The Metropolis of Portland has made a brand new dedication to sunlight 200 extra intersections over the following two years. The information comes within the type of a quiet replace to the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s web site.
Daylighting, or what PBOT refers to as “imaginative and prescient clearance”, is an intersection remedy that removes seen obstacles like parked automobiles and vans from corners with a purpose to enhance visibility. The remedy has gained recognition amongst transportation advocates nationwide due to the way it can radically enhance security at intersections (the place most severe damage and deadly crashes happen) and it’s extraordinarily cheap. In Oregon it additionally has authorized backing.
In 2020 nonprofit Oregon Walks launched a “Clear the Corners” marketing campaign to ratchet up strain on the Metropolis of Portland to abide by the Oregon Automobile Code (ORS 811.550 part 17) which says drivers can’t park inside 20-feet of a crosswalk. However the regulation makes particular person cities liable for parking rules, and highway security activists assume PBOT is utilizing that to shirk authorized necessities. Additionally in 2020, the Metropolis of Portland was slapped with a lawsuit introduced by an individual who was hit on account of what his lawyer claims was negligence on the a part of the town to implement the daylighting regulation. Strain from the lawsuit (which continues to be pending within the Courtroom of Appeals) and advocates labored. In 2021, former Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty secured $200,000 to sunlight 350 intersections.
However as BikePortland reported one 12 months in the past, there are nonetheless manner too many intersections in Portland with horrible visibility as a result of folks parking automobiles on the nook.
In reality, an evaluation by Portland State College scholar and highway security advocate Melissa Kostelecky discovered that there are about 4,000 intersections in Portland that must be cleared of parking. At round $600 per intersection (the value for indicators and poles at 4 corners), that may price about $2.3 million. Kostelecky’s report analyzed 18,143 intersections citywide and checked out elements resembling proximity to a faculty, presence of ADA ramps, crash historical past, rushing patterns, bike community connections, and so forth.
Figuring out which corners to clear first is a part of the problem. PBOT’s commonplace observe is to use imaginative and prescient clearance requirements (no parking inside 20-feet of the corners) on all main paving and capital initiatives. However once they discover additional funding, they’ve expanded that scope to incorporate extra areas. The upcoming therapies will likely be focused close to colleges, neighborhood greenways, and in designated pedestrian districts (as recognized in metropolis plans). PBOT may also reply to particular areas based mostly on complaints. Anybody can name PBOT Parking Enforcement at 503-823-5195 (and anticipate choice 3) to report a harmful nook for consideration.
The newest promise from PBOT to sunlight 200 intersections will likely be funded from a $50,000 dedication from the Fixing Our Streets (native fuel tax) program and from a portion of PBOT’s Common Fund allocation for security enhancements.
View a map of eligible daylighting corridors and study extra on PBOT’s Imaginative and prescient Clearance web site.
