Beginning Sunday, August 30, MAX Yellow Line trains in downtown Portland will move to the new tracks on 5th and 6th avenues along the Portland Transit Mall. The new MAX Green Line will also be running simulated service, and will begin full service on September 12.
It’s a good time to remind cyclists that there are no right turns off the transit mall. Make a two-stage right turn movement instead.
Officers have been incrementally stepping up enforcement since April, when TriMet began training MAX drivers on the new line. They repeated the warning in a press release issued yesterday:
Starting August 30, TriMet is stepping up safety patrols to educate motorists and bicyclists about the dedicated transit and travel lanes on 5th and 6th avenues. On Monday, August 31, officers will increase patrols on the Mall, focusing on the area between Burnside and Jefferson. Violators disobeying a traffic control device will be subject to appropriate enforcement actions including citations.
“Disobeying a traffic control device” is an infraction that comes with a $242 fine.
It’s not just the police and safety patrollers doing enforcement, either. I’ve noticed bus drivers will honk at anyone who tries to bypass a line of right turning cars by crossing over the double white line. There’s a good reason to be patient; the consequences from falling in the tracks (something that happens to even the most experienced cyclists) are a lot more serious when there’s a bus or a MAX approaching.
Here’s one way to make a two stage right turn. Remember that cyclists are legally allowed to ride in the crosswalk if traveling at a pedestrian speed.
