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Label:
Resolution
Accept 2023 Deadly Traffic Crash Report and the Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-2025 and direct cross bureau collaboration to deliver a safer system
Adopted
WHEREAS, on June 17, 2015, City Council adopted Resolution 37130 with the goal of Vision Zero – to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on streets in Portland; and
WHEREAS, on June 15, 2016, City Council adopted the 2035 Comprehensive Plan with the Vision Zero Goal 9.A, “The City achieves the standard of zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries;” and
WHEREAS, on December 1, 2016, City Council adopted by Ordinance 188122 the City of Portland’s Vision Zero Action Plan following extensive public outreach; and
WHEREAS, the Vision Zero Action Plan identifies Portland's 30 highest crash streets and intersections, the High Crash Network, as priority locations for safety investments; and
WHEREAS, Portland’s High Crash Network streets account for 8% of the streets in Portland and yet account for over half of the deadly crashes in Portland; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, Portland had the highest number of traffic deaths in over three decades; and
WHEREAS, pedestrians are disproportionately impacted by serious traffic collisions in Portland; and
WHEREAS, pedestrians experiencing houselessness are disproportionately represented as victims in deadly traffic crashes; and
WHEREAS, speed is a major factor in the incidence and survivability of a traffic collision; and
WHEREAS, Portland has many capital safety projects in planning and development with designs that require significant funding and projects that are intended to help slow speeds and create safer environments for people driving, bicycling and moving as pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, one source of significant safety funding is the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All federal grant for which Portland applied and received $20 million for 122nd Ave from the first round of funding; and
WHEREAS, capital safety projects require significant funding and even with funding can take years to complete, and during that time Portland also needs to deploy a series of smaller projects and changes to make high crash locations safer, including improved visibility and separation at intersections; and
WHEREAS, since 2020, serious crashes have increased, new trends have emerged in Portland and safety management practices have been identified to address those trends; and
WHEREAS, since the global pandemic, the increase in crashes is partially connected to non-transportation issues in Portland, such as lack of housing, drug and alcohol addiction, and behavioral health and gun violence; and
WHEREAS, the Safe System approach to traffic safety acknowledges shared responsibility between those who design, manage and operate, and use the system; and
WHEREAS, a multidisciplinary approach across City Bureaus and other partners is needed to increase safety across the system.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Portland City Council accepts the Vision Zero Annual Report and Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-2025 as Exhibit A and Exhibit B; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) shall advance major capital projects designed to increase safety on High Crash Network streets such as 122nd and 82nd Ave.; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that PBOT shall apply for a second round of grant funding for Safe Streets and Roads for All to continue advancing safety on High Crash Network streets; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that pending budget approval, PBOT shall continue work to increase visibility and create separation of pedestrians at intersections by increasing parking setbacks, implementing no turn on red, and adding pedestrian head starts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that PBOT shall continue work to reduce speeds on High Crash Network streets by implementing Rest in Red, expanding posted speed limit reductions, and expanding speed safety cameras; and
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that pending funding allocation, PBOT shall evaluate traffic safety infrastructure needs adjacent to temporary shelter sites and provide cost estimates for safety infrastructure to City Council for funding consideration; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the PBOT Director shall convene an executive working group with relevant Bureau directors from across the City to collaborate on actions that support the City’s goal to eliminate traffic deaths.
Official record (Efiles)
Impact Statement
Purpose of proposed legislation and background information
The purpose of this resolution is to accept the 2023 Deadly Crash Report and Update to the Vision Zero Action Plan 2023-25 and request increased collaboration among bureaus to achieve the City’s goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
2023 Deadly Crash Report
In 2023, 69 people were killed in traffic crashes in Portland, the highest death toll in at least three decades and surpassing 2021’s record high. Sustained levels of traffic deaths have persisted in the state and across the U.S. since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Traffic deaths overall, as well as traffic death rates per 100,000, have increased nationwide, in Oregon, and in Portland since 2014. Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) remains committed to installing safety improvements and expanding our partnerships to address complex, new, and deadly patterns in traffic crashes
Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-25
The Vision Zero Action Plan Update is focused largely on the specific work that PBOT will do over the next 2 years to increase safety on Portland’s streets. These actions are data driven and support a safe system approach.
The 30 streets and 30 intersections in Portland with the highest number of pedestrian, bicycle, and motor vehicle crashes form what is known as the High Crash Network. The High Crash Network represents 8% of Portland streets and yet it accounted for 62% of traffic deaths in the past five years (2018-2022).
PBOT Vision Zero prioritizes investments in areas where the High Crash Network intersects with communities with higher proportions of people of color and lower median incomes. Areas that score higher on PBOT’s Equity Matrix have three times the number of pedestrian deaths per capita compared to the rest of Portland.
The following provides examples of issues and actions highlighted in the plan:
SAFE SPEEDS:
Slowing down people driving reduces crashes and their severity. People who drive slower can stop more quickly to avoid a crash and slower speed reduces the chance of injury or death when crashes do occur.
- Update speed limits to reflect citywide commitment to slower speeds.
- Install more cameras for automatic speed enforcement in crash hotspots.
SAFE STREETS
Designing a safe transportation system means building streets to protect people even when they make mistakes. Core to this work is slowing down people driving and protecting pedestrians and others outside of these vehicles.
- Break ground on multiple major projects along the High Crash Network each year.
- Adopt and implement a policy to ensure we make intersections safer whenever signals are rebuilt on the High Crash Network.
SAFE PEOPLE
We all have responsibility for the safety of ourselves and others as we travel on Portland streets. “Safe people” actions center on education, raising public awareness, and engaging with culturally specific communities about traffic safety and personal safety.
- Engage with groups who are over-represented as victims of traffic violence.
- Integrate Safe System approach into traffic safety education materials for elementary-, middle-, and high schoolers.
SAFE VEHICLES
Improving traffic safety through vehicle technology and regulation is a relatively untapped opportunity in the United States. While city governments can demonstrate technology using their own fleets, federal policy is required for systemic change.
- Advocate for stronger national regulations.
- Partner with City Fleet team on ways to increase traffic safety.
Financial and budgetary impacts
The 2023 Deadly Crash Report and the Vision Zero Action Plan Update 23-25 do not amend the budget or change current or future revenue sources. Accepting the report and plan update will not have any immediate impact to budgetary appropriations.
PBOT has funds budgeted for the work described in the action plan. An increase in funds would allow for accelerated timelines for safety improvement and the ability to address additional locations.
Specific actions mentioned in the resolution note the need for budget appropriations to continue or expand work. PBOT has included requests in the proposed budget, but these are not confirmed at the time of the resolution.
During collaboration with other Bureaus additional resource needs may be identified, however, the request to collaborate does not itself come with an additional funding request.
Community impacts and community involvement
The emotional and social cost of lives lost to traffic violence cannot be measured. Neighborhoods with repeated crashes are experiencing secondary and ongoing trauma even if they did not have any personal connection to the victim of a fatal crash. A single crash can have lasting emotional trauma for witnesses. Those directly impacted by a fatal crash have their lives irreversibly changed.
We don’t have specific numbers for the fiscal costs associated with crashes in Portland. A report by the Centers for Disease Control from 2018, estimated the annual cost in Oregon to be $640 million. Traffic deaths have risen significantly in Oregon and in Portland since 2018.
Insurance and risk specialists value the fiscal impact of each traffic death at about $1.8 million, with the comprehensive costs that include loss of quality of life, the cost impact rises to $12.4 million per fatal crash. Broad research has shown traffic crashes cost American society $340 billion in 2019. A report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019,” examined the costs of one year of crashes that killed an estimated 36,500 people, injured 4.5 million, and damaged 23 million vehicles. When quality-of-life valuations are considered, the total value of societal harm from motor vehicle crashes in 2019 was nearly $1.4 trillion.
References:
- CDC Oregon
- Costs of Motor-Vehicle Crashes - Injury Facts (nsc.org)
- The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised) (dot.gov)
100% renewable goal
Not applicable.