The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has made headlines again with its Vision Zero initiative, focusing on a future where streets are safe from the fear of traffic incidents and the risks of emotional, psychological, and physical harm, as detailed in their June 2024 newsletter. Vision Zero is Portland's ambitious commitment not only to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries but also to ensuring that all Portlanders feel a sense of belonging and safety in their shared public spaces.
The newsletter highlights PBOT's collaboration with Division Midway Alliance and the Coalition of Communities of Color Research Justice Institute, a partnership that gave rise to the "Beyond Traffic Safety: Building community belonging and safety in public spaces" report, it's an aggregation of people's personal accounts which has defined what safety means to the community, this report comes after two years of hard work and is funded by the National Safety Council Road to Zero Coalition. Alongside this, PBOT is testing out the "Personal Safety Toolkit" that was included in the report in its upcoming 122nd Avenue Safe Streets for All Project, which promises substantial safety upgrades from SE Foster Road to NE Sandy Boulevard.
The legacy of PBOT’s work is also reflected in the Outer Division Safety Project, which has rolled out nationally recognized traffic safety measures on SE Division Street through several neighborhoods. Improvements from this project include more frequent pedestrian crossings, new streetlighting, and the addition of protected bike lanes. A recent evaluation report of the project, now available to the public, has shown a marked improvement in the conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, noting that there’s now a crossing nearby along 90% of the corridor and almost all bus stops have convenient crossing options.
Additional improvements are in the pipeline for SE Division Street, PBOT has its work cut out for it will add more lighting and construct median strips to enhance safety further, they’ve also identified spots where U-turns need clearer regulations or physical adjustments to allow for a better flow of traffic. Despite the lack of available crash data as of spring 2024, early indicators suggest the enhancements have had a minimal impact on emergency vehicle travel times, and PBOT remains optimistic about the reduction in high-speed incidents. For comprehensive details, the public is welcome to review the full evaluation on the PBOT website.
