Portland, OR.—Officers say a woman and her six-year-old daughter activated the lights at a marked crosswalk at 107th and Division just after 6 p.m. Monday night. As they started crossing, the suspect vehicle passed the stopped cars on the right side in the bike lane, then struck the child. The mother was not hit. The girl was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. Police say the suspect vehicle is a white sedan that was last seen heading eastbound on Division, then possibly westbound from Southeast 111th Avenue from Powell Boulevard. Anyone with information about this hit and run crash should call non-emergency police dispatch at (503) 823-3333.

 

Local transportation officials at PBOT have been working on safety improvements on Southeast Division. Read more here:

Why Division?

Working closely with the community, the City of Portland is making outer SE Division Street (82nd to the city limit) safer for everyone who uses the street. This project is part of Portland’s Vision Zero strategy to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2025.

Since 2009, the City of Portland has been working with the community on outer Division Street to develop projects that improve safety, including sidewalks, safer crossings and bike lanes. Safety for people walking is a special focus because outer Division is one of Portland’s most deadly streets for walking.

Outer Division needs help

  • Division is one of the most dangerous corridors in the city for all modes, ranking #2 for total bicycle crashes and #1 for pedestrian serious injuries and deaths (see the High Crash Network map for details)
  • 19 people have been killed and 129 have been seriously injured on Division in the last decade
  • In 2016, five people died in crashes (four walking and one person driving)

PBOT must act now

  • Since 2011, PBOT has invested $2.9 million and is currently working to install an additional $7 million in safety fixes proven to prevent deaths and serious injuries between 82nd and city limits
  • Focus on urgency means that most of PBOT’s safety projects will be completed in 2017 and 2018

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How can we make Division safer?

The City of Portland has a responsibility to design streets that help keep people safe, even when people make poor decisions or mistakes.

This plan uses tools proven to prevent crashes and save lives:

  • Stop lights at crosswalks, 69 percent crash reduction
    (2013), Toolbox of countermeasures and their potential effectiveness for pedestrian crashes, pedestrian hybrid beacons
  • Safer speed limit (35 to 30 mph), 35 percent reduced risk of death
    (2011), Impact speed and a pedestrian’s risk of severe injury or death
  • Raised median, 47 percent crash reduction [more info >>]
    Bureau of Transportation crash data (2017)
  • Speed safety cameras, 49 percent crash reduction
    (2010), Do speed cameras reduce road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths?
  • Buffered bike lanes (protected from auto travel lane), 11 percent crash reduction
    Oregon Department of Transportation, All Roads Transportation System Program

Image is for illustrative purposes only; the location and design of specific street safety elements may change. PBOT is paying for these changes in part through Fixing Our Streets, the gas tax increase that Portland voters approved in 2016. Other sources include federal funding and state gas taxes.

 

PBOT thanks the community for their leadership in identifying needed safety changes on outer Division Street. Special thanks to the Jade District, the Division Midway Alliance, the East Portland Land Use and Transportation Committee, and others who contributed to the East Portland Action Plan and East Portland In Motion, planning efforts that began in 2009.

Making outer Division Street safe means making tradeoffs:

  • Safety improvements may require removing parking on both sides of the street. Instead of parking cars on Division Street, people may need to park cars on side streets or private property.
  • People may need to use a different driveway when driving to or from a location directly on Division Street.
  • People driving may need to turn off or onto Division at different locations, because a center median will help people turn at the safest spots.

PBOT will work through these tradeoffs with the community through 2018.

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When will the work happen?

The Outer Division Safety Action Plan includes all PBOT safety enhancements, most of which will be completed in 2018 and 2019.

In addition, a separate but complimentary project managed by TriMet will construct street safety improvements in late 2019-21 to support a new rapid bus line. View more information about the Division Transit Project at trimet.org/division.

Outer Division Street safety projects
City projects
(see map above for locations)
TriMet
2017 2018 2019-21 2021
Speed safety cameras
Speed reader boards
Speed limit reduction to 30 mph
Signals coordinated for increased safety
Sidewalk infill (all gaps filled)
Additional lighting, particularly at crosswalks
More rapid flashing beacons with medians and signage  
Pedestrian hybrid beacons with medians and signage
New traffic signals
Enhanced bike lanes (temporary, with flexible posts and buffers)
Protected bike lanes (permanent, with hardscaping)
Safety education and outreach
Raised center median for access management
Shorter crossing distances at crosswalks  
Enhanced bus stations with shelters, accessible ramps, sidewalks, safer pedestrian crossings
Transit signal priority for buses
Bigger buses with multiple-door boarding

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