Phase I Project Evaluation Update - Feb. 7, 2020:

We are currently collecting speed and volume data on NE Glisan Street and on select neighborhood streets. We are also collecting transit and vehicle travel time data along NE Glisan Street to evaluate impacts from the East Glisan Street Update.

We are also evaluating NE Glisan Street using guidelines for pedestrians and people biking and using transit.

The data is being gathered throughout February, and results will be available this spring.

Project Goals:

• Reduce top end speeding (speeding more than 9 mph over speed limit)

• Reduce crash severity in support of Portland’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries

• Increase ease and safety of neighbors crossing the street and getting to their bus stop

• Improve comfort and safety for neighbors bicycling

• Make the separation of walking, biking and driving clearer for all users

Project Background:

The aim of the East Glisan Street Update project is to achieve goals articulated by the community and city council relating to improving street safety, providing multimodal options, and improving access to opportunity (access to jobs, parks, libraries, transit, etc.).

The East Glisan Street Update covers NE Glisan Street from NE 102nd to 162nd avenues. This project includes a number of elements including updating the street design and how space is allocated on NE Glisan (street reconfiguration), new marked crosswalks, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps in select locations, and wider sidewalks in some locations.

The project is divided into two phases:

Phase I (2019):

- Street reconfiguration between NE 122nd to 162nd avenues

- Marked crosswalk with rapid flashing beacon at NE 128th Avenue in front of Menlo Park Elementary School

Phase 2 (2020-2021):

- Street reconfiguration between NE 102nd to 122nd avenues

- Pedestrian hybrid beacons at NE 108th, 113th, and 155th avenues for safer crossings

East Portlanders are at greater risk to be injured or killed in a traffic crash and disproportionately represented in the City’s crash statistics. A person walking in east Portland is 2.3 times more likely to be hit by a motor vehicle than a person walking in inner Portland. This is due to wide streets that have historically prioritized the speed of motor vehicles above everything else, including safety. 

Making Glisan Street safer is also part of our effort to improve multimodal options and ensure streets act as ladders of opportunity through a project known as “Gateway to Opportunity”. This three-year project, which began in 2017, is geared toward implementing an integrated bicycle network, creating safer crossings to transit, capitalizing on new park investments, and improving access to jobs in Gateway. More information and a map of our Gateway to Opportunity project area can be found on our website.

Traffic crash statistics on NE Glisan Street from I-205 to 162nd indicate that on average one person dies every other year. Between 2006-2015, forty-six people suffered serious injuries while travelling on this section of NE Glisan Street (I-205 to 162nd). Of the 46 serious injuries, 41 were people in cars, two were people biking, and three were people walking. Of the five fatalities in the past decade, three people were in cars and two were people walking.

In order to address the parts of Glisan with the highest need, PBOT is installing a three-lane street configuration between 105th-119th, 125th-145th, and 150th-160th. PBOT is not changing the existing number of lanes within three blocks of the 102nd and 122nd intersections, thereby keeping a left turn lane and two through lanes on the intersection approaches. As part of the reconfiguration, bike lanes will be installed from NE 102nd Avenue to NE 162nd Avenue.

Timeline:

Community Involvement Process: March-Sept 2018

Design: May 2018-Jan 2019

Implementation: Spring 2019 - Summer 2021

Questions:

For questions about this project, please feel free to contact Timur Ender at Timur.Ender@PortlandOregon.gov