My First Year as your Transportation Commissioner
After serving as your Transportation Commissioner overseeing the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) for my first year in 2021, I’m thrilled to report how proud I am of our many accomplishments together, despite facing unique challenges.
Let me begin by thanking Director Chris Warner and ALL the incredible staff at PBOT that keep our city moving. This bureau is made up of outstanding public servants who have worked through unprecedented crises with a lightning focus on solutions. That is despite COVID-related budget cuts and billions of dollars of maintenance backlog. I’m proud and honored to work alongside them.
I wasted no time diving in deep to our most pressing transportation-related issues and established 3 top priorities for the bureau for my first year in charge of PBOT. Those priorities were:
Safer streets for all modes of transportation throughout Portland, with a focus on high-crash corridors and the long-neglected neighborhoods of East Portland
Creative use of public space to promote culture, commerce, community, and sustainability
Mitigating climate change and finding new green revenue sources for PBOT, so we can lead the way in reaching Portland’s ambitious climate goals
Safer Streets For All
We can’t begin to have a conversation about safer streets without first acknowledging that this year has seen a record number of traffic-related fatalities for Portland. In 2021, there were 61 people killed on streets and highways in Portland, significantly higher than the 54 in 2020, and more than any year since the early 1990s. Of these deaths, 32 occurred on state-owned highways in Portland. That is up from an average of 14 for all state facilities between 2016 to 2019.
Traffic deaths on streets controlled by the City of Portland saw a slight drop to 29, compared with 34 in 2020 and 33 in 2019. We must acknowledge that these tragedies are preventable, and how we design our streets plays a key role in providing more safety for all modes of transportation—from walking to biking to driving. I send my deepest condolences to all the families and friends who lost a loved one due to traffic violence. These deaths are all unacceptable. As we strive towards Vision Zero, this last year we took action to make our streets safer for everyone.
Rapid Street Safety Improvements
Responding to the record rise in traffic-related fatalities, I introduced and passed an emergency budget amendment during the summer that allocated $450,000 for rapid street safety improvements on our high-crash corridors. It is crucial to focus on these corridors. While they make up only 8% of Portland streets, they account for the majority of traffic deaths. This amendment funded ready-to-go action items proven to improve street safety that could be acted on with urgency. Almost all those investments have already been completed, except where supply chain issues have caused delays.
These high-crash streets are disproportionately in East Portland. They generally are in areas with higher rates of people living on low incomes and people who are Black, Indigenous or People of Color. The death rate from traffic crashes among Black residents in Multnomah County was nearly twice the rate among white residents from 2013-2017, according to a recent Multnomah County study.
These High-Crash Corridor safety interventions included:
Speed safety cameras
Increased safety and visibility at intersections
Turn-calming infrastructure like rubber bumps
Center turn lane delineation
Speed limit reductions
High-crash intersection warning signs
Transfer of 82nd Avenue from State to City Control with $180 Million Investment
A long-held priority for those of us living in East Portland, last year the City of Portland and the State of Oregon agreed to transfer 82nd Ave from State to City Control. I am so thrilled to have been a part of the coalition of elected leaders and community advocates that successfully secured this transfer and additional funding.
This transfer includes $80 million in state funding on top of an additional $70 million pledged by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), plus $35 million committed from PBOT. This historic transfer and investment will make possible the transformative changes our community has been calling for on 82nd Avenue for decades.
We would not have reached this point without community advocates calling attention to the long record of traffic violence on this high-crash corridor. This was a truly collaborative effort that highlights the importance of diversity in representation for East Portland. which includes many of the most diverse neighborhoods in our beautiful city.
I am thankful for Representative Khanh Pham, who championed this investment from the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, for State Senator Michael Dembrow, who has been a leader in this effort for a long time, for former Speaker of the House Tina Kotek, for her efforts pushing this across the finish line, and for all the legislative leaders who made this investment a priority.
“Daylighting” Intersections
Ever had trouble seeing around a corner when taking a turn because a car is parked on the corner of an intersection? PBOT is hard at work changing that and making our streets safer. With additional funding my office was able to secure from council, PBOT has accelerated “intersection daylighting” to prevent vehicles from parking on the corner of intersections to increase visibility and overall street safety.
I must give appreciation to advocates and organizations like Oregon Walks for pushing the city over the years to make these changes. You have been heard and we are making those investments.
Safe Routes to School
This last year saw many children return to school in person, making it vital that we enhance our investments in PBOT’s Safe Routes to School program. Every weekday during the school year, over 60,000 kids use Portland's streets, sidewalks, and bike lanes to commute. PBOT is committed to helping our kids get to school safely and I’m thankful to have received Council support to boost this funding.
This program funds safety infrastructure on our primary school routes and will be used to build crossings, add sidewalks where there are critical gaps, and provide traffic calming on direct school routes.
When we make our streets safer for children, we make them safer for all Portlanders to use.
Creative Use of Public Space
As your Transportation Commissioner, I envision a Portland where every community across the city has a gathering space where we can convene and get to know each other, where small entrepreneurs can thrive, and our artists have opportunities to inspire. In 2021 we made significant progress towards this goal and that has me excited and looking forward to the city we get to build when we emerge from this ongoing pandemic.
PBOT Healthy Business Permit Extension
Last budget cycle, I championed and secured council support for an extension of PBOT’s Healthy Businesses permit program by allocating $3.5 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to continue the program while waiving all permit fees through 2021.
The Healthy Businesses program was created in the first months of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Providing much needed sidewalk and street space, it allows Portland businesses and their customers to continue operating in a safe and healthy way during this ongoing pandemic. PBOT agreed to waive all fees last year because we wanted this program to support business resiliency in the face of the unprecedented economic challenges.
Restaurants, bars, and other small businesses represent many of the pillars of the Portland economy. By providing businesses, especially restaurants, with more outdoor space, the Healthy Businesses program directly helped pull many back from the brink of disaster. As one participating business said, “Without those outdoor seats, we’d be closed and there wouldn’t have been a penny for anyone, or jobs for the 50 people we’ve got working now.”
Portland Public Plazas
A priority during the summer of 2021, PBOT rolled out numerous new public plazas around the city in partnership with local organizations, businesses, and neighborhoods. These included the Northeast Dream Street Plaza, “A Black-centered space for community and microenterprise in historic Albina.” It also includes downtown’s Pride Plaza, “a new LGBTQ+ friendly neighborhood gathering space with street art, public seating, community activities, and expanded space for businesses into the street.”
Ankeny Food Carts
Upon becoming Transportation Commissioner in 2021, I asked my staff to bring together PBOT, Prosper Portland, Parks, and my council colleagues to rejuvenate the process of finding a home for many of the food carts displaced by the construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel downtown. We found permitting solutions and the city was finally able to get food carts placed and operational in a beautiful new space. Additionally, I successfully advocated for a funding package in the recent fall budget to revitalize O’Bryant Square across from the Ankeny Food Carts as part of the connecting vision of the Green Loop downtown.
Increasing Waterfront Access to the Willamette River
In collaboration with one of my favorite community advocacy organizations in Human Access Project, I directed PBOT to help make Duckworth Dock a safer and more accessible place for Portlanders to cool down and hang out in the Willamette River during our increasingly hot summers. This included providing eight new ladders from the dock to the river, slow no-wake buoys for safety from river traffic, a bike rack, a life ring, and opportunities for live music.
Also related to waterfront access, it was a pleasure to team up with Human Access Project and Commissioner Mapps, who introduced an amendment I strongly supported to conduct a feasibility study that could contribute to a vision for increased public access to our beautiful but underutilized waterfront.
Mitigating Climate Change
There is no debate – climate change is here and its effects on Portland have been catastrophic. This was clear during the tragic heatwave we experienced last summer. PBOT is in a position to lead our transition to a sustainable green Portland that is less reliant on cars, with increased access to healthier, safer options to travel: from public transit to biking to scooters and more.
New Green Revenue Sources
Today revenue sources for PBOT have an inherent contradiction toward meeting Portland’s climate mitigation goals, because so much of their revenue derives from fossil fuel infrastructure such as parking fees. During the budget process of 2021, PBOT was formally directed to come back to council in 2022 with recommendations on new revenue sources that can adequately fund our transportation needs without relying on fossil fuel infrastructure.
Flanders Crossing Pedestrian & Bike Bridge, AKA Ned Flanders Crossing
We could all use a reason to smile these days among all the serious challenges we are facing as a city. On that note, it was my pleasure in 2021 to join PBOT, Travel Portland, and Springfield, Oregon Mayor Sean Van Gordon to unveil the completion and naming of "Ned Flanders Crossing" for our newest bike and pedestrian bridge connecting downtown neighborhoods.
The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening grew up in Portland, attended Lincoln High School, and named Ned Flanders after Portland's NW Flanders Street, so this was a fun way to honor the arts and creativity Portland is so well known for.
When we connect neighborhoods together, we expand the places people can live, work, and visit. With Flanders Crossing complete, it will now be easier to safely move independent of a car between neighborhoods like Northwest Portland and the Pearl District.
This is a great example of what sustainable growth looks like—planning for an increased population while reducing carbon emissions. I look forward to seeing more investments like this across our city as we build a climate resilient Portland.
Division Transit Project
SE Division Street is a high-crash corridor that is most dangerous in Outer East Portland, especially where I live east of 82nd Avenue. This project will include critical safety improvements like crosswalks with signals, new crosswalks near bus stops, better lighting, protected bike lanes, and medians for pedestrians crossing the street. TriMet has also unveiled their new “FX – Frequent Express” transit service, which will provide faster, more frequent, and more sustainable service to SE Division Street from Gresham to downtown Portland.
The City of Portland heard from the community that people wanted this to be more than just a transit project. They also wanted safety, jobs, and housing for the people in our community. That’s what we have delivered. This project also hired Raimore Construction, awarding the largest construction contract for a minority contractor in Oregon history.
Better Red: MAX Line Expansion to East Portland
In 2021, working with regional transportation leaders from various government jurisdictions, we welcomed Federal Transit Administrator Nuria Fernandez to Portland where we accepted almost $100 million in federal funds to expand public transit access to East Portland and the Metro region.
This project will create a better MAX Red Line and help us build out the Gateway Green Park. More opportunities to get around without a car are exactly what we need in the face of climate change.
Thanks to federal support and local community commitment, Portland has been a leader in the national movement to reduce carbon emissions by making it easier for people to walk, bike, and take public transit. We are looking forward to federal support to help us go even further—to help us use public transit to ensure everyone has access to housing and jobs, regardless of your race or income.
What’s Coming in 2022?
In the coming months I will have more details to share about my transportation-related priorities for 2022, but here are just a few things you can expect to hear more about in the coming year:
82nd Avenue community engagement process
Completed recommendation of new green revenue sources for PBOT
Expansion of PBOT Public Plazas
Revitalizing O’Bryant Square and improving the Green Loop downtown
Completion of the Blumenauer Bicycle & Pedestrian Bridge
Evaluation and next steps for a traffic intervention pilot in the Mt. Scott neighborhood
State-level advocacy to change the law that prevents anyone but sworn police officers from processing traffic camera tickets, allowing for further expansion of speed safety cameras
As you can see, we are just getting started and have so much work left to finish! Within the commitment and accomplishments of PBOT employees in the face of 2021’s unprecedented challenges, I find inspiration for Portland’s future. Rising to our many challenges will take all of us coming together to build back a more equitable and resilient Portland. I’m honored and humbled to serve as Portland’s Transportation Commissioner and can’t wait for what we are going to accomplish together in 2022.