PBOT drawing shows one of two bikeway options under consideration.

During an online meeting hosted by the Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association this morning, the Portland Bureau of Transportation revealed some very good news: Bike lanes are among the alternatives being considered for their Hawthorne Pave and Paint project.

As we first hinted at back in January, the project — which will repave the street between 24th and 50th — is an opportunity to do something special on this marquee commercial corridor.

Given the historic relationship between bike lanes and main streets in Portland, it was no surprise that PBOT was initially reluctant to utter the words “bike lane” anywhere near this project. Over the years the City has battled business interests who think free car parking is better for their bottom line that thousands of people on bikes. But now it appears that they’ve warmed to the idea. [Read more…]

Memorial for Fallon Smart in August 2016.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The family of a 15-year-old Cleveland High School student who was killed while crossing Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in 2016 will be paid $395,000 by the City of Portland. The settlement comes from a lawsuit filed by the Estate of Fallon Smart. The suit alleged wrongful death and negligence from the Portland Bureau of Transportation based on conditions at the intersection of Hawthorne and SE 43rd.

The tragic death of this young Portlander and the maddening circumstances surrounding the man who killed her are blights our city will never fully recover from; but this relatively rare and large payment by PBOT could be a positive sign that road agencies will take more responsibility to keep our streets safe.[Read more…]

Proposed cross-section with parked cars next to a curbside bike lane.
(Graphic made with Streetmix)

“With just cones and a touch of paint, we can quickly and cheaply build a much safer, healthier, and happier Hawthorne,” reads the text of a website at HealthierHawthorne.com that just launched yesterday.[Read more…]

Design concept for SE Hawthorne between Grand and 6th.

Two of Portland’s most vital bikeways are on the cusp of big changes. [Read more…]

Scene from the collision.
(Photo: E.S.)

Two people were involved in a collision while using Southeast 7th Avenue around 1:30 pm yesterday. One person was riding a bicycle and the other was driving a car.

[Read more…]

What if this was in place on August 19th 2016 when Fallon Smart tried to cross here?
(Photos: Paul Jeffery)

As promised last fall, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has updated Southeast Hawthorne Blvd with a new painted crosswalk and median island at the intsersection of 43rd Avenue. In addition to the new crossing, PBOT has received permission from the Oregon Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit on Hawthorne between 29th and 50th to 20 miles per hour (down from 25).
[Read more…]

Coming soon: A permanent refuge island and crosswalk installed by the City of Portland.
(Photo: Paul Jeffery)

Ending weeks of emotional back-and-forth between transportation reform activists, neighbors and the City of Portland; the Bureau of Transportation confirmed with us this morning they plan to install a permanent crosswalk and a median island on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard at 43rd.

This is the intersection 15-year-old Fallon Smart was walking across on August 19th when a man recklessly and illegally drove his car into her and killed her. It’s also a stretch of Hawthorne that local residents and business owners have complained about for many years; because despite being a bustling main street filled with popular destinations there are no marked crosswalks for eight full blocks (between 41st and 48th).

Just days after Smart was hit the community made a presence at this intersection with their own bodies and a variety of objects. They had one goal: Slow people down so that a tragedy like this never happens again. The intersection became filled with a mix of memorial items like flowers, signs and photos; and guerrilla traffic-calming devices like a orange traffic cones and an unsanctioned crosswalk. The center turn lane used by Abdulrahman Noorah to speed passed someone who had stopped to let Smart cross was effectively closed.
[Read more…]

The center turn lane on Hawthorne at 43rd is now available for driving on after PBOT removed a makeshift memorial last night.
(Photo: Paul Jeffery)

Last night under the cover of darkness City of Portland transportation bureau crews cleared out the cones, signs, candles, photos and flowers that had created a traffic calming memorial to Fallon Smart on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.

The makeshift memorial in the center turn lane at the intersection of 43rd Avenue had grown from a few flowers on August 19th to a memorial so large that it closed Hawthorne’s center turn lane. In fact, closing the lane was a secondary and symbolic goal of the memorial — since it was that center lane that allowed Abdulrahman Noorah* to speed recklessly past another driver (who had stopped) just before he hit and killed the 15-year-old Smart.[Read more…]