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Traffic Safety Commission member urges action on crosswalks and traffic-calming policy
Summary
Michael Rossman, representing the Traffic Safety Commission, told the council commissioners that the commission lacks capacity to respond to citizen requests for crossings, speed mitigation and other traffic-calming measures and asked council for feedback on a traffic-calming policy and near-term priorities.
Michael Rossman, speaking as a member of the Traffic Safety Commission, addressed council during public comment on April 21 and urged the city to provide clearer direction and response to citizen requests for traffic calming, crosswalks and pedestrian safety improvements.
Rossman said commission morale is low because volunteers collect pages of citizen requests but have no mechanism to get those requests reviewed and prioritized. He gave a specific example at Brucher and Fernwood — near assisted living homes and a trail connection — where pedestrians, including seniors, cross with no marked crossing.
“We have pages of citizen requests for everything from crossing, pedestrian crossing, stop signs, speed bumps, all sorts of ideas,” Rossman said. “Recently, we put forward a traffic calming policy ... we really haven't heard much back.”
City staff replied that the city has purchased in‑house traffic-count equipment, completed a lidar scan of the city to integrate into GIS, and has hired or is filling a new GIS position that will support traffic and flow monitoring. Staff said they are negotiating with Chehalem Park & Rec (CPRD) to realign a trail segment so a crosswalk at Brucher and Fernwood could be installed if engineering, accessibility ramps and partner agreements are finalized.
Rossman said the commission expects to participate in a forthcoming larger traffic plan review that will provide guidance to engineers and that commissioners hoped for clearer direction and regular feedback from staff.
Councilors and staff expressed appreciation for the commission’s work and asked staff to pass priorities and any interim instructions back to the commission.
