River View Cemetery - MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

#1

Hello bicycle enthusiasts-

We at River View Cemetery want to thank the cyclists who follow general traffic laws, bike slowly or stop when there’s a funeral service or those of you who have donated money to our non-profit association.

This is a friendly reminder that we do not allow bicyclists over Memorial Day Weekend. This would be Saturday - May 23, Sunday - May 24 and Monday - May 25. The purpose of Memorial Day and a Cemetery is for remembrance, River View is private property owned by an association. We allow people to visit but for safety reasons on Memorial Day weekend we must exclude cyclists. We have families who come and walk around for the sole purpose to visit their loved ones grave, this means more cars in the cemetery and more people on foot.

Any other time of the year you are welcome to come use our cemetery for your safe commuting, we ask the following:

  • Follow basic traffic laws
  • Adhere to the posted speed limit, which is also in our rules and regulations - 15 MPH
  • At the cross “stop” that takes you on the road to the dirt barn, please stop if you see a car coming in that intersection.
  • Keep your voices low, this is a place of sanctuary for those who are grieving and for those who have died before you.
  • If you see a white van with several cars behind it, that is a funeral procession. Please stop until the procession goes by.
  • If you see white vans, the majority of the time they are our employees trying to do their work. Please allow us to do the work we are meant to do and slow down or stop.
  • If you see a backhoe, heavy equipment, Kubota’s, mowers and tractors, that’s our employees trying to keep this serene place beautiful. Be careful around them, they can’t hear you and they may not see you, slow down or stop until they have gone by.
  • Please do not train on our cemetery grounds, meaning, do not go over 15 MPH.
  • If an employee approaches you about your riding or voice levels, please be nice to us, we wouldn’t stop you if we didn’t have a reason. If you are upset, call the cemetery and ask for the Executive Director 503.246.4251 I would be more than happy to talk with you.

Again, please note that River View Cemetery is closed to cyclists Memorial Day weekend. If you have any questions, call and ask for the Executive Director.

Thank you, Rachel Essig
Executive Director, River View Cemetery and River View Cemetery Funeral Home

PS - did you know that we bury over 350 decedents a year and have just as many funerals here? That means any given day we are serving at least two families who have just lost a loved one.

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#2

Hi @River_View_Cemetery, I’m so glad you found us and posted this here. We are all extremely grateful that you allow us to use your property to get up and down that hill.

If you read this and are new to town or don’t understand the context/issues at stake, please peruse our River View story archives to get up to speed.
https://bikeportland.org/tag/river-view-cemetery

In general, this vital link in the bike network is actually private property and the Cemetery folks let us ride through it. Unfortunately some riders abuse the privilege and there have been many reports over the years of speeding bikers and rude behavior.

If you use River View, remember it’s not for training or getting your PR on Strava. It’s a place for quiet reflection only and bicycle riders are guests. Please act accordingly or we could see our privileges stripped away.

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#3

@River_View_Cemetery thank you so much for being proactive! I remember last year when, new to the city, I didn’t expect this closure. My wife uses this route to safely to commute to work and back 20 times a month, and we rely on it as a reliable and safe option to and from the western hills.

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