It’s well known if you’re a Portland resident. But even if you’re new to the city, it should be pretty obvious that the green paint is used to make cyclists more visible and stop crashes between cyclists and motorists. The Portland Bureau of Transportation says decades of research show the painted lanes and bike boxes have improved safety and reduce conflict between drivers and cyclists.

However, the stationary vehicle in the image below is parked in the bike lane. This is not a simple mistake of accidently veering over and making a right turn. But the vehicle was said to be in this same sport for several hours. Funnily enough, if you look closely enough, the vehicle appears to have the Portland “share the road” themed license plate.

But is there more to the story?

Although the bike lane is glaringly obvious to most, the driver may have simply been confused. If you look further up the street, you will be able to see cars parked in a similar position (albeit not on bright green paint).

The argument circulating is that because the council have positioned a very poorly placed no parking to the left sign, the driver may have thought it was OK to park in this location before the restricted parking zone begins. Regardless, the Portland.Gov website shows that this is not a legal place to park.

So, what is your opinion on this matter? Clearly the driver is in the wrong, but are the signs clear enough? Especially if someone from another state were to drive in Portland, would they understand the bike lane coupled with the signs?