Section 1: 122nd Avenue Project Background

Project Purpose

The purpose of the Safe Streets and Roads project on 122nd Avenue is to improve safety on 6 miles of 122nd Avenue. This includes intersection redesigns, new street lighting, enhanced bus stops, new pedestrian crossings, enhanced/protected bike lanes, and street trees. The goal is to improve safety for all road users based on recommendations from the 122nd Avenue Plan completed in 2023.

View full size image of A view of 122nd Avenue, a wide, fast street with some traffic safety infrastructure.

Project Goals

• Reduce serious crashes.
• Improve biking and walking conditions.
• Improve pedestrian access to community amenities such as schools, parks and shopping centers.
• Increase rates of walking and bicycling in the area.

Project Background

122nd Avenue, 6.4 miles in length, acts as both a north-south regional connector and as the backbone for many neighborhood centers in east Portland. The street carries a lot of travelers with large vehicles volumes, a bus line, and many people walking, biking, and rolling. This is a hardworking street serving essential jobs and services. 

122nd Avenue from Sandy to Foster is a street with a high frequency of crashes, including high-severity crashes. As a result, the city prioritizes investments in transportation safety improvements in this area.

• Between 2016 and 2025, 22 people died on 122nd Avenue in traffic crashes.
• Twelve of them were people walking.
• More than two people are killed per year on average.
• Crashes with people walking occur all along 122nd Avenue but are concentrated near NE Glisan St and SE Powell Blvd.
• There are five high crash intersections along the corridor

View full size image of 3D drawing showing tight bike lanes, two drive lanes in each direction, and a center turn lane.

Project Timeline

2025 to Early 2026

• Analyzing traffic data
• Modeling preliminary design alternatives
• Hearing from the community about their experiences which will help us inform our designs

Mid 2026 to 2027

• Continue to refine design alternatives with technical input from the team and present feasible options to the community

Late 2027

• Construction begins
• Keep the community informed with regular updates about schedule, progress, and expected impacts

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