(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.

###