic life.

Last month, one Portland cyclist tweeted harrowing helmet camera video of a car driving with no headlights at night up the protected bike path.

The city mistakenly removed the bike lane ahead of schedule on Sept. 21, causing some users to briefly ride against traffic during the morning rush hour only to learn they were no longer protected from oncoming cars.

Dylan Rivera, a city transportation spokesman, confirmed the agency had heard of several crashes and near misses this year.

In Naito's case, a car was driving adjacent to him in the other travel lane when it turned right into the Better Naito path through a gap in the plastic wands. The car turned sharply without signaling, and Naito said he had no time to stop.

Rivera said in an email that the city was still tweaking its plans for a potential $4 million permanent fix: "We made adjustments to the project throughout the summer, and those adjustments and observations about crashes will inform design of a permanent facility."

Bill Naito talks during the 1st session of Pacific Rim Economic Conference in the Smith Ballroom at Portland State University in 1996.

The design hasn't been finalized, but it would likely include a raised concrete median between the northbound travel lane and the path. A pedestrian path would be elevated in some sections. But the city's current proposal doesn't call for carving the path through the park itself.

Andrew Hoan, president of the Portland Business Alliance, is also calling for a permanent solution to the bike path. Hoan, who was just hired in March, said he biked to work about half of the time, and he used Better Naito this year.

A separated bike and pedestrian path make for an enjoyable riding experience, but Hoan said removing a travel lane for automobiles had a negative effect on drivers and also didn't maximize safety for bikes and pedestrians.

"Clearly putting this into the green space and protecting it from the roadway is the best and safest way," Hoan said. That plan would be far costlier.

Naito said he would be "strongly opposed" to removing trees from the park, calling them a "marquee feature of the park and the city." He said while it also wasn't ideal to remove the travel lane, it's still better than the temporary plastic wands.

Bob Naito said he originally was grumpy about the arrival of the seasonal bike path, but he now believes it is a good thing and has minimal effect on his commute.

What he didn't expect, he said, is his father, Bob's, transformation on the Better Naito issue.

Bob, who drives up Naito Parkway every morning on the way to work, said he was "pretty grumpy" when the lane project first popped up in 2015.

"I thought it was all propaganda that it was only going to add 20 seconds [to my commute]," he said of the city's talking points that the lane didn't affect travel times.

But after several years of seeing it in action, he's a convert.

He said he's no longer grumpy. "It doesn't bother my morning commute at all. If I'm delayed 20 seconds I'll gladly do that for all those cyclists."

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen