82nd Ave photos show other side of Portland

Those photos are at 82nd & I-205/ MAX overpass. It looks like they were taken from the Halsey overpass over 82nd. I agree with Carl – in most cases, it\’s safer to cross right there in the middle, at the top of the crest. The crest of that bridge makes a blind hill for both sides of 82nd Ave.

15% using crosswalks is a high number, I think. I lived 3 blocks from there for 3-1/2 years, and took MAX nearly every day to and from work.

These photos don\’t even begin to address some of the other problem intersections, especially Division, Powell, and Foster. The 6 blocks north of Division on SB 82nd are particularly bad.

Oh, and Commissioner Sam\’s website gives the perfect reason why the traffic cops need to leave Ladd\’s and 4th & Caruthers alone:

\”About 60-70% of our entire City\’s vehicle-related injuries and fatalities occur on less than 5% of the intersections in the city. A disproportionate share of these intersections lie on E 82nd Avenue. To give you an idea as to the magnitude of the problem on 82nd, in 2005 this stretch of road experienced a combined total of 4,862 crashes for all modes of transportation–including 16 crash fatalities.\”

I\’m not saying PPD shouldn\’t enforce the law at Ladd\’s, or SE 4th. I\’m saying their traffic sting should last 30 minutes during prime commuting hours, and have 1-2 motorcycles. The rest of the 6 OR MORE motorcycles should be over on 82nd, or 122nd, or Powell.

I can\’t remember the last traffic fatality in Ladd\’s.

The real crime is that this street was not re-designed at the MAX station with narrower lanes to slow traffic, a wide signalized mid block crossing with differentiated pavement, curb extensions instead of bus pullouts to shorten crossing distances, etc.
It\’t time to get beyond bandaids and to remake 82nd with the tools we have used elsewhere to make a public right of way safe for all users.
Sadly this spot is probably the least scary of all 82nd from Airport Way to Clackamas…not freeway on/off ramps and no big east/west arterials.
PS the TriMet 72 line is the busiest bus line in the system.

There\’s a famous photosim done by Michael Ronkin (ODOT\’s former Bicycle & Pedestrian Program manager) that shows how we might be able to \”fix\” 82nd. I found a copy on this page.

As someone who rarely goes beyond 60th on the east side or beyond downtown on the west side, I have noticed how the general safety level seems to decrease the further out I get. I think that\’s a large part of what has kept me from further exploring the city on those days I feel inspired to go on spontaneously meandering rides.

I would love to see improvements put in here and other places where safety is so lacking.

82nd is a truly awful street. It is the closest thing we have to 3rd world motoring chaos. However, we have a solution! The name is changing to 82nd Avenue of Roses! That is certain to be a huge improvement for the citizens of Portland.

Portland west of 82nd was mostly platted in standard-sized or close to standard-sized blocks of 200\’ blockfaces. East of 82nd you get into what was once more rural, with large acre-sized plots, and so roads like Powell Valley Road (now known as SE Powell Blvd.) were adequate at the time, because the density was less. Now we have infill and congestion and often not enough room for good improvements to allow more traffic flow, let alone safety improvements like curb extensions and bike lanes. That\’s why when you go a little further out to newer parts of Gresham and Beaverton you find wider sidewalks and bike lanes again.

I would agree with peejay, 82nd would be a lot nicer if given the boulevard treatment:

– 1 landscaped median, interrupted by left-turn lanes only at intersections (but with U-turns allowed to reach businesses)
– 2 through-traffic lanes in each direction
– landscaped medians again
– bike lanes hugging those landscaped medians
– one local lane adjacent to the bike lane
– angled parking, either head-in or back-in
– landscaping/street furniture strip
– wide sidewalk

This treatment, for the *entire length* of 82nd from Clackamas Town Center all the way to Marine Drive (or somewhere near there) would completely change how outer SE Portland relates to its central neighborhood boulevard, and could also change the mode choice patterns of the entire surrounding neighborhood/area.

Then again, there are many parts of 82nd where the buildings front directly on the sidewalks. These buildings tend to be older or otherwise worth preserving, so I\’m not sure that the full treatment would find room in every area.

But, dropping the local access road in those areas, and adding it in other areas, would be a compromise that could define 82nd into various zones and still be a huge boon to livability, business, etc.

While an 82nd makeover is long overdue and may change how outer SE relates to the central blvd, there are three issues that building a new blvd faces.

The combined budget for improvements, as described on the 82nd Avenue Safety Project site, is $3M. This would fund only engineering changes and increased traffic enforcement.

Apart from other differences between 82nd and the Octavia project, the Octavia blvd is 5 blocks long and was built at a cost of $50.3M (26 to demolish the freeway and 24.3 to build the blvd). Re-configuring 82nd from Clackamas Town Center to Marine Dr would likely cost more.

I doubt that it would have a major effect on modes of transportation. Simply put, the culture of outer SE is different than that of close in SE. If you ride a bike on a daily basis out there you are most likely poor and have no choice. Sure there are exceptions to this but the demographic is assuredly not the same as it is at SE 22nd and Division. For most people the distance between stores and housing in outer SE is not conducive to biking.

And will the big box stores (from which people often use a car to cart away their purchases) and myriad car dealerships uproot once an urban multiway is installed? Those stores may consider the highway-like nature of 82nd as it is a bigger boon to their business than a blvd because it allows for speedy accessability by both consumers and suppliers.

That said, with such a small budget better crosswalks and more police will make the situation better than it is now.

Wow. There has been a lot of great discussion here regarding 82nd Ave! I\’m impressed and encouraged by the fact that so many people are thinking about this area creatively.
I do agree that a change to 82nd has the potential to significantly change the neighborhood dynamic and the interaction the East neighborhoods have with the city center.
I wonder what plans the City, Metro, and TriMet have for connecting bike paths and bike boulevards to the new Max stations going in along the new 205 extension? Hopefully bikes are seen as an integral part of the transit plan in this area. Anyone have any insight?