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Section 1: 122nd Avenue Plan Background

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Since 2018, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has worked with local residents, businesses, and community organizations to develop a Plan to improve safety on 122nd Avenue.

As one of the deadliest streets in our city, this arterial has long needed investments. Many years of planning and engagement have resulted in the 122nd Avenue Plan: Safety, Access and Transit completed in 2023. The Plan has a project list which was co-developed with community, and the projects are aimed at helping achieve the goals of the Plan. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $20 million grant to PBOT for a critical 5.5-mile stretch of 122nd Avenue, pictured above, from SE Foster Road to NE Sandy Boulevard.

Project Goals

  • Increase safety for all
  • Improve pedestrian and bicycle access
  • Support better transit while balancing needs of freight and other modes
  • Identify improvements to help eliminate serious injuries and fatalities and remove 122nd from the Vision Zero High Crash Corridor Network.
  • Support the growth and development of 122nd Avenue as a Civic Corridor

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. 

There is growing need and community demand for a safer street and better transit, bicycle facilities, sidewalks, crossings and streetscape along the 122nd Avenue. Currently, 122nd Ave is a difficult and stressful environment to walk, bike, cross the street, and access transit. The street—typically a five-lane road with on-street parking—has narrow bike lanes that become turn lanes at major signalized intersections, narrow and substandard sidewalks, crosswalks that do not meet the City's crosswalk spacing guidelines, buses that experience delay, and gaps in streetlighting that contribute to personal safety concerns. 

Safety

122nd Avenue has also been identified as part of the Vision Zero High Crash Network. The need for road safety improvement on 122nd Avenue is urgent. Between 2014 and 2023 there were: 

  • 27 fatalities
  • 2+ fatalities per year on average
  • 5 "high-crash" intersections

What's in the plan?

  • More street lighting
  • More places to cross the street
  • Safer intersections
  • Protected bike lanes
  • More trees
  • Medians to reduce crashes
  • Improved bus stops
  • Speed reader boards

Learn more about the plan at the plan website!

What's happening now?

Thank you to everyone who provided input during the development of the 122nd Avenue Plan. In 2023, the plan was updated to reflect the $20 million US Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All grant award, which will fund many of the safety improvements identified in the council adopted plan. Project development and community engagement are ongoing with design and engineering scheduled to start in 2026 and construction to start in 2028. 


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