photo: John RussellDEAD FREEWAYS RIDE
SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER
11am
meeting at: South Park Blocks in front of Lincoln Hall (PSU), 900 SW Market St
What if...Portland built all the freeways it planned? This ride will follow the routes of several highways that never made it off the drawing board, such as the fabled Mt. Hood Freeway, some that did but were later removed, like Harbor Drive, and also as a reference some freeways that currently exist. Approx 13 miles of riding through moderate traffic.
I did lead this ride in June as part of the TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES CONFERENCE, but since it was on a Tuesday at 9am it didn't allow a lot of y'all to attend. Now you get your chance!
What a great idea, Shawn! The best way to make sure we've got bike paths instead of freeways is to help people understand what can happen when responsible citizens take action. And if you're hankering for a rural 'dead freeway' ride sometime, consider the route for the proposed Western Bypass Freeway, which would have been built about 5 miles West of Hwy 217, from Hillsboro to Tualatin. In the 1990s, a dedicated group of citizens defeated this awful idea, preserving some of Washington County's best wine and farming country for residents, agriculture, tourists and cyclists.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I made the trek from East Vancouver to enjoy this ride. It was quite fun, and I learned quite a few new things. Mind you this is coming from someone who thought he would know everything about the ride.
ReplyDeleteAlso, some of those pictures from the construction of I-5 and the Banfield were pretty impressive. Would any of those happen to be online? I really liked the one of the overpasses being built over I-5 at Broadway and Weidler, amongst others.