In 2019, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) adopted Moving to Our Future: PBOT’s Strategic Plan 2019-2022. The strategic plan emphasizes PBOT’s stronger commitment to transportation justice and calls for more community-driven, culturally responsive outreach and education.
Detailed below are several immediate approaches that Vision Zero is undertaking to engage with partners and community members.
BIPOC-centered Education and Outreach
The Vision Zero team will bring together a cohort of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community members and community-based organization representatives to discuss needs and options for culturally specific safety education and outreach work.
- PBOT’s Frontline Community Partner Program focus group results will provide base level information on community wishes around transportation safety education. The focus groups were completed at the end of 2020.
- PBOT will hire a facilitator through the Two-Year Transportation Justice Partnership program to develop a plan for community education and outreach. The facilitator will convene a multi-cultural cohort to evaluate PBOT’s transportation safety education and programs and inform new campaigns and education programs.
- Decisions and input from this process will directly shape outreach materials and messaging, as well as development of a community grant program (action EA.7 in the Vision Zero Action Plan).
Cross-jurisdictional Safe Systems Collaboration
The Vision Zero team will partner with Metro and Multnomah County to convene a regular meeting of agency partners to advance collaboration on street design and policy work. There are opportunities for jurisdictions across the region to better align technical design guidance, investment priorities and transportation policies. Opportunities for collaboration include:
- Speed limits on city, county (bridges) and state facilities
- Street design changes on roadways that span jurisdictions (e.g. High Crash Network streets that span Portland and Gresham)
- Safe Systems design approaches where Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) ramps intersect with surface streets
- Regional safety messaging and education
- Legislation and broad policy changes that impact the region
Automated Enforcement Outreach
PBOT is currently evaluating expansion of Portland’s automated enforcement system. PBOT will work with traditional partners and contractors from PBOT’s Two-Year Transportation Justice Partnership program to seek community feedback of automated traffic enforcement.
- PBOT will share information about why, where and how Portland uses photo enforcement.
- PBOT will continue to explore ways to reduce the negative impacts of fines on some community members.
- Community members will be asked to share concerns, questions and feedback about how the program can be most beneficial to their communities.
Vision Zero and Safe Systems Dashboard
The Vision Zero team will design and publish an online dashboard in early 2021 to share Vision Zero progress with the public. The goal of the dashboard is to provide clear, easy-to-access updates on street safety actions and programs. The dashboard will be updated quarterly.
Fatal crashes will continue to serve as a primary benchmark, but the dashboard may also include:
- Street design: Project maps and updates, street lighting infill
- Crashes: Portland Fire & Rescue data, injury crashes, quarterly trends
- Speed: Project level evaluation results, speed reductions, speed safety camera data
- Impairment: Information about DUI-prevention programs such as Safe Ride Home
- Dangerous behaviors: Red light citations and speed citations
- Safe systems changes: Vehicle safety upgrades, pilot projects (e.g. left turn calming)
- Community engagement: Street safety education and outreach events and trainings
PBOT will utilize the Two-Year Transportation Justice Partnership program to share the dashboard with community members twice a year (in-language and culturally relevant). Community-based organizations will share relevant trends with community members and help foster discussion about street safety. The dashboard will be a living platform with data, program and project updates shared as Vision Zero work progresses.