What's happening now?
March 2023
The project team has finalized project designs and is preparing to go to bid. Construction will begin in summer 2023.
Project overview
PBOT will be adding features proven to reduce fatal and serious injuries occurring in traffic crashes along 82nd Avenue. In the most recent 5-year period, all 9 fatal crashes and more than half of the 59 serious injury crashes on 82nd Avenue in Portland were either pedestrians or cars turning at locations without signals.
Safe pedestrian crossings and medians are two of the most effective measures to reduce or eliminate these types of crashes. The new pedestrian crossings with tree-lined median islands will provide safe and comfortable places for people to cross 82nd, will reduce the risk of turning crashes, and will help define 82nd Avenue as street serving the community, not just a highway.
As part of this project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will make critical pedestrian safety improvements to 82nd Avenue at NE Beech Street and at SE Ash Street. The current crossings will be upgraded to new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs).
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Project timeline
Expecting to go out to bid in winter 2023 and construction will begin summer 2023. Construction is expected to last approximately 18 months.
Project funding
$1,700,000 from Fixing Our Streets
Public involvement
PBOT faces a tight timeline to deliver critical fixes on 82nd Avenue.
To meet construction deadlines, PBOT will rely on insights from the extensive community engagement the bureau and other agencies conducted over the past 10 years, including:
- Bureau of Planning & Sustainability 82nd Avenue Corridor Study (1980)
- PBOT 82nd Avenue Roses High Crash Corridor Safety Plan (2008)
- Jade District Visioning Plan (2014)
- Portland City Council Town Hall Visioning Forum on 82nd Ave
- ODOT Avenue of Roses Implementation Plan (2018)
- Bureau of Planning & Sustainability 82nd Avenue Study: Understanding Barriers to Development (2018)
- PBOT 82nd Avenue Plan (2019)
- Connected Centers Plan (2019)
- Metro’s Get Moving Regional Funding Measure (2020)
- Grassroots efforts of groups including the 82nd Avenue Improvement Coalition
Through the ODOT-led planning process (2018), PBOT identified priority enhanced crossing locations on 82nd Avenue. These were vetted with the community through the planning process and included in the ODOT 82nd Avenue of Roses Implementation Plan. The crossing location recommendations included Ash and Beech intersections.
The City conducted interviews with property owners, business owners, and community members, as well as market research to better understand barriers to redevelopment.
Learn more about opportunities for public engagement
About Building a Better 82nd
Ownership of 82nd Avenue transferred from the state to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) in 2022. A critical north-south connection and one of Portland’s high-crash corridors, 82nd Avenue is in urgent need of significant investments to improve safety and address maintenance issues.
Critical Fixes Now
PBOT is investing in 82nd Avenue to deliver critical fixes. These urgent safety and maintenance repairs to the corridor include repaving and ADA corner ramps, pedestrian crossings, street lighting, safety improvements, tree planting, and sidewalk improvements. Critical Fixes projects will be in construction between 2023 and 2026.
Future Investments Next
While completing the most critical repairs, PBOT will identify and prioritize future investments for a better 82nd Avenue. Over the next two years, PBOT will conduct broad and inclusive community engagement and work directly with community-based organizations and agency partners to determine what the bureau should focus on for improving 82nd Avenue long-term.