High Crash Network streets and intersections

Information
A sign reading "CAUTION High Crash Intersection SLOW DOWN" is posted ahead of one of the high crash intersections on 122nd Avenue. Photo by PBOT.
Portland's highest-crash streets and intersections in low-income communities and communities of color receive priority for investments in safety.
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High Crash Network streets and intersections

Portland’s most dangerous streets cut across the city and touch every quadrant.

The High Crash Network — the 30 streets and intersections with the most serious crashes — represents 8% of Portland streets, yet it accounted for 62% of traffic deaths from 2018 to 2022.

Of the streets on the High Crash Network, 82% are owned and operated by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), 18% by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and two bridges by Multnomah County.

These 30 streets and 30 intersections continue to require focused safety investments by all three agencies.

Map of Portland high crash streets and intersections overlaid on grey-shaded areas representing neighborhoods with higher scores on PBOT's Equity Matrix.

Safety project investments

Since 2017, PBOT, along with partner agencies, have invested $193 million in safety projects on the High Crash Network.

Safety projects on the High Crash Network have varied in scope but often aim to slow driving speeds and make travel safer for pedestrians, people biking, and those taking transit. They also aim to make transit faster and more efficient.

A Vision Zero guiding principle is to prioritize investments in neighborhoods with more people of color and people living on low incomes. Of the $193 million in safety investments on the High Crash Network since 2017, 66% were in neighborhoods with high equity scores, as measured using PBOT’s Equity Matrix.


High Crash Network streets

Deadly crashes

Top streets where people were killed from 2017 to 2021.

An orange and gray horizontal bar chart of deadly crashes by streets on the High Crash Network from 2017 to 2021 showing pedestrians, people on bicycles, and people in vehicles or motorcycles where NE Marine Drive is the greatest number of traffic deaths (16) and SE Cesar E Chavev Boulevard has the least number of traffic deaths
Source: ODOT Crash Data System. An orange and gray horizontal bar chart of deadly crashes by streets on the High Crash Network from 2017 to 2021 showing pedestrians, people on bicycles, and people in vehicles or motorcycles where NE Marine Drive is the greatest number of traffic deaths (16) and SE Cesar E Chavez Boulevard has the least number of traffic deaths.

Bicycle crashes

Top streets where people riding bicycles were killed or seriously injured from 2017 to 2021.

A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal bicycle crashes in Portland. All other crashes are also shown, with Broadway having the highest of all crashes and NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd having the least.
Source: ODOT Crash Data System. A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal bicycle crashes in Portland. All other crashes are also shown, with Broadway having the highest of all crashes and NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd having the least.

Pedestrian crashes

Top streets where pedestrians were killed or seriously injured from 2017 to 2021. 

A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal pedestrian crashes in Portland. SE Powell has the most total crashes and SE Hawthorne has the least.
Source: ODOT Crash Data System. A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal pedestrian crashes in Portland. SE Powell has the most total crashes and SE Hawthorne has the least.

Motor vehicle crashes

Top streets where people in motor vehicles were killed or seriously injured from 2017 to 2021.

Source: ODOT Crash Data System. A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal motor vehicles crashes in Portland by car and motorcycles. SE Powell has the most and NE 102nd has the least..
Source: ODOT Crash Data System. A horizontal bar chart of serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes in Portland by car and motorcycle. SE Powell Blvd has the most combined fatal crashes, and NE 102nd has the least, in the high crash network.

Alphabetical by street name

Street & Quadrant(s)High # Driving CrashesHigh # Pedestrian CrashesHigh # Biking Crashes
4th Ave., SW----
7th Ave., SE----
82nd Ave., NE/SE
92nd Ave., NE/SE----
102nd Ave., NE----
122nd Ave., NE/SE
Airport Way, NE*----  
Barbur Blvd., SW*----
Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy., SW----
Broadway, NE/NW/SW
Burnside Rd., E/W
Capitol Hwy., SW----
César E. Chávez Blvd., NE/SE----
Columbia Blvd., N/NE----
Division St., SE
Foster Rd., SE
Fremont St., N/NE--
Glisan St., NE
Halsey St., NE--
Hawthorne Blvd., SE--
Holgate Blvd., SE
Interstate Ave., N----
Killingsworth St., N/NE*
Lombard St., N/NE*
Marine Dr., N/NE----
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., NE/SE*--
Powell Blvd., SE*
Sandy Blvd., SE/NE*
Stark Street, SE
Terwilliger Boulevard, SW----

* Partially or fully owned by Oregon Department of Transportation.

Details and methodology

The High Crash Network includes 30 streets. These are a composite of the top 20 high crash streets for driving, the top 20 for bicycling and the top 20 for walking. The analysis uses crash data from 2004 through 2013.

Streets marked as "High # of Driving Crashes" are those with the highest number of people killed or seriously injured in vehicles. Streets marked as having high numbers of bicycle or pedestrian crashes include those with the highest number of crashes, regardless of severity, for people on bikes and walking, respectively.

While the aim of Vision Zero is to eliminate deadly and serious injury crashes, we include all crashes for people biking and pedestrians because the difference between a minor injury and a serious injury to a person biking or pedestrian is often random and circumstantial.


High Crash Network intersections

Overall

The table below identifies the 30 intersections in Portland with the highest numbers of reported collisions using data from 2015 through 2019.

Intersections in the table are ordered from least safe to more safe. Rankings reflect three metrics: total number of crashes, collision rate, and total value of collisions.

RankIntersectionDeathsSerious InjuriesModerate InjuriesMinor InjuriesCollision Rate
1SE 122nd Ave. & Stark St.26111040.80
2SE 122nd Ave. & Division St.1151040.70
3SE 82nd Ave. & Powell Blvd.*02211230.69
4SE 148th Ave. & Stark St.1011630.79
5SE 148th Ave. & Powell Blvd.*2211400.82
6NE 82nd Ave. & Glisan St.1612580.67
6SE Foster Rd. / 96th Ave. / I-205 northbound ramp*0013630.97
7NE 99th Ave. & Glisan St.004720.98
8SE 92nd Ave. & Holgate Blvd.256380.73
9SE 122nd Ave. & Powell Blvd.*028760.70
10SE Division St. & I-205 southbound ramp*0110650.70
11NE 122nd Ave. & Glisan St.028770.63
11NE Glisan St. & I-205 northbound ramp*0016860.61
12Ross Island Bridge & SW Naito Pkwy. ramp*026510.92
13NE 102nd Ave. & Halsey St.0313440.74
14SE 92nd Ave. & Washington St. 0414331.34
15SE 82nd Ave. & Flavel St.105450.64
16NE 102nd Ave. & Glisan St.009660.63
17SE 112th Ave. & Powell Blvd.*017550.77
18SE 136th Ave. & Powell Blvd.*0112470.79
19SE 92nd Ave. & Powell Blvd.*0011830.54
20SE 92nd Ave. & Foster Rd.103290.67
21I-5 northbound off-ramp / NE Victoria Ave. / Weidler St.*0415480.56
22E Burnside St. & 122nd Ave.009520.66
23NE 122nd Ave. & Halsey St.039690.47
23SE 96th Dr. / Division St. / I-205 northbound ramp*006620.55
24SE 112th Ave. & Division St.112590.41
25SE 82nd Ave. & Division St.043540.48
26SE 174th Ave. & Powell Blvd.*013420.68
26SE 110th Dr. / 111th Ave. / Foster Rd.003450.70

* Intersection includes one or more streets owned by Oregon Department of Transportation.

Details and methodology

Crash data was queried from the Portland Bureau of Transportation's Accident History database based on Oregon Department of Transportation crash data. Query output included the top 100 intersections in Portland with the highest number of intersection and intersection-related crashes that occurred between 2015 - 2019.

Only fatal and injury crashes (of all severity levels: serious, moderate, and minor) were included. Crashes selected occurred at intersections or were intersection-related only. All modes were considered as part of the overall High Crash Intersection analysis. Separate HCI lists for bicycle crashes and pedestrian crashes are to follow.

The top 100 intersections in the City of Portland with the highest frequency of crashes following the above criteria were selected and then ranked using the sum of rankings from three different measures:

  1. Number of Deadly and Injury Crashes: The intersections were first ranked by number of crashes that occurred within the 5-year time period as aggregated by the original database query. 
  2. Collision Rate: Number of crashes coded to an intersection are normalized by considering the number of cars traveling through the intersection. The calculation for the collision rate (collisions per million entering vehicles) is: Collision Rate = (Crashes/5 years) X (1 year/365 days) X (1/ADT*) X 1,000,000. Note: ADT (average daily traffic) is the number of vehicles entering the intersection daily.
  3. Severity of Crashes: Severity of crashes is represented by the total economic value of a crash, figured by assigning monetary value to the severity of crash related injuries using National Safety Council figures. The value of each crash is figured by multiplying the number of crash related fatalities and/or injury types by the values below. The number of fatalities and injuries are sustained injuries, not number of crashes. Total Value = # Fatals* Fatal $ + # Inj A* Inj A $ + # Inj B* Inj B $ + # In C* Inj C $
Fatal value$1,550,000
Injury A value$90,000
Injury B value$26,000
Injury C value$21,000

This report is compiled from data supplied by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Transportation Safety Division, Crash Analysis and Reporting Unit, from records originally received by the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles. Due to under-reporting of collisions, this list should not be considered to represent all collisions occurring at the intersections listed. The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation analyzed the data and prepared the resulting report.

Pedestrians

Intersections in the table are ordered from least safe to more safe for pedestrians using data from 2015 through 2019.

Rankings reflect three metrics: number of crashes involving pedestrians, number of pedestrians involved, and the estimated economic value of crashes resulting in death or injury.

RankIntersectionPedestrian-involved crashesDeathsSerious injuriesModerate injuriesMinor injuries
1W Burnside St. & 3rd Ave.120425
2NE Glisan St. & 122nd Ave.160046
3SE Woodward St. & 82nd Ave.70143
4NW Broadway & Everett St.80133
5SE Division St. & César E. Chávez Blvd.80124
6SE Stark St. & 148th Ave.82111
7N Denver Ave. & Lombard St.*50142
8SE Powell Blvd. & 31st Ave.*150220
9SE 96th Ave. & Washington St.50124
10SE Division St. & 122nd Ave.90114
11E Burnside St. & 102nd Ave.80221
12SE Division St. & 156th Ave.122002
13SE Powell Blvd. & 21st Ave.*50212
14SE Hawthorne & César E. Chávez boulevards70122
15SE 122nd Ave. & Powell Blvd.*70113
16NE 82nd Ave. & Jonesmore St.61111
17SE Center St. & 82nd Ave.60211
18NE Sandy Blvd. & 82nd Ave.60211
19SE Stark St. & 122nd Ave.100130
20SE Stark St. & 160th Ave.151011

* Intersection includes one or more streets owned by Oregon Department of Transportation.

People biking

Intersections in the table are ordered from least safe to more safe for people biking using data from 2015 through 2019.

Rankings reflect three metrics: number of crashes involving people biking, number of people biking involved, and the estimated economic value of crashes resulting in death or injury.

RankIntersectionBike-involved crashesDeathsSerious injuriesModerate injuriesMinor injuries
1E Burnside St. & 102nd Ave.2000164
2NW Broadway & Hoyt St.100163
3SE Hawthorne Blvd. & 7th Ave.60222
4N Broadway St. & Larrabee Ave.80123
5N Broadway St. & Wheeler Ave.60132
6SW Moody Ave. & Sheridan St.60132
7SW Clay St. & Naito Pkwy. / Front Ave.80042
8N Broadway St. & Ross Ave.60051
9St. Johns Bridge & N Syracuse St.41102
10NE Couch St. & Grand Ave.50122
11NW Everett St. & 20th Ave.60042
12NE Going St. & Martin Luther King., Jr. Blvd.110031
13N Tillamook St. & Williams Ave.50130
14SE Salmon St. & 7th Ave.40112
15NE Broadway St. & 1st Ave.50023
16SE Ankeny St. & 24th Ave.50023
17N Going St. & Interstate Ave.50023
18W Burnside St. & 21st Ave.30120
19NE Grand Ave. & Weidler St.30120
20SE Gladstone St. & César E. Chávez Blvd.31020