NE 105th and NE Marx – BikePortland

I spent some time on Northeast 105th on Sunday. I wanted to better understand what might have led to the fatal collision involving a cyclist on October 21st. And as I reported on my time on NE Glisan for the same reason, visiting these places is important for someone who wants to gain a deeper perspective and/or write and speak about these tragedies.

On this stretch of NE 105th at the intersection with NE Marx, around 9:00 this morning, a 32-year-old named Damon (police have not yet released his full name) was struck and killed by a motorist while driving Bin rode a bike to work. According to people who knew him (and contacted BikePortland), Damon was a popular colleague who worked at a nearby warehouse.

As I reported, police say Damon was driving north on 105th and a driver was heading south. As Damon crossed NE Marx, for some reason a driver turned left (eastbound) and they collided with each other.

The area adjacent to the road is zoned industrial (although there are some homes along the road) and is north of Sandy Blvd and east of the I-205 bike path. NE 105th has a speed limit of 35 miles per hour. There are no dedicated bike paths or sidewalks. There are two 12-foot lanes (one in each direction) and a shoulder that varies in width from 2 feet to 4 feet. Visibility should have been good, but police say the driver was standing behind other motorists, so this may have affected their visibility to some degree, depending on how close they were behind them. Damon's vision may also have been impaired by a driver in front of him. I'm not sure about the details yet, so I won't speculate further.

Another notable factor is that the cyclist would have been riding downhill. There is an approximately 2% grade from a railroad crossing near Sandy Blvd toward Marx. On the city's official bike map, this section of 105th Street is marked as a “difficult link.”

I'm still hoping to hear more from the police about how this happened. If anyone has information please contact us. For a different perspective on this place, read this BikePortland commentary by Ted Buehler.

If you would like to attend a vigil for Damon, Bike Loud and Families for Safe Streets will meet at 11:30 a.m. at NE 105th and Marx for a silent vigil.