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PBOT outlines Vision Zero data approach and intersection treatments; cites Southeast Division's safety gains
Summary
PBOT presented its Vision 0 program and detailed a data-driven approach to intersection safety. Using Southeast Division at 148th as an example, staff said layered treatments (curb extensions, signal upgrades, lighting, no-turn-on-red) have substantially reduced serious-crash risk and offered crash-reduction estimates for standard countermeasures.
PBOT staff told the Public Works Committee on Aug. 11 that the bureau uses statewide crash data and national research to identify high-crash intersections and implement proven countermeasures to reduce deaths and serious injuries.
Director Melissa Williams emphasized the council's recent recommitment to Vision 0 and the bureau's role in designing and delivering safety infrastructure. City traffic engineer Wendy Cawley and Vision 0 section manager Clay Vaca explained PBOT's prioritization: geocode ODOT crash reports, generate a high-crash intersection list and a high-crash network (about 30 streets accounting for roughly 70% of traffic deaths), then zoom to hot-spot segments for targeted interventions.
Using Southeast Division and 148th Avenue as a multi-year example, staff described how a long pedestrian crossing (about 120 feet) was shortened to about 45 feet with curb extensions, lane reductions and signal upgrades. "Each change brought some safety benefit and gave us time to seek funding," the presentation said. PBOT provided crash-reduction factors for common countermeasures (cited from FHWA/ODOT sources): curb extensions (~30% reduction in all crashes), improved lighting (~42% reduction in pedestrian/bicycle nighttime crashes), larger signal heads (~42% reduction in certain angle crashes), retroreflective backplates (~15% reduction) and leading pedestrian intervals (~37% reduction). No-turn-on-red restrictions were shown to reduce all crashes by ~9% and pedestrian/bicycle crashes by ~41%.
Councilors asked whether national crash-modification factors are transferable to local sites; PBOT said the factors come from FHWA/Oregon resources and should be applied with local engineering judgment. Members also pressed PBOT to connect cost and rate implications to project prioritization; PBOT said it can produce additional analyses on rate impacts and VMT-based crash rates as requested. The committee agreed Vision 0's layered approach and the recent no-turn-on-red ordinance are complementary tools for the bureau's safety work.
