Let’s help Kate Walker slow down drivers on Montavilla’s main street – UPDATED

SE Stark through the Montavilla commercial district.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus)

Kate Walker lives in the Montavilla neighborhood and wants to make its main commercial street safer. Her focus: Reduce the speed limit on SE Stark from 30 to 20 miles per hour.

Kate Walker sharing her project at a recent Bike Loud PDX meeting.

We first heard about Kate’s efforts at a meeting of Bike Loud PDX last month; but she’s been working on this issue since last year. Kate is a former staffer at The Street Trust how now works at local carbon bicycle repair company Ruckus Composites.

To help strengthen the case, Kate made this issue the focus of her project when she took the 10-week Traffic and Transportation Course at Portland State University (for more on that excellent course, see our 2016 profile).

According to Kate’s research and presentation, fast driving is a big problem on Stark between SE 76th and 82nd — the bustling core of the Montavilla Business District. “People who live and work in the area complain about speeding and unsafe intersections,” she says, “I’m suggesting to ODOT that they consider reducing the speed limit.”

Stark in this stretch has a five-lane, one-way (westbound) cross-section. There are two standard lanes, an unprotected bicycle lane, and two curbside lanes used for parking cars.

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(Graphic: Kate Walker)

As she learned in the PSU class, Kate has already taken the right steps to make this happen. While the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) sets speed limits statewide, a request to change them must originate from the local jurisdiction — which in this case is the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). And she’s done her homework. “My big idea isn’t that big; in fact, it’s entirely achievable and necessary.” Kate has learned that to qualify for a 20 mph speed limit, a street must be legally “in a business district”. This stretch of Stark straddles two such districts and according to PBOT it is indeed eligible for a speed limit reduction.

To get the process started, Kate submitted a request through the 823-SAFE system. She included the percentage of street frontage used for business and the latest crash data. And then there’s the public pressure aspect. Kate will pen a formal letter to PBOT Director Leah Treat and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman asking for the change. She’s started an online petition to garner as many names of support as she can in hopes of adding them to her letter. Kate has also curried support from local neighborhood and business associations.

This weekend Kate will put together her support letters and other documentation and send it all into PBOT. Then it will be time to wait for a response.

If you want safer streets in your neighborhood, “The best way to make change is to show up, do a little research, and be persistent,” Kate says. “Also,” she adds, “everything takes more time than you think it should.”

Thanks for sharing Kate! Good luck and let us know what you hear back.

In the meantime folks, please add your name to the petition to increase Kate’s chances of hearing good news.

UPDATE, June 9th: She did it! Congrats to Kate and the City of Portland.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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9watts
9watts
5 years ago

I’m unclear why ODOT is the relevant authority. Surely Stark here is a PBOT controlled piece of transportation infrastructure, no? I thought PBOT had already gotten a blanket approval from ODOT to reduce speed limits here in town.

Scott Kocher
5 years ago

Even more complicated, it’s not just ODOT. When the local jurisdiction and ODOT disagree, the Speed Zone Review Panel (which includes one ODOT rep) decides the speed. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Engineering/TRSDocs/Speed-Zone-Manual.pdf

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  9watts

9,

The new law only applies to Federal Functional Classification Collector streets and lower. Stark is a Minor Arterial in this area.

Alex Reedin
Alex Reedin
5 years ago

If we had a bolder, more progressive Commissioner in charge of PBOT, PBOT would be doing this proactively on every stretch of street that counts as a “business district.” This is the perfect time to do it – with local-street speed limits going to 20 mph citywide, motorists’ awareness of the new local-street limit (which is mostly unsigned) could be increased by seeing a bunch of more-visible 20 mph sections going in on bigger streets.

Vote for Julia DeGraw! We will not get that kind of bold leadership from Nick Fish.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex Reedin

Alex,
You presume this is not already taking place.
Recent pending/completed:
N Lombard St
NE Alberta St
SE Woodstock
SE 13th Ave
SE Hawthorne Blvd
N Williams Ave
SE Stark St, W/15th
SE Stark St, E/76th

Alex Reedin
Alex Reedin
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

Woohoo! That’s great news! Thankful email pending. Anywhere in East Portland? Is it hard to meet the “business district” bar out here?

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex Reedin

SW Multnomah 30th-45th, BH-Hwy through Hillsdale and parts around 45th, Taylor’s Ferry west of Capitol Hwy, most of Barbur Blvd should be reduced. Capitol Hwy through Hillsdale and Multnomah Village already has two 20mph segments and Multnomah through Garden Home is 25mph.

Portland needs to exercise its authority to set emergency and temporary speed limits. Most of our streets are not built to match their planned functions. That would seem to qualify as a temporary/urgent hazardous condition.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex Reedin

Alex,
That is the current list. A 20 mph business district is easy to achieve with a request to ODOT to rescind the speed order on a 2-lane street. It is much more difficult on a multi-lane street, particularly if it is classified as an Arterial.
The way the streets east of 82nd were created (and are classified) makes it difficult to find 2-lane, Collectors that run through business districts. Space reallocations (e.g. road diets) may assist with this in the future.
It’s a chicken-egg thing.

Chris
Chris
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

Just looked at a map and N Williams isn’t listed as getting the new 20 mph limit. Where is the info about them being reduced?

Chris
Chris
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Just answered my own question. It’s reduced North of Killingsworth. Bummer.

Ernest
Ernest
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Williams is already 20mph around Fremont where most of the businesses are.

soren
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex Reedin

Kate Brown’s regressive and toxic support for more freeways and for our 1950s-era transportation department will not be changed by electing a “progressive” Portland commissioner.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
5 years ago
Reply to  soren

I’m just going to ignore the laws that don’t work for me, anyways.

soren
5 years ago

And that is exactly what you, I, and most people do…every day.

An unexamined life is a life not worth living.

Terry D-M
Terry D-M
5 years ago

Kate could also get an endorsement for this speed reduction from the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, then Se Uplift as well if PBOT needs a bit more citizen push. It takes a few meetings to get through the system, but the city does pay attention.

Kate
Kate
5 years ago
Reply to  Terry D-M

Hey Terry! MNA already supported and wrote a letter on the project’s behalf 🙂

maxadders
maxadders
5 years ago
Reply to  Kate

It’s a shame that MNA adopted an anti-law-enforcement agenda. Who do they think will enforce the new speed limit?

Terry D-M
Terry D-M
5 years ago
Reply to  Kate

Excellent. If you want, SE Uplift Board can weight in as well. Feel free to email me. Terry dot Dublinski @ gmail

Alex
5 years ago

I live just up the hill off Thorburn from this area, and this speed reduction would be super welcomed. Cars also continue to speed up the hill from Stark through the intersection of Thorburn/Gilham, and it’s not uncommon to see cars going 40-50mph through this stretch. We should make it 20 the whole way, and I’d also love to see Thorburn taken down to 2 lanes (or 3 with a turning lane) rather than the massive 4 it currently is.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex

Road diet is being studied.

Eric Leifsdad
Eric Leifsdad
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

We really should just shut it down until we figure it out. We know the status-quo kills people.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  Eric Leifsdad

EL,
Do you take the same position regarding bikes sharing roads, or bike lanes?

soren
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

If this studying focuses on how to implement a road diet then this is great news. If, on the other hand, PBOT is studying whether to implement a road diet then I would like to remind PBOT and the City Council that they made a commitment to #visionzero.

Phil Richman
5 years ago
Reply to  soren

Great reminder!

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

Paikiala, do you know when this street is next scheduled to be ground and repaved? A repaving would require all the linework to be replaced as part of the cost anyway. A road diet whereby each lane is no more than 10 feet wide (9 feet preferable) would be a far better option than any sort of unenforcable speed limit reduction. Maybe by narrowing lanes, could a buffered bike lane be put in, to replace the current 1970s vintage bike lanes? How about crosswalk lines at every intersection?

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

I don’t.
The analysis would need to be complete before any resurfacing project, and a plan developed. It is reported to have been resurfaced in 2003/2004. It would be at least a couple years, to 5 out.

Rachel
Rachel
5 years ago

Great job Kate!

B. Carfree
B. Carfree
5 years ago

Awesome. Maybe as an encore (of course I’m assuming success) someone can shift the lane striping a foot or two to the left to clear a bit more of that bike lane from the door zone.

Eric Ivy
Eric Ivy
5 years ago

YEAH Kate!! Thank you!! Signed.

Scott Kocher
5 years ago

The businesses will also do better if people driving past go slower and can see what the businesses are, and if there’s a nice “place” that’s tempting to stop.

Dave
Dave
5 years ago
Reply to  Scott Kocher

Yes! I’ve found business I was looking for by SLOWING DOWN! Who knows how many $ have been lost to business that were hard to find whilst blasting by at 20 mph over the posted limit?

Kyle Banerjee
5 years ago
Reply to  Dave

Given that most people looking for a business know where it is, use a navigation device/service to identify the location, and are willing to circle around a bit if they overshoot it rather than just go home, I doubt this is a major factor.

Some businesses are hard to find, but I can’t say I’ve ever abandoned my search just because I overran it and I’ve been using navigation only for a few years.

However, business districts are visually busy, have higher concentrations of people, and drivers are distracted by trying to read signs rather than minding the roads. As such, reduced speeds in such locales is appropriate.

Edward
Edward
5 years ago

I love the notion of slower traffic, but I fear just enacting it and changing the sign won’t have much effect.
In my mind, one of the most convincing factors is a scenario where, “We can’t get a crosswalk (or other physical structure) put in because speeds are too high.”

Chris
Chris
5 years ago
Reply to  Edward

Speed cameras.

Spiffy
5 years ago
Reply to  Chris

speed bumps…

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  Spiffy

Speed cushions, if Portland Fire and Rescue approves.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
5 years ago
Reply to  Edward

When the street is repaved, as the old lines will all be removed anyway, and new ones put in, hopefully with a better design.

Kate
Kate
5 years ago

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who’s supported my speed reduction project. As a phase 2 to this, I was hoping to push for flashing beacon at one of the crosswalks, curb cuts, etc. Turns out METBA (the biz association) is currently studying a pedestrian safety plan…I’m planning to help them after I wrap up my project. Thanks again!

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
5 years ago
Reply to  Kate

Try to get a red/amber/green signal like they have at fire stations instead, hanging off of wires. They cost about the same, but drivers legally have to stop at them.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

Roadside beacons cost about $25k. Overhead beacons cost about $200k. Overhead full signals cost about $300k Span wire signals are not used much anymore.

Terry D-M
Terry D-M
5 years ago
Reply to  Kate

The 70s Bikeway will at least build new crossings at 80th, STIP money coming in 2020.

Toby Keith
Toby Keith
5 years ago

I love going to both Country Cat and Flying Pie…and always dread this street. Please make this happen!

Emily Guise (Contributor)

Yay Kate! Montavilla has such a great business district, but such unfriendly streets running through it. I happily signed and totally support this project!

John Liu
John Liu
5 years ago

Signed and donated, thank you Kate.

Zoe
Zoe
5 years ago

I support this. Montavilla is somewhat unique as neighborhoods go, in that it is bisected (or trisected or quadri-sected?) by arterials rather than being bounded by them as many neighborhoods are. This really creates a challenge for connectivity in the neighborhood. However, one note I’d like to add (as a resident directly to the south) is that Stark is actually currently the easiest and most comfortable crossing around. If you’re trying to reach the business from the south, you have to cross Washington, which lacks any of the bulb-outs (I know, there’s just one), crosswalks, and signage that Stark already has, and probably has higher speeds. I’m afraid that as long as these two remain a one-way couplet, we will continue to see excessive speeds because of a design that encourages speeding.

John Liu
John Liu
5 years ago
Reply to  Zoe

Is that so uncommon in Portland though?

My neighborhood has four arterials going through it.

maxadders
maxadders
5 years ago

Stark is currently set up as a feeder for Burnside, west of Mt. Tabor, via Thorburn. If we shift traffic over to Burnside between 68th and 82nd, it’ll negatively impact a much more residential area. Is that preferable?

Burnside is a vital central Portland arterial and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
5 years ago
Reply to  maxadders

There’s no freeway ramp off of Burnside at 205 and it is already one-lane east of 68th, so traffic is unlikely to shift off of Stark/Washington to matter how difficult we make it to drive fast on it. Glisan is too far north to have have any real impact.

maxadders
maxadders
5 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

You’d think so, but cut-through traffic doesn’t seem to matter, it just follows Waze / GMaps. Burnside will likely see an increase in traffic if we apply a road diet to Stark. Pray for the vulnerable road users inhabit the blocks between.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
5 years ago
Reply to  maxadders

All too true.

paikiala
paikiala
5 years ago
Reply to  maxadders

Stark-Thorburn does not connect to Burnside. You would have to jog at 60th.
Maybe you mean Gilham-Thorburn?

maxadders
maxadders
5 years ago
Reply to  paikiala

Obviously. I’m not terribly interested in splitting hairs; Stark effectively feeds traffic to Burnside and Burnside effectively feeds traffic to Washington.

Phil Richman
5 years ago

We should just start calling bike lanes in door zones what they actually are. White stripes.