The Bureau of Transportation has announced their intention to move forward on the re-striping of SE Division between SE 60th and 80th. The decision comes after a public meeting held Tuesday where neighborhood residents and other stakeholders expressed strong support for the “road diet” and addition of bike lanes as a way to improve safety on the street.
PBOT reports that 50 people came to the meeting and a “large majority” supported the Phase 1 improvements which include:
- Removing paint and restriping the new three-lane configuration, including one travel lane in each direction, a center turn lane, bike lanes east- and westbound, plus a bicycle lane on SE 60th Avenue northbound to connect to the SE Lincoln Neighborhood Greenway;
- Installation of a marked crosswalk with a pedestrian island between SE 67th and SE 68th Avenues; and
- Signal improvements at SE 60th, 71st, and 76th Avenues, including pedestrian push buttons and loop detectors at 71st and 76th Avenues.
Those loop detectors will be key to maintaining traffic flow, even with one less standard vehicle lane. The signals at 71st and 76th, PBOT says, are currently timed and they changed regardless of whether cross-traffic is present. “The pedestrian push buttons and loop detectors are designed to keep traffic flowing on Division,” PBOT says, “Even with the removal of one travel lane, PBOT’s traffic model shows these signal improvements will provide a reduction of travel times for vehicles moving through the project area.”
This project came out of PBOT’s High Crash Corridor program which aims to tame major arterials that have a higher than average concentration of serious injury and fatal collisions. The re-configuration of lanes on Division is expected to improve safety for all road users, not just people who ride bikes.
PBOT has set aside $100,000 in the current budget for the project and it’s expected to begin this summer. Learn more at the project website.