Funding, Implementing Bicycle Safety Improvements

By Roland Chlapowski

.After two tragic bicyclist fatalities, Sam took immediate action by convening an ad-hoc Bicycle Safety Committee comprised of members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Portland Police, the City Attorney's office, freight interests, and others. This group came together to identify the most pressing issues and brainstorm on what could be done both short and long term to improve bicycle safety.

Additionally, Sam made the decision to close the N Greeley-Interstate intersection to right turns until PDOT's traffic safety engineers were able to engineer and implement safety improvements for that intersection. That Interstate-Greeley intersection was the site of of one bicyclist death and, just a couple weeks later, a collision requiring a cyclist to be hospitalized for an extended period.

Sam then went to council and secured $200,000 for bike safety improvements that will go mainly to an innovative new safety treatment called "bike boxes," which help prevent "right-hook" accidents, when automobiles that are turning right hit cyclists, and improvements to the City's fleet of vehicles to add safety equipment that prevents cyclists or pedestrians from getting caught under a vehicle.

Sam continues to work with the Portland Police to amend and update their policies regarding bicycle-auto collisions.

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