Safe Routes to School Program Traffic Calming: Multiple Locations

What is happening now?  

We are currently working on design for the following traffic calming projects which will be built in spring/summer 2026:

NE Shaver Street from 115th to 122nd Avenue
NE 92nd Avenue

Completed Projects

2025
SE Alder Street, from SE 155th to SE 162nd Avenue  (2025)

2024
SE 104th, from Powell to Holgate Boulevard (2024)
SE Holgate, from SE 122nd to SE 136th Avenue (2024)

2023
N Midway Avenue, from N Columbia Blvd to N Fessenden Street (2023)
N Peninsular Avenue, from N Columbia Blvd to N Lombard Street (2023)
SE 117th Avenue, from E Burnside to SE Market Street (2023)
NE 15th Avenue, from NE Skidmore St to NE Mason Street (2023)
SW 16th Avenue, from SW Clifton to SW Spring Street (2023)

2022
N Smith Street, from N Bruce to N Oregonian Avenue (2022)
N Burr Avenue, from N Lombard to N Bank Street (2022)
N Ida Avenue, from N Lombard to N Smith Street (2022)
SW Canyon Court at SW 58th Avenue (2022)

2021
NE 41st Avenue, from Interstate 84 to NE Glisan Street (2021)
NE Royal Court, from NE César E Chávez Blvd to NE 43rd Avenue (2021)
NE 92nd Avenue, from NE Fremont to NE Halsey Street (2021)

2020
SE Main Street, from SE 137th to 148th Avenue (2020)
SE 34th Avenue, from SE Belmont to Hawthorne Boulevard (2020)
SW Shattuck Road, from SW Windsor Ct to Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (2020)

2019
SE 33rd Place, from SE Holgate Blvd to SE Raymond Street (2019)
SE Stark St, from SE 14th to SE 18th Avenue (2019)
SE Duke Street, from SE 72nd to 82nd Avenue
SE Knapp Street, from SE 82nd to 92nd Avenue
NE Fremont St, from N Albina Ave to N Gantenbein Avenue (2019)
SW 45th Avenue, from SW Hamilton St to Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway (2019)
SW 47th Avenue, from SW Hamilton St to SW Julia Street (2019)
NE Tillamook Street, from NE 72nd Dr to NE 82nd Avenue
NE Siskiyou Street, from NE 72nd to NE 82nd Avenue
N Willis Boulevard, from N Hodge to N Haven Avenue (2019)
SW 17th Avenue, from SW Spring Garden St to SW Taylors Ferry Road
SW Spring Garden Street, from SW 20th Ave to SW Taylors Ferry Road

Types of speed bumps and cushions

Portland uses three types of speed bumps and cushions to slow traffic: standard speed bumps, emergency vehicle bumps (also called speed cushions or fire-friendly bumps), and bike-friendly bumps. The Safe Routes to School program typically only uses standard speed bumps or emergency speed cushions depending on the street designation. We have included the bicycle bump here for additional information. 

View full size image of Three images showing the three types of traffic calming bumps or cushions: a speed bump with no channels, an emergency vehicle bump with three channels, and a bicycle bump, with two channels.

All types of traffic calming bumps and cushions are intended to slow vehicles to posted speeds, with different characteristics depending on the type of street. 

Speed Bumps

• Typically used on neighborhood streets or Neighborhood Greenway routes 

Emergency vehicle bumps / Fire-Friendly Speed Bumps / Speed Cushions

• Have three channels built into them, spaced to let emergency vehicles pass through with less delay
• Passenger vehicles and trucks, with smaller wheel spacing, usually must still pass over part of the bump
• Typically used on streets designated as Major Emergency Routes, after approval from Portland Fire and Rescue. Major Emergency Routes are part of a network of streets meant to facilitate prompt emergency response.

Bike-friendly Bumps

• Have two channels designated for people biking to ride through a speed bump rather than over it
• Typically used on Neighborhood Greenway routes where people bicycling and pedestrians are given priority