In this email
- Watch our high school intern's video!
- Ask a PBOT expert
- Speed limit changes
- Free upcoming PBOT bike events
- Volunteer opportunities with PBOT
- Tell Metro which transportation projects you want funded
- High Crash Network projects
- Access the latest deadly crash data
- Remember to say crash, not accident
- Free Vision Zero materials and yard signs
- Personal safety community resources
- What we're reading
Watch our high school intern's video!
Helping us understand Vision Zero's Safe System approach
To better engage with youth, Portland Bureau of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program employed two high school interns, Jason and Matthew, through a partnership with ROSE Community Development Corporation’s Lents Youth Initiative—a leadership training program for teens. Over the summer, Jason and Matthew focused their time on various projects in support of Safe Routes to School as well as Vision Zero. As part of the internship, Jason created a video to help the community better understand Vision Zero's Safe System approach to traffic safety.
Watch Jason's video about Vision Zero Safe System approach
Ask a PBOT expert
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 some of these question and answers in our newsletter, edited for clarity and brevity, to highlight insights and ideas that benefit us all.
Question: There needs to be better education for pedestrians and bicyclists because we can't trust drivers to do the right thing. You want Vision Zero? Then educate pedestrians and bicyclists. Traffic safety education needs to be a priority in schools.
Answer: You're right to be concerned. Of all the people using our streets, people driving motor vehicles have the greatest influence on the severity of crashes. While an alert driver can change the intensity of a crash by reducing driving speed and applying responsive braking, an alert pedestrian doesn't change the physics of a crash.
With all that said, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program does provide transportation safety education for students in Portland schools—including pedestrian and bike safety education! The Safe Routes to School team works with schools to provide this education so that kids in Portland know how to navigate streets safely and responsibly.
We also regularly share traffic safety information and resources with adults in our community to help them make safe decisions on our streets. For example, this winter we distributed handheld lights to people walking, biking, and rolling near high crash intersections to help increase visibility during darker months.
Learn more about Safe Routes to School
Speed limit changes
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is updating speed limits citywide to set safe travel speeds. Why? Because speed is a top contributing factor to traffic deaths. Safe speeds lower the risk of crashes, and when crashes occur, safe speeds make it less likely that people are killed or seriously injured. We track speed limit changes online.
Recent changes
Locations where PBOT reduced the speed limit in the past three months:
45 to 40 mph
- N Portland Road from the Columbia Slough Bridge to Suttle Road
30 to 25 mph
- N Argyle Street/Way from Interstate Avenue to Columbia Boulevard
Upcoming changes
Locations where PBOT recently received approval from the Oregon Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit in the past three months. PBOT will post new speed limit signs in the upcoming months:
35 to 30 mph
- N Schmeer Road from Vancouver to Denver avenues
30 to 25 mph
- N Weidler Street from Ross to NE Grand avenues and 16th to 24th avenues
- N Broadway Street from Larabee to NE Grand avenues and 24th to 33rd avenues
- SW Vermont Street from 30th to 52nd avenues
- NW Miller Road from Cornell to Thompson roads
- N Mississippi Avenue from Cook to Russell streets
30 to 20 mph
- NE Weidler Street from Grand to 16th avenues
- NE Broadway Street from Grand to 24th avenues
Learn more about speed limit changes in Portland
Free upcoming PBOT bike events
Reducing driving is core to our Vision Zero work
We can eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland by significantly changing the design of our most deadly streets to slow drivers—as well as make it easier for people to get around without a car, something that is closely correlated with traffic deaths. Below are several free events Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) created to help make biking more desirable and easier to incorporate into your daily routines!
Earth Day Community Bike Ride
Saturday, April 19
Join PBOT's Portland by Cycle team on an Earth Day Community Bike Ride from Colonel Summers to Laurelhurst parks for the Earth Day - Together as One celebration on Saturday, April 19. Meet at 11 and ride at 11:30 am. using neighborhood greenways, Portland's quiet, slow streets that are prioritized for walking, biking, and rolling.
Learn more about the Earth Day Community Bike Ride
Earth Day Bike Bus
Tuesday, April 22
Commute to downtown with the City of Portland's special Earth Day Bike Bus the morning of Tuesday, April 22. We're inviting the public to join one of nine different routes across the city from the start or anywhere along the route. Everyone will arrive at Salmon Street Springs by 8:15 a.m. Hang around for coffee, treats, e-bike demos, music, and more!
Learn more about the Earth Day Bike Bus
Portland by Cycle Ride: Brentwood-Darlington
Wednesday, April 23
Join PBOT's Portland by Cycle team's for a 7-mile, moderate-pace, no-drop bike tour of some of Southeast Portland's new neighborhood greenways on Wednesday, April 23. Meet at Brentwood Darlington Community Center (7211 SE 62nd Ave.) at 5:30 and ride at 6 p.m.
Learn more about the Portland by Cycle Ride: Brentwood-Darlington
Bike Month Challenge 2025
Thursday, May 1 - Saturday, May 31
The Bike Month Challenge is back! Log your bike trips on the Get There Oregon webpage. Qualify for prize drawings and to hold the title of "Bike Month Champion." Join your work team or form your own team to compete, have fun, and win prizes!
Learn more about the 2025 Bike Month Challenge
Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair
Friday, May 2
The Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair at Multnomah Arts Center (7688 SW Capitol Hwy.) is a family-friendly event on Friday, May 2 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Activities include biking lessons, learn-to-ride coaching, quick-fix bike repair, and helmet fitting. Bikes are available to borrow for the learn-to-ride lessons!
Learn more about Southwest Neighborhood Bike Fair
Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop
Sunday, May 4
The Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop at Sellwood Library (7860 SE 13th Ave.) is your opportunity to learn about bike maintenance and get some hands-on experience doing basic repairs on Sunday, May 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. Come with questions about issues you might have!
Learn more about Basic Bike Maintenance Workshop
Southwest Portland Sunday Parkways
Sunday, May 18
Come celebrate National Bike Month and enjoy car-free streets at Southwest Portland Sunday Parkways, presented by Kaiser Permanente, on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. As a beloved Portland tradition since 2008, enjoy a welcoming environment for active living, community connection, and civic pride on Portland’s largest public space—its streets!
Learn more about Southwest Portland Sunday Parkways
Volunteer opportunities with PBOT
Transportation Ambassador
Apply by Friday, April 18
Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) Transportation Ambassador program is a group of volunteers who support transportation fairs, bike rides, community outreach, and more! Volunteers should expect to commit to a minimum of two events in 2025. In addition to volunteer opportunities, PBOT also host Transportation Ambassador get-togethers such as walks, pizza outings, rides and more.
Learn more about the Transportation Ambassador program
2045 TSP Community Advisory Committee
Apply by Monday, April 21
The 2045 Transportation System Plan (TSP) will guide transportation policies and investments for the City of Portland over a 20-year period. The 2045 TSP Community Advisory Committee will advise Portland Bureau of Transportation leadership and staff on key tasks, focus on technical analysis policies and outcomes, and provide valuable insight into community priorities.
Learn more about the 2045 TSP Community Advisory Committee
Tell Metro which transportation projects you want funded
Comment now through Wednesday, April 30
Once every three years, Metro opens a competitive grant process called Regional Flexible Funds Allocation (RFFA). This is a chance for cities throughout the region to fund new transportation projects using federal funding. The City of Portland submitted six exciting projects—four are located on Portland's High Crash Network.
From now until Wednesday, April 30, you may submit public comment to help Metro decide how the region spends an estimated $42 million to improve walking, biking and access to transit. With requests for over $140 million submitted this cycle, not all projects will be funded, so it’s important for you to make your voice heard if you think there are projects the region should prioritize. You can view all of the projects on the 2028-2030 RFFA Candidate Projects webpage.
Comment now on Metro's 2028-30 RFFA Candidate Projects
High Crash Network projects
Portland Bureau of Transportation prioritizes safety investments on our highest crash streets and intersections in areas with higher proportions of people of color and people living with lower incomes. In recent years, 67% of traffic deaths occurred on the High Crash Network. We track recently completed and currently under construction High Crash Network projects online.
Learn more about High Crash Network projects
Access the latest deadly crash data
Our 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. Staff update the dashboard regularly. Preliminary deadly crash data is updated monthly, while other data is updated quarterly or annually, based on availability.
Learn more about the Vision Zero dashboard
Remember to say crash, not accident
We want to change the way we talk about crashes and remind each other that they are predictable and preventable. A Vision Zero approach refuses to accept the idea that crashes are inevitable. That's why we're saying crash, not accident! Will you join us?
Learn more about why we say crash, not accident
Free Vision Zero materials and yard signs
Help educate the people in your community about Vision Zero, Portland's commitment to eliminate serious and fatal traffic injuries. Order and receive stickers, brochures, and fliers in the mail or pick-up a yard sign at the Portland Building. Materials are available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Lao, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Learn more about how to get free Vision Zero materials
Personal safety community resources
We want to help create a transportation system that allows all people to feel safe getting where they need to go. We put together free, accessible personal safety resources for community members, including how to report a non-urgent traffic safety concern, report bias and hate, participate in a self-defense workshop, and more.
Learn more about personal safety community resources
What we're reading
- ‘Direct vision’ truck designs could reduce injuries, fatalities on city streets, stakeholder group says (Smart Cities Dive)
- National coalition launched to modernize traffic enforcement and safety (Center for Policing Equity)
- 10 road safety do's and don'ts that might just save your life (NPR)
- If cameras don’t slow serial speeders, ‘limiters’ can (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Georgia on cusp of becoming second state to authorize speed-limiting tech to stop super speeders (Families for Safe Streets)
- NYC finalizes new rules to crack down on obscured license plates to protect public safety (NYC.gov)
- Oregon Democrats unveil $1.9 billion transportation funding plan (Oregon Capitol Chronicle)
- Cars aren't tested properly for women's safety. Congress is trying to fix that. (NBC News)
- Women put off cycling by safety fears and intimidating drivers – study (The Guardian)
- How SUVs are making traffic worse (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Arterials, Capillaries, Fractals and FClass (ProFound City Insights)
- How vehicle safety regulations have changed over the past 50 years (WFTV9)
Parts of this document were drafted with the support of ChatGPT. The content was edited and fact-checked by city staff.