In Portland those pipes are pretty much always under the road, not under the sidewalks, because it's way easier to dig up and replace the pipes and restore the pavement afterward if they're under the road. Also, nearly all the electrical lines are overhead in Portland, very little is underground.

Good point. Sidewalks and bike lanes aren't quite as deep as a road, but they still compact the soil, typically, and aren't as good for trees as open soil.

The mains along the street are typically placed near the center of the road, not a long the edges, since the connections to houses on both sides come off the one main pipe. Your scenario would only apply if there were only buildings on one side of the street, or there were two pipes for some reason.

Pipes are typically near the center of the road anyway, and almost never in the outside lanes. So it's not really an issue anyway in the vast majority of cases. Also, tree roots obviously uplift sidewalks and bike lanes all the time, so this has to be paired with choosing the right kind of tree.

Maybe we shouldn't burden children with the eternal guilt that they somehow may have caused their mother's back pain through their reckless crack-stepping behavior.

Thank you, I appreciate the humility it takes to admit that, and wish that attitude was more common on social media. This gives me hope that Bluesky can have a better vibe than that other social media site that shall not be named!

Say whatever you want about the City and its bureaus and leadership, but please don't attack the hard-working staff who are not the decision-makers but who are trying their hardest to make positive change in a huge political bureaucracy.

Hey man, I don't appreciate this kind of "call-out" on social media, especially when it's completely false. You're implying that I'm a decision-maker at PBOT, when I wasn't even the project manager. I'm one of the staffers who was on the team, and you don't have to insult the messenger.

Now that Bluesky is cool, yes, please start using it.

That's a very fascinating map! Thanks for sharing.