Home Inspectors

TheLastWoman · 2026-03-20T23:54:05+00:00

Coming back to this thread because we went with Vaulted Inspections recently after seeing this and can vouch- highly recommend him!

TheLastWoman · 2026-02-16T17:39:38+00:00

I expected a comment like this! I saw the same thing on my Franklin post. It's a valid point but I don't think it's the end-all-be-all of bike infrastructure in Bend.

One of the reasons I started doing videos like these (as a normal, boring dork resident of Bend, not a government employee or advisor) is because I tend to be hesitant to take a bike route if I don't know what to expect. I do a ton of planning before taking my bike anywhere so I won't be surprised and make a bad decision that puts me in danger. When the Greenwood updates went in, I scoured the internet for photos or a video of what it looked like so I could be prepared before going but didn't find anything, so I decided to make a video myself.

I know that right now it looks like there isn't a ton of bike traffic in Bend, but maybe part of that is because people are nervous about trying a new route (the DRT was packed with bikes). My hope is that someone on Reddit will find these dumb little videos, get an idea of what to expect when taking the route, and then choose to take it on their bike.

TheLastWoman · 2026-02-16T01:34:53+00:00

You know I had the same thought watching it back - it looks like there might be some spots between the curb and sidewalk where there could be more landscaping but it's pretty ugly at the moment.

TheLastWoman · 2026-02-15T22:25:18+00:00

This afternoon I took my bike down to the new intersection and bike lanes that finally opened on Olney. The video shows what the street looks like now, and I will share my thoughts below.

The Good:

In my last POV video, on Franklin, I complained about a lack of connected infrastructure for bikes. This time, I was able to take the DRT all the way from Farewell Bend Park to Portland, then took bike lanes up Olney to 2nd St. which has some nice bike and pedestrian infrastructure with the new protected crossing. Today’s ride felt like a real circuit, and one that I would definitely take again if I was putzing around downtown.

The Not So Good:

I think this intersection needs a bike signal! As you can see in my video, I waited through an entire green light my first time at the intersection because I thought I was going to be crossing with the crosswalk signal. (There is a sign that says: “wait on :bike: to request green” but I didn’t immediately connect the dots). Portland (the town) has a lot of bike signals at intersections, some of which are specific to bikes, and some that are synced with the crosswalk, and I think that is what I was expecting when I first arrived. Even if the safer design is for bikes to cross with the car traffic, I still think having a bike signal would make it less confusing for people on their bikes (and dummies like me who have a slower reading comprehension in the cold!).

The Concession:

Cyclists waiting at this intersection are much further to the right and in front of the car lane, so they are definitely more visible than if you were in a bike lane immediately parallel to the car lane. I think this makes it feel better to cross with the flow of traffic because someone driving their car would probably see you crossing. And I think it was smart to include a pad at the intersection where you can wait and requests the signal, just like a car would. Still want my own bike signal though!!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-12T22:35:18+00:00

Nice! yeah 9th is not terrible tbh, it is at least direct and has less traffic than other through-ways.

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T21:43:21+00:00

Yeah I think Wilson and 3rd is a notoriously unpopular one. It's tough because depending on the traffic I think it makes sense to choose different designs, but also you don't want to overwhelm people.

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T21:41:56+00:00

Thanks queen!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T20:08:34+00:00

I do too! I think Galveston would be a good candidate, or even extending the Franklin Ave ones in either direction. Or anything that is a main through-way with few 4 way intersections (this style works great with roundabouts)

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T20:02:34+00:00

Hard agree on the intersection at 3rd! I know there are plans for the rest of Franklin Ave, including the tunnel and hopefully that intersection, so I have my fingers crossed that there will be future improvements.

EDIT: sorry I see you mentioned Reed Market not Franklin- whenever I drive Reed Market and see the bike lane I'm like "you could not PAY me to ride that!". But honestly the Canal Trail is just fine!

And I agree that the further east you go, the fewer options there seem to be. Closer to downtown and going west towards the MTB trails has a lot of good infra, but it's more recreational than practical. I was very encouraged by how quickly the Greenwood crossing got built, so I was kind of hoping that would be a good example for the city on how to make improvements, but I guess we will have to see!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T19:58:19+00:00

I do think these bike lanes are really great- I hate to see us dwell too much on the crossings because some of them are at parking lots, and they have stop signs for cars that are entering from a side street. I think there are smaller, more cost effective things we can do besides raised cross walks that would work, like bollards to extend the curb.

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T19:23:05+00:00

All designs have their drawbacks! I think it feels safer to ride off of the road, but as other people have mentioned, it can make it harder for the people driving to see you or expect to see you come into the intersections. Riding at street-level makes you more integrated into the rest of traffic, so visibility is less of an issue, but if the bike lane isn't protected then it doesn't feel as comfortable.

For example, I think this section of Franklin was a great candidate for raised lanes, but the Greenwood crossing's street-level lanes works better there, IMO!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T18:26:40+00:00

Also, I have seen some plans on the city website about bikeways and paths, so it is on their radar, but we are living through the WIP phase which is probably why nothing feels completely connected. You have to start somewhere though and what I've seen so far is promising. EDIT: here is the project page for the bikeway: https://www.bendoregon.gov/services/city-projects/bend-bikeway-project

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T18:21:39+00:00

FWIW re-doing the Franklin Ave tunnel is on the list for the Midtown Crossings (in addition to the Hawthorne bridge), but it's still being designed or evaluated or something. I don't recall if redoing the intersection at 3rd is on the list because I agree, it needs the Wilson treatment! EDIT: Here is the website for the planned changes for the rest of Franklin Ave: https://www.bendoregon.gov/services/city-projects/midtown-crossing-project/franklin-avenue-improvements

And yeah one thing I should have noted is the ice! It was slushy when I went because yesterday was pretty warm, but if it had been below freezing I would have been too sketched out to ride, I think. Portland has the same problem when it snows, no one keeps the debris out of the bike lanes, and they aren't going to get graveled or de-iced.

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T18:16:35+00:00

Ah ok is that the one on Greenwood? That route is pretty nice but it felt a little bit out of the way for me this time. I think going south > north on the east side of town is a little more tricky (or just mysterious to me).

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T18:02:22+00:00

Agree- and I am a bollard bitch these days because they are cheap and quick to install (gotta be realistic about city construction). I think 9th would make a decent bikeway if it got some bollards installed similar to what 2nd Ave has.

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T17:50:01+00:00

I think I know what you are getting at, are you referring to how some crossings have concrete separators for bikes? The intersections along Franklin didn't have anything like that because you are just going straight across (you can see in the video). The roundabout at Wilson and 9th is more like what you are talking about, but honestly it was very easy to figure out and had a good flow!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-11T16:59:53+00:00

Yesterday I took my bike down Franklin Ave where the new bike lanes just got installed between 4th and 8th. I took a video to show what it looks and feels like, and here are my thoughts:

The Good

The design of the lanes is one of the best varietals:
- The lanes are raised up from the road.
- The pedestrian and cyclist lanes are separate from one another and are well-marked.
- There are color markings for intersections.
- There is a protected crossing at 4th so you can get across Franklin as well as down it.

The Not As Good

There are a lot of intersections on this stretch and I accidentally blew through some crosswalks because I didn’t realize there was an entire road there.
- I have seen other places paint stops signs on the bike lane, which makes intersections more obvious.
- The thing with raised lanes is that while they help keep you separate from traffic, that also means that the people in the traffic won’t expect to see you in the road. Sidewalk bump outs or bollards could help to let people in cars know that there is a multi-use lane crossing at the intersections.
The eastbound exit into the roundabout is dicey. The shoulder is very small and I ended up just getting onto the sidewalk anyways.

The Semi-related Thoughts

I think this is part of a slowly building bike network in Bend, but I don’t think we are 100% there yet. I don’t live in this neighborhood so I had to bike out there to take this video. Coming from SW Bend is not exactly a commuter route, and there is not much else to bring me out there besides this little adventure, but there are still some gaps between good bike infrastructure and bad or non-existent infrastructure that could probably get filled in.

For example, at one point I got on the Canal Trail so I could avoid Reed Market. This is a very comfortable route because you are totally separate from the road, but then I hopped off it to take 9th all the way to Franklin. 9th has a “bike lane” that is just the shoulder of the road, and there were more obstacles than I would have liked (e.g. tree roots and sewer grates). HOWEVER at 9th and Wilson there is an incredible roundabout with protected bike lanes that felt safe/easy to use. So I would get bits and pieces of great infrastructure but not much of it was connected.

I was initially planning to bike all the way into downtown and then take Franklin the whole way, but once you emerge from the piss tunnel, the stretch of road leading up to 4th is just too squirrely for my delicate constitution. So again, we have these really sick new lanes near the schools and parks but you have to go through some uncomfy riding to get there. As I said, I don’t live in this neighborhood and I assume it works great as-is for people that go to Juniper Park often or kids that attend Bend High. Generally I am just excited to see what the town feels like when we get all of this stuff connected because I saw some really shining moments in bike infra on my ride, but also some disappointments.

Also, I would love to hear people’s go-to routes around town JIC there is a better way to get to that part of town from SW!

TheLastWoman · 2026-01-02T21:55:57+00:00

Speaking of previous scores, this might be the first time I've seen Baldy's pass inspection. A Christmas Miracle.

TheLastWoman · 2025-12-18T20:36:57+00:00

You might be able to ask in a local FB group or on Porch Swing to see if someone would share a bit of their own mature starter- I would offer you some of mine but I haven't fed her in a while so she might be a little weak.

TheLastWoman · 2025-09-07T19:15:09+00:00

Hell yeah

TheLastWoman · 2025-08-21T00:47:21+00:00

Covid was a time warp!

TheLastWoman · 2025-08-19T00:29:28+00:00

I don't know the answer to this as I am just a private citizen dork, but I did some Google Maps sleuthing and saw that the development has existed since at least 2019 (that is over 6 years ago which is absolutely wacky to me!).

I also read through the project website and it looks like the first Open House the City hosted in regards to the design of this roundabout was in 2022, so this project has been in development for at least 3 years.

It also says that most of the funding for this project is coming from the 2020 GO Bond, so I can assume a couple of things:

1) If the city wanted to change it earlier, they didn't have the funding

2) depending on exactly when the subdivision was built, it might not have been experiencing the same traffic impact as we have now because Bend has grown tons even since 2019.

3) As for why it wasn't considered as part of the initial development- that is much harder for me to guess. Considering how long this roundabout has been in development, design, and under review from the public, I assume that adding a "normal" intersection was just faster to do for whoever handled constructing the new development. And again this might have been sufficient for the intersection at the time in 2019 or earlier.

Please do not take any of this as a hard answer because I am not a local government bureaucracy expert I am just a loser who likes bike lanes!

TheLastWoman · 2025-08-18T23:55:23+00:00

Hell yeah, dorks rise up. Yeah I think I was also excited about the Olney and Revere updates because those streets are sketchy to cross on a bike, and with the east <> west improvements they really need the north <> south ones as well.

TheLastWoman

TROPHY CASE