The Portland Pedal Puzzle, revisited
"Where have all the bikers gone?" - Pete Seeger (paraphrased)
I know this is Car Charts, but I have no Orwellian bias about 2 legs vs. 4 legs, or 2 wheels vs. 4 wheels. It’s all about rolling around. So, a bike question. I first raised this in passing in 2023 (April 19 post), but with new data I want to bring the question front and center.
I think we can all agree that Portland1 is very bike friendly. Various surveys rating US cities according to how pleasant they are to pedal in, typically put Portland in the top rank.
And I think we can all agree that the rise of e-bikes makes riding around an even better experience (at least for those not addicted to tight and colorful Lycra, or “fixies”).
So why, then, is cycling hardly growing in the Rose City and, depending how you look at it, is even in a decline? Brand new data is available from the 2024 Portland Bicycle Counts report, with the key chart excerpted here:
I understand, I guess, the pandemic-era 35% drop. But how to explain the pre-pandemic erosion from 2013 through to 2019, and the anemic rebound since the pandemic ebbed?
And all this against a backdrop of expanded national, state, and local funding for bike lanes; the launch of docked and dockless bikeshare systems across the country; a surge in the wellness movement that of course endorses outdoor exercise; and so on and so on.
I am truly baffled2. I don’t like trends that seem to fly in the face of all the facts I can muster.
Anyone who knows Portland and/or biking and has a solid hypothesis3 to share, please do.
The Oregon version. I grew up in New England, and feel bad that Portland, Maine, has been relegated to the minors when it comes to the national discussion around urban areas. Actually, the western city may actually be named after the eastern one: according to one source, “ [ Portland, Oregon ] was founded by a pair of New Englanders — Boston’s Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove from Portland, Maine. Each man wanted to name the spot after his hometown. So, they settled this matter the right way — via coin toss. Pettygrove won two out of three flips and that was that.”
This doesn’t happen to me often. In fact, the last time I was baffled was when CBS cancelled Family Matters. I mean, what character has ever matched Steve Urkel for pure comedy gold, since? Not to mention style sense. Immortal.
No, don’t tell me it’s Big Oil or Big Auto or even Big Foot. I doubt there is anyone employed by the first two of those who pays any attention at all to bikes (after all, at about 10 billion miles biked annually in the USA, biking doesn’t even round up to one percent of total miles traveled in the USA). Big Foot I haven’t been able to reach for comment.