In this newsletter
- Vision Zero presenting at upcoming City Council meeting, April 17
- Recent and upcoming changes to speed limits
- High Crash Network projects
- Changes to sign policy following deadly traffic crashes
- Get ready for East Portland Sunday Parkways with these April bike events
- Deadly crash data is updated monthly on the Vision Zero Dashboard
- Remember to say crash, not accident!
- Free Vision Zero pins, stickers, brochures, fliers, and yard signs
- Personal safety resources
- What we're reading
Vision Zero presenting at upcoming City Council meeting, April 17
Portland Bureau of Transportation's Vision Zero team will present to Portland's City Council on Wednesday, April 17 at 2 p.m. to:
- Accept Vision Zero's 2023 Deadly Traffic Crash Report. (Review the 2022 report online.)
- Accept Portland's Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-25.
- Direct cross-bureau collaboration to deliver a safer system.
How to engage with City Council
City Council will meet at 1900 SW Fourth Avenue in Room 2500 while the council chambers in City Hall are closed for renovations. Doors open to the public 15 minutes before the meeting starts.
If you wish to testify in-person or virtually, you must sign-up in advance (on or after Friday, April 12 at 9 a.m.) on the council agenda or by calling 311 (503-823-4000).
Council meetings are live streamed on the city's YouTube channel and Open Signal. They are also available on cable TV (Xfinity channels 30 and 330 or CenturyLink channels 8005 and 8505).
Recent and upcoming changes to speed limits
Speed is a top contributing factor to traffic deaths
Speed is a top contributing factor to traffic deaths—at least 42% of deadly crashes in recent years involve speed. And as people travel faster, the risk of death or serious injury rises dramatically. For example, a pedestrian struck by a person driving at 40 mph is eight times more likely to die than a pedestrian struck at 20 mph.
Setting safe speed limits
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), as committed to in the Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-25, is updating speed limits citywide to set safe travel speed.
Recent changes
Locations where PBOT recently reduced the speed limits.
40 to 35 mph
- NE Alderwood Road from Columbia Boulevard to 105th Avenue
- SE McKinley Road from Jenne Road to 182nd Avenue
- NE 33rd Drive from Marine to Elrod drives
35 to 30 mph
- SE Barbara Welch Road from Foster Road to152nd Avenue
30 to 25mph
- SE Woodstock Boulevard from 57th to 90th avenues
Upcoming changes
Locations where PBOT recently received approval from the state to reduce the speed limit and will post new speed limit signs in the upcoming months.
45 to 35 mph
- NE 122nd Avenue from Sandy Boulevard to Marine Drive
40 to 35 mph
- NE Cornfoot Road from 47th Avenue to Alderwood Road
- NW Thompson Road from Skyline Boulevard to Cornell Road
- NE 185th Drive from Marine Drive to Sandy Boulevard
30 to 25 mph
- NE Glisan Street from 57th to 82nd avenues
25 to 20 mph
- NE Killingsworth Street from 14th to 17th avenues
Mapping speed limits citywide
PBOT's speed limit map shows the locations and extents of speed limits Portland's streets—excluding freeways. (It may be several months before the map displays the updated speed limits due to limited staff capacity.)
High Crash Network projects
The Portland Bureau of Transportation prioritizes safety investments in Portland's highest-crash streets and intersections. These 30 streets and intersections with the most serious crashes represent 8% of Portland streets yet account for 62% of traffic deaths in recent years. The High Crash Network also disproportionately intersects with low-income communities and communities of color.
Recently completed
SW Capitol Highway - Multnomah Village to West Portland Project
Continuous sidewalks, protected bike lanes, multi-use path, stormwater management, and water system upgrades
- Location: SW Capitol Highway between Multnomah Boulevard and Taylors Ferry Road
- Completed: July 2023
East Burnside Bus and Bike Lane Improvements
New striped bus and turn lane to improve transit speed and reliability and bike signal to protect people bicycling
- Location: E Burnside Street between MLK Boulevard and 12th Avenue
- Completed: Summer 2023
82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Signing and Striping
Larger more visible street signs (561), high-visibility crosswalks at signalized intersections (22), green bike boxes (3), and spot fixes to existing median islands to improve visibility
- Location: 82nd Avenue between NE Lombard and SE Ellis streets
- Completed: Oct. 2023
Under construction
Central Eastside Access and Circulation Project
Traffic signals, accessible curb ramps, striping, and high-visibility pedestrian crossings and bicycle connections
- Location: Central Eastside intersections SE Sandy Boulevard and Ankeny Street, and SE Salmon Street at Grand Avenue and MLK Boulevard
- Construction: started Sept. 2023, expected to last at least 12 months
82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Klickitat to Lambert Crossingsand Beech and Ash Crossings
New high-visibility pedestrians crossings, accessible curb ramps, rapid flashing beacons, and tree-lined median islands where possible
- Location: 82nd Avenue at the intersections of NE Beech, Klickitat, and Schuyler streets and SE Ash, Clinton, and Schiller streets
- Construction: started Nov. 2023, expected to complete in 2025
SW Broadway Bike Improvements Project
Curb extensions to create curb-height passenger loading zones
- Location: SW Broadway Boulevard in front of The Benson Portland, Heathman Hotel, and Hotel Vance in downtown
- Construction: started Jan. 2024, expected to complete when weather allows
Changes to sign policy following deadly traffic crashes
In support of the city's transition to a new form of government in 2025, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is adapting its process for placing portable variable message board signs following deadly traffic crashes.
Since 2019, PBOT has placed these signs at eligible deadly traffic crash sites, alerting the public to the crash date along with a message to "travel with care." This is part of our deadly crash response.
Signs in each new geographic district
Starting this month, PBOT will place one sign in each of the four new geographic districts each quarter along a High Crash Network street segment where one or more deadly traffic crashes occurred in the previous year.
This new approach to sign placement also supports our commitment to fiscal responsibility by reducing sign deployment costs while continuing to raise awareness of the impact of deadly traffic crashes on Portland streets.
Get ready for East Portland Sunday Parkways with these April bike events
Get ready to dust off your bikes, lace up your sneakers, and join Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) for the much-awaited return of the Portland Sunday Parkways 2024 season! This year Portland Sunday Parkways, presented by Kaiser Permanente, will re-visit East Portland on May 19, NE Cully on June 16, and SW Portland on September 22.
East Portland Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop, April 17
Are you interested in learning how to do basic maintenance on your bike? Join this free workshop in partnership with bike works by p:ear. No prior bike maintenance experience required!
When: Wednesday, April 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Rosewood Initiative (14127 SE Stark St.)
Spring Flowers on the 70's ride, April 20
Pedal with PBOT to see the petals along the new 70's Neighborhood Greenway. Ride starts at the Roseway Earth Day event, travels about 8 miles on low-stress streets, and returns to the start. Easy pace and no one left behind!
When: Saturday, April 20 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: Roseway Parkway (NE 72nd Avenue and Mason Street)
East Portland Neighborhood Bike Fair, April 26
Get yourself ready to ride! Join PBOT for free activities including learn-to-ride for children and adults, bike repair, and safety education. This event is hosted in partnership with David Douglas School District and Community Cycling Center.
When: Friday, April 26 from 3:45 to 6:45 p.m.
Where: Ventura Park Elementary (145 SE 117th Ave.)
New to Portland Ride: East Neighborhoods, April 30
Are you new to Portland or new to riding a bike? Join PBOT on a 7.5-mile, mellow group ride to explore ways to get around by bike in East Portland neighborhoods via low-traffic streets and new bike paths! Free and open to everyone.
When: Tuesday, April 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Where: Lincoln Park (SE 135th Avenue and Mill Street)
Deadly crash data is updated monthly on the Vision Zero Dashboard
The Portland Bureau of Transportation's Vision Zero Dashboard provides an overview of traffic safety improvements from the past five to 10 years—as well as data relating to our performance measures.
The Vision Zero team updates the Vision Zero Dashboard regularly:
- Deadly crash data is updated monthly
- Other data is updated quarterly or annually based on availability from our Vision Zero program partners, including the Portland Police Bureau
Learn more about how to use the dashboard before exploring the data.
Remember to say crash, not accident!
We’re inviting our community to change the way we talk about crashes. We want to shift the broad cultural perception that crashes are inevitable and remind each other that they are predictable and preventable. A Vision Zero approach refuses to accept traffic violence as a byproduct of “just the way things are.” So, will you join us?
Read the full blog post to learn more about why we use the word "crash" rather than "accident."
Free Vision Zero pins, stickers, brochures, fliers, and yard signs
Help educate family, friends, neighbors, your school, or your organization about Vision Zero, Portland's commitment to eliminate serious and fatal traffic injuries.
- Order and receive in the mail pins, stickers, brochures, and fliers. These materials are available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Vietnamese, Somali, and Lao.
- Pick-up a yard sign from the Portland Building front desk during regular business hours.
If you're interested in making a bulk request, please email us.
Personal safety resources
We want to help create a transportation system that allows all people to feel safe getting where they need to go. Check out our webpage full of resources that address personal safety on our streets, including information about how to:
- report a non-urgent traffic safety concern,
- sign-up for a personal safety workshop,
- report a bias incident or hate crime,
- stand up against street harassment, and more.
And remember, you can always start with PDX 311 for help with any local government questions or service needs. Staff are fluent in English, Spanish, Romanian, and Tagalog and have resources to assist community members in additional languages.
What we're reading
- Disabled people are dying in America’s crosswalks. We need to protect them. (Governing)
- Bold brick-waving vision zero campaign expands to another Vancouver crossing (Momentum Magazine)
- Pedestrian deaths fell modestly last year, but there's still a safety "crisis" (NPR)
- Bicycle use soars following installation of separated bike lanes, according to new study (Momentum Mag)
- To hit Vision Zero traffic safety goals, Richmond needs a "cultural shift" (Virginia Public Media)
- Report: Federal policies to make traffic enforcement more equitable (Planetizen)
- Why do our traffic laws prioritize speed over safety? (Route Fifty)
- A vote for safer streets from the heart of car culture (Governing)
- Drowsy driving deaths may be 10x more frequent than official stats show (Streetsblog)
- Cities can't be about moving cars (Strong Towns)
- Ready or not, self-driving semi-trucks are coming to America’s highways (Washington Post)
- Coastal U.S. cities top ranking of climate-friendly transportation (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Many 911 call centers are understaffed, and the job has gotten harder (NPR)