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Bike Loud PDX

It was a brutal week on Southeast Division. Actually, it was a brutal Wednesday on Southeast Division.

In the span of a few hours on the night of December 7, two people on foot were struck and killed by automobiles on the road. The crashes occurred roughly 3.5 miles apart on one of the city's most notorious high crash corridors.

Near SE 87th and Division, a 67-year-old named Rohgzao Zhang was struck while walking home from work. Police say he was crossing Division roughly half a block down from a lighted crosswalk.

Farther east, near 156th and Division, another man was hit. Police haven't released his identity.

According to Bike Portland, the deaths mark the fourth and fifth fatalities from traffic crashes on Division this year, making the road the site of roughly one eighth of 2016's traffic fatalities. They are violent reminders of how far the city has to go in its stated goal to wipe out all traffic-related serious injuries and deaths. Just last week, Portland City Council adopted a Vision Zero Action Plan aimed at doing that.

Now, transportation activists want to force the city's hand. The group Bike Loud PDX is planning to shut down two lanes of Southeast Division near 82nd tomorrow (one in each direction), in a bid to convince officials to narrow the roadway and lower speeds.

"All are invited this Saturday as we implement emergency traffic calming measures along the stretch of SE Division where the street widens to five traffic lanes (the deadliest stretch of the road)," reads an a Facebook page announcing the event. "We encourage participants to bring signs, large and visible objects such as traffic cones, flowers, old pallets, planters, hay bales, patio furniture, etc., which will be used to restrict automotive access to the outermost eastbound and westbound lanes on Division."

Hit the jump for the group's full announcement

In response to the crisis-level number of fatalities and serious injuries on SE Division Street, BikeLoudPDX is hosting a citizen-led emergency traffic calming event along Division on Saturday, December 10th, from 2:00-5:00pm. The event is entitled, “Public Takeover of SE Division (PBOT won’t fix it, so we will!).” Participants will gather at SE Division and 82nd Ave at 2pm, then will move east, installing temporary traffic calming devices to restrict automotive access of the deadly and unnecessary two outer traffic lanes along the 5-lane stretch of Outer Division.

On December 7th, at 7pm, a driver hit and killed a pedestrian at SE Division and 156th. Two hours later, another driver hit and killed another pedestrian at SE Division and 87th. This is in addition to the pedestrians hit and killed on Division on January 12th and September 4th, the driver who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on October 13th, and the pedestrians who were hit and suffered traumatic injuries on March 29th and September 9th. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has classified SE Division as a high crash corridor, and has identified seven high crash intersections along its 8.3 miles. Despite this acknowledgement, PBOT has done little to improve the safety of Outer Division, where crashes and fatalities remain all too common.

All are invited this Saturday as we implement emergency traffic calming measures along the stretch of SE Division where the street widens to five traffic lanes (the deadliest stretch of the road). We encourage participants to bring signs, large and visible objects such as traffic cones, flowers, old pallets, planters, hay bales, patio furniture, etc., which will be used to restrict automotive access to the outermost eastbound and westbound lanes on Division.

Please note that this is not a shutdown: we will be maintaining functionality of the road, including driveways and bike lanes. Our goal is to show that the unnecessary and dangerous outer lanes could be removed (or converted to other purposes like bus/bike lanes) immediately and not cause undue impact to functionality.

This isn't a cyclist issue or a pedestrian issue; SE Division is dangerous for everyone who uses the street.