In the American city of Portland, Oregon, pedestrian crossings are managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). There are fewer crosswalks on the city's east side, compared to downtown Portland and centrally located neighborhoods. [1]
Lawsuits have been filed against the city because of deaths at pedestrian crossings, and Portland has seen the installation of artistic crossings as well as guerrilla crosswalks.
In 2003, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) tested "talking crosswalks". [2] PBOT installed the city's first pedestrian scramble in northwest Portland's Pearl District in 2015. When the scramble opened, square dancers demonstrated how the crosswalks should be used. [3]
Lawsuits have been filed against the city because of deaths at pedestrian crossings. [4]
In 2023, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced plans to close 181 pedestrian crossings, including 53 in the Portland metropolitan area, citing safety concerns. [5] [6] [7] ODOT has worked to install pedestrian-activated beacons throughout the metropolitan area, including along Southeast Powell Boulevard, Southwest Barbur, and the Tualatin Valley Highway. [8]
In 2014, two Oregon state representatives secured funding for flashing beacons to enhance safety for pedestrians at 18 of east Portland's most dangerous intersections. [9] PBOT has conducted crosswalk stings along 82nd Avenue to improve pedestrian safety. [10] Improved crosswalks are being installed along the corridor, as of 2024. [11]
In 2015, the city installed two artistic crossings (or "creative crosswalks") with rain drops and umbrellas in Old Town Chinatown. Jake Kaempf of Ampersand Content helped with the weather-themed design. Requested by the Old Town Chinatown Community Association, the crosswalks were Portland's first artistic zebra crossings. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
As of 2012, there was a Tumblr page dedicated to Portland's fading pedestrian crossings. [17]
The pedestrian advocacy group Oregon Walks has asked Portland City Council to require PBOT to comply with Oregon's law forbidding vehicles from parking within 20 feet of a pedestrian crossing. [18] Separately, a transportation activist filed a lawsuit against the city in 2020. [19]
The city has seen the installation of guerrilla crosswalks. In some cases, residents added markings following the death of a pedestrian. [20] A guerrilla crosswalk was painted on East Burnside Street in 2008. [21] In 2018, someone placed pedestrian crossing flags at an intersection in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood. [22]
PDX Transformation, described as "a contingent of anonymous street safety advocates", has installed guerrilla crosswalks. The city has had to remove certain "do it yourself" ("DIY") markings for safety purposes. [23]
A pedestrian crossing is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road signs and road traffic.
Paul Linnman is an American former television news reporter and anchor in Portland, Oregon, and radio personality in the same city. He is perhaps best known for his 1970 KATU report on the attempt by the Oregon Highway Division to dispose of a dead, beached whale by exploding it. He worked for more than 30 years as a television news reporter, host and anchor, from 1967–1972 and 1978–2004. He had a talk radio show on KEX 1190 AM from 2003 to 2014, and subsequently has worked as a media consultant.
A pedestrian scramble is a type of traffic signal movement that temporarily stops all vehicular traffic, thereby allowing pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same time.
Interstate 205 (I-205) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon and Washington, United States. The north–south freeway serves as a bypass route of I-5 along the east side of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. It intersects several major highways and serves Portland International Airport.
Interstate 405 (I-405), also known as the Stadium Freeway No. 61, is a short north–south Interstate Highway in Portland, Oregon. It forms a loop that travels around the west side of Downtown Portland, between two junctions with I-5 on the Willamette River near the Marquam Bridge to the south and Fremont Bridge to the north.
Montavilla is a neighborhood in the Northeast and Southeast sections of Portland, Oregon, United States, and contains an area east of Mount Tabor and west of Interstate 205, from the Banfield to SE Division. It is bordered by North Tabor, Mount Tabor, South Tabor, Madison South, Hazelwood, and Powellhurst-Gilbert.
Interstate 5 (I-5) in the U.S. state of Oregon is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the state from north to south. It travels to the west of the Cascade Mountains, connecting Portland to Salem, Eugene, Medford, and other major cities in the Willamette Valley and across the northern Siskiyou Mountains. The highway runs 308 miles (496 km) from the California state line near Ashland to the Washington state line in northern Portland, forming the central part of Interstate 5's route between Mexico and Canada.
Cornelius Pass Road is an arterial road in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon, United States. The north–south road serves as an arterial connection between Burlington and Hillsboro. It intersects with several main roads and highways throughout its route, including Oregon Route 10, Oregon Route 8, Cornell Road, and U.S. Route 26.
Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People is a cable-stayed bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was designed by TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area's regional transit authority, for its MAX Orange Line light rail passenger trains. The bridge also serves city buses and the Portland Streetcar, as well as bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. Private cars and trucks are not permitted on the bridge. It is the first major bridge in the U.S. that was designed to allow access to transit vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians but not cars.
The Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge, more formally known as the US Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street, is an approximately 700-foot (210 m) pedestrian bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States, which opened on July 14, 2012. It connects the Lair Hill neighborhood with the South Waterfront area. It is a steel box girder bridge, a change from the original plans for an extradosed bridge, made to reduce the project's cost.
A HAWK beacon is a traffic control device used to stop road traffic and allow pedestrians to cross safely. It is officially known as a pedestrian hybrid beacon. The purpose of a HAWK beacon is to allow protected pedestrian crossings, stopping vehicular traffic only as needed. The HAWK beacon is a type of traffic control alternative to traffic control signals and/or where an intersection does not meet traffic signal warrants.
Bicycle use in Portland, Oregon has been growing rapidly, having nearly tripled since 2001; for example, bicycle traffic on four of the Willamette River bridges has increased from 2,855 before 1992 to over 16,000 in 2008, partly due to improved facilities. The Portland Bureau of Transportation says 6% of commuters bike to work in Portland, the highest proportion of any major U.S. city and about 10 times the national average.
The "Terwilliger curves" is the name given to a 1.7-mile (2.7 km), six-lane section of Interstate 5 (I-5) in Portland, Oregon, known as one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the state. Named for its physical characteristics and proximity to Terwilliger Boulevard, it first opened in 1961 and soon became known for its high crash rate. Several upgrades, a reduction in the speed limit, and increased efforts to enforce traffic laws have had some success improving safety over the years, although crashes remain common.
A guerrilla crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing that has been modified or created without jurisdictional approval, and with the intent of improving pedestrian and other non-automobile safety. These interventions are a common strategy within tactical urbanism, a type of low-cost, often temporary change to the built environment intended to improve local livability. Guerilla crosswalks have been noted in news articles since at least 2009 and have become more well known as an urban strategy in recent years. The first known example of guerilla crosswalks can be found in Canada in 1987 when social activists John Valeriote and Erik Veldman created a crosswalk in Guelph, Ontario for students to safely cross a busy road in front of their school.
The Blumenauer Bridge, formally the Congressman Earl Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, and previously known as Sullivan's Crossing, is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge in Portland, Oregon. United States. The $19 million project spans Interstate 84 and connects the Lloyd District with Kerns in inner northeast Portland. The bridge was originally slated to open in December 2020, but its projected opening was later postponed to the following spring and subsequently to July 31, 2022, and the bridge did open on that date.
Ned Flanders Crossing is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge spanning Interstate 405 to connect Portland, Oregon's Northwest District and Pearl District, in the United States. In 2019, the project's estimated cost was $6 million. It opened in June 2021 and was originally named Flanders Crossing, as it linked the two parts of Flanders Street separated by the interstate, before being re-dedicated to honor The Simpsons character Ned Flanders.
Audrey McCall Beach is an urban beach along the east bank of the Willamette River, near the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States.
In Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington, pedestrian crossings are managed by several government agencies, including the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).
Graffiti is a cause of disagreement among residents of Portland, Oregon. Residents can report graffiti and request removal. In 2023, a poll conducted by The Oregonian showed 61 percent of Portland voters considered graffiti a "big" problem.
Santa Clones is an annual Christmas display by Chris Willis in Portland, Oregon, United States. The display featured hundreds of Santa Claus statues and the location is different each year. Willis started the project in the early 2010s and the size of his collection of statues has grown over time.