Oregon lawmakers vote to give cities authority to set speed limits

Rep. Rob Nosse speaking at a Joint Transportation Committee hearing on February 4th.

A key part of the City of Portland’s 2020 legislative agenda and traffic safety efforts got a boost in Salem yesterday when the Joint Committee on Transportation voted 10-2 in favor of House Bill 4103 which authorizes the Oregon Department of Transportation to delegate authority to set speed limits to cities and counties.

HB 4103 is a continuation of work that began last session by House Representative Rob Nosse, a Democrat who represents southeast Portland. Urged by the Portland Bureau of Transportation in their ongoing quest to lower speed limits and make roads safer, Nosse proposed a bill last year (HB 2702) that would have given Portland the ability to set speeds on certain streets in its jurisdiction. That bill didn’t make it out of committee, so Nosse continued discussions with ODOT and lawmakers and brought back a revised version this session.

“I believe we should be setting the speed limit based on how fast motorists should be driving in dense urban neighborhoods, not on how fast people want to drive.”
— Rob Nosse, state representative

The desire for more local control of speeds comes from widespread frustration with ODOT’s outdated methodology for responding to speed limit change requests. The cumbersome process can take up to six to nine months. And as I detailed in this example from 2018, ODOT uses a process to determine “safe” speeds that does the opposite of make streets safer because it’s based on the 85th percentile speed people are driving. That method has come under fire in recent years.

Portland has worked for over a decade to pry this power from ODOT’s hands.

In 2019 lawmakers gave cities the ability to decrease speed limits by 5 mph in certain circumstances, but they weren’t ready to relinquish speed setting authority altogether. Before doing so they wanted the state to update its administrative rules around determining speeds to provide guidance to the process and ensure statewide consistency. Now that the Oregon Transportation Commission is expected to pass those new rules at their meeting in March, lawmakers are following through with their promise to cities. The rules will mark the end of 85th percentile rule in some Oregon cities and will allow a more modern approach that reflects road context and dense, urban environments.

Speaking in favor of the bill at a committee hearing on February 4th, Rep. Nosse said, “In a big city like mine, where there are more and more people, more and more cars, more traffic — the local jurisdiction needs to be the one to take responsibility for figuring out how fast someone should be allowed to drive.” He also took a swipe at the 85 percentile method (which ODOT will continue to use on non-urban roadways) and added, “I believe we should be setting the speed limit based on how fast motorists should be driving in dense urban neighborhoods, not on how fast people want to drive.”

The new law would be effective October 1st 2020 and would apply only to two counties: Lane and Multnomah. Nosse said his bill last session included all counties but he found that not everyone wanted — or is prepared to handle — the additional authority. Also keep in mind that it doesn’t apply to state-owned roads and highways like 82nd, Powell or McLoughlin.

Advertisement

The bill is supported by ODOT. ODOT Delivery and Operations Deputy Administrator Mac Lynde acknowledged “It has not been an easy conversation” with cities; but he feels they’ve built in enough guidance into the law to make sure any city that participates is up to the task. ODOT will have the right to rescind the delegation if a local agency doesn’t adhere to requirements around documentation, staffing, signage, notification, and so on.

For Transportation Committee member Senator Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis), the change can’t come soon enough. “Unfortunately, since the last time we were here and we heard from the parent of an individual that had been killed in a crosswalk on SW 3rd Street, we’ve now had the third fatality in that same crosswalk in an 18-month period. And that was an 11-year-old girl.”

The only person to oppose the bill at the hearing was Waylon Buchan, director of government affairs for the Oregon Trucking Associations. “I can understand [a city’s] desire for increased local control when they see a problem in their neighborhood, but we need to balance that with benefits we get with a big, holistic view of the entire state.” Buchan said he wants drivers to be able to go as fast as possible. “Five miles per hour here, 10 mph there, across the entire nation, it’s going to add up. We do care about speed and efficiency in getting you your freight.”

At last night’s work session, only two lawmakers out of 12 on the committee voted against it. Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) said she thinks the bill is just “doubling-up” on the process. “We’re just adding to what ODOT is already capable of doing,” she said. And Rep. Brian Witt (D-Clatskanie) issued a vague criticism: “The City of Portland on a regular basis demonstrates its abuse of its power to regulate traffic in my district and I am not prepared to give them any additional authority.” (I’ve asked him for clarification and will update when I hear back.)

From here, the bill goes directly to floor votes. If it passes it will culminate an 11 year effort by the City of Portland that started in 2009 with a letter to ODOT from then-PBOT Commissioner Sam Adams.

Follow HB 4103 on OLIS.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
— Get our headlines delivered to your inbox.
— Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.

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.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

13 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Bjorn
Bjorn
4 years ago

That comment from Witt is pretty weird, there is only a tiny sliver of his district that is in the City of Portland, and it looks like it is basically just a couple of major roads, US 30 and Skyline. I assume ODOT has total control over US 30 speeds so is he talking about Skyline? I believe the big change there was in 2018 the speed limit went from 40 to 35?

rick
rick
4 years ago

Part of the northernmost section of NW Skyline apparently has a fifty-five miles-per-hour speed limit according to the interviews on the Skyline Ridge Neighbors website. Unincorporated Multnomah County.

B. Carfree
B. Carfree
4 years ago

Roadway deaths in OR are up over 50% since 2013. Speeds are up everywhere I look, likely caused by some combination of ODOT raising the speed maximum, a dearth of enforcement, the 85th percentile rule, ever larger, smoother SUV’s that diminish drivers’ awareness of their speeds and infrastructure that doesn’t adequately force motorists to behave safely. The median speed on my nearest neighborhood collector is 15 mph over the posted limit, which is itself too fast for a street children cross to get on and off the bus.

Our current system is fatally broken. I’m pleased to see this baby step towards something better, but we have a long ways to go if we are going to create a transportation system that doesn’t result in constant loss of life.

Buzz
Buzz
4 years ago

with no meaningful enforcement, the impact will be about nil.

But now let’s tackle the mandatory bike lane use provision (ORS 814.420), then the city can build all the stupid bike infrastructure it wants!

Paul B
Paul B
4 years ago

This is FANTASTIC news!

Phil
Phil
4 years ago

This is great. Corvallis has already announced that they will be lowering some speed limits on 99W starting 2/18.

Fred
Fred
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

But wait: “The new law would be effective October 1st 2020 and would apply only to two counties: Lane and Multnomah.”

Corvallis is in Benton County.

Also it sounded as though Sara Gelser was talking about deaths in Portland. But doesn’t she represent Corvallis?

Fred
Fred
4 years ago
Reply to  Phil

Jonathan, you cut off the last sentence from Mr. Buchan. The full quote should be,“Five miles per hour here, 10 mph there, across the entire nation, it’s going to add up. We do care about speed and efficiency in getting you your freight. And we don’t care how many children need to die in the process.”

(Sorry – he probably didn’t say that, but he certainly implied it.)

Phil
Phil
4 years ago

Fred
But wait: “The new law would be effective October 1st 2020 and would apply only to two counties: Lane and Multnomah.”Corvallis is in Benton County.Also it sounded as though Sara Gelser was talking about deaths in Portland. But doesn’t she represent Corvallis?Recommended 0

You are right. There must be some other reason Corvallis was allowed to lower the speed limit on 99W. They are lowering it from 35 to 25 for a very short stretch, and from 35 to 30 for a bit longer.

I do know for certain that Sara Gelser was talking about deaths that happened in Corvallis. I biked past the most recent death just moments after it happened. The area where those 3 deaths occurred is already a 25, which shows it will take more than just modifying speed limits to make our roads safe for everyone.

Ron Swaren
Ron Swaren
4 years ago

Anyone ever hear of the nationwide Defensive Driving Campaign? That also significantly reduced the accident rate. Of course, an analogous campaign—-tailored for the present and directed at transportation or movement in general—-would not be cool. And it would make it harder for one group to vent their spleens on others.

Chris I
Chris I
4 years ago
Reply to  Ron Swaren

It must not be working very well, because road deaths keep rising.

Jay T.
4 years ago

Corvallis didn’t make that decision for reduced speeds. ODOT did. They manage a stretch of 99W that has become SE 3rd St. – the thoroughfare for my neighborhood. Since ODOT last redisigned it. the city has expanded into the area – annexing farmland for housing and sports fields. Industrial development has become more retail commercial.

I read the bill to apply to any cities that ODOT approves plus two counties. Am I close?