Biking in Portland is one of the things that sets our city apart from others. It is well known that Portland is very bike friendly and that a large number, in comparison to other cities, commute by bike. Now whether you are a driver or biker or whether you loathe or love biking, you can’t help but be aware of how well set up our city is for commuting by bike. I saw a blog post today from an out-of-towner that came to Portland and explored our city via bike. They were very pleased at how our city is set up to allow people to explore by bike and foot. And they even pointed out some things that I was unaware of or didn’t understand prior to writing this. First are the “bike boulevards” as seen in the picture below. Now don’t laugh at me but I really didn’t know what those were. I’ve seen the markings all around and in my own neighborhood but I wasn’t sure what they were. Come to find out that they are bike routes on low-traffic residential streets. Bike boulevards let bikes and cars share the road safely which is great for drivers who are nervous driving pasts bicyclists and for bicyclists who prefer the ease of neighborhood streets.

Portland's Bike Boulevards (picture by peopleforbikes.org)