to tame dangerous roads.
(Photo © J. Maus)
The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation has received a $98,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation that will go toward development of plans and processes to tame dangerous traffic corridors citywide.
According to PBOT traffic safety specialist Sharon White, the money is part of a new, three-year initiative that will focus on “high-crash corridors.” City Council formally accepted the grant at their meeting on Wednesday.
The money will pay for PBOT’s work to develop a standardized Safety Action Plan report for the top ten high-crash corridors in Portland. In addition, the funds will help PBOT support a new regional focus on traffic safety that ODOT announced back in December.
The high-crash corridors will be selected in the “next few months” says PBOT’s Sharon White. White also added that this new initiative will be based on PBOT’s recently completed 82nd Avenue of the Roses High Crash Corridor Safety Project. According to PBOT’s website, the “Key Project Goals” from the 82nd Ave. project were:
- To reduce the number of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists killed or injured in crashes along the 82nd Avenue of Roses corridor.
- To minimize the number of people that limit walking, biking or taking transit along the 82nd Avenue of Roses due to traffic safety concerns.
If those goals are applied to ten more corridors throughout Portland, this new initiative could have a huge impact — especially if this grant was matched with even more funding.
Work done on this project will be managed through PBOT’s Community and Schools Traffic Safety Partnership.
This grant comes less than a week before the City’s Transportation Safety Summit. Plan to attend that event this Tuesday (2/16) to learn more about this project, offer your feedback on which corridors should be selected, and much more.
Is this ODoT grant similar to WSDoTs “Traffic Safety Corridors” grants?
A quick look at the actual plan undertaken for 82nd reveals virtually nothing to actually help bicyclists navigate this arterial. I consider myself a very experienced rider living in the area, and would never consider riding on this road. Fortunately the (newly improved!) I-205 path is not very far away and provides a nice, quiet alternative, so it isn’t really too much of an issue.
The point, however, is if 82nd’s plan is to be some sort of a model for other projects, we’ll see little real improvement for cyclists until that pot of gold for the BMP shows up. Until then, keep fending for yourself.
Sad state of affairs when the I-205 bike path is considered “near enough” to 82nd. If I recall, that’s at least ten blocks away. Which is like saying Salmon St is “near enough” to Burnside.
but in terms of having a nice place to ride the I-205 bike path is worlds away from 82nd Ave
I do not want to bike on 82nd, give 82nd to the buses and cars. Give bikes a low traffic side street. I like the plan are are doing with North Interstate ave and the bike Boulevard on Concord street one block west.
Ten blocks in a non-issue. What is an issue is that there is no safe route from 82nd to Downtown between Marine Drive and the Springwater Trail. Since the Sullivan Gulch Trail won’t happen in my lifetime, is there some other street that could be made bicycle-friendly in the meantime?
No safe routes from 82nd to Downtown between Marine Drive and the Springwater? I can immediately think of at least a half dozen safe routes that meet that goal, without consulting a map.
Dave, check out this link for the map to give you a variety of choices http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=34809&a=181308