Page 176 - TransportationPlanUsetsGuide

Urban Bikeway Needs
Obstacles to bicycle travel in urban Washington County include physical gaps in facilities, lack of regular maintenance of
bike lanes, inadequate funding for bicycle-related improvements, historic development patterns where there is poor local-
street connectivity, and the presence of flood plains and topographic constraints. Intersections that are not designed for
current and future traffic volumes, such as Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway at Scholls Ferry Road, and missing links in facili-
ties such as those found along Canyon Road, 170th Avenue and other locations, are obvious obstacles to bicyclists.

Bikeways on the major street system provide direct connections for bicyclists, making them the logical choice for longer
trips. At the same time, the high traffic volumes, greater speeds and the potential for conflicting turning movements
at intersections, which are common on the major street network, may be considered as obstacles by some bicyclists.
Identification of low-traffic-volume streets for use as “neighborhood bikeways” may be possible in some areas of the
county at relatively low cost. However, many areas of Washington County lack well-connected, low-traffic-volume streets
for such a system.

Due to the reality of incremental expansion and improvement of Collector and Arterial roadways, it is unlikely a complete
bicycle and pedestrian system will be realized in the near term. Adopting strategies to support bicycle travel is consistent
with the goals and desired outcomes of the 2014 RTP. The 2014 RTP recognizes the important role that active transporta-
tion modes play in achieving regional objectives such as: Increasing non-SOV mode share, reducing vehicle miles traveled,
reducing the cost of transportation, improving public health, and meeting state goals for greenhouse gas reduction. Goals
included in the 2014 RTP call for tripling the mode share of bicycling and walking for commuting over the next 25 years.

The County’s TSP must comply with Metro’s Regional Functional Transportation Plan Section 3.08.140, which directs
local jurisdictions to pay particular attention to bicycle access to transit and essential destinations. The RTFP defines
“essential destinations” as hospitals, medical centers, grocery stores, schools, and social service centers with more
than 200 monthly LIFT pick-ups. A County study for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Prioritization Project
(2012) compared the existing and planned urban bicycle network (Collector and Arterial roadways) to determine how to
optimize the planned bicycle system improvements. Table 3.18 includes the prioritized list of bike lane needs identified
for collectors and arterials in Washington County. 16

Neighborhood Routes and Local Streets
Washington County also has an extensive system of local roadways. While these streets are not signed for bicycle
routes, and bikeway facilities are not developed on these roads, they may be and are used as shared roadways by bi-
cycles. It may be possible to identify areas where good local street connectivity has been established and appropriately
sign these areas as secondary bicycle routes (neighborhood bikeways or bike boulevards), to supplement the primary
system of bikeways on the Arterial and Collector street network. In October 2012, Washington County received an ODOT
Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) grant to develop a neighborhood bikeways study that looked into these
opportunities.

Rural Bikeway Needs
Outside of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), obstacles to bicycle travel are different than in the urban portions of the
County. Although bicycling as a means of transportation is less common in rural areas of Washington County because
distances between destinations are typically too long to feasibly bike between them, many rural roads are attractive
riding areas for recreational cyclists. While traffic volumes are generally much lower in most of the rural area, many
rural roads have narrow travel lanes with steep ditches for drainage, little or no shoulders, high vehicle speeds and oc-
casional poor sight distance due to vertical and horizontal curves. Even with the lower traffic volumes, these conditions
can create hazards for cyclists.

16 Bicycle improvements will be implemented as funding allows, and as opportunities develop through private development or roadway improve-
ment projects.

156 PART 3: TRANSPORTATION MODAL ELEMENTS
Effective November 27, 2015 • Updated December, 15 2016