Right-hook risk drops at Broadway and Hoyt thanks to change at US Postal Service

Quiet truck service bays and parking lot at US Postal Service site as seen from NW Lovejoy.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

We’re happy to report that the right-hook risk at NW Broadway and Hoyt has significantly decreased.

“Truck traffic has been significantly reduced.”
— Shawn Uhlman, Prosper Portland

As we’ve shared on several occasions since 2013, the northwest corner of the intersection was dangerous due to two main factors: It’s at the bottom of a downhill so bicycling speeds are high and it has a high volume of right-turning trucks who use Hoyt to access the adjacent U.S. Postal Service retail store, processing and distribution site.

Last week we received a tip from a reader who overheard a USPS store employee say that most of the trucks had been re-routed to the new USPS facility recently built out near the Portland airport. That new facility is part of a major effort by Prosper Portland (formerly Portland Development Commission) and the City to redevelop the Broadway Corridor site.

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I rolled over a few days ago to take a look. Sure enough the parking lot that’s usually bustling with long big-rigs full of your mail was quiet and nearly empty.

And today I got a confirmation on the news from Prosper Portland Public Affairs Manager Shawn Uhlman. Uhlman said most of the processing function of the Broadway site has been moved out the airport. As a result, “Truck traffic has been significantly reduced,” he said.

But Uhlman cautioned that the big trucks haven’t gone away completely because USPS is still in the process of dismantling large equipment at the Broadway site. The small retail post office at the corner of Hoyt and Broadway will also be serviced by trucks. Uhlman says a much smaller volume of USPS trucks will continue to have access to the site until the end of this year.

Of course this only reduces right-hook risks at this intersection. The dangerous conditions posed by the combination of high bicycling volumes/speeds and impatient drivers will remain until the City of Portland either prohibits right turns, installs a bike-only signal phase, or finds some other infrastructure solution.

Do you ride this route? Have you noticed fewer trucks turning right on Hoyt in the past week or so?

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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