(Jan. 18, 2019) – The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland Police Bureau will conduct a crosswalk safety education and enforcement action on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the marked crossing on Northeast Glisan Street at Northeast 134th Place from noon to 1:30 p.m. to raise awareness of pedestrian safety and Oregon traffic laws. PBOT also reminds Portlanders to watch for people walking at all hours of the day or night.
Under Oregon law, EVERY intersection is a legal crosswalk, whether it is marked or unmarked. People driving must stop and stay stopped for people walking when the pedestrian is in the travel lane or the adjacent lane.
The crossing on Northeast Glisan at Northeast 134th Place has a marked crosswalk, median island and signage.
Portland Bureau of Transportation’s “East Glisan Street Update” will be implementing changes on Northeast Glisan between 102nd and 162nd avenues to enhance safety, reduce crash severity, and to allow residents to conveniently access schools, parks, transit, and economic opportunity by walking and biking. Specific changes at the Northeast 134th Place crossing will include a reconfiguration of travel lanes so people walking only need to cross one lane of auto traffic at a time. Construction and restriping to achieve the street reconfiguration is expected to be completed this summer. More information can be found on the project webpage: www.PortlandOregon.gov/transportation/EastGlisan.
Northeast Glisan, a Vision Zero designated high crash network street, had a total of 75 fatal and serious injury crashes in 2007-16, the most recent 10-year period for which data are available.
People driving can do their part by having more patience, driving at or below the posted speed, continuously scanning the environment looking for people walking and bicycling, and being ready to stop as needed.
Northeast Glisan at Northeast 134th Place. Image by Google.com
Education and enforcement actions such as the Jan. 23 event are a key part of the City of Portland’s citywide effort to achieve, Vision Zero, the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
Each crosswalk enforcement action involves a designated pedestrian crossing at a marked or unmarked crosswalk while police monitor how people driving, bicycling and walking adhere to traffic safety laws. Drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk and pedestrians who fail to follow Oregon traffic laws may be issued a warning or citation. A Portland Bureau of Transportation staff member will serve as the designated pedestrian crossing the street during Wednesday’s action.
Crosswalk education and enforcement actions are an effective way to communicate traffic laws to people driving and walking. The transportation and police bureaus do education and enforcement actions in response to requests by community members, city traffic safety engineers, and Portland Police to educate the general public on the rules at marked and unmarked crossings.
Learn more about rights and responsibilities for crossing streets in Oregon (in English; Espanol); and view the results of previous actions.
Portland is committed to ending traffic violence in our communities. Through the Vision Zero program, the City of Portland and our partners are working to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our streets.
More information and a map of the Gateway to Opportunity project area can be found on our website.
For more information about Vision Zero, or to request a community briefing or enforcement action in your area, email VisionZero@portlandoregon.gov or call Matt Ferris-Smith, program specialist, at 503-823-5831.
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