Ridden by Bend Bikes • October 2022
Bend Key Route 3
Score
47/100
TYPE
10% paved path
7% quiet street
61% basic bike lane
7% unbuilt
15% advanced riding
Recommended For
Advanced riders
Intersections
3 difficult traffic lights
5 difficult crossings
Key Route 3 is an east-west route that has a wide mix of riding environments right now.
There are some very nice separated multi-use paths in the west, but also a whole bunch of narrow bike lane riding along Neff Rd and Portland Ave.
Legend
The route is color coded to indicate what level of rider is recommended for each section. Green represents multi-use paths, protected infrastructure, or quiet residential streets. Blue is used for bike lanes, shared low-traffic commercial streets, or busier residential. Black represents areas that only the most advanced riders would feel comfortable on: busy streets without bike lanes, very difficult intersections, or Bend’s highest traffic volume areas – namely 3rd, Hwy 20 and Hwy 97. Black can also represent unbuilt sections.
Nearby destinations
- Central Oregon Community College
- Juniper Elementary School
- Pilot Butte Middle School
- Shevlin Park
- Pilot Butte State Park
- Saint Charles Medical Center
- Newport Avenue Shopping
- 3rd Street Shopping
- Neff & 27th Shopping
As of March 2023, there are two sections of this route that can not be ridden. The path through COCC (from College Way to Shevlin Park Rd) does not exist and should be avoided due to construction in the area. The section next to Juniper Elementary School (from 12th to Neff) is an informal walking trail.
City of Bend planned projects
Olney Go Project • 2024
Planned changes include protected bike lanes, a shared use path and better crossings. This should be a huge improvement. The city has a more detailed description. Construction should begin in 2024.
Portland Go Project • 2023
Portland Ave will receive some biking improvements as part of the 2022 GO Bond. The new design has not been made public yet.
Purcell & Neff intersection • 2023
Construction is currently underway for a rebuilding of the intersection at Purcell & Neff. Unfortunately, a new right turn only lane is being added in the eastbound direction on Neff and the bike lane will disappear. As an alternative to riding in the vehicle lane the city is adding wide sidewalks with bike ramps (similar to how roundabouts are designed). When construction is complete Bend Bikes will reevaluate to see if this new design is a good choice.
Shared use path from Neff to 12th • TBD
This path is important to the school district and has been roughly in the works for many years now. There aren’t any concrete plans for the design or funding yet.
Our suggestions
Route changes
Currently this key route goes along Neff and jogs over to NE 6th, our recommendation is to keep the route along Neff/Penn/Olney (with a connection over to Juniper Elementary School) to keep the direction of travel the most straightforward.
Further down by NW College Way, the connection between Portland and Shevlin needs to be as direct as possible. Currently, the unbuilt path across the COCC campus introduces a large hill climb. Out of direction travel uphill is not recommended.
Most critical improvements
- Sections of Neff are very uncomfortable for bikers because of the high traffic volume. Separated infrastructure is needed.
- Crossings at both 27th and 3rd are very uncomfortable
- There are no plans for the path through COCC