Since the BTA and Oregon Walks co-published our Vision Zero report in Spring 2015, there hasn’t been a sea change in safety on our streets, but there has been a lot of great work behind the scenes to move toward the goal of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries from our streets.
Real change that makes our streets safe for everyone can’t come soon enough. What follows are two opportunities for you to weigh in with your vision for safer streets followed by an update on progress in the last year.
The City of Portland and a host of community partners from the Vision Zero Task Force invite you to learn more about the City of Portland Vision Zero Action Plan process and share your vision for safe Streets.
Monday, June 6, 6:00-7:30 pm, Living Cully Plaza, 6723 NE Killingsworth St.
Can’t Make It? Take the City of Portland’s Vision Zero Survey
Updates:
Summer 2015: The City of Portland of Portland officially adopted the goal of Vision Zero in June and established the Vision Zero Task Force in August to craft a citywide action-plan to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roadways. The BTA is serving on that committee along with a host of other community partners shaping the plan that will be out late summer/ early fall 2016.
Fall 2016: In partnership with Oregon Walks, the BTA supported the launch of Oregon and SW Washington Families for Safe Streets, a group of families of crash victims calling for rapid implementation of Vision Zero. On the November World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the group placed more than 130 memorials along the Portland area’s high crash corridors. Since then, group members have testified in support of a number of measures to support traffic safety, and successfully demanded improvements at the crosswalk at SE 156th and Division where three people have been killed while crossing the street.
Winter 2016: The BTA supported the launch of the Oregon Walks-led campaign to provide safe accommodations for people walking and biking around work zones. You can still register unsafe work zones you encounter at the Vision Zero Work Zones website or by using the hashtag #workzoneWTF
Spring 2016: A year after the release of our Vision Zero Report, the BTA thanks our members and other City of Portland voters for passing Measure 26-173 to provide critical funding for street maintenance and safety projects in the neighborhoods that need them most. Last week, two days after voters passed the gas tax, we also celebrated the win of $3.5 Million for Safe Routes to School at the regional level. We need these wins and future public and political support of funding for safety, in order for the Vision Zero Action Plan we’re helping craft now to be successful in meeting its goal to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roadways.