The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has faced significant challenges in keeping the elevators operational at the Bob Stacey Overcrossing since its opening in 2020.
This overcrossing serves an essential function within the city’s bike network, providing a safe link over light and heavy rail tracks, while connecting various bikeways in a densely trafficked area.
However, the elevators have become notorious for frequent closures due to mechanical failures and vandalism.
In response to this issue, Xavier Salazar, a local software engineer from the Brooklyn neighborhood, has created a new website: AreTheElevatorsBroken.com.
While the website does not directly solve the problem of elevator malfunctions, it provides valuable information for cyclists looking to plan their routes effectively.
Living in Brooklyn, Salazar understands the unique challenges posed by the area’s limited bike routes, hemmed in by Highway 99E, the Brooklyn rail yard, and SE Powell (Highway 26).
As an avid cyclist, Salazar often encounters obstacles such as freight trains that block his path, complicating an already challenging navigation landscape.
Even detours recommended by PBOT can add nearly a mile to a cyclist’s journey, and if the Powell underpass is blocked by street campers, the detour lengthens further.
“Ultimately, I’d rather just avoid the on-the-fly gymnastics to find an open route because I don’t know if the elevators are working until I show up to them,” Salazar explained.
The frustration of having to deal with lengthy detours or potential blockages prompted him to develop the website.
Drawing on the spirit of other similar initiatives, like IsATrainBlocking11th.com, Salazar believes his platform could be more useful than PBOT’s current status updates.
“It’s only as up-to-date as someone from the bureau knows/cares quickly enough to update it,” he noted, emphasizing the reliability issues that have plagued the official site.
With AreTheElevatorsBroken.com, cyclists can check in real-time whether the elevators are functioning before they embark on their ride.
This significantly reduces the stress of navigating or rerouting at the last minute.
To further enhance the website’s functionality, Salazar has placed QR code stickers near the elevator buttons that allow users to immediately report the status of the elevators.
This feature encourages cyclists to share updates with one another and serves to create a community-driven resource for real-time elevator status.
“The idea is, if you’ve got a bike full of groceries or a kid in tow, it’s a bit more straightforward to make the judgment call to rely on the elevators if you can see it was just updated yesterday and someone said they’re both working,” Salazar said.
Salazar’s initiative not only provides immediate information that many cyclists in the area have been longing for, but it also exemplifies a creative and community-focused approach to a persistent urban transportation issue.
image source from：https://bikeportland.org/2025/05/29/unreliable-bob-stacey-overcrossing-elevators-spur-website-with-timely-updates-394653
