After several hours of testimony on Feb. 4, with few detractors, Portland City Council delayed the vote on the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030.
"I think this is going to pass folks, don't worry about it," Mayor Sam Adams said.
Commissioner Dan Saltzman said he had concerns about solidifying funding mechanisms before voting on the plan. Commissioner Amanda Fritz also has some questions about concerns about safety raised by several citizens.
"There has been some commentary that we can't afford to do this, I think we can't afford not to do this," Mayor Sam Adams said.
The plan would build over 681 miles of new bikeways at an eventual cost of $613 million dollars over the next 20 years, although approval of the plan doesn't require the city to spend that much.
"Not everything in this plan is funded, that would be safe to say," said Sue Keil, director of transportation for the city.
The broader goals of the plan are to provide 80 percent of the city's residents with "fine-grained, low-stress" bikeways to ensure that trips under three miles are easier to complete on a bike than they are in an automobile.
Roger Geller, Portland's bike coordinator, says the original Bike Master Plan adopted in 1996 has helped increase cycling while decreasing crash rates, making bicycling a safe, efficient and healthy way to get around town.
Mia Birk, former director of the city's Bicycle Program,
"This is not an anti-car plan, it makes bicycling simply more irresistible than it does today," she said. "Green transportation is the way of the future."
Several detractors didn't take it as such a good plan.
One man said implementation of the plan was akin to "socialism" and "forced conformity" that was being funded on the backs drivers. Every lost driving trip, he said, was a loss for state funding.
"Providing specialized bike infrastructure is a privilege not a right," he said, calling on "hefty fines and enforcement" on bicyclists to ensure they are following the law."
William Barnes said he doesn't ride a bike, but supports the plan.
"I haven't been on a bike in 30 years, but I think this is a good plan," he said. "One of the tings I do is sit on an advisory committee for human services. The biggest increase in cost is in health care. Anything that a city can do to bring down health care costs for government and businesses, they should do."
To read the entire plan, visit here