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Newsletter
PBOT's Vision Zero February 2026 newsletter.
Published
Updated
Local transportation funding conversations are happening in all four council districts
Join the conversation about local transportation funding and weigh in on a variety of options and opportunities at an open house in your district.
Portland is experiencing a transportation funding crisis. Since 2020, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has cut over $42 million of General Transportation Revenue–backed expenses. These significant cuts to the city's discretionary transportation revenue impact all our work. Our streets are falling apart, our bridges are aging, and we can't afford to make the safety improvements our communities are asking for. The cost of transportation construction has gone up, and funding hasn't increased to pay for it.
The longer we wait to repair our transportation assets, the more expensive and expansive the problems get.
Portland City Council is talking about how to solve this problem. Come to an open house to learn more — and give us your feedback — about:
- the options to raise more money
- the kinds of things that the city would spend the money on
- ways to review and monitor the spending
Learn more about Local Transportation Funding
Join us at an upcoming open house
District 4 Local Transportation Funding Open House
Date: Thursday, February 19
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Rieke Elementary School gym (1405 SW Vermont St.)
Learn more about the District 4 Local Transportation Funding Open House
District 1 Local Transportation Funding Open House
Date: Monday, February 23
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Lent Elementary School cafeteria (5105 SE 97th Ave.)
Learn more about the District 1 Local Transportation Funding Open House
District 3 Local Transportation Funding Open House
Date: Wednesday, February 25
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Atkinson Elementary School cafeteria (5800 SE Division St.)
Learn more about the District 3 Local Transportation Funding Open House
District 2 Local Transportation Funding Open House
Date: Tuesday, March 3
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School cafeteria (4906 NE 6th Ave.)
Learn more about the District 2 Local Transportation Funding Open House
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Evaluation reports decreased deadly and serious injury crashes, pedestrian crashes, and speeds on SE Foster Road
What is the Foster Road Streetscape Project?
The Foster Road Streetscape Project extends from SE 52nd to 90th avenues. The goal of the project was to transform SE Foster Road from a high speed, auto-oriented corridor into a more balanced streetscape that is safer and more accessible for people walking, biking, taking transit, and driving. Construction was completed in late 2018.
Project elements include:
- Converting SE Foster Road from four vehicle travel lanes to two vehicle travel lanes, bike lanes, and a center turn lane
- Upgrading traffic signals at SE Holgate Street and 72nd Avenue
- Adding new median refuge islands with rapid flashing beacons at SE 58th, Mall, 65th, 69th, 74th, and 84th avenues
- Upgrading curb ramps
- Widening sidewalks
- Adding new street trees
- Adding new ornamental lighting
Funding for this $9 million project came from the Fixing Our Streets — Portland's voter-approved 10-cent gas tax and heavy vehicle use tax, the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal District, Transportation System Development Charges, and a federal grant.
Evaluation
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staff collected data before and after project construction to evaluate changes to speed, transit travel time, vehicle travel time, diversion into neighborhood streets, crashes, and compliance with active transportation guidelines.
Results achieve most project goals
The Foster Road Streetscape Project Evaluation Report shows the project achieved most project goals with minimal undesirable outcomes.
Crashes
- Deadly and serious injury crashes and pedestrian crashes decreased relative to area trends
- Bike crashes decreased overall but increased relative to area trends
Speed
- Median and prevailing vehicle speeds decreased
- Top-end speeding decreased substantially
Traffic
- Vehicle travel times were recorded at or under projected increases
- Traffic volumes decreased on SE Foster Road
- No substantial changes to traffic volumes noticed on parallel streets
Once more crash data is available, PBOT staff will update the report to show the project's impact on serious injury and deadly crashes.
Read the SE Foster Road Streetscape Project Evaluation Report
Ask a PBOT expert
Our Vision Zero inbox is filled with thoughtful questions from community members about traffic safety — and our team strives 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 questions and answers in our newsletter, edited for clarity and brevity, to highlight insights and ideas that benefit us all.
Question: When Portland Bureau of Transportation receives traffic safety funding, what does that actually pay for?
Answer: Traffic safety funds help us design and build projects that prevent serious deaths and injuries on Portland streets. Safety funding supports projects and programs that improve streets with the highest crash risk, slow driving speeds, make walking, biking, and rolling safer, and address needs in areas with higher traffic safety disparities.
Improve streets with the highest crash risk
We focus on the High Crash Network, the 8% of Portland streets where a majority of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur. On these streets, safety funds help deliver:
- Safer crossings, including pedestrian islands and rectangular rapid flashing beacons
- Signal updates, including pedestrian head starts and protected left turns
- Safer speeds, though speed limit reductions and traffic calming
- Protected bike lanes and other bikeway improvements
- Lighting improvements to increase visibility
These changes have been proven to reduce crashes and lessen the severity of injuries when crashes do happen.
Slow driving speeds
Vehicle speeds is one of the top contributing factors in deadly crashes in Portland. Lower speeds reduce both the likelihood of a crash and the risk of serious injury. Safety funding supports:
- Speed limit evaluations and reductions
- Traffic calming projects on neighborhood streets
- Street design changes that encourage people to drive at safer speeds
Make walking, biking, and rolling safer
Safety funding helps build infrastructure that protects people outside of vehicles, including:
- Sidewalk infill
- Curb extensions
- Protected intersections
- ADA curb ramp updates
These improvements are especially important for older adults, children, and people with disabilities.
Address needs in areas with higher traffic safety disparities
Vision Zero prioritizes investments in communities that have been historically underserved and experience higher crash risk. Safety funding supports projects identified through data analysis.
Learn more about how we are making streets safer through Vision Zero
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.
35 to 30 mph
- N Schmeer Road from Interstate to Vancouver avenues
30 to 25 mph
- SE 92nd Avenue from Stark to Lincoln streets
- SE 92nd Avenue from Lincoln Street to 91st Place
- César E Chávez Boulevard from NE Sandy to SE Holgate boulevards
25 to 20 mph
- N Russell Street from Interstate to Kerby avenues
Upcoming changes
Locations where PBOT recently received approval from the Oregon Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit. PBOT will post new speed limit signs in the upcoming months.
45 to 40 mph
- SE McLoughlin Boulevard from Franklin to Harold streets
- NE Lombard/Killingsworth streets from 450' east of 82nd Avenue to Sandy Boulevard
45 to 35 mph
- NE Lombard/Killingsworth streets from 82nd Avenue to 450' east of 82nd Avenue
40 to 35 mph
- N Columbia Boulevard from Portsmouth Avenue to Upland Drive
- NE Sandy Boulevard from 124th Place to 200' east of 165th Avenue
40 to 30 mph
- NE 138th Avenue from Marine Drive to Sandy Boulevard
35 to 30 mph
- N Whitaker Way from 122nd to 138th avenues
- SW Bertha Boulevard from Barbur Boulevard to Chestnut Drive
30 to 25 mph
- NE Killingsworth Street from 42nd Avenue to Lombard Street
- N Mississippi Avenue from Cook to Russell streets
- SE Division Street from Third to 52nd avenues
- SE Thorburn Street and Gilham Avenue to Washington Street and I-205
Establish 25 mph speed limit
- NE Holman Street from 80th Avenue to 82nd Avenue Frontage Road
- NE 82nd Avenue Frontage Road from Holman Street to 82nd Avenue
25 to 20 mph
- SE Belmont Street from Grand to 49th avenues
- S Corbett Avenue from Grover to Hamilton streets
Learn more about speed limit changes in Portland
High Crash Network safety 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 2024, 71% 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 safety projects
"Light up the night" efforts continue at East Portland high crash intersections this winter
Improving visibility is a critical step in preventing deadly crashes. In 2024, 83% percent of traffic deaths and 86% of pedestrian deaths occurred in nighttime conditions, from dusk to dawn. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is prioritizing visibility improvements across the city.
This month, Vision Zero staff and volunteers continue their outreach efforts at some of East Portland's highest-crash intersections, including:
- NE 82nd Avenue and Jonesmore Street
- NE 122nd Avenue and Glisan Street
- SE Stark and 143rd Avenue
The team distributes handheld safety lights, reflectors, and safety information directly to community members while also sharing positive, safety-focused messages with people driving motor vehicles who are stopped at signals.
The effort kicked off on New Year's Eve and has partnered with several community organizations since then, including: Cultivate Initiatives, Division Midway Alliance, The Rosewood Initiative, and the Midland Library.
Long-term visibility investments
PBOT's work to improve visibility goes beyond short-term outreach. Long-term investments include:
- Investing more than $16.5 million in street lighting improvements on Portland's highest-crash streets and intersections.
- Managing over 50,000 LED streetlights citywide, which provide better illumination and use about 50% less energy than older lights.
- Improving signal visibility by replacing older 8-inch lenses with standard 12-inch lenses and adding retroreflective yellow borders to signal backboards.
- Restriping the entire High Crash Network with more reflective materials to make lane markings easier to see at night.
- Installing 32,000 new, high-visibility street name signs across Portland.
Together, these short- and long-term efforts help reduce crashes in dark conditions and support Portland's Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Learn more about Vision Zero's Safe System approach
When will the Portland 2025 Deadly Traffic Crash Report be available?
Each winter, Vision Zero staff evaluate and analyze 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 life 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.
The city expects to publish a final deadly traffic crash report with preliminary 2025 figures in the first three months of 2026. Vision Zero staff analyze all deadly and serious injury crashes for all modes — pedestrians, people on bikes, people on motorcycles, and people in motor vehicles. The program also analyzes all other crashes involving pedestrians and people on bikes, regardless of severity.
Learn more about Annual Deadly Traffic Crash Report
How to get the latest deadly crash information
To learn about deadly crashes in a timely manner sign up for Portland Police Bureau news releases via email. The news releases include updates on deadly crashes as well as public safety, critical incidents, and efforts to build trust and transparency.
Sign up for Portland Police Bureau news releases
Preliminary deadly crash data updated monthly
Also available is the Vision Zero dashboard, which provides crash statistics on all deadly and serious injury crashes and all other crashes involving pedestrians and people on bikes, regardless of severity. Additionally, the Vision Zero dashboard displays information about traffic safety improvements from the past five to 10 years and data relating to performance measures. Preliminary deadly crash data is updated monthly, while other data is updated quarterly or annually, based on availability.
Access the Vision Zero dashboard
Get home safe: Snow and ice travel tips
During winter storms, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) work 24/7 to clear hazards from city streets and keep emergency routes open. Before the storm arrives, plan for winter weather:
- Create an emergency plan for winter with family and co-workers. Plan to work from home if you can or take public transit.
- Make a checklist for your home, business, and vehicle. Have ice melt and snow shovels ready to clear sidewalks. Consider overhead dangers such as trees or powerlines. Be prepared to keep ditches, culverts, and trash racks clear of debris if your home or business is in an area prone to landslides. Carry snow chains for your vehicles.
- Stay informed. Sign up for PBOT alerts via text or email. Follow @PBOTInfo on all social media. Visit PBOT's Guide to the Winter Weather Center to learn how to track the latest weather, traffic, road closure, and snowplow information.
- Stock up on food, water, clothes, and medications you, your family, your pets, or your business will need in case you are stranded by winter weather — at home or in your vehicle.
- Check in with vulnerable neighbors who may need help ahead of a storm or clearing their sidewalks afterward.
- Prepare to move your car off PBOT's "snow and ice" routes to give room for snowplows and other equipment.
Learn more about how to plan for winter weather
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 reflective stickers and pins, brochures, and fliers in the mail or pick-up a yard sign. Materials are available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Lao, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Return of "20 is plenty" yard signs!
You loved them, and now they're back! Come get your "20 is plenty" yard sign at the Portland Building (1120 SW Fifth Ave.) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
20 mph speed limit supports safety
Most residential streets in Portland are narrow, have few marked crosswalks, and no bike lanes. Given the neighborhood use and lack of protection for people walking, using mobility devices, and biking, it is important that people drive slowly on residential streets.
Slower speeds lower the risk of crashes. When crashes occur, slower speeds make it less likely that people are killed or seriously injured. A pedestrian struck by a person driving 20 mph is four times more likely to survive than a pedestrian struck at 40 mph.
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 anon-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
- New York City Driver Behavior Study: The Rise of Reckless Driving 2020-2023 (New York City Department of Transportation)
- The best tactics for tackling speeders (Bloomberg CityLab)
- US DOT looks to limit traffic safety camera funding (Smart Cities Dive)
- Improving road safety is a win for the climate, too (Streetsblog)
- 7 reasons bike lanes and sidewalks are good for drivers (Toole Design)
- More than 1,000 organizations urge congress to protect federal funding for walking and biking (Momentum Magazine)
Parts of this document were edited with the support of ChatGPT. City staff reviewed and fact-checked all content.