Smoother Streets: Paving
What is it? Depending on the state of the road, paving treatments can range from surface seal coats, to a grind and repave, to a base layer repair, or to a complete rebuild. Fixing Our Streets (2020-2024) paving dollars are focused on preventive maintenance, including repaving streets and applying protective street coating.
How does it make a difference?
Addressing pavement wear-and-tear early saves money. Road treatments that protect streets from weather damage as well as heavy cars and trucks extends the life of a street significantly.
Priority locations:
- Streets in fair condition to avoid costly rebuilds in the future
- Busy streets that carry transit and freight
- Local streets vital to Portland’s all-ages-and-abilities Neighborhood Greenway network
- Streets in neighborhoods with communities of color and low-income residents
Paving: Busy Streets
- N Ida Avenue (Lombard to Smith) - COMPLETED
- NE 138th Place (Halsey to Sacramento) - COMPLETED
- NE Killingsworth Street (60th to Portland Highway) - SLATED for summer 2024
- SE 122nd Avenue (Steele to Foster) - IN DESIGN, leveraging grants for construction 2026-2027
- SE 162nd Avenue (Division to Powell) - COMPLETED
- SE Washington Street (102nd to 108th) - IN DESIGN, leveraging grants for construction 2026-2027
- SW 45th Avenue (Flower to Vermont) - SLATED for summer 2024
- SW Bertha Boulevard (Beaverton Hillsdale Highway to Vermont) - COMPLETED
SUBTOTAL Busy Streets: $20 million
Paving: Neighborhood Streets
- N Houghton Street (at Dana) to McCoy Court (at Haven) - COMPLETED
- N Tillamook Street (Flint to Williams) - COMPLETED
- NE Alberta Street (Cully to 72nd) - COMPLETED
- NW Flanders Street (16th to Westover)
- NW Pettygrove Street (19th to 25th) - COMPLETED
- SE 87th Avenue (Holgate to Rural) - COMPLETED
- SE Bush Street (99th to 112th) - COMPLETED
SUBTOTAL Neighborhood Streets: $5 million
TOTAL Paving: $25 million
Safer Streets: New Signals and Beacons
Traffic signals and crossing beacons are a vital way of increasing safety and preventing crashes. PBOT evaluates intersections to decide what engineering can make street crossings safer for everyone.
What is it? Traffic signals and crossing beacons are a vital way of increasing safety and preventing crashes. PBOT evaluates intersections to decide what engineering can make street crossings safer for everyone.
How does it make a difference? On our widest and busiest streets, people need a signal to safely cross the road. Rapid flashing beacons and traffic signals reduce pedestrian crashes by about 45%.
Priority locations:
Tier 1 priorities in PedPDX: Portland’s Citywide Pedestrian Master Plan, based on the following factors:
- Pedestrian crash history
- Distance from another protected crossing
- Ability to increase access to transit stops
- Alignment with city equity goals
- Traffic speed and crossing distance
- Proximity to schools, community centers, businesses, and key services
New Signals and Beacons
- E Burnside Street at 24th Avenue - IN DESIGN, slated for 2025
- NE 114th Avenue at Halsey Street- IN DESIGN, slated for 2025
- SE 105th Avenue at Stark Street- IN DESIGN, leveraging grants for construction 2025-2026
- SE 105th Avenue at Washington Street- IN DESIGN, leveraging grants for construction 2025-2026
- SE César E Chávez Boulevard at Francis Street - NO LONGER REQUIRED due to federal grant
TOTAL New Signals and Beacons: $5 million
Safer Streets: Sidewalks and Other Walkways
Sidewalks and other walkways separate people from traffic lanes, providing safety, mobility, and access to active travel options. They allow people of all abilities to reach businesses, transit, schools, and other daily destinations.
What is it? Sidewalks and other walkways separate people from traffic lanes, providing safety, mobility, and access to active travel options. They allow people of all abilities to reach businesses, transit, schools, and other daily destinations.
How does it make a difference? Creating a separated space for people of all ages to safely walk or use their mobility device to travel is critical for a safe and accessible transportation system.
Priority locations:
Top tier priorities in PedPDX: Portland’s Citywide Pedestrian Master Plan, based on the following factors:
- Pedestrian crash history
- Distance from another protected crossing
- Ability to increase access to transit stops
- Alignment with city equity goals
- Traffic speed and crossing distance
- Proximity to schools, community centers, businesses, and key services
Sidewalks and Other Walkways
- NE 42nd Avenue (Killingsworth to Holman) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- NE Glisan Street (east of 122nd) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2025
- SE Mill Street (135th to 139th) - COMPLETED
- SE Washington Street (80th to 82nd) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- SW Multnomah Boulevard (37th to 40th) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
TOTAL Sidewalks and Other Walkways: $4.5 million
Safer Streets: Safe Routes to School Projects
Fixing Our Streets will help fund school crossing improvements, paths and missing connections to school grounds, infilling sidewalk gaps on priority residential streets, and tying in our existing network of bike routes to schools.
What is it? Safe Routes to School is a partnership between the city, schools, neighborhoods, community organizations, and agencies that makes walking, biking, and rolling fun, easy, and safe for all students and families. PBOT's Safe Routes to School program connects with every elementary, K-8, and middle school in Portland to offer education on safe, active ways of getting to school, and to identify and implement needed safety improvements around schools.
How does it make a difference?
Through a comprehensive approach, PBOT’s Safe Routes to School program has increased the percentage of students walking and biking to school by 35% since it began in 2006. Improvements in this category of funding will include school crossing improvements, paths and missing connections to school grounds, infilling sidewalk gaps on priority residential streets, and tying in our existing network of bike routes to schools. Our goal: By 2035, 75% of all elementary school students in Portland will travel to school by foot or bike.
Priority Locations:
Projects will be drawn from the Safe Routes to School plan developed in 2017 with funding from the original Fixing Our Streets program.
Safe Routes to School Projects (listed by school district, with project examples)
- Reynolds/Centennial (sidewalk infill on SE 174th Avenue) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- David Douglas (sidewalk infill on SE Bush Street) - COMPLETED
- Parkrose (sidewalk infill on NE Shaver Street) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2025
- Portland Public (improved signage and markings, as well as ADA ramps at NE 74th and Sandy, at NE Buffalo and Martin Luther King Jr, at SE 14th and Bybee, and on SW Vista) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2025
- Reynolds (enhanced crossing at NE 148th Avenue and Sacramento Street) - COMPLETED
TOTAL Safe Routes to School Projects: $6 million
Safer Streets: Lighting Portland for Safety
What is it? Portland’s High Crash Network makes up 8% of Portland’s streets and is where 57% of serious injuries crashes and fatalities occur. Using a data-driven Vision Zero approach, PBOT has identified street lighting as a critical improvement to make these streets safer. Recent analysis indicates a number of our High Crash Network streets in some of our most diverse neighborhoods lack adequate street lighting. In addition, public engagement work by PBOT has found that people of color feel less safe walking on poorly lit streets.
How does it make a difference? No matter how you travel, better lighting improves visibility for everyone and can significantly reduce fatalities and injuries.
Priority locations:
- High Crash Network streets in the Vision Zero Action Plan based on fatalities and serious injuries
- Streets wider than 48 feet
- Streets with bus service
- Streets with lighting on only one side
- Alignment with city equity goals
Lighting Portland for Safety
- NE Glisan Street (102nd to 162nd) - COMPLETED
- NE Killingsworth Street (42nd to Portland Highway) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- SE 122nd Avenue (Stark to Powell) - IN DESIGN, leveraging grants for construction 2025-2026
- SE Stark Street (122nd to 162nd) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- SW Capitol Highway / 49th Avenue (Barbur to Stephenson) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
TOTAL Street Lighting: $4.5 million
Safer Streets: Neighborhood Greenways
Neighborhood Greenways use existing residential streets and make them places where people of all ages and abilities feel safe traveling without a car. They often run parallel to busier streets, proving a quiet place for people to bike, walk, roll and stroll.
What is it? Neighborhood Greenways are a network of residential streets that connect schools and parks, while providing access to business and transit. They feature 20 mph speed limits, painted bike markings, traffic calming features, and safer crossings of busy streets.
How does it make a difference? Neighborhood Greenways use existing residential streets and make them places where people of all ages and abilities feel safe traveling without a car. They form the backbone of the city’s Safe Routes to School network and often run parallel to busier streets, proving a quiet place for families to bike, walk, roll and stroll.
Priority Locations:
- Routes identified in the 2030 Bike Plan, East Portland in Motion, and Southwest in Motion
- Ability to support citywide Portland Comprehensive Plan goals, including Healthy Connected Communities, and the Climate Action Plan
Neighborhood Greenways
- N Delaware Avenue (Willamette to Terry) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- Parkrose Neighborhood Greenway (multiple segments) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- NE Mason / Skidmore (37th to 77th) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2025
- NE Sacramento / Knott (122nd to 162nd) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- SE 60s Greenway (Lincoln to Flavel) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
- SW Bertha Boulevard (Vermont to Barbur) - IN DESIGN, SLATED for 2024
TOTAL Neighborhood Greenways: $4.5 million
Safer Streets: Neighborhood Safety Improvements
What is it? As part of PBOT’s outreach and engagement for their “In Motion” plans, neighbors and businesses told us about the safety projects they consider most important. Many of these are small-scale, simple fixes, or alternate designs focused on pedestrians and people biking.
How does it make a difference? PBOT’s “In Motion” plans create new ways for people to travel safely in their neighborhoods by making new connections where none existed before. These improvements make it safer for pedestrians and people biking to access local schools, parks, main streets, and other community destinations without a car.
Neighborhood Safety Improvements (by area plan)
- Northwest in Motion
- North Portland in Motion
- Southwest in Motion
- TOTAL Neighborhood Safety Improvements: $1.5 million
Community Transportation Services: Basic Maintenance
What is it? PBOT has heard again and again from neighborhoods and businesses who want us to be more responsive to routine maintenance requests like fixing potholes, repairing sections of failing road (base repair), or maintaining gravel streets.
How does it make a difference? A quicker response to potholes and failing roads makes everyone safer. By establishing a dedicated citywide program for this routine maintenance, PBOT can deliver these services more efficiently.
Priority Locations:
- PBOT’s citywide gravel streets program
- Citywide pothole and base repair needs
| Basic Maintenance | Target Allocation |
|---|---|
| Potholes | $5 million |
| Gravel streets | $4 million |
| Base repairs | $4 million |
TOTAL Basic Maintenance | $13 million |
Community Transportation Services: Basic Safety Improvements
What is it? As our population grows and our streets become busier, we need to be more responsive to basic safety concerns citywide. Meeting our goal of eliminating fatalities and reducing serious injuries requires projects big and small. This includes creating safer intersections, reducing vehicle speeds on cut-through routes, retrofitting our existing Neighborhood Greenways, and making additional safety enhancements to existing projects.
How does it make a difference? A pedestrian hit by a person driving at 30 mph is 75% more likely to suffer serious injuries or death relative to a pedestrian hit at 20 mph. PBOT has several proven tools to significantly improve street safety. Establishing a citywide program for basic street safety services allows PBOT to deliver these services more efficiently. To make intersections safer, for example, PBOT can remove parking as well as improve everything from signage to striping to signal timing. Strategic placement of speed bumps is also a low-cost and effective treatment for reducing speed.
Priority Locations:
- Projects based on citywide crash data
- PedPDX priority intersections
- A focus on ensuring diverse communities are empowered to request these services
| Basic Safety Improvements | Target Allocation |
|---|---|
| Additional safety enhancements | $4 million |
| Neighborhood Greenway retrofits | $2.5 million |
| Safer intersections | $2 million |
| Traffic calming on cut-through routes | $2 million |
TOTAL Routine Safety Improvements | $10.5 million |