City finally Publishes Updated McGilchrist Plans

Today the Bond Oversight Committee met and in the supplemental packet was an update on the proposed McGilchrist project.

The current statement says 74% of the bike lane will be separated. Which is a distinct and unambiguous improvement on earlier drawings.

But the 26% legacy paint-only bike lanes are typically at intersections, where turning conflicts are most frequent. 

Here on 22nd you can see the green curb strips and the ramps going from the multi-use path in speckled grey (a little darker than the sidewalk segments) to the paint-only lanes on the street in solid grey.

McGilchrist at 22nd

The treatments at Pringle and the RR are also paint-only lanes with some advisory green striping at mixing/merge zones for turn lanes.

McGilchrist at Pringle and the RR

Maybe this is the best that can be done, but it still seems a little half-hearted. There might be more to say later with second thoughts.

In the packet was also a drawing of the multi-use path proposed for Marine Drive. I don't think there's anything new here. It will connect with the park at the ballfields. (But what if you are biking to the West Salem Library or to Roth's?)

Marine Drive MUP in blue

Just a quick-hit for now, and maybe more later.

Addendum, May 26th

In the Portland area with larger numbers of people biking, turning conflicts with drivers of larger trucks have been deadly. Some deaths that come to mind: Sarah Pliner in 2022, Tamar Monhait in 2017, Brett Jarolomik and Tracy Sparling both in 2007.

On speed and turning radius - NACTO

The City's approach here on McGilchrist has prioritized truck speed and movement. They seem to have started design with truck speed and movement, consistent with the "Critical Urban Freight Corridor" designation, and then later fit in the bike lanes and sidewalks secondarily. Unless the City is willing to think more deeply about widths, radii, and design speeds, trying to achieve cost savings in value engineering will likely just simply shave off safety for non-auto users. The City will protect the features and space for trucks and drivers and degrade the other elements.

Yet More on Safety

In the 2020 update to the traffic analysis, consulting engineers suggested that the "collision rate does not exceed the statewide average rate" and identified only one intersection that exceeded a 90% collision rate.

By crash rate, the street is safer than average
(yellow added)

Further, they suggested that the build out would yield a 15% reduction in crashes.

Engineers estimate $50 million yields
a 15% reduction in crashes
(yellow added)

But the conversation and analysis fails to ask, for whom?

The only two fatalities in the data set were more vulnerable users.

Drivers killed more vulnerable users
(yellow added)

One person killed was operating a motorcycle, the other was walking a bike along the shoulder, doing so in part because there was no bike lane or sidewalk.

The lack of bike lanes and sidewalks a factor

Because few walk and bike here, it is unsound to infer that McGilchrist is safe merely from the lack of crashes.

Our current approach to safety collapses safety into one numerical score - it looks precise and mathy! - and does not differentiate sufficiently between risk for different kinds of users. 

Very little east-west connectivity here

With very little east-west connectivity between Mission and Madrona, and even those streets do not meet any "all ages and abilities" standard, McGilchrist should be updated with protected bike lanes and sidewalks.

Gridlock forecast if we don't widen!

Nevertheless, the current proposed design maintains an excessively high design speed and prioritizes capacity expansion, especially for freight. Its travel lanes for motor traffic are being overengineered and overbuilt. Any value engineering should start with design speed and consider our need to reduce VMT rather than increase capacity and induce more driving.

Even in 2020 the traffic analysis completely omits words like "climate," "emissions," "greenhouse gas," as well any the more general concept of reducing VMT.