Prohibit bikes on city streets and sidewalks. Keep them on off-street paths only.

I don't have any ideas for how to more effectively route bicycles around areas like that, but I CAN say that the only place downtown that I've ever been nearly killed biking--on multiple occasions--has been in front of the Benson.

That seems worse to me than no bike lane at all.

Exactly. Even with the Heathman respecting the bike lane and keeping cars out of it, this opens up the possibility of a passing cyclist getting doored from either side instead of having to watch out for just one.

PDOT needs to get rid of the bike lane on that stretch of Broadway. Car traffic in that area moves slowly enough and bikes can move fast enough (it's a modest downhill) that the two don't need separated, especially at the expense of forcing cyclists into running the gauntlet. South of there, when the incline switches uphill and there's less of a conflict with parking/stopping cars, it makes some sense to cordon off bikes into their own lane.

Maybe bicyclists need to ride in the lane of travel, with the flow of downtown traffic. Why do cyclists think they have the right to zip all over downtown, passing cars, running red lights and stop signs, traveling the wrong way down a one-way street, etc? I say get rid of all the downtown bike lanes and make the cyclists obey the traffic laws.

I love riding my bike to work and my commute includes that stretch of Broadway. Most of my commute from NE is on low traffic surface streets. If there was a feasible alternative, I'd take it, because cycling up Broadway is at times scary.

As much of a nuisance as some of you may find cyclists on the roadway, it is in fact "one less car"--and less competition for parking, etc. And oh yes, let's not forget that by cycling we're not contributing to that air pollution problem we've all been reading about.

But, my comment won't change your mind if you think cyclists don't belong on city streets. The only thing that could do that is if you actually ride a bike to work and see how awesome it is!

As for the hotels, I can say from almost daily experience that the Heathman is FAR better at accommodating cyclists than the Benson. Kudos to the Heathman--safe, sane, and a heck of a good place to eat breakfast!

Having worked around the block from the Benson, I can understand why the loading zone was so dangerous... I've never seen so many a**holes speed up in their Hummers, Mercedes (military) G-wagons, Range Rovers, Tahoes, Corvettes and Hummer limos.

I didn't think El Gaucho was espanol for 'The Jerk'...

Perhaps this is a question with an obvious answer, but if the Heathman valet reports tickets being issued to cars in the bike lane at that location - implicitly leading to a more bike-friendly area - why not post a city parking enforcement official at the Benson for the same purpose?

The entitlement that some car drivers have to the street is pretty amazing. Broadway has THREE lanes of car traffic and one 3 foot wide bike lane, which is not well respected anyway by drivers and businesses like the Benson. Sorry for taking up three feet, I'll go on a diet.

Cyclists are entitled just the same as cars. We pay taxes for the roads, use them to engage in daily commerce, and are subject to the laws that govern them (including DUII).

Yes, you're supposed to be subject to the laws that govern them, but I've yet to see a cyclist ticketed for running a red light (happens all the time), weaving in and out of traffic (same), passing outside the lane of travel, ie on the sidewalk (ditto), etc. From my perspective, if anyone has an entitlement attitude in PDX, it's the people on the bikes who seem to think that because they're "part of the solution" that gives them a free pass to rule the downtown roadways.

Hard to see how a biker can "rule the roadway" against thousands of tons of steel in three other lanes of traffic.

Bikers deserve more leeway because they are doing us all a service by biking instead of driving, and not just because of reduced air pollution and traffic congestion.

More importantly, bikers absorb risk from cars: a biker is exponentially more vulnerable than a Hummer driver, while posing exponentially less potential to damage the life and property of others.

If we had three lanes of bikes, and relegated cars to one lane in the margins, we would all be a lot safer, and insurance would be a lot cheaper.

As I understand it, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is not illegal, except downtown.

True. It is illegal to ride sidewalks downtown and should continue to be so. I ride to work daily - even today! and I often see cyclists busting the rules. I don't see them being ticketed but I don't see cars recieving tickets for moving violations either.
I don't understand why folks get so insensed at what others do as regards transportation choices.
How about the lack of affordable health care or the fact that there are so few facilitys for homeless or abused women in Portland

Probably the most dangerous thing about the bike lane is the false sense of security it imparts to its users. And I have a request of the folks posting here expressing their hostility to bicycles and their users: could you please include the plate number of your pick-up so the rest of us can give you a wide berth?