In this email
- Community has generally favorable response to PBOT SE Division Street safety project
- Survey finds Portlanders strongly support automated enforcement for safer streets
- Building a Better 82nd: Using signal timing to improve safety
- Opportunities for youth
- Ask a PBOT expert
- When will the Portland 2024 Deadly Traffic Crash Report be available?
- Recent and upcoming changes to speed limits
- High Crash Network projects
- Vision Zero Dashboard: Monthly, updated deadly crash data
- Remember to say crash, not accident!
- Free Vision Zero pins, stickers, brochures, fliers, and yard signs
- Personal safety resources
- What we're reading
Community has generally favorable response to SE Division Street safety project
What is the Outer Division Safety Project?
The Outer Division Safety Project was designed to increase safety for people walking, biking, rolling, and driving on one of Portland's highest-crash corridors through proven and nationally-recognized traffic safety tools. The project improved SE Division Street between 80th and 174th avenues in Powellhurst-Gilbert, Montavilla, Mill Park, Hazelwood, and Centennial neighborhoods. Construction began in 2021 and was fully completed in 2024.
Evaluation
After completing much of the project, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) conducted two evaluations: a quantitative evaluation focused on safety, and a qualitative evaluation focused on community experiences. For the latter, PBOT staff surveyed 230+ community members at more than a dozen events to learn about their experiences traveling along the corridor.
Survey shows improved corridor experience, mixed feedback on specific treatments
Most survey respondents felt that the Outer Division Safety Project improved their overall experience along SE Division Street. Reflecting on some of the specific project elements, many respondents expressed ambivalence or slight dissatisfaction. Top-level findings include:
- Sixty percent of participants stated that the project had a positive or very positive impact on their ability to commute, work, play, or pray along the corridor.
- Participants overwhelmingly reported (92%) that every type of safety treatment made travel feel “safer” or “about the same.”
The Outer Division Safety Project Post-Project Community Experience Summary includes more information about key findings and a brief description of who we heard from through surveys and community conversations.
Read the Post-Project Community Experience Summary
Survey finds Portlanders strongly support automated enforcement for safer streets
This fall, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) surveyed nearly 2,000 Portlanders about traffic safety and automated enforcement, and the results are clear: Portlanders strongly support measures to improve safety on our streets. Here’s what we learned:
- Strong support for automated enforcement: A supermajority supports using intersection safety cameras (82%) and speed safety cameras (76%) to enforce traffic laws.
- Fairness and awareness: Most survey participants (71%) believe photo enforcement is fair, and awareness of these tools is high (94% for intersection safety cameras, 82% for speed safety cameras).
- Concern about traffic safety: The majority (58%) feel traffic safety is worsening on all street types.
- Demand for more enforcement: 79% of respondents think Portland isn’t enforcing traffic laws enough.
- Agreement on speeding risks: A near-universal 93% agree that speeding increases crash risks and the severity of injuries and fatalities.
These insights highlight Portlanders’ desire for stronger traffic law enforcement to create safer streets for all. Survey feedback will help the city work toward Vision Zero, Portland’s goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on our streets.
PBOT and PPB operate safety cameras at and along the highest-crash streets and intersections across the city. These cameras, along with infrastructure and education, play a critical part to help enforce safe driving behaviors.
Learn more about speed and intersection safety cameras
Building a Better 82nd: Using signal timing to improve safety
To help make critical safety improvements to 82nd Avenue, one of Portland's highest-crash corridors, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) traffic signal engineers are finding opportunities to address safety through signal timing. With $4 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, PBOT is using traffic signal timing to better manage traffic flow, lower vehicle speeds, and enhance safety for everyone using the street—whether walking, biking, taking transit, or driving.
Traditionally, traffic signal engineers use signal timing to move more cars through a corridor. Instead, at PBOT, we are focused on how to move more people to where they need to go, safely.
Opportunities for youth
Rose City Self-Defense youth personal safety classes
Registration open now
Rose City Self-Defense empowers girls, women and the LGBTQ+ community. Youth-based classes are open to ages 11-14. Two-part series classes are available in February, April, May, and June in neighborhoods across the city. All programming is free!
Learn more about youth personal safety classes
Winter Walk + Roll to School Day
Wednesday, February 5
Put on your snow or rain boots and walk or roll to school while enjoying wintertime in Portland. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, schools across Portland and the state are celebrating Winter Walk + Roll to School Day! This annual tradition is just one fantastic opportunity for the local school community to come together, build connections, and celebrate getting to school in a fun and sustainable way.
Learn more about Winter Walk + Roll to School Day
Teens in the Driver Seat Driving the Message Contest
Due Friday, February 14
This year's Teens in the Driver Seat, a peer-to-peer safety program for America's youth, Driving the Message Contest will give junior high and high school students an opportunity to showcase their creative talents. Students have a chance to win prizes of up to $1,500 plus an opportunity to have a professional film crew re-produce your video!
Learn more about the Driving the Message Contest
Project Yellow Light scholarship competition
Due Saturday, March 1 and Tuesday, April 1
People know distracted driving is dangerous, but they do it anyway. As a Project Yellow Light applicant you have one clear mission: create a public service announcement to encourage your friends to avoid distracted driving, specifically using your phone while driving. Scholarships range from $2,000 to $8,000.
Learn more about Project Yellow Light's scholarship competition
Ask a PBOT expert
Every year, our Vision Zero inbox is filled with thoughtful questions from community members about traffic safety—and our team works hard to provide equally thoughtful answers. These exchanges often spark meaningful conversations, and we believe they deserve a bigger audience. That’s why we’re sharing a standout question and answer in our newsletter, edited for clarity and brevity, to highlight insights and ideas that benefit us all. We hope you find it as enlightening as we did!
Q: Portland voter here—are there ways I or other Portland residents can get involved to help make streets safer? This has been a recurring topic with my neighbors in NW Portland.
A: There are several impactful ways you and your neighbors can help:
- Be a good role model: Drive responsibly—follow the speed limit or slower, never drive under the influence, yield to pedestrians, and avoid distractions. By modeling safe driving behaviors, you’ll influence those around you and help normalize responsible habits.
- Advocate for safety: Share your support for safe streets with city leaders, including city councilors, the mayor, and Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staff. Messages that push for safety improvements and express gratitude for existing efforts help maintain political and community support, especially during public feedback periods for specific projects.
- Support transportation funding. PBOT faces significant budget challenges. Supporting funding options that focus on making our streets safer—both at the city and state levels—can make a big difference.
- Spread the word. Talk with friends, family, and neighbors about the importance of safe streets. Many people want safer streets but may hesitate to adjust their habits or support funding increases. Helping more people understand these connections will encourage cultural shifts around safety and drive meaningful change.
Learn more about how you can help us end traffic violence in Portland
When will the Portland 2024 Deadly Traffic Crash Report be available?
Each winter, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) evaluates and analyzes the previous calendar year's deadly traffic crashes in Portland and reports on local trends.
Understanding the circumstances and factors associated with the loss of each of these lives is core to our work. The people who have died on Portland’s streets were children, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, neighbors, and friends. Their lives were cut short. Their loss has left gaping holes in the hearts of those who knew them and loved them.
PBOT is expecting to publish the 2024 report in the first quarter of the year (before March 31). To create the report, the Vision Zero team uses finalized and preliminary traffic death data from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland Police Bureau.
Learn more about the Annual Deadly Traffic Crash Report
Recent and upcoming changes to speed limits
Speed is a top contributing factor to traffic deaths
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 speeds. Why? Because 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.
Recent changes
Locations where PBOT reduced the speed limits in the last month:
30 to 25 mph
- SE 92nd Avenue from 91st Place to Reedway Street
- SW Huber Street from Capitol Highway to 35th Avenue
Upcoming changes
Locations where PBOT recently received approval from the Oregon Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit and will post new speed limit signs in the coming months:
35 to 30 mph
- SE 162nd Avenue from Stark Street to Powell Boulevard
30 to 25 mph
- NE Fremont Avenue from SE 102nd to 122nd avenues
- SE 92nd Avenue from Lincoln Street to 91st Place
- SW 62nd Avenue from Taylors Ferry Road to Pomona Street
- N Argyle Street/Way from Interstate Avenue to Columbia Boulevard
30 to 20 mph
- N Mississippi Avenue from Fremont to Cook streets
PBOT speed limit map
PBOT's speed limit map shows the locations and extents of speed limits on Portland's streets—excluding freeways. (Please note that it may be several months before the map displays the updated speed limits due to limited staff capacity.)
Learn more about PBOT's speed limit map
High Crash Network projects
The Portland Bureau of Transportation prioritizes safety investments in Portland's highest-crash streets and intersections. These 30 streets 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 communities with higher proportions of people of color and lower median incomes.
Recently completed projects
- Brentwood-Darlington Multimodal Improvements
- Central Eastside Access and Circulation Project
- 82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Signing and Striping and Street Lighting
Projects under construction
- NE Killingsworth Safer Crossings Project
- SW Fourth Avenue Improvement Project
- 82nd Avenue: Klickitat to Lambert and Beech and Ash crossings, Major Maintenance Project
Learn more about the High Crash Network
Vision Zero Dashboard: Monthly, updated deadly crash data
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 dashboard regularly. Preliminary deadly crash data is updated monthly, while other data is updated quarterly or annually based on availability from our program partners, including the Portland Police Bureau.
Learn more about the Vision Zero Dashboard
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?
Learn more about why we say crash, not 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.
- Pick-up a yard sign from the Portland Building front desk
Learn more about how to get free Vision Zero materials
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.
PDX 311 is available to help with any local government questions or service needs. Staff are fluent in English, Spanish, Romanian, and Tagalog and have resources for additional languages.
Learn more about personal safety resources
What we're reading
- How to teach bike safety to kids: What Seattle is doing as traffic deaths rise (Seattle Times)
- High-visibility clothing may thwart pedestrian crash prevention sensors (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Taller vehicles are more dangerous to pedestrians, even at low speeds, research finds (NPR)
- Preventing unsafe speeds (Vision Zero Network)
- The deadly trio on U.S. roads—speeding, distractions, and aggression (AAA)
- A third of Americans don’t drive. So why is our transportation so car-centric? (Yale Climate Connections)
- Why it’s so frickin’ hard to stop driving (Slate)
- People know distracted driving is unsafe but do it anyway, survey shows (Family Safety & Health)
- As marijuana use grows, effect on road safety remains a blind spot (New York Times)
- Drunk driving in the U.S. rose in recent years. Would a lower legal limit improve safety? (PBS News)
- You aren't imagining it. Car headlights are brighter. (Albuquerque Journal)
- Can states hit the brakes on runaway roadbuilding? (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Big gains in San Francisco street safety are elusive. This traffic expert tells why. (The Frisc)
- Functional Engineering: The practices of compassionate engineering (ProFound City Insights)