Portland Plans To Add To Traffic Problem By Cutting Down Lanes On Park Ave

For most of the summer of 2018, it feels as though the ENTIRE City of Portland has been under construction. There have been major projects around Back Cove, Forest Ave, near USM, Congress Street and probably a few others. That has led to traffic snarls and irritated residents, commuters and tourists. Portland's answer? Another construction project eliminating vehicle lanes on a major artery out of the city starting immediately. Cool, sounds great.

According to The Forecaster, the City of Portland is moving to get the project done before the beginning of the 2018 school year. From Valley Street (near Hadlock Field) all the way to Forest Avenue, Park Avenue will condense to allow for new bike lanes on both sides of the road.

What does that mean for people who actually park on Park Ave? Well, the new bicycle lanes will go in next to the existing sidewalk. Bollards will separate the dedicated bike lane from the parking spots as well as vehicle traffic. For the busiest intersections of Park Ave, the plan is to keep dedicated turning lanes but some stretches of Park Ave will go from two lanes down to one.

The City of Portland continues to add dedicated bike lanes across the city for the 20-25 people that use them on a daily basis.