PBOT installed temporary bike lane protections on NE Broadway on Tuesday.
PBOT installed temporary bike lane protections on NE Broadway on Tuesday. COURTESY BIKELOUD PDX

Seventeen people have died in Portland from traffic-related accidents so far in 2019. That number is up considerably from this time in 2018 and 2017—and Portland’s strong community of bicyclists and transportation advocates finds that concerning.

The most recent fatality occurred the afternoon of Thursday, April 18, when Portland resident Lori Woodard was struck by a commercial delivery truck while using a crosswalk to walk across the intersection of NE Broadway and NE Grand.

It is the 17th traffic fatality this year, and the ninth resulting in the death of a pedestrian. For comparison, at this time in 2018 there had been 12 traffic-related deaths, and in 2017 there had been just 8. This year’s number is, however, about on par with 2016’s count, according to information provided by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT).

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PBOT

It’s worth noting that 2016 was the year PBOT adopted Vision Zero, an ambitious plan to eliminate traffic-related fatalities by 2025. A key element of Vision Zero includes targeting a “high crash network”—a network of high-traffic roads where accidents are more likely to occur—and making them safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

NE Broadway is a part of that network. BikeLoud PDX, a bicyclist activism group, believes PBOT is taking too long to improve the busy street. RJ Sheperd, an organizer with BikeLoud, calls traffic fatalities in Portland an “epidemic.”

“More people died due to traffic violence in Portland last year than due to homicide,” he says. “This particular death is something that triggered something very broad in the community, because we all know how deadly Broadway is."

BikeLoud will host a memorial for Woodard at the intersection where she was hit at 5:30 pm tonight. The event will also function as a rallying cry to bring pedestrian- and bike-friendly improvements to NE Broadway—quickly.

BikeLoud has submitted three demands to PBOT: installing temporary curb extensions and a protected bike lane until a more permanent solution is in place; changing the traffic signal to allow for a protected left turn at NE Broadway and NE Grand; and changing the walk signal to give pedestrians a head start and more visibility while cross the street. Sheperd says he believes PBOT can enact these changes “in the next couple of weeks.”

PBOT did install a temporary curb extension using traffic cones and signage at the intersection on Tuesday. Sheperd says he appreciated how quickly PBOT implemented the changes, and that BikeLoud members would like to see that expediency continue.

“[PBOT should] do pilot projects, do immediate curb extensions, do protected bike lanes,” he says. “What is so frustrating is we go into a lot of meetings with PBOT, and their excellent staff are very knowledgeable about the conditions and what needs to be done. But to be frank, it’s not happening fast enough.”

At Wednesday evening’s memorial, BikeLoud members plan to encourage people to voice their own concerns about dangerous conditions on NE Broadway. From a BikeLoud statement sent to the Mercury:

“BikeLoud asks that you share your stories of biking, walking, or taking transit on NE Broadway with the [transportation] Commissioner [Chloe Eudaly] and Interim PBOT Director Chris Warner, and call on them to prioritize immediate safety improvements, including curb bump-outs, protected bike lanes, and 3-second walk signal head-starts (Leading Pedestrian Intervals)."