With all the City of Portland budget action last week, there was one interesting tweak you might have missed. Among the 126 amendments proposed by the 12-member City Council, one of them earmarked $75,000 to traffic safety projects in District 4.
City Councilor Mitch Green had unspent funds in his office budget, and according to his Chief of Staff Maria Sipin, he chose to dedicate it to small street improvements in their district. “Instead of carrying it over for staffing and other expenditures,” Sipin shared with BikePortland, “We wanted to hold it to do some quick, high-impact pedestrian safety projects.”
Each council office is allocated about $1.3 million per year to cover expenses like security, a share of the recent City Hall remodel, staff salaries, and so on. The city’s fiscal year ends June 30th, and funding cannot be carried over to the next year. Sipin says each office was given several options with what they could do with unspent funds. They could: return it to the General Fund, where it could be used by any bureau; donate the money to District 1 to help get a district office constructed; or they could re-appropriate the funds to FY 2025-2056. Green’s office chose the last option.
“We heard from people in our people in our district that they sometimes need just a tiny piece of traffic calming, or they need a crosswalk restriped or a sign repaired — and they weren’t getting a quick response from PBOT [Portland Bureau of Transportation],” Sipin shared. “Earmarking it for some kind of safety projects is aligned with what we’re trying to do.”
Councilor Green is an everyday bicycle rider and has spoke often about safe streets as a candidate. During a speech at a traffic safety rally in November 2024, he spoke about almost being hit by a car driver on his way to the event. As more people drive larger cars to stay safe, “Those who do not drive are increasingly exposed to the collateral damage of this arms race,” Green said. He has also made the connection between safer streets and making walking and cycling a more attractive choice over driving.
Before putting forth the budget amendment Wednesday, Sipin explained they reached out to PBOT to run the idea by the agency. PBOT approved, so they went for it. The amendment passed with a unanimous 12-0 vote.
$75,000 isn’t a lot when it comes to major street projects, but it’s enough to make a significant dent in smaller, quick-build projects — and it’s especially needed given the crisis-level transportation budget. For context, PBOT says those large concrete planters used as modal filters (aka diverters) cost about $5,000 to build and install. A new crosswalk can cost about $3,000 and PBOT has said they can daylight an intersection for about $700-$800 in materials and labor. In 2023, PBOT striped a bike lane for two blocks and completed 24 other small “missing links” projects for just $300,000.
Sipin says since this is the first time they’ve tried this budgeting move, it will be considered a pilot. As far as where they’ll spend the money, they’ve got their eyes on a crosswalk project, but the exact location hasn’t been determined.
(Note: While Green is one of the architects of the Sidewalk Improvement and Paving Program (SIPP) that passed council earlier this month, these funds are separate from that program.)
