Bike Boxes have arrived in Portland, Oregon
Uncategorized March 19th, 2008
Matthew from chickendiction.blogspot.com alerted us to the news that city crews in Portland, Oregon have installed the first of 15 bike boxes. NYC has these as well. The bike boxes are designed to prevent right hook collisions between drivers and bicyclists. 
Intersections with the bike boxes have a no turn on red policy, and cars are not allowed in the bike boxes even when there is not a bicyclist present. This policy allows cyclists to safely enter the box area via the bike lane while cars are stopped at a red light. It sure would be nice to see bike boxes in Tucson someday.
-lauren
March 19th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Sorry to be contrary, but reaction to the bike boxes is not universally positive from cyclists. There are some serious issues and concerns. The design fundamentally conflicts with LAB Road I destination positioning guidance and standard traffic rules.
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/chainguard/message/24320
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/chainguard/message/24398
It’s also not obvious that Portland’s design will do what they think it will do. This particular design, with no “safe to enter the box” signal, might increase rather than decrease the right-hook danger when there’s a stale red:
http://bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/stopline.htm
(See last paragraph before the references.)
Compounding the problem is Oregon’s unique traffic laws that make bike lane use mandatory at intersections, and prohibit right-turning motorists from merging into the bike lane. In other words, destination positioning is illegal in Oregon.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Also, since these are non-standard lane markings that have not been included in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, they may make the installing agencies liable if anyone is injured in one. One cyclist looked into trying to get an injunction against their installation until their safety and efficacy could be investigated, but the costs were prohibitive.
Sad to say, we’ll have to wait until someone is injured to determine if these boxes are safe.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I once – while on a motorcycle – was rear-ended at a red light because the driver of the car waiting for the green behind me was watching the light and not me, and apparently “forgot” that there was a bike in front of her. The light changed and she hit the gas – and then me, before I was in gear. This box may seem like a good idea up front, but I think that Tucson drivers are generally way too stupid to be able to grasp the concept – just look at the hilarity that ensued during that whole “suicide lane” experiment.
Also, considering recent events, is it in poor taste to refer to it as a “batter box?” :-O
March 20th, 2008 at 10:53 am
This is all very interesting. I suspect that the only way to know whether these things are safer or more dangerous than having nothing at all is, as ed said above, to install them and watch people get injured. I also agree with the point in the letter from Bob Shanteau that a real research study needs to be conducted, but truthfully we may just need to try the things a while and see what happens.
I’m reminded of the “back in” diagonal parking on University Avenue in Tucson, which was done for the express purpose of bike safety. But there’s not a cyclist in Tucson who thinks that system is safe. It was a nice idea, but it doesn’t work and now we seem stuck with it.
Maybe the important thing is to establish an easy way to get rid of the bike boxes if they do prove to be dangerous.
–EBR
March 20th, 2008 at 10:55 am
All–
The deleted comment up there was my own — I accidentally deleted it and reposted it as comment #5. I don’t ever delete comments from this blog unless they might subject me to some kind of criminal or civil liability, which has only happened once.
–EBR
March 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Hi, I am a bicyclist in Tucson and I think that back-in angled parking is safer than nose in angled parking.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:20 am
I am still not convinced that the bike boxes are a bad idea. I suppose if they conflict with standard traffic regulations, that is another issue altogether and should have been addressed before they installed them.
It seems like appropriating one car space for bicyclists to position themselves in full view of the first car in line would be advantageous for everyone…however, I could see the potential for misuse of the bike boxes on the part of both cyclists and motor vehicles. As its been said already, we will just have to wait and see.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
don’t we have something like a bike box at mountain and grant?
April 1st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The bike boxes won’t keep bicyclists from getting hit by cars in Portland. I drive all over Portland every day and I can tell you from daily observation that most of the problem lies with the bicyclists not obeying basic traffic laws. I see them running red lights and stop signs all day long. They do not signal when they are turning or even look to see if it is clear for them to do so. They ride in between lanes of cars and if you happen not to see them when you turn your blinker on, you don’t even have to change lanes, they beat on your car and cuss you out. The only thing these bike boxes will do is make it easier to find the guy who beat on the side of my car so that I can twist his bike in half.