Making Portland's Streets Safer

By Roland Chlapowski

When it comes to our transportation system, safety is Sam's top priority. Because of one-time general funds that Sam led the charge on and secured at City Council, many important safety improvements and projects were implemented in 2007 to make driving, walking and bicycling safer throughout Portland.

This safety funding resulted in the top ten highest crash locations in the city being evaluated for safety improvement. Short-term improvements of better signs, more visible lane striping, and better signal operations have been implemented. Longer-term and larger-scale improvements are in development.

Six new red light cameras have been funded. These cameras will be placed at the locations with the most crashes caused by red light running. To date, one of the six cameras has been installed. The remaining five cameras have been designed and will be installed by April 2007.

In addition, 14 speed reader boards were purchased. These electronic boards inform motorists about how fast they are traveling and encourage them to slow if they are violating the speed limit. The 14 new boards will be permanently installed throughout the city in 2008.

School traffic safety also got a boost in 2007. Three school zones had flashing yellow beacons installed. There were numerous speed bump projects funded near schools and several pedestrian refuge islands and marked crosswalks were installed to help children cross the street. Three schools have had sidewalk infill projects to help children walk to school.

There were a number of bicycle safety improvements in 2007 that were funded with one-time funds. A new median island at the intersection of Rosa Parks Way and Willamette Blvd slows traffic on Willamette and provides much safer bicycle and pedestrian crossings. New green curb extensions were used to help cyclists cross the street or to reduce the amount of conflict between bikes and turning cars. New bike lanes were installed on SW Jefferson and SE Flavel. Neighborhood traffic calming was completed on SW Vermont. Plus, an innovative new double bicycle lane was installed on the westbound approach to the Hawthorne Bridge to more safely handle the huge number of cyclists crossing that bridge each morning.

Pedestrian safety was a major focus in 2007. Pedestrian refuge islands were built to help people cross multi-lane roads that are served by transit. The main street crosswalk project installed crosswalks at every intersection along six of the streets with the most walking in the city. These improvements are making pedestrians more visible and encouraging motorists to stop for pedestrians while they are crossing the street.

Safety will remain Sam's top priority for 2008. We look forward to reporting to you about all of the traffic safety improvements that will be implemented over the coming year.

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