I almost convinced myself you were talking about Portland, Maine because what you're saying doesn't fit at all with my experience here. We get one stretch of 3 days of snow per year on average, usually 2" or less when it comes at all. Many, many years there is nothing that sticks. Rarely do we get a week or more. IDK about the city's traffic division, but Trimet expansion has not exactly been off the charts compared to how it's been the previous 3 decades. Also, most people don't know this but Trimet is funded by Metro, not the city government (Metro is an small regional government that spans parts of several -edit 23 - cities and three counties, including Portland and nearby suburbs).
Also, there is an absurd notion that you can't bike in the snow... you absolutely can. You wouldn't want to be doing much more than 5 miles unless you are in great shape, I'll grant you that, because it's much harder going. But extremely doable, you just need some basic snow-appropriate tires and gear just like you would want for your vehicle. Anyway, over half the city shuts down when we get bad snow but Trimet keeps running. Can always throw your bike on a bus (or skip the bus entirely) if the snow days happen to fall midweek, and your work needs you in. If Trimet actually shuts down that means like 90% of the city or more is also shut down, and that happens maybe once a decade.
The city has never been bike friendly like Europe, with a significant percentage of routes fully physically separated from cars (eg concrete barriers). But the city is as bike friendly today as it has ever been. Potholes notwithstanding. At least that's how it seems to me, and I do get around. It's easier than ever to chart a route that avoids major arterials but has decent roads that aren't full of constant stop signs and bad infrastructure for riding quick and easy.
The proliferation of greenways in the past 5-10 years has been great, and in more recent years they've created some one-ways, concrete barriers, and other impediments for drivers who try to beat traffic by blowing through the intended bike routes. I get it, traffic is terrible and getting worse all the time, but the city certainly is making an effort to make things safer for bikers and peds despite the awful commute situation and seemingly ever-shortening tempers.
I'd argue the speed limit reduction to 20mph in residential areas and liberal use of speed bumps and other measures on the few remaining 25mph residential streets has done wonders for bike-friendliness that probably doesn't get as much attention as it should. They are even slowly changing stop-sign positioning on residential streets to better inhibit cars trying to cut through going parallel to major arterials and facilitate better bike-routes where you can keep the right of way for most of the route between major intersections.
Sure, traffic keeps getting worse and drivers keep getting more impatient and careless. But the city keeps investing in reasonably bike-friendly infrastructure, despite the vocal minority who always complain about it. There are more safe-ish bike routes than ever. If only more drivers would look carefully both ways while doing their rolling stop at the stop sign to get across the greenway I'm riding down with the right of way...
If we lost our "bike friendliest city" title I imagine that just means somewhere else is doing way better, not that we are doing particularly worse. Don't get me wrong, we could and should do MUCH better. I just don't expect much from city hall these days. We've never really recovered from the popularity and and growth that came in the early-mid 2000's.
Also, there is an absurd notion that you can't bike in the snow... you absolutely can. You wouldn't want to be doing much more than 5 miles unless you are in great shape, I'll grant you that, because it's much harder going. But extremely doable, you just need some basic snow-appropriate tires and gear just like you would want for your vehicle. Anyway, over half the city shuts down when we get bad snow but Trimet keeps running. Can always throw your bike on a bus (or skip the bus entirely) if the snow days happen to fall midweek, and your work needs you in. If Trimet actually shuts down that means like 90% of the city or more is also shut down, and that happens maybe once a decade.
The city has never been bike friendly like Europe, with a significant percentage of routes fully physically separated from cars (eg concrete barriers). But the city is as bike friendly today as it has ever been. Potholes notwithstanding. At least that's how it seems to me, and I do get around. It's easier than ever to chart a route that avoids major arterials but has decent roads that aren't full of constant stop signs and bad infrastructure for riding quick and easy.
The proliferation of greenways in the past 5-10 years has been great, and in more recent years they've created some one-ways, concrete barriers, and other impediments for drivers who try to beat traffic by blowing through the intended bike routes. I get it, traffic is terrible and getting worse all the time, but the city certainly is making an effort to make things safer for bikers and peds despite the awful commute situation and seemingly ever-shortening tempers.
I'd argue the speed limit reduction to 20mph in residential areas and liberal use of speed bumps and other measures on the few remaining 25mph residential streets has done wonders for bike-friendliness that probably doesn't get as much attention as it should. They are even slowly changing stop-sign positioning on residential streets to better inhibit cars trying to cut through going parallel to major arterials and facilitate better bike-routes where you can keep the right of way for most of the route between major intersections.
Sure, traffic keeps getting worse and drivers keep getting more impatient and careless. But the city keeps investing in reasonably bike-friendly infrastructure, despite the vocal minority who always complain about it. There are more safe-ish bike routes than ever. If only more drivers would look carefully both ways while doing their rolling stop at the stop sign to get across the greenway I'm riding down with the right of way...
If we lost our "bike friendliest city" title I imagine that just means somewhere else is doing way better, not that we are doing particularly worse. Don't get me wrong, we could and should do MUCH better. I just don't expect much from city hall these days. We've never really recovered from the popularity and and growth that came in the early-mid 2000's.
Lived here 35 years, never owned a car.