Portland's Bike Lane Project
The City of Portland began installing bicycle lanes on several streets in late April. Bike lanes are designed to improve the safety of everyone who uses the roadways. The City of Portland is using TxDOT-approved bicycle lane markings. To ensure everyone's safety, it is important to be able to recognize bike lanes and how to share the road.
Connecting Portland through Bike Lanes
The City of Portland creates and maintains a Comprehensive Plan that outlines goals and plans to ensure our city develops responsibly and reasonably. One of the goals in Portland’s Comprehensive Plan includes the creation of pedestrian and bicycle connections between residential neighborhoods, parks/linear greenbelts, schools, public administrative facilities, and other activity centers, wherever physically and financially possible. This includes utilizing hike/bike trails, wherever possible, to connect residential areas with schools and parks.
Safely Sharing the Road
Drivers and cyclists must follow the Texas Transportation Code statutes regarding bike lanes. TxDOT's top tips for drivers around bicycle lanes include: - Stay alert.
- Be on the lookout for cyclists on the highway, especially at intersections.
- If you're passing a cyclist, move to another lane if possible and give them plenty of room.
- Watch for cyclists who may need to maneuver around potholes and debris.
TxDOT does not have a law prohibiting people from parking their vehicles in bike lanes. Parking in bike lanes can cause safety issues for cyclists and other drivers. The City of Portland highly encourages residents to avoid parking in bike lanes when possible.
Bike Lane Recognition
The new bike lane lines may be unfamiliar, especially during construction. Once finished, you will see a total of 3 white lines with a white bicycle symbol and arrow between the lines. Closest to the road, you will see one thicker white line parallel to a thinner white line. This designates a buffer warning zone to help motorists and cyclists maintain a safe distance, approximately 3 feet, from one another. The bicycle and arrow symbols indicate the direction cyclists should ride - always with the traffic, never against it! Finally, the single white line on the other side is the fog line. This single white line ends the designated bike lane and helps motorists and cyclists know there's a curb near by. The dashed lines indicate a drive way - letting cyclists know to approach with caution. For a visual representation of a bike lane, please see the image below.