Metro staff have released an in-depth report on road safety in the Portland metro region.

Heralded by local leaders and ODOT, the report made six key findings:

• Arterials have the highest crash rates for all modes of travel.
• Alcohol and drugs are primary contributors factors to fatal crashes.
• Speeding and aggressive driving are the leading contributing factors toward serious crashes.
• Serious pedestrian crashes are disproportionately represented after dark.  
• Serious nighttime pedestrian and bicycle crashes occur disproportionately where street lighting is not present.
• Multi-lane roadways have particularly high rates of pedestrian crashes per mile and per vehicle mile traveled.

If you are walking and biking, a couple messages are clear: choose low traffic local street alternatives over busier streets and be lit and visible, especially if you're traveling at night.

The report also found transit to be the safest mode for traveling within the region. There were zero passenger deaths during the 2007-09 study period and the death rate per 100 million motor vehicle miles motor was nearly double that of transit.

Read the full report (23 megabytes) here:

http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files//state_of_safety_report_043012.pdf

Are you interested in learning how Portland's transportation system developed and how you can help shape its future? A FREE class for Portland residents is being offered at Portland State this fall.

Learn more on the class website, including how to apply for a FREE scholarship: portlandoregon.gov/transportation/psuclass

The City of Portland and Portland State University are teaming up for the 20th year to offer the Portland Traffic and Transportation class. For ten weeks, this free class gives neighborhood activists the opportunity to meet with local policy makers, political leaders, and planners to gain a better understanding of the metro area’s transportation system. Class participants also work directly with former Metro Executive Officer and current Shiels Obletz Johnsen principal, Rick Gustafson, on their own neighborhood transportation or livability projects. Gustafson developed the class in concert with Congressman Earl Blumenauer and is a knowledgeable leader on transportation and community development.

The class fills quickly, so fill out the scholarship application today!

For more information contact Scott Cohen at the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation. (503) 823-5345 or scott.cohen@portlandoregon.gov

Summer is here. Finally.

It's a great time to get out and walk, bike or roll and experience our city. 

If you're looking for an activity to match that desire, Portland SmartTrips has a summer full of great guided walks, bike clinics and bike rides. Every year Portland SmartTrips holds events in a different section of Portland. This year the events are in central southeast and northeast Portland.

Clinton-Woodward Public Art Loop

Saturday, July 14, 2012

9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Meet at SW corner of SE 34th Avenue and Clinton. Plan your trip on TriMet.

Get started tomorrow with the Ten Toe Express by discovering the new public art installations along SE Clinton, as well as Clinton and Ivon Parks and the South Tabor and Richmond Neighborhoods. The Ten Toe guided walk schedule continues every Thursday evening at 6pm and Saturday morning at 9am through mid-September. Download the entire Ten Toe Express walk schedule.

Senior Strolls provides a great chance for those more seasoned in the art of living to exercise while enjoying some great Portland locales and the company of others. The EPA-award winning program is expanding its walks to both Tuesday and Wednesday. Each stroll begins at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday's walks are shorter.

Please contact Donna Green at (503) 823-6114 or donna.green@portlandoregon.gov for more information on Senior Strolls and/or on Ped Pals, a free walking buddy program for 55+ year olds.

While rail is nearly everyone's transit sweetheart, the humble bus is the workhorse. Moving the majority of US transit passengers and offering service in areas that rail cannot, buses are arguably the foundation of the US transit system.

As the Atlantic Cities blog reports, San Francisco transit authority's experiment with allowing all-door entry for certain passengers (cash-paying and lift passengers still must enter through the front) is being watched by transit authorities around the country. Success attracts imitation, so it things go well in SF, it could have a huge impact on the US transit experience.

The initiative is part of SF MUNI's Transit Effectiveness Project, which strives to improve the system's reliability while providing faster trips. The Atlantic Cities quotes a MUNI spokesperson stating MUNI buses spend an astounding 50% of their time on road stopped to pick up passengers.

While this initiative is cutting edge in the US, it's old hat in Brazil, where the city of Curitiba first introduced prepaid entry decades ago with their Bus Rapid Transit system.

Of course, Murphy's Law would suggest the new policy will be warmly embraced by fare dodgers. Similar to TriMet, the story reports that MUNI has increased their fare inspector ranks and dramatically reduced fare evasion.

For those averse to seriousness, SF MUNI has created this tongue-in-cheek informational video - replete with fake British accents, stock historic photos and miniature MUNI buses. 

MUNI bus photo courtesy of BrokenSphere and Wikimedia Commons

No matter how much fun we had biking as kids, some of us aren't ready to just jump on a bike and bike to work. PBOT's Portland By Cycle program is here to re-open the gate to fun biking while increasing your skills and confidence for riding in the city.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday night at 6pm, Portland By Cycle offers a different summer ride to increase your urban cycling chops while exposing you to another great aspect of Stumptown.

Tonight's ride is a great example:

Cartlandia Ride

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Meet at Clinton Park, SE Woodward and 57th

Portland's carts are a citywide phenomena. Come along on this slow paced ride to to Portland's only food cart pod along the car-free Springwater Trail. Bring money if you're hungry.

Next week's Tuesday and Wednesday rides explore the stormwater gardens and swales that have helped make Portland a national leader in addressing urban stream and river pollution.

If biking in traffic scares the bejezus out of you, then mark Tuesday, July 31st on your calendar.  More than fifty percent of The Ride the Waterfront ride takes place on the picturesque Springwater Corridor Trail.

All rides are free and begin at 6:00 p.m. Helmets are required. The schedule of summer rides continues through the end of August.

Like Portland By Cycle on Facebook.