July 24, 2013

Contact:

Dana Haynes, Mayor’s Office, 503-823-4799, dana.haynes@portlandoregon.gov

Sgt. Pete Simpson, Police Bureau, 503-823-0830, peter.simpson@portlandoregon.gov

Dylan Rivera, Portland Bureau of Transportation, 503-823-3723, dylan.rivera@portlandoregon.gov

PORTLAND, Ore.– Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick have asked Portland Police to provide targeted enforcement on Thursday, designed to improve traffic safety this summer. An unusually high number of traffic fatalities so far this year is cause for concern, they say, and the public needs to know driver awareness can help keep the roadways safe.

“Our message is the same for drivers, for bike riders and for pedestrians,” Mayor Charlie Hales said. “You have the power. If you share our streets, and if you do so without undue distraction, you can make a dramatic difference in the number of injuries and fatalities. But it takes all of us, equally, to make that difference.”

“Safety is the transportation bureau’s top priority,” said City Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees the bureau. “We’re building safer crosswalks as fast as we can and working with the community to address our high crash corridors. But everyone plays a role by paying attention no matter how you’re getting around.”

“We have had 23 fatal crashes this year compared to 17 at the same time last year,” said Chief Michael Reese.  “People are dying or being injured onPortland’s streets from traffic crashes that often can be avoided.  We usually see a seasonal increase in traffic fatalities this time of year, due to more motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians on the road during summer months.  However, we are concerned at the rising number of fatalities this year and we want to remind people to slow down, not drive distracted or impaired and make traffic safety a priority.”

Traffic safety mission details

Why:  23 fatal crashes this year (17 same time last year)

When: Thursday July 25, 2013. 12:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Who: Portland Police Traffic Division, East Precinct and Central Precinct; the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office; and, the Oregon State Police

What:Mission will focus on all traffic violators, including distracted and speeding drivers, pedestrian violations and unsafe bicycle operation.

The first phase of the mission, from noon to 3:30 p.m., will focus on SE   Division Street, from SE 82^nd to 162^nd Avenues.

The second phase of the mission, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., will be onSW Barbur Boulevard, fromSW Hamilton StreettoCapitol Highway. 

Both of these areas among the 10 corridors in the city’s High Crash Corridor Program, where the City of Portlandis working with residents and businesses to identify traffic safety solutions and encourage compliance and additional enforcement of traffic laws. To learn more about the Transportation Bureau’s High Crash Corridor Program, see: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/54892

Statistics about recent traffic crashes

July 24, 2013

• To date in 2013 there have been 23 fatal traffic crashes in the City ofPortland. There were 31 in all of 2012.
• At this time last year, there had been 17 fatal traffic crashes.
• Breakdown of 2013 fatalities: 14-motor vehicle; 3-motorcycle; 6-pedestrian; 0-Bicyclists
• 12 of the 23 fatalities have involved impaired drivers with BAC’s ranging from
  .15 - .25 %
• Of the 6 pedestrian fatalities, motor vehicle drivers have been at fault in 4 of them
• There were 4 traffic fatalities in 6 days from July 5 to 11. Two involved speeding and impaired drivers.
• Driver/pedestrian distraction or inattention: 4 of the 6 pedestrian fatalities could have been avoided if the pedestrian and/or driver were focused on their actions

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) -- The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland Police Bureau advise the traveling public today that a crosswalk enforcement action is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31^st to raise awareness of pedestrian safety and traffic law.

The enforcement action will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the marked crossing on East Burnside Street at 16^th Avenue.  Crosswalk enforcement actions are designed to inform the public of longstanding Oregon crosswalk laws. The law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk and requires pedestrians to cross at an intersection and not mid-block.  At the enforcement action, violators may be issued a warning or citation by the Portland Police Bureau.

Crosswalk enforcement actions are an effective way to communicate pedestrian right of way laws to both drivers and pedestrians.  The transportation and police bureaus do enforcement actions in response to community requests and to educate the general public on the rules at marked and unmarked crossings.  They are conducted approximately once a month.

Burnside Street has been identified by the Transportation Bureau as one of 10 High Crash Corridors, areas with higher incidents of serious injury crashes.  The enforcement action is the second at the intersection, following a May action primarily focused on education with Mayor Charlie Hales shortly after the median’s installation.

Learn more about the Transportation Bureau’s safety work at http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/54892 and pedestrian rights and responsibilities at http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/435879.

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PORTLAND,Ore.– North Portland’s route will be the next and longest Sunday Parkways of the 2013 season, opening nine and a half miles of city streets to a variety of traffic-free fun activities. Extending from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Sunday, July 28, the event is free and open to the public.

The North Portland Sunday Parkways route will be anchored by five beautifulPortlandparks and highlight the newly built New Columbia bike skills track.

The track, at the corner of N. Dwight Avenue and N. Trenton Street, offers kids of all ages and kids at heart a chance to hone their bike handling skills. Nearby McCoy  have $6 bike helmet sales, hula hoop dancing, musical chair games, music and much more to enjoy.

The nine and a half-mile north Sunday Parkways route will connect McCoy Park, Kenton Park, Peninsula Park and Rose Garden, Arbor Lodge Park and Columbia Park Annex. Music, vendors and activities are located in the parks and along the route.

Motorized vehicles are allowed to pass through the route at designated crossings and allowed on the route for resident and emergency access.

Sunday Parkways is a series of free community events opening the city's largest public space – its streets – for people to walk, bike, roll and discover active transportation.

Sunday Parkways is organized by the Portland Bureau of Transportation with its many community partners, including presenting sponsor Kaiser Permanente, and supporting sponsors Universal Cycles, Portland Parks & Recreation, Metro and Clif Kid.

Each event draws thousands of participants of all ages and hundreds of volunteers. Volunteers are a linchpin of the event, serving in a variety of fun and needed roles from photographer and bike mechanic to intersection “superhero,” a role that helps count participants and directs people along the route. Shifts vary in time commitment, allowing people to both volunteer and participate in a single event.

To volunteer, visit and sign up at http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/449390

For more information, visit www.PortlandSundayParkways.org or call 503-823-7599.

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News Media Contacts:
Mary Fetsch, TriMet, 503-962-6403,fetschm@trimet.org

Diane Dulken, Portland Bureau of Transportation, 503-823-5552 diane.dulken@portlandoregon.gov

Sgt. Pete Simpson, Portland Police Bureau, 503-823-0830, peter.simpson@portlandoregon.gov

(PORTLAND, Ore.)--Following up on a pledge to step up enforcement around public works construction zones in SE Portland, the Portland Police Bureau has issued 118 citations, and made one arrest since July 15 around the SE 8th, 11th and12th avenue construction closures south of Division.

Construction of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project and a future quiet zone for freight and light rail have closed those crossings for three weeks beginning July 15 and with a scheduled finish date of August 5. 

In addition to the citations, Portland Police issued 22 warnings in that area.

“We are looking for distracted drivers, impaired drivers and aggressive drivers,” said Sgt. Robert Voepel of the Portland Police Bureau, “We’re also asking people to be patient and try to make eye contact with the people crossing your path.”

The police enforcement is part of collaboration among city bureaus and TriMet to ensure safety and minimize the impact of several large-scale construction projects this summer inSoutheast Portland.

Some of the largest transportation corridors inSoutheast Portlandwill be closed around the clock for weeks at a time this summer. Portland Police have stepped up enforcement around those zones:

• More than 200 citations were issued when SE Cesar Chavez closed on June 28 and reopened on July 9 – 10 days early.
• Enforcement is being stepped up currently around      the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project which involves closures      along Southeast 8th through 12th avenues from July 15 to August 5.
• Following that project, on Aug. 5, sewer      construction will closeSE        Division StreetfromSE 26th AvenuetoSE 28th Place, for 24 hours a day      through Aug. 24. On Aug. 25, sewer construction will close SE Division      between SE 34th and SE 37th avenues for 24 hours a day through Aug. 31.

“Police are really concerned that people will come to these closures, get frustrated and drive too fast through the neighborhood streets,” Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees the Portland Bureau of Transportation, said at the start of the construction season. “So please plan your trip, don’t drive fast through the neighborhood streets and know that the police are going to be doing some targeted enforcement of the neighborhood streets to catch people if they are speeding.”

Detours

Travelers are advised to use alternative routes if possible. The public is advised to travel cautiously in the work zone and to observe detours and directions by flaggers.

Detours for the crossings are:

• Motor vehicles detours pass over the rail tracks to the west of the closed crossings, largely viaSE Martin Luther King   AvenueandGrand Avenue.
• Bus line 70-12th/NE 33rd Avenue will be detoured from SE 11th and 12th avenues. For bus route information visit www.trimet.org/alerts
• Cyclists should proceed north of the crossings to followHawthorne Boulevardto and from the Central Eastside and downtownPortland.
• For maps of bicycle, pedestrian and motor vehicle detours, see the Portland-Milwaukie project construction web page.

People passing through Southeast Portlandcan plan ahead by viewing the SE Portland Summer Construction Road Closures maps and details at www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation. The site includes links to the several major street closures inSoutheast Portland this summer.

About the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project.  The 7.3-mile project is the region’s sixth MAX construction project to be built and extends from the terminus of the MAX Green and Yellow lines at Portland State University in Downtown Portland to South Waterfront, SE Portland, Milwaukie and North Clackamas County. About the project: www.trimet.org/pm

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