City swaps signals for stop signs to slow speeders on NE Prescott

Looking south on NE 7th at new stop signs on NE Prescott. (Photo: John Voekel)

The Portland Bureau of Transportation did something surprising at an intersection in northeast with a history of high-speed collisions: Instead of installing new traffic signals, they took the existing ones out and replaced them with a four-way stop.

And the local resident who pushed for something to be done now says the project has been an “unmitigated success.”

John Voekel lives near NE Prescott and 7th Avenue and he, along with several other neighbors, live in fear of the fast drivers on Prescott — a busy, east-west collector between Alberta and Fremont. Voekel has seen (and heard) so many crashes over the years that whenever he’d approach the intersection on a walk with his dog and/or young daughter, he’d stop well short; then look closely and listen, to make sure no one was speeding toward him. Beyond his own experience, Voekel knows that 7th Avenue is a designated neighborhood greenway route that passes a weekly farmers market and school just one block north.

Making matters worse is that sight lines at intersections are bad due to crowded parking lanes, mature trees along the street edges, and relatively dense single-family housing. But none of that excuses the behavior of the many drivers who speed recklessly down this neighborhood street.

Crashes are so common in this segment of Prescott that another nearby resident (who asked to remain anonymous) started an Instagram account called “Slow Down on Prescott” that has documented dozens of drivers crashing into other drivers and into parked cars since 2021. A June 2023 story in Concordia News, a neighborhood newspaper, included quotes from people who live on Prescott saying they would have never moved to the street if they’d known how much of an impact the speeding and crashes would have had on their lives. The speed limit is 25 mph, but most people go much faster. There have been several rollover crashes and speed racing is not uncommon.

2023 was a breaking point where neighborhood concerns and the number of scary incidents rose to a level that PBOT could not ignore. Meetings were held with the Concordia Neighborhood Association and at Sabin Elementary School. That’s where Voekel first met PBOT Traffic Engineer Richard Nys. The two began to email back-and-forth. Voekel would send photos and descriptions of crashes to Nys, along with ideas on what might prevent them.

PBOT knows Prescott is a dangerous street, but it’s just one of many they must juggle.

Then Voekel talked to another neighbor who’d lived in the area since the 90s. “She told me Prescott and 7th used to be a four-way stop,” he recalled in a video call with BikePortland this morning. “And when I heard that, I was kind of like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.'” From then on, whenever there was a power outage in the neighborhood and the signals would go into flashing-red mode, Voekel would check it out. It seemed safer, because no one was trying to speed through a yellow or “beat the light” and everyone had to stop. When PBOT’s Nys heard the idea, he looked into it. Voekel said the cost savings in the long run of not having to maintain a signal, appealed to PBOT.

Meanwhile, the crashes became almost routine. There were four in one month. “We had this string through the summer of just like wreck after wreck after wreck at the intersection,” Voekel shared. It became almost routine for neighbors to hear a loud boom and then run to the scene to see if anyone needed help. Then on a sunny Sunday afternoon this past August, someone hit a parked car and flipped their car over on the corner of 7th and Prescott. It happened right as many people left the nearby King Farmers Market. “The fact that no one was standing at that intersection waiting for the light to change on their way home from farmers market was just like blind luck,” Voekel said.

Screenshot form Voekel’s petition.

After that crash, Voekel started a petition calling on PBOT to remove the signal at the Prescott and 7th intersection and replace it with stop signs. “I am deeply troubled by the ongoing dangerous conditions at NE 7th & Prescott,” the petition reads. “These are not just minor fender benders. These are serious wrecks where cars are rendered non-operable, ending up on the sidewalk, and placing bystanders at great risk.” And he specifically called out the signal. “The traffic light incentivizes dangerous decision making and the speeds along Prescott are too damn high.”

The petition was a nice nudge, but Nys and his team at PBOT were already studying the problem and planning on making the change. By October they had put black hoods over the signal heads and the stop signs were up.

The person behind the Slow Down on Prescott Instagram isn’t sold on the stop signs as a solution. They feel many drivers will still fail to stop, but also acknowledge the crashes might not be as severe if and when they do happen. The Instagrammer, and many other neighbors, want something more substantial like speed cushions, to make the entire street safer.

Voekel also knows this one change won’t fix everything, but he feels much better about the intersection and says it already feels safer to him and several neighbors he’s talked. The experience has also restored some of his faith in city government. He gave Nys a lot of credit for listening and being responsive to the neighborhood. “They took our situation really seriously, and they actually did what you would expect of a government agency… I’m just a layperson and I’m just impressed Rick listened to me at all.”

The four-way stop is still considered a pilot project as PBOT continues to analyze how it impacts traffic in the area.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, contact me 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 paying subscriber.

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Angus Peters
Angus Peters
1 month ago

Righto, so while infrastructure changes are helpful , they’re not nearly enough to tackle the traffic chaos in Portland. What we really need is solid enforcement—both police and non-police—because ditching the traffic cops and going for a “hands-off” approach has set us back years, maybe even decades, in the push for Vision Zero.

Dylan
Dylan
1 month ago
Reply to  Angus Peters

My takeaway was that an infrastructure change made the intersection safer

Dusty
Dusty
1 month ago
Reply to  Angus Peters

There’s no way police can enforce the traffic laws for all of the Portland metro’s population of 2+ million people. Police are mostly reactive, anyway, dealing with crimes post-event.

Steve
Steve
1 month ago
Reply to  Angus Peters

Are you expecting a cop to sit at this intersection at all times?

cct
cct
1 month ago

Now do Alpenrose,

maxD
maxD
29 days ago
Reply to  cct

now do 37th/Prescott, 32nd/Prescott, 55th/Prescott, 66th and 68th/Prescott (at the school), 72nd/Prescott, 99th/Prescott, 115th/Prescott. This is a simple and effective solution to mitigating the well-known and obvious problem of high speed driving on Prescott. TO really start to address the culture, PBOT should look at the all the bike crossing and schools and add 4-way stops to all of them. Follow that up with some diversion to Going and you will have made a good first step at creating a greenway!

EEE
EEE
1 month ago

Good job all around. A small NIMBY success.

CC
CC
1 month ago

I use this intersection almost every day. The four way stop has been a huge improvement. Having cars rush around you as you pedaled up the hill to Prescott was terrifying. Now, that doesn’t happen as often. Looking forward to more improvements to 7th. It needs more love!

qqq
qqq
1 month ago

I’ve noticed at many intersections when the signals malfunction and become flashing red, creating a four-way stop, the intersections seem to function better than when the signals are working normally.

Dylan
Dylan
1 month ago
Reply to  qqq

“Frank you just turned this intersection into a four way stop, if anything you just made it safer!”

Jay Cee
Jay Cee
1 month ago

Those photos of crashes are so depressing. No one should be driving a car so fast on this street to do that

idlebytes
idlebytes
1 month ago

The “city that works” system of wait until there’s enough crashes or dead people before fixing dangerous traffic conditions doesn’t work. This intersection is a prime example and so are the numerous uncontrolled intersections around the city. Why is that even a thing?

They recently improved a greenway two blocks from my house and fixed the intersections around it but not mine. It’s the same road. They replaced the road signs but couldn’t put in two stop signs? It’s not a cost problem. It’s not a traffic flow problem. So why?

Drivers slow down when they see a stop sign. Can an engineer or city employee explain why there are still uncontrolled intersections in this city? I don’t see any in Laurelhurst or Ladd’s Additon. It doesn’t make any sense especially when you come through swapping signs and fixing the roads anyway.

cct
cct
1 month ago
Reply to  idlebytes

Why is that even a thing?

ONE: Portland is CHEAP, even before it was broke. Signs cost money. We’re so cheap we routinely don’t even put the street names on both sides of the signs.

TWO: Engineers here usually follow the AASHTO manual. It only cares about protecting drivers, and if drivers are not crashing the situation is ‘safe.’

A bit about my ‘Alpenrose’ comment above – PBOT had the unmitigated gall to state all-way stops would not be needed at the development’s new intersection with Shattuck and Illinois because there havent been any crashes at the intersection WHICH DOESNT EXIST YET.

Watts
Watts
1 month ago
Reply to  idlebytes

There are uncontrolled intersections around all the small rise gardens in Ladd’s.

Yut
Yut
1 month ago
Reply to  Watts

But those effectively function as squared off roundabouts. You don’t need traffic control devices because there are fewer potential conflicts than at a four way intersection.

idlebytes
idlebytes
1 month ago
Reply to  Watts

Controlled intersection doesn’t just mean stop signs and stop lights. It means things that control drivers. Those beds slow people down. No one is blowing through there at 40 mph but they sure as heck are doing that on my street.

Jd
Jd
1 month ago
Reply to  idlebytes

I live in ladds. People do regularly blow through here going 40 despite the gardens and park.

maxD
maxD
29 days ago
Reply to  idlebytes

Agreed! PBOT added greenway paint on a couple of roads in Overlook, but did not add stop signs at the cross streets. I am NOT a lawyer, but that seems like criminal negligence

Frank Perillo
Frank Perillo
1 month ago

They should just imprison that neighborhood with goofy speed bumps they way they have parts of east Portland. Nothing like the sound of junk cars scraping over the speed bumps and sometimes catching air like the Duke boys.

Yut
Yut
1 month ago
Reply to  Frank Perillo

Imprison? Really?

Jeff S
Jeff S
1 month ago

…fast drivers on Prescott — a busy, east-west collector between Alberta and Fremont.

This needs fixing.

dw
dw
1 month ago

Maybe they meant the fast driving part – as in Fremont could use some traffic calming. The overall vehicle capacity can stay the same but with lower speeds.

Jeff S
Jeff S
1 month ago

Aha, I see what you mean now, but it’s not how I read it. I was looking for the portion of Prescott that was at issue; maybe it all is? Carry on…

Dusty
Dusty
1 month ago

On a trip this summer I was impressed by Sacramento’s use of stop signs every few blocks on the big streets moving cars through their midtown.

Portland could use stop signs every few blocks all the way down Prescott, Killingsworth, Fremont, etc. to calm speeding cars.

Steve
Steve
1 month ago
Reply to  Dusty

PBOT has historically avoided using stop signs wherever possible, there has been an internal philosophy that if you use them a lot like in California, people treat them less seriously. While there may be some truth to that, it’s nice to see PBOT taking a fresh look at their approach to intersections like this.

qqq
qqq
1 month ago

I weirdly first became aware of Prescott’s bad traffic because the main character’s house on the TV series Grimm was on 8th and Prescott. They always filmed it in a way that shows it as a quiet street. The reality is a shock.

The westbound lane at/near 7th seems built for danger–very narrow, which leaves no margin for error, but with no parked cars and no stop signs (until now) that could discourage speeding. It’s similar to dangerous SE Cesar Chavez with speeding cars right next to the curb.

It seems like the double yellow line might make things worse. It reassures westbound drivers that they’ll have clearance to speed. And many drivers believe it makes it illegal to cross when passing a bike rider, making riding especially dangerous there. And to many drivers, “double yellow line” means “busy arterial” where high speeds are allowed and expected.

X
X
1 month ago
Reply to  qqq

I’d rather ride the shoulder of the 5 than NE Prescott. It’s narrow and car drivers just own it, at least 5 mph over the limit. I’ve only ever seen one cyclist regularly use that street and she was a burner.

Steve
Steve
1 month ago

I can confirm the intersection is a lot calmer with the 4-way stop. This intersection is more tricky than you might expect, there are large trees blocking visibility, the roots of the trees have uplifted the pavement so it’s super bumpy. There may also be old streetcar tracks underneath. Drivers are darting around grooves and potholes. To the east of this intersection Prescott becomes a small defacto highway where speeds in excess of 30mph are common. This is a street that needs more signals and intersection controls to get a handle on the speeding. I hope PBOT maintains some form of overhead signal at 7th as the stop signs are easily obscured by the trees and foliage as is.

Lois Leveen
Lois Leveen
1 month ago

There is an even cheaper and more effective way to prevent motor vehicle drivers from speeding down a particular street. Ban motor vehicles! It’s so effective and cheap and yet AMERICA CANNOT BELIEVE IT POSSIBLE. But oh it is, I have seen it with my own peepers. In those places where cities and towns and villages exist for humans to thrive in, not for motor vehicles to be drived in! (forced rhyme with invented word but still I like it!!!)

Doug Klotz
Doug Klotz
1 month ago

I can see this working, but only as long as PBOT maintains pavement markings like the painted crosswalks there now. At SE 35th Place and Harrison, near me, we had a (non-fatal) crash because a driver didn’t see the “Stop Ahead” sign, or the “Stop” sign, which requires Harrison St. drivers to stop. Yes there are small trees along there which obscure the sign, and need regular trimming. But in other states, every stop sign is accompanied by a “stop bar” painted on the street, even if there are no crosswalk markings. Many jurisdictions also paint the word “STOP” on the street. These markings are much more visible than stop signs off to the side. But PBOT tells me they can’t afford to maintain even a stop bar at stop-controlled intersections.

qqq
qqq
1 month ago
Reply to  Doug Klotz

Yes, stop bars are important, and underrated. And not just for safety. Without them, it’s legal (and done all the time) for a driver do drive past a stop sign and entirely block your path when you’re a pedestrian ready to cross the street. You then have to wait for the car to get a break in traffic so it can proceed, or walk in front of it (if you can get the driver’s attention while they’re looking left to turn right) or cross behind them, which can also be dangerous. It can happen at every corner as you walk along a street.

Lack of stop bars is a clear sign that pedestrians are lower on the priority list than drivers, even at (unmarked) crosswalks.

X
X
1 month ago
Reply to  qqq

I’m completely with you on the stop bars, at least painted ones. PBOT uses thermoplastic which has got to be a lot more expensive. As far as I know a driver is legally required to make a full stop behind the sign and clear of the crosswalk. Complete legal stops are pretty rare in Portland.

qqq
qqq
1 month ago
Reply to  X

A driver is legally required to stop behind a stop bar, but if there’s no stop bar or MARKED crosswalk, they can drive right past the stop sign and block some or all of the unmarked crosswalk. They can do that right in front of you legally if you’re walking as long as you haven’t stepped off the curb yet,

With a stop bar they have to stop behind the bar. So it’s a huge difference (at least legally).

In my neighborhood, there were several stop bars painted PAST the unmarked crosswalk. When I called PBOT or ODOT, they corrected them within a day or two (!)