PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland City Council voted to add more bike greenways in the city and to improve safety conditions along existing greenways.

The vote comes after the Portland Bureau of Transportation said the best way to keep things safe is to lower the number of cars and speed limits on these bike greenways.

Bicyclist Jessica Engelman is happy the City Council unanimously adopted PBOT’s proposal to create 5 new greenways.Those greenways are:

• NE Rodney neighborhood greenway, a 2.1-mile north-south route adjacent to N Williams Ave. and NE MLK Blvd.;

• The 20s bikeway, a 9.1-mile north-south bicycle route in the inner east side, generally following streets in the “20s”;

• The 100s neighborhood greenway, a 4.3-mile north-south route in East Portland, generally following streets in the “100s”;

• The 130s neighborhood greenway and bikeway, an 8.6-mile north-south route in East Portland, generally following streets in the “130s”; and

• The 150s neighborhood greenway, a 3.7-mile north-south route in East Portland, generally following streets in the “150s.”

“I can’t hold my own, not fast enough,” she said. “I can’t keep up with traffic.”

The longest of the new greenways is a 9-mile stretch through Southeast Portland that begins along 19th in Sellwood and stretches to Burnside.

But before creating the greenways, PBOT’s Margi Bradway said their priority is making existing greenways — like the one on Clinton Street — safer.

She said about 3000 cars and 3000 bikes share the corridor each day and the numbers are going up.

“As both of them rise, the opportunity for conflict arises, so we have to look at different tools to address that,” she said.

One of those tools is a diverter, designed to block cars from driving through an intersection.

“We’re really looking at that cut-through traffic, people who are avoiding I-5, people who are avoiding Powell,” Bradway said. “We want them to go back on those major routes.”

Bike commuter Doug Klotz wants less motor traffic on his commute.

“In recent years, the increase in auto traffic has spilled over onto the greenways and made them less safe to ride on,” he said.