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Gene Nelson, Ph.D. <
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Subject:OPPOSE Reduction of South Higuera From 4 Lanes to 2 Lanes - Agenda Item 7a -
02/04/25
Attachments:OPPOSE S Higuera Lane Reductions 01 29 25.pdf
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San Luis Obispo City Clerk
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 781 - 7164 (3-minute Voicemail)
emailcouncil@slocity.org email
January 29, 2025
Subject: OPPOSE Reduction of South Higuera from 4 Lanes to 2 Lanes Between Bridge and
Margarita (Agenda Item 7a, SLO City Council meeting of February 4, 2025)
Please see my attached correspondence. Please confirm its timely receipt.
Sincerely,
/s/ Gene Nelson, Ph.D. Chumash Village (805) 363 - 4697 cell c0030180@airmail.net email
1
San Luis Obispo City Clerk
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 781 - 7164 (3-minute Voicemail)
emailcouncil@slocity.org email
January 29, 2025
Subject: OPPOSE Reduction of South Higuera from 4 Lanes to 2 Lanes Between Bridge and Margarita
(Agenda Item 7a, SLO City Council meeting of February 4, 2025)
Hello San Luis Obispo City Council:
During the past few months, I have often spoken out at City Council meetings during the Public
Comment period in opposition to the controversial proposed lane reductions (lane reductions) on South
Higuera Street at the geographical choke point. As an owner within the Chumash Village Senior Citizen
Mobile Home Park, the value of my residence within this development will be diminished by making it
even more difficult than it is now to enter and exit Chumash Village.
1. Since the lane reductions will be implemented via fixed concrete barriers instead of painted
markings as shown on the front cover of the City of Portland audit of Vision Zero (attached in the
Appendix,) there is inflexibility in emergency evacuations from Chumash Village and/or from the
Toscana subdivision. Rush-hour emergency vehicle response to incidents within Chumash Village or
Toscana subdivision will be delayed by the fixed concrete barriers.
2. This proposed action is an uncompensated taking by the City of San Luis Obispo. The only
Chumash Village traffic control device is a stop sign, which will not change. Presently, southbound traffic
on Higuera can move to the right lane when drivers observe a vehicle attempting to make a left turn
from Chumash onto South Higuera. With the proposed lane reduction, southbound traffic will no longer
have that option, making it more hazardous at all times to make the left turn out of Chumash Village.
3. By reducing the traffic carrying capacity of South Higuera via lane reductions, rush hour
congestion will be increased in both directions. This increased rush-hour congestion will make it more
difficult to make a right turn out of Chumash Village as well.
4. I've observed the congestion on South Higuera with four traffic lanes when there is an accident
or lane blockage on the parallel Highway 101/California State Highway 1. The lane reductions will
aggravate these inevitable traffic jams.
5. Despite the NO PARKING signage and red painted curb, large delivery trucks continue to park in
front of CHOP Restaurant Supply at 3053 S. Higuera St. These large trucks make it dangerous to make
turns in and out of Chumash Village. There have already been several "near misses." The proposed lane
reductions will make it likely these trucks will instead park in the center lane in front of that business.
This will increase the hazard to Chumash Village motorists.
Opposition to the Lane Reductions on South Higuera January 29, 2025 Page 2 of 2
6. Despite the City of San Luis Obispo recently making a presentation at the Chumash Village
Clubhouse, there has been no modification of the City's plans. Chumash Village residents made clear
their opposition to the lane reductions.
I call for an audit of the existing Vision Zero alterations within the City of San Luis Obispo before
any additional taxpayer funds are spent on these projects. (See references in the Appendix.) I strongly
support significant modifications to the City of San Luis Obispo plans between Bridge Street and
Margarita.
1. If the actual goal is to make South Higuera Street safer for pedestrians and cyclists, I believe
that installing a regular traffic signal at Elks Lane and South Higuera and installation of speed warning
signs (like the sign on westbound Los Osos Valley Road near South Higuera) in both directions will serve
the safety goal of reducing the speed in this section of the road from 40 MPH to 35 MPH. These
proposed alterations would preserve the valuable 4-lane north-south arterial road to facilitate
movement of vehicles without increasing rush-hour congestion. During City Council meetings, I've raised
the conflict of interest outlined on Page 15 of 370 of the 2023-2045 SLOCOG Regional Transportation
Plan (RTP Plan.) A massive almost billion dollar sales tax increase is proposed a few paragraphs later for
our region to fund such non-workable alternatives as increased buses for our primarily rural region.
Sales taxes are the most regressive form of taxation. Our sales tax is already very high at 8.75%
2. The scope of the study being used to justify this project is flawed. On the previous page, the RTP
Plan projects a regional population increase of 42,000 by 2045. Based on historical California
development patterns, this population increase will be the result of converting existing flat agricultural
land such as found in nearby Edna Valley and Los Osos Valley to high-density residential use. However,
the scope of the study did not include the near-term development impacts of these nearby areas,
instead limiting the scope to within city limits. The congestion problem is aggravated by recently-
implemented lane reductions elsewhere within city limits. A properly-scoped study would demonstrate
the impracticality of lane reductions on South Higuera at the geographical choke point. The May 22,
2023 Traffic Operations Evaluation Exhibit 3 at page 9 of 13 shows the PM peak hour volume is already
very close to the 1,750 vehicle threshold where lane reductions are no longer justified between Bridge
Street and Margarita.
KEEP South Higuera Street at four lanes between Madonna and Los Osos Valley Road.
Sincerely,
/s/ Gene Nelson, Ph.D. Chumash Village (805) 363 - 4697 cell c0030180@airmail.net email
Appendix : Attachments showing the impracticality of Vision Zero for Portland, Oregon
• "Vision Zero as an Anoited Utopian Fantasy," Principled Bicycling, November 25, 2024 (This is a
summary and criticism of the City of Portland audit report and response below.)
• "Vision Zero Audit Report and Response, City of Portland, Oregon," November 25, 2024
1/29/25, 11:12 AM Vision Zero as an Anointed Utopian Fantasy
Vision Zero as an Anointed Utopian Fantasy
checking un Portlandia's "success" in th,. F a ogram from source.
NOV 25, 2024
5 018 010 Share •••
In The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, Thomas
Sowell outlines a four-step process through which certain ideologies and policies
are developed, promoted, and defended by intellectual elites, opposed by
UD_ often without regard for empirical outcomes, and often with backfiring
second-order effects.
These stages are:
"The Crisis".
"The Solution"
"The Results"
"The Response".
In Stage I, "The Crisis," Sowell argues that the "anointed" declare the existence of
a critical crisis, whether real, exaggerated, or even nonexistent. This crisis is
presented in a way that evokes moral urgency and emotional resonance. This
assertion often bypasses thorough analysis and focuses instead on alarming
rhetoric with utter urgency.
With Stage II, "The Solution," the Anointed, after having established the Crisis,
propose a specific solution or policy which is typically aligned with their
worldview and requires their "experts" and bureaucrats to solve typically using the
money of the people, usually via theft (taxation). The solution is portrayed as
morally imperative, requiring implementation regardless of dissent or evidence.
Alternative solutions, especially those rooted in traditional or market-based
approaches or proposed by outsiders to the Anointed, are dismissed or ridiculed.
In Stage III "The Results," evidence arises that contradicts the efficacy of the
proposed solution, it is dismissed, ignored, or reinterpreted to fi t the narrative.
The "anointed" prioritize their vision often backed by their subjective feelings
(often with an heavy dose of p-hacking or other statistical trickery) over empirical
data determined by the scientific method. Critics of the vision are often labeled as
morally or intellectually inferior or other labels such as "deniers". Here, the stats
are sometimes "juked" too when things don't go their way.
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Then there's Stage IV, "The Response." Here Sowell argues the fi nal stage involves
the moral glorification of the "anointed" and their policies. Regardless of the
policy's actual outcomes, those who supported it are depicted as compassionate
and virtuous, while critics are vilified as uncaring or malicious. This stage
solidifies the self-congratulatory framework of the "anointed," and hence the edgy
sub-title of the book.
Sowell critiques this process as being driven more by ideology and self-image than
by a genuine commitment to solving problems based on evidence and rational
discourse.
The adoption of " ision Zero" by governments and transportation or urbanist
activists is a prime example of the process Thomas Sowell describes in The Vision
of the Anointed. "Vision Zero," a traffic safety policy aimed at eliminating all traffic
fatalities and severe injuries while promoting "equitable mobility" and other
buzzword gobbledygook demonstrates each stage of Sowell's framework.
Portland adopted Vision Zero in 2016 with a goal for zero traffic fatalities by 2025.
That's slightly more than one month from now.
4
VISION
ZERO on You let's ma e me? ke
eye c onto tt.
tet's be
stafe.
visionzeroporticind Corn
So how have they been doing? One can guess - failing just as )enver's Vision Zero
planning regime is
The Rose City is failing so hard on Vision Zero that even someone within the City,
the City Auditor recently compiled a report on the failure entitled "Vision Zero:
Portland Bureau of Transportation needs to systematically evaluate whether its
safety projects reduce traffic deaths and serious injury crashes".
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it's difficult to distinguish any real trend in a decrease of either fatalities
or sertes injuries since the 2016 implementation. Here's a chart directly from the
audit.
Figure 1: Traffic crashes declined after Vision Zero was adopted in Portland in
2016, but serious injury crashes and traffic fatalities have been rising since 2020
500
400 362
427
311 289 276
300
245 253 242
206
200 182 2 '6
100
36 Int ta
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Fatalities Serious *ries
Source: Audit Services' visualization of Transportation Bureau data.
As usual, these types of analysis appear to not bother to dive deep into the actions
each party was doing prior to the collision - Jumething bike lane activiste
tend to leave out of their stud: too.
The Rose City's Vision Zero failure is despite c nectr-cer of proies targeted at
streets and intersections identified as part of the city's "high crash network:
Other projects, not ail bad in this author's opinion included in the installation of
pedestrian head start signais (basically a ped at a crosswalk gets a "walle sign
before the drivers get a green light), speed limit reductions (debatable), speed
cameras, and good old-fashioned in-person law enforcement - ironic given
Portland practically "defunded" their police in 2020 and demanded thev not
enforce traffic _cules for (.`cp)ity."
The city maintains a fancy Vision Zero dashboard (linked in previous paragraph)
but despite it's fancy aesthetics, lacks a reasonable way for someone to conduct a
before and after comparison of a given Vision Zero treatment. To those familial
with the various critiques of bicycling safety studies covered on this blog, this
should be of little surprise.
This admittedly long quote from the audit covers the issue quite well.
The Bureau's policies and plans state that performance measures should be developed
for evaluating overail transportation system performance and that studies should be
done comparing safety before and after projects are implemented. Staff indicated this
isn't always done. Continuous monitoring of completed projects and the collecting and
analyzing of performance data are best practices to determine whether projects are
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meeting their desired outcomes. Inputs, actions, outputs, and outcomes should align for
each safety project to demonstrate real impact on the goal of zero traffic fatalities and
serious injuries. The systematic evaluation of performance data could inform Bureau
decisions on how to assess and adjust safety projects that aren't getting the desired
outcomes.
The Bureau is constantly working on a variety of safety projects, but those projects are
not systematically evaluated once they are completed. The projects may range from
large, corridor-wide multi-year projects, to discreet, individual safety projects such as
installing a sign or speed bump.... While Vision Zero staff have completed in-depth
reports for the Bureau, updated the counts of safety components listed within the
commitments in the Action Plan (i.e., number of speed cameras, number of pedestrian
head starts, etc.), and analyzed a left turn calming pilot project, the Bureau does not
conduct routine, systematic evaluations on completed safety projects.
Without systemic evaluation of safety outcomes, the Bureau is missing the opportunity
to create more alignment between the work they do on safety projects and the overall
goal of Vision Zero. A more systematic approach would allow trends to be identified
and analyzed to better understand the outcomes of completed projects, and which may
need to be altered or dropped. As traffic deaths continue to increase it is vital that the
Bureau consistently evaluate completed safety projects so they can see which are
working best at shifting the trend towards the intended goal of zero traffic deaths and
serious injuries.
Now they don't take all the blame for the failure of Portland's increasing number
in road user deaths and serious injuries. Later they fl ip the issue onto the people
themselves:
Achieving our safety goal requires collaboration and commitment from many partners.
The crash data clearly indicates that societal issues related to housing, behavioral
health, substance abuse, and a culture focused on the individual are factors
contributing to deadly and serious traffic crashes. People experiencing houselessness do
not have refuge from persistent exposure to traffic. People traveling impaired put
themselves and others at risk on the road. Extreme behavior and disregard for others
using the streets has become more commonplace. A societal commitment to meet basic
human needs and implement strategies to change current conditions are necessary to
reach many of our shared goals, including Vision Zero. These changes require
leadership, investment, and commitment from partners beyond PBOT.
Vision Zero in general plus Portland's own implementation and (so-far) failure
maps onto Sowell's four stages incredibly well.
Stage I "The Crisis"
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Supporters for Vision Zero often declare that traffic fatalities and injuries are a
preventable crisis, emphasizing a "moral imperative" to eliminate them entirely.
While the dangers of traffic collisions are real, the crisis is framed in absolute
terms that demand immediate and radical action - see the labeling of the issue as
an "epidemic of traffic violence." Moral urgency is key here as emotional appeals
(e.g., highlighting individual tragedies often with little to no context) are used to
galvanize support, often sidelining broader contextual discussions about the risks
inherent in any form of mobility.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) justified Vision Zero by
presenting traffic fatalities and serious injuries as a moral and urgent crisis that
could not be tolerated mainly pinning the issue on motorists. The 2019 Vision
Zero Action Plan update emphasized that traffic deaths were rising and
disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, such as low-income and
BIPOC communities. This framing aligns with Sowell's description of declaring a
crisis to evoke a moral imperative for action.
Stage II "The Solution"
Vision Zero offers a specific set of policies, such as reduced speed limits, "road
diets," installation of alternative intersection designs such as roundabouts,
"protected" bicycle lanes, and stricter (often punitive) regulations on motor
vehicles. These measures are presented as the only morally acceptable response to
the crisis and each solution is almost viewed as fungible- that is these solution
work "everywhere" solely based off the fact they're pushed by the anointed and
they're named a certain name. ("Protected" bicycle lanes in areas with little to no
turning and crossing conflicts may be okay, but the same lanes installed in dense
urban areas with lots of driveways and intersections is not, yet both are
considered the same in this ideology) Alternative approaches, such as imprr---ing
.oad user education, enhancing vehicle safety technology via the private sector or
free market, or addressing reckless behavior in specific demographic groups, are
downplayed. The emphasis is on systemic changes rather than personal
responsibility.
PBOT adopted Vision Zero with the goal of reducing traffic fatalities and severe
injuries to zero by implementing systemic changes. These included reducing
speeds citywide, redesigning streets, and enhancing pedestrian safety. But as
Sowell described, the solution was presented as the only morally acceptable path,
leaving little room for debate. PBOT relied heavily on systemic interventions like
road redesigns and speed cameras, sidelining discussions of individual behavior or
alternative strategies. Portland's embrace of .narcho-tyranrw which included over
100 nights of riots ( h/t Heather Heyin ) starting in the summer of 2020 after the
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murder of George Floyd and "defunding the police" certainly did not help with
traffic issues in the city.
Stage III "The Results"
When Vision Zero policies fail to meet their ambitious goals, proponents often
attribute failures to insufficient implementation, lack of funding, or public
noncompliance, rather than questioning the policies themselves as can be seen in
part of the Audit. Advocates, such as the Cluster B(ike) activists who we're not
going to target here but deserve equal ridicule, may highlight minor reductions in
accidents or fatalities in specific cases while ignoring broader trends, such as
increases in pedestrian fatalities or negative effects on overall mobility and
economic activity. Vision Zero often disregards trade-offs, such as slower
emergency response times or economic harm from reduced traffic flow, that can
arise from strict road use policies. It also ignores the social backlash from
motorists inconvenienced by the endeavors of bicyclists who encounter more
close calls when using the "solution" of bicycle infrastructure.
Despite Vision Zero's implementation, traffic fatalities in Portland rose
significantly after 2020, reaching a peak of 69 in 2023—higher than prior to the
program's adoption. However, proponents of Vision Zero attributed these failures
to external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, limited funding, and delays in
implementation, rather than questioning the fundamental approach. (They do
have a point - the city saw a great rise in decivilization during the Summer of 2020
amid COVID lockdowns and racial justice protests after the murder of George
Floyd. In Portland, these protests more often than not turned to riots. The city
also tolerated open-air drug encampments in their parks, bike paths,
neighborhoods, and downtown sidewalks.)
This reflects Sowell's argument that evidence contradicting the solution is often
dismissed or reinterpreted.
Finally, Stage IV "The Response"
Proponents of Vision Zero daim the moral high ground by framing their vision as
"saving lives" and critics as indifferent to human suffering. Opponents who raise
practical concerns or question the feasibility of zero deaths are often dismissed as
selfish or callous: Politicians and policymakers often use Vision Zero to
demonstrate their compassion and progressive values, regardless of the policy's
measurable outcomes. The rhetoric emphasizes intentions and feelings over
objective results.
The PBOT audit highlights that Vision Zero was framed as a moral obligation to
protect lives, with equity and inclusion as core tenets with "vulnerable road users"
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given priority. Yet despite all this pandering, the outcomes fell short. Critics of
Vision Zero's effectiveness might be portrayed as unsympathetic to public safety
or equity, reinforcing the moral superiority Sowell describes.
In sum, Vision Zero embodies Sowell's critique of the "anointed" by prioritizing a
sweeping moral vision over empirical outcomes and dismissing dissent as morally
deficient. The policy's focus on idealistic goals like "zero fatalities" reflects a
disregard for real-world complexities, such as human error, cost-benefit trade-
offs, and unintended consequences. It illustrates how the anointed vision can
persist and gain widespread adoption, even in the face of mixed or negative
evidence. The recent PBOT audit reveals a bit of honestly and reflection among
the Portland bureaucrats but also falls for the trope's in Sowell's model.
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Gene Nelson, Ph.D. GreenNUKE Nov 25
• Liked by Green Leap Forward
Thank you for this timely commentary. I will be sending it to the City of San Luis Obispo (and San Luis
Obispo County) California, where I live. Even though i'm a bicyclist, I've expressed strong opposition to
the city's Active Transpiration Plan (ATP) which I characterize as a "war against cars." Despite the region
being primarily rural (The County covers 3,300 square miles) I've also identified a conflict of interest.
The leaders want us to use public transportation instead of our cars. They are proposing a billion dollar
regional sales tax increase to fund public transportation. The ATP is already reducing the capacity of
many arterial roads in the affected cities by 50%, converting them from 4 lanes to two lanes. I believe
the plan is to have the ATP-induced congestion serve as the motivation for public support for the
billion-dollar tax increase. For 5 years, I recently lived in Arlington County, Virginia, adjacent to
Washington, DC. There, I spoke at public meetings for more funding for public transit as the County is
less than 26 square miles and public transit is mandatory there. Arlington County is highly urbanized in
contrast with San Luis Obispo County.
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Vision Zero:
Portland Bureau of
Transportation needs to
systematically evaluate
whether its safety
projects reduce traffic
deaths and serious injury
crashes
November 2024
Simone Rede, City Auditor
KC Jones, Audit Services Director
Bob MacKay, Senior Performance Auditor
Contents
Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1
Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
The Bureau of Transportation updated the Vision Zero Action Plan in 2019, the same
year they adopted a new strategic plan, further embedding safety into their work and
culture .......................................................................................................................... 4
Audit Results ................................................................................................................... 5
Actions from the updated Vision Zero Action Plan were partially completed ............... 5
Under the strategy to protect pedestrians, the Bureau made some pedestrian safety
improvements but did not add as much lighting or crosswalks as they anticipated .. 6
The Bureau has fulfilled part of its strategy to reduce speeds citywide, but could do
more to enforce speed limits .................................................................................... 7
The Bureau completed many of the safety design actions supporting its strategy to
design streets to protect human lives ....................................................................... 8
The Bureau should improve evaluation and monitoring of completed safety projects . 9
The Bureau considers equity for major projects but could do more to identify smaller-
scale safety improvements with equity impacts ......................................................... 10
Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 13
The Deputy City Administrator for Public Works and the Director of Transportation
agreed with our recommendations ................................................................................ 13
How we did our work ..................................................................................................... 13
Vision Zero | November 2024
1 of 14
Summary
Traffic crashes declined after Vision Zero was adopted by City Council in 2016, but
began to rise in 2020. The number of traffic fatalities hit a high of 64 in 2021, then 63 in
2022. According to preliminary data, 2023 may have been even higher, with 69
recorded deaths. Each death was someone’s loved one – a family member, friend, or
colleague. Vision Zero is the City’s effort to address this issue with a commitment to
reduce deaths and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes to zero.
In the Vision Zero Action Plan, the Portland Bureau of Transportation committed to
steps to make streets safer for everyone with dedicated strategies focused on
pedestrian safety. The Bureau identified Portland streets and intersections where most
crashes occur and compared that with demographic data showing where the most
vulnerable and underserved populations in the city live. They’ve used these data
elements to help prioritize decisions on where to implement safety projects. Our audit
objective was to determine if the Bureau identified and delivered these safety projects
from the 2019 update to the Vision Zero Action Plan in a timely and equitable manner.
Our audit found that the Portland Bureau of Transportation partially completed these
safety projects. We also found the Bureau needs to better measure outcomes of those
completed safety projects. While the Bureau considers equity for their larger projects
there are opportunities to use other data such as community stories to identify additional
safety improvements with potential equity impacts.
To address these issues, we recommend creating a plan to systematically evaluate
completed safety projects to determine which get the desired outcomes and where
Vision Zero efforts are most needed. We recommend the Bureau also install promised
speed cameras to further support street safety. We also recommend the Bureau revisit
its equity methodology to ensure it accounts for smaller scale improvements that could
have positive equity impacts. These efforts to collect data, analyze, evaluate, and
carefully track which safety projects have the most desired outcomes could help move
toward Vision Zero’s goal of zero fatal and serious injury traffic crashes.
Background
Traffic deaths rose across the country between 2019 and 2021. In the United States in
2021, more pedestrians were killed in traffic fatalities than any time in nearly 40 years.
In Portland, the increase in pedestrian traffic fatalities was greater than in any other
form of transportation between 2019 and 2022.
Vision Zero | November 2024
2 of 14
Vision Zero is an international movement in traffic safety that started in Sweden in 1997.
In the five years leading up to the Portland City Council adopting the Vision Zero Action
Plan in December 2016 both crashes that resulted in serious injuries or fatalities
increased by 27%. While traffic crashes declined after Vision Zero began in Portland,
starting in 2020, they began to rise. The goal of Portland’s action plan is to bring those
numbers to zero.
Figure 1: Traffic crashes declined after Vision Zero was adopted in Portland in
2016, but serious injury crashes and traffic fatalities have been rising since 2020
Source: Audit Services’ visualization of Transportation Bureau data.
Prior to adopting Vision Zero, the Bureau had identified streets and intersections where
most crashes occurred. Out of that work, the Bureau created a map of this High Crash
Network: the 30 streets and 30 intersections where most crashes occurred. To this they
added Census data with variables such as race and income, to display areas where
these overlap with crash data. The map helps visualize where safety work should be
prioritized. It shows that many of the most dangerous intersections and streets are in
areas of the city with a higher concentration of low-income households and where
communities of color reside.
Vision Zero | November 2024
3 of 14
Figure 2: Many of the most dangerous intersections and streets are in areas of
Portland where a higher concentration of low-income households and
communities of color reside
Source: Audit Services’ visualization of Transportation Bureau and U.S. Census data.
The Bureau made equity a major aspect of Vision Zero from the outset. It sought to
create streets that are safe for all Portlanders, to travel by any means, in all areas of the
city. As the Bureau moves to the Vision Zero goal of zero traffic deaths and serious
injuries, they strive to ensure their work contributes to a more equitable Portland.
A guiding principle of the Vision Zero Action Plan is that it will be guided by data. The
main source of data for Vision Zero is crash data which shows how many people were
killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes. The Oregon Department of Transportation
creates the official record, which delays final crash data being available for Bureau
reports. However, the Vision Zero team also tracks fatal crash data directly from the
Portland Police Bureau’s Major Crash Team, who investigate serious or fatal crashes.
This preliminary data from the Police allows Vision Zero staff to fulfill their commitment
to produce an annual fatality report and to present findings to council. Once final data is
received from the state, staff makes it available on an interactive dashboard displaying
where crashes happened, what the outcome was, and if the person was walking, biking,
or driving.
Vision Zero | November 2024
4 of 14
The Bureau of Transportation updated the Vision Zero
Action Plan in 2019, the same year they adopted a new
strategic plan, further embedding safety into their work
and culture
In 2019, the Bureau of Transportation updated both their Strategic Plan and the Vision
Zero Action Plan. Both documents have a strong focus on safety. Staff reported the
updated Action Plan concentrated more on actions under the Bureau’s control that
could help move towards the goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Safety is the first of three core goals listed in the Strategic Plan and mirrors the goal of
Vision Zero in striving to make the streets safe for all. Safety is also embedded in the
bureau’s Vision, Mission, and Values. The Strategic Plan states that one tool to keep
the Bureau focused on their vision is to fulfill the goals of the Vision Zero Action Plan.
Another important step towards incorporating safety into the culture of the Bureau’s
work was the adoption of a Safe Systems approach. Safe Systems provides a shift in
the way people, politicians, and planners are meant to view traffic fatalities and serious
injuries. The approach is based on the idea that traffic deaths and serious injuries are
not inevitable but are unacceptable and preventable. In the event there is a crash, the
system should be built to lessen any impact as the human body cannot take much force
prior to serious injury or death.
Along with emphasizing the Safe Systems approach, staff reported a key difference
between the original Vision Zero Action Plan and the 2019 update was the Bureau’s
shift to focus more on what they could control. This move, along with other entities like
the Oregon Department of Transportation having control over some of the most
dangerous streets in every geographic quadrant of Portland (i.e., SE Powell Blvd, SW
Barbur Blvd, N and NE Lombard St), creates a tension between safety projects that the
Bureau implements on streets it controls and the goal of Vision Zero to bring deaths and
serious injuries to zero on all streets in Portland.
Because of these significant shifts in the 2019 update of the Vision Zero Action Plan, we
decided to use it to determine Bureau progress on Vision Zero efforts. We relied on the
Bureau’s self-reporting for the status of completed projects.
Vision Zero | November 2024
5 of 14
Audit Results
Actions from the updated Vision Zero Action Plan were
partially completed
The Portland Bureau of Transportation reports mixed results completing the actions it
committed to in the 2019 Update of the Vision Zero Action Plan, completing some while
not completing others. For example, the Bureau had great success in changing signal
timing to make it safer to cross some streets, surpassing its targets each year since
2019. But in other areas, like speed cameras, the Bureau fell short with most cameras
not placed in the planned timeframe. Some of the corridor-wide safety projects were
also not completed in the years targeted. Progress on some actions was constrained by
factors outside of the Bureau’s control, such as effects stemming from the global
pandemic, State control over setting speed limits, and limited funding. The Vision Zero
team mentioned how within these constraints, they look to insert safety components into
larger projects which were already funded and planned, or in progress.
The Vision Zero Action Plan is grouped into four strategies:
1. Protect pedestrians
2. Reduce speeds citywide
3. Design streets to protect human lives; and,
4. Create a culture of shared responsibility.
Each of these strategies list objectives with specific actions tied to them. For example,
under the strategy Protect pedestrians, one objective was to change signal timing and
operations to make it safer to cross the street. Actions under this objective included
installing pedestrian head starts, where pedestrians are given a ‘head start’ on turning
traffic that is held by a longer-timed red light. We did not evaluate projects in support of
the Bureau’s strategy for creating a culture of shared responsibility because, while some
actions in this strategy were easy to count, the actual outcomes were not (such as
whether street team outreach events or message signs near locations of fatal crashes
change the driving habits of individuals). Some also relied on groups outside of the
Bureau, such as community organizations and the Police.
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Figure 3: The Bureau reported completing more actions in some strategy areas
than in others
Source: Audit Services’ visualization of Transportation Bureau data.
Under the strategy to protect pedestrians, the Bureau
made some pedestrian safety improvements but did not
add as much lighting or crosswalks as they anticipated
The strategy to protect pedestrians contains more actions the Bureau committed to than
any of the other strategies in the Vision Zero Action Plan. Many of the actions
supporting this strategy were grouped into objectives focused on making it easier for
drivers to see pedestrians crossing streets – from changing signal timing, to adding
street lighting, and providing crossings in-between intersections to try and prevent mid-
block crashes.
The Bureau installed more pedestrian head starts than planned due in part to extra
funding from TriMet. Pedestrian head starts are the term the Bureau uses when they
change the signal timing at dangerous intersections to pause turning vehicles and give
pedestrians more time to get into the crosswalk where they are more visible. While the
Bureau has done well at fulfilling some of its commitments to protect pedestrians by
making it safer to cross the street by changing the signal timing and operations around
left-turn calming, and pedestrian head starts, all of these efforts were at intersections
and one quarter of all pedestrian crashes happen on stretches of road between
Vision Zero | November 2024
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intersections. The Bureau reported falling short on the objective to fill the gaps between
safe street crossings.
The Bureau also reported that it was not as successful in adding street lighting as it
planned – they did not finish installing lighting on two high crash corridor streets
identified in the 2019 Action Plan Update, or complete layout plans for East Portland
High Crash Network streets. The Bureau noted this was due in large part to the
pandemic, reduced contracting capacity, hiring freezes, and supply chain issues.
However, the Bureau did come up with a plan to fund the installation of more lights
using the savings from switching to LED bulbs on existing lights, which the Bureau
reports Council approved. This should help install new lighting on the High Crash
Network streets as promised in the 2019 update. More lighting may help in that 70% of
all traffic fatalities on Portland streets, between 2019 and 2022, were in lowlight
conditions.
The Bureau has fulfilled part of its strategy to reduce
speeds citywide, but could do more to enforce speed
limits
The Bureau reports having done well in its strategy to reduce speeds citywide. For
instance, they have gained control from the state to set lower speeds on many of the
city’s streets. The one area where they have fallen short in this strategy is in the
installation of promised speed cameras, which help in the enforcement of speed limits,
one of the objectives under this strategy.
Excess speed is a major factor in fatal crashes. By slowing speeds, both the likelihood
and intensity of crashes are reduced. The chance of pedestrian fatalities is also reduced
when vehicles are travelling at slower speeds. While the Oregon Department of
Transportation sets speed limits for the state, the city gained control over some local
speed-setting in the 2017 legislative session and began changing signs soon after. The
Bureau has reduced most residential speed limits to 20 miles per hour. In extreme
cases, state law allows the city to make emergency speed limit reductions, which it did
in 2021, lowering the speed to 30 miles per hour (from 35 and 40) along a stretch of NE
Halsey, designated as a high crash street, part of the High Crash Network.
Enforcement is an important component in reducing speeds. The National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration determined that fixed photo speed cameras are an
effective countermeasure to reducing speeding-related crashes, deaths, and injuries.
The Bureau, however, reported they have not installed the number of cameras
committed to which could impact the City’s efforts to enforce those safer speeds.
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The Bureau had installed eight speed cameras by 2021 with four more planned by late
2021 on SE Stark at 122nd and 148th. Those cameras were delayed due to prolonged
contract negotiations as well as pandemic-related disruptions, according to the Bureau.
More cameras are planned after the four on SE Stark.
The Portland Police Bureau is a necessary partner in the enforcement of the city’s
speed limits. The Police are responsible for reviewing the camera images and
determining the violation. The contract with the camera vendors, which is co-managed
by the Bureau of Transportation and the Police Bureau, allows those who receive tickets
to attend a safety class for a reduced fee, which is helpful for those less able to afford
the fine.
The Bureau completed many of the safety design actions
supporting its strategy to design streets to protect human
lives
The bureau did well in most of its strategy to design streets to be safer for everyone.
Several corridor-wide projects along High Crash Network streets were noted in the 2019
Update to the Vision Zero Action Plan, with the Bureau reporting most of the projects
being completed on time. The left-turn calming pilot project – a combination of small,
hardened rubber speed bumps that go up to crosswalks some with a ‘nose’ piece that
sticks into the intersection to help prevent drivers turning left from hitting other road
users – was successful in its implementation. The initial report found that speeds of
turning vehicles were reduced and turning angles were increased adding more visibility
and protection for pedestrians. The actual effect on safety, however, will need a few
more years of data to effectively evaluate.
Traffic can be slowed, and different modes of transportation can be separated, by
intentional design of streets, creating a safer environment for all to get around. The
Bureau has focused on efforts to transform streets and install calming measures, but
more evaluation is needed to identify opportunities for implementing the safety elements
that are most successful at resulting in desired outcomes.
Even prior to the adoption of Vision Zero, staff reported the Bureau had been using road
design to help reduce speeds without lowering speed limits. Design elements such as
repurposing travel lanes for in-lane parking, bike or transit lanes, or center turn lanes as
well as hard structures like physical barriers and speed bumps, all work to slow traffic.
The following corridor-wide projects were included in the 2019 update to the Vision Zero
Action Plan for corridor-wide safety improvements on High Crash Network streets:
• NE 102nd Avenue (NE Weidler Street to NE Sandy Boulevard)
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• NE Glisan Street (NE 112nd Avenue to NE 162nd Avenue)
• NE Marine Drive (NE 33rd Avenue to NE 185th Avenue)
• SE Foster Street (SE 50th Avenue to SE 90th Avenue)
• SE Division Street (SE 80th Avenue to SE 174th Avenue)
• SE/NE 112nd Avenue (SE Foster Road to NE Marine Drive)
• SW Capitol Highway (SW Garden Home Road to SW Taylors Ferry Road; SW
Huber Street to SW Kerr Parkway)
The Bureau reported that more than half of these projects were completed in the
expected timeframe, while the others were delayed due to issues stemming from the
pandemic. These issues included hiring freezes, split staffing, and supply chain delays.
Each safety project, whether a large corridor-wide one, such as the Outer Division
Safety Project, or smaller installations such as left-turn calming bumps, needs to be
analyzed and evaluated. Such evaluations should occur before, after and at continuous
intervals after completion, to see which ones are helping to make the streets safer for
all, regardless of the mode of transportation.
The Bureau should improve evaluation and monitoring of
completed safety projects
The Bureau’s policies and plans state that performance measures should be developed
for evaluating overall transportation system performance and that studies should be
done comparing safety before and after projects are implemented. Staff indicated this
isn’t always done. Continuous monitoring of completed projects and the collecting and
analyzing of performance data are best practices to determine whether projects are
meeting their desired outcomes. Inputs, actions, outputs, and outcomes should align for
each safety project to demonstrate real impact on the goal of zero traffic fatalities and
serious injuries. The systematic evaluation of performance data could inform Bureau
decisions on how to assess and adjust safety projects that aren’t getting the desired
outcomes.
The Bureau is constantly working on a variety of safety projects, but those projects are
not systematically evaluated once they are completed. The projects may range from
large, corridor-wide multi-year projects, to discreet, individual safety projects such as
installing a sign or speed bump. Projects are always in the pipeline, contained in the
Bureau’s many plans, including the overarching Transportation System Plan. Since
Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2016, the Bureau has tried to
protect pedestrians and make city streets safer for all – by reconfiguring roads, and
adding high visibility signalized crossings, and pedestrian head starts – especially along
the High Crash Network streets. However, we found confusion within the Bureau as to
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what constitutes a Vision Zero project. It would help stakeholders to show more clearly
which projects fall under Vision Zero, helping achieve the goal of zero traffic fatalities
and serious injury crashes. While Vision Zero staff have completed in-depth reports for
the Bureau, updated the counts of safety components listed within the commitments in
the Action Plan (i.e., number of speed cameras, number of pedestrian head starts, etc.),
and analyzed a left turn calming pilot project, the Bureau does not conduct routine,
systematic evaluations on completed safety projects.
Without systemic evaluation of safety outcomes, the Bureau is missing the opportunity
to create more alignment between the work they do on safety projects and the overall
goal of Vision Zero. A more systematic approach would allow trends to be identified and
analyzed to better understand the outcomes of completed projects, and which may
need to be altered or dropped. As traffic deaths continue to increase it is vital that the
Bureau consistently evaluate completed safety projects so they can see which are
working best at shifting the trend towards the intended goal of zero traffic deaths and
serious injuries.
The Bureau considers equity for major projects but could
do more to identify smaller-scale safety improvements with
equity impacts
The Bureau has been prioritizing and funding major projects in a more equitable manner
by focusing on streets that have both the highest number of crashes and run through
areas of the city with higher concentrations of low-income households and populations
of communities of color. At the same time, that focus may allow smaller safety projects
with possible equitable outcomes that may lay outside of those areas, or those streets,
to be missed. The Bureau designed an equity matrix as a tool to help prioritize projects.
However, these large corridor-wide projects – which incorporate many safety elements
– can take years to complete while at the same time, demographics may shift, or people
may move in and out of these areas within the course of their daily activities.
The equity matrix uses Census data for race, ethnicity, and income to create a
composite score for each census tract. Those that score an eight or higher (out of 10)
are considered a high-equity area, representing higher concentrations of people of color
and lower household incomes. Vision Zero uses a combination of crash data and the
score from the equity matrix to more equitably prioritize where to make investments in
safety infrastructure. In the five years between 2017 and 2021 the Bureau estimates
65% of capital safety project spending on High Crash Network streets occurred in areas
which scored highly on their equity matrix.
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Traffic fatality statistics show the importance of investing in safety projects in these
areas that scored higher on the equity matrix, most of which fall in the eastern part of
the city. East Portland is home to most of the deadliest streets and intersections in the
city, which makes it less safe to walk in that section of the city. Not only are pedestrians
in East Portland more than twice as likely to be killed in a traffic crash than those
walking in other areas of the city, but the majority of all traffic fatalities also occur east of
the Willamette River. Crash data shows that traffic fatalities to community members
living in the areas scoring higher on the equity matrix have steadily increased, from 27
people in 2019 to 42 in 2022.
Figure 4: Traffic fatalities in areas of Portland with a higher concentration of low-
income households and where communities of color reside increased from 2019
to 2022
Source: Audit Services’ visualization of Transportation Bureau data.
The Bureau acknowledges that the equity matrix covers only the most concentrated
areas of where lower income, Black, Indigenous and people of color community
members reside. While crash data shows that between 2019 and 2022 most traffic
fatalities, and traffic fatalities to community members living in the higher scoring areas
on the Bureau’s equity matrix, occurred on High Crash Network streets, 22% of traffic
fatalities to persons living in those higher scoring areas died on streets outside of the
High Crash Network.
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Figure 5: Twenty-two percent of traffic fatalities occurred in areas where lower-
income and BIPOC community members reside, on streets outside of the High
Crash Network between 2019 and 2022
Source: Audit Services’ visualization of Transportation Bureau data.
During this review, auditors participated in multiple Walking in My Shoes tours, a
program of Word is Bond. This organization empowers young Black men in Portland.
The walking tours are led by youth ambassadors involved in the program. Two
ambassadors addressed transportation safety needs for their communities while one of
the tours demonstrated the fluidity of people across government boundaries:
• One youth ambassador lives and goes to school East of 82nd Avenue, which lays
within the area that scores higher on the Bureau’s equity matrix. However, many
of his favorite places to gather with family, friends, and others in his community
were West of 82nd Avenue, outside of the higher equity index area. To reach
these destinations he must cross some of the highest crash intersections in
Portland, as well as a section of NE Glisan which doesn’t have clearly marked
crosswalks.
• Another tour guide, living in outer SE Portland, specifically called for more traffic
barriers in residential neighborhoods to increase safety on the streets.
• It was apparent that these young men displayed a strong love and connection to
their neighborhood, city, and community.
As evidenced by the Walking in My Shoes tours, there are many dynamics at play within
the city that impact where people live, play and congregate, which present more
opportunities for equitable safety improvements if other sources of data, such as
community stories, are used. The current methodology for incorporating equity in its
decision-making may prevent the Bureau from considering other opportunities to
address safety needs equitably, such as smaller-scale improvements that may evolve
out of these other sources.
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Recommendations
Even with the safety projects implemented by the Bureau in the span of the 2019
update of the Vision Zero Action Plan, there were more traffic fatalities in 2023 than
either 2022 or 2021. Couple this with limited transportation funding, and it becomes
more imperative that the Bureau of Transportation continuously collect data, analyze,
evaluate, and carefully monitor which safety projects help the most to reach the goal of
zero fatal and serious injury traffic crashes. We recommend the Bureau:
1. Create a plan that ties safety projects to expected outcomes to determine which get
the desired outcomes and where Vision Zero efforts are most needed.
a. Plan should lay out systematic evaluation and continuous monitoring of
completed safety projects.
b. Results of evaluations should be used to assess effectiveness of project and
if any alterations, in design or funding, should be implemented.
2. Install promised speed cameras using prior contract experience and established
partnership with Portland Police Bureau to fully utilize speed cameras as tools that
support safety. Implementation should also include more equitable educational
opportunities and alternative outcomes for violators.
3. Ensure it accounts for other data sources that could help identify smaller-scale
improvements that could have positive equity impacts.
The Deputy City Administrator for Public
Works and the Director of Transportation
agreed with our recommendations
We provided this report to the Mayor, City Administrator, Deputy City Administrator for
Public Works, and the Bureau of Transportation. The Deputy City Administrator for
Public Works and the Director of the Bureau of Transportation jointly responded on
behalf of the City and agreed with our audit recommendations.
How we did our work
The objective of this audit was to determine if the Portland Bureau of Transportation
identified and delivered safety projects from the Vision Zero Action Plan 2019 Two-year
Update in a timely and equitable manner. There were three sub-objectives under this:
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1. Did the Portland Bureau of Transportation deliver corridor-wide safety projects on
High Crash Network streets listed in the Vision Zero Action Plan two-year update?
2. Did the Portland Bureau of Transportation deliver pedestrian safety projects
identified in the Vision Zero Action Plan two-year update?
3. Did the Portland Bureau of Transportation reduce speed limits and install speed
safety cameras as identified in the Vision Zero Action Plan two-year update?
We scoped the time frame to match the Vision Zero Action Plan Two-Year Update
(2019), which was 2019 to 2021, since PBOT was using that document as its driving
document for Vision. We decided to add 2022 data as it became available during the
audit, and we wanted to match numbers PBOT had presented to City Council.
To accomplish our objectives, we:
• Interviewed Bureau staff from multiple divisions and workgroups, including:
Vision Zero staff and managers; Safety, Speed, Crash, and Camera analysts;
Bureau Equity managers; and others from the financial services, capital projects,
and traffic systems and operations work groups.
• Toured sections of two corridor projects from the Action Plan with Project
Manager, City Engineer, Vision Zero/Bureau Safety Manager, and the Capital
Projects Manager.
• Observed the Traffic Operations Center.
• Reviewed plans, reports, studies, rules, policies, best practices and other audits,
including: the City’s Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Chapter; PBOT’s
Strategic Plan; Federal, state and local transportation studies among many
others.
• Interviewed outside stakeholders including The Street Trust and Oregon Walks.
• Participated in multiple ‘In My Shoes’ tours led by Word is Bond teen
ambassadors.
• Reviewed and analyzed crash data from within the audit scope. We also
reviewed historical crash data.
We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the
audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence
obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our
audit objectives.
Portlandgov PortlandORGov @PortlandGov
The City of Portland is committed to providing meaningful access. To request translation, interpretation,
modifications, accommodations, or other auxiliary aids or services contact 311 (503-823-4000), for Relay
Service & TTY: 711
Priya.Dhanapal@portlandoregon.gov
1120 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Portland.gov
Office of the Deputy City Administrator
Priya Dhanapal
Public Works
November 4th , 2024
Dear Auditor Rede and staff,
Thank you for completing the review of Portland’s Vision Zero Two-Year Update (2019), which
outlined traffic safety work commitments for 2019-2021.
The City of Portland adopted Vision Zero in 2015, which is the goal to eliminate deadly and
serious injury traffic crashes. Embedded in this commitment is the belief that no person should
die or be incapacitated from simply going about their day. Protecting human lives is core to our
work.
As the operator of streets in Portland, PBOT has an outsized responsibility to design, build and
maintain safe streets. Through a Safe System approach to traffic safety, PBOT aims to design
and maintain streets that protect people, slow driving speeds, and uplift a culture of shared
responsibility for safety.
City Council adopted Portland’s original Vision Zero Action Plan in 2016. Since then, PBOT has
undertaken two updates to the plan, one in 2019, which is the focus of this audit, and another in
2023. Where we have been able to invest in street design changes, we are seeing safety gains.
The Vision Zero Action Plan 2023-2025 Update guides the current priorities and investments of
the Vision Zero program. PBOT is implementing initiatives from this action plan that address
specific recommendations in the audit:
1. PBOT is consistently completing evaluations for significant safety projects and is
committed to doing annual reviews of the findings with leadership to inform safety work.
We began using a updated consistent methodology for High Crash Network projects in
2023.
2. In collaboration with our partners at Portland Police Bureau, we have continued to run the
camera program and expanded to 37 cameras that are either operating or in construction.
Implementation under the current contract is nearing completion.
3. PBOT uses both quantitative and qualitative data and tools to support our commitments to
racial equity and climate justice, this results in prioritization large- and small-scale
infrastructure projects that are both on and off of the High Crash Network.
Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland is possible. PBOT can lead the way by
significantly changing the design of Portland’s most deadly streets, slowing driving speeds,
reducing speed limits, and encouraging safe behavior by people in the right of way.
However, Portland will not reach Vision Zero with street design alone. Achieving our safety goal
requires collaboration and commitment from many partners. The crash data clearly indicates that
societal issues related to housing, behavioral health, substance abuse, and a culture focused on
the individual are factors contributing to deadly and serious traffic crashes. People experiencing
houselessness do not have refuge from persistent exposure to traffic. People traveling impaired
put themselves and others at risk on the road. Extreme behavior and disregard for others using
the streets has become more commonplace.
A societal commitment to meet basic human needs and implement strategies to change current
conditions are necessary to reach many of our shared goals, including Vision Zero. These
changes require leadership, investment, and commitment from partners beyond PBOT.
Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries is a City commitment and goal, but as a City we
have focused the discussion on what PBOT does to change streets. We believe the City
transition provides an opportunity to reengage City bureaus in Portland’s Vision Zero
commitment and integrate the Safe System approach to traffic safety as a comprehensive
prevention strategy to save lives.
We appreciate your assessment and the time you have spent with PBOT staff in analyzing our
Portland Vision Zero Two-Year Update (2019). We will continue to advance evaluations to ensure
projects achieve safety outcomes, expand Portland’s traffic safety camera program, and use
diverse data sets to understand and respond to community needs.
Sincerely,
Priya Dhanapal
Deputy City Administrator
Public Works Service Area
City Administrator’s Office, City of Portland
Millicent Williams
Director
Portland Bureau of Transportation
City of Portland
Portlandgov PortlandORGov @PortlandGov
The City of Portland is committed to providing meaningful access. To request translation, interpretation,
modifications, accommodations, or other auxiliary aids or services contact 311 (503-823-4000), for Relay
Service & TTY: 711
Priya.Dhanapal@portlandoregon.gov
1120 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Portland gov
Office of the Deputy City Administrator
Priya Dhanapal
Public Works
DATE: November 5th, 2024
TO: City Auditor Simone Rede
FROM: Priya Dhanapal, Deputy City Administrator of Public Works
Millicent Williams, Director of Portland Bureau of Transportation
SUBJECT: Response to Vision Zero audit
This letter provides a written response to recommendations from the audit “Vision Zero:
Portland Bureau of Transportation needs to systematically evaluate whether its safety
projects reduce traffic deaths and serious injury crashes.”
PBOT largely agreed with the recommendations in the audit. We have taken many additional
actions since the Vision Zero Action Plan Two Year Update in 2019 which address the issues
raised in the audit. Our current Vision Zero Action Plan includes priorities directly tied to
evaluation, delivery of the camera program and speed management as well as equity
objectives. The audit was conducted on work and commitments outlined 3-5 years ago and
work that took place during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The notes below summarize the current work related to each of the audit recommendations
RECOMMENDATION 1
Create a plan that ties safety projects to expected outcomes to determine
which get the desired outcomes and where Vision Zero efforts are most
needed.
a. Plan should lay out systematic evaluation and continuous monitoring of
completed safety projects.
b. Results of evaluations should be used to assess effectiveness of project
and if any alterations, in design or funding, should be implemented.
Agree or Disagree with
Recommendation
Target date to complete
implementation activities
Agree Consistent project evaluations began
in 2023, activities are underway and
continuous
Narrative for Recommendation 1
City Council adopted Portland’s original Vision Zero Action Plan in 2016. Since then, PBOT
has undertaken two updates to the Vision Zero Action Plan, one in 2019 and another in 2023.
This audit is a review of the 2019 update. The 2023 update reflects the progress we’ve made
and the challenges we’ve faced in the seven years since city council adopted the original
Vision Zero Action Plan. It sets the course for our work through 2025 and is directly tied to
where PBOT can have the most impact on safety outcomes with available resources.
In the Vision Zero Action Plan 2023-25 Update we have two specific actions that are aligned
with Recommendation 1 in the audit:
• Action 20: Develop project evaluation guide to support consistent PBOT safety
evaluations of corridor projects on streets in the High Crash Network.
• Action 21: Evaluate all significant corridor projects on streets in the High Crash
Network. Define roles and responsibilities for project development and delivery.
In 2022 and 2023, PBOT developed methodology and guidelines to ensure consistency in
project evaluations. In 2023, the bureau started systematic evaluations of all significant
projects on the High Crash Network. Many evaluations are publicly available on Portland’s
Vision Zero website.
Results of evaluations are discussed in project development, planning and maintenance
prioritization and work planning. However, we do see an opportunity to discuss the findings
of project evaluations wholistically to better inform annual and long-term investment
strategies. In 2025, PBOT will begin an annual review of evaluation trends with Bureau
leadership to inform future project development and any needed reinvestment in past project
areas.
RECOMMENDATION 2
Install promised speed cameras using prior contract experience and
established partnership with Portland Police Bureau to fully utilize speed
cameras as tools that support safety. Implementation should also include more
equitable educational opportunities and alternative outcomes for violators.
Agree or Disagree with
Recommendation
Target date to complete
implementation activities
Agree Activities are underway and
continuous; current contracted
cameras will be completed in early
2025
Narrative for Recommendation 2
We acknowledge that camera deployment has been slower than is desirable to support our
safety outcomes. Even with numerous challenges, we have 37 cameras in operation or in
construction.
Cameras are deployed though an agreement with a vendor. Our current vendor has
struggled to provide the level of service that is outlined in the contract. Equipment has
consistently been delayed and cameras have had back-end technical issues that have taken
long periods to fix and become operational. To further enhance capacity, we are actively
pursuing an additional vendor to streamline implementation, increase the number of cameras
in operation, and provide flexibility if one vendor fails to perform.
PBOT has restructured program staffing and has created a position and hired a new program
manager in August 2024 to support operations and expansion. This new dedicated manager
will provide much needed capacity to advance the program.
Citing cameras in a busy and complicated right of way takes many months. For example,
cameras need to be integrated with signal electrical boxes or have their own new power
source. To build the base for the poles that cameras attach to, we need to cut into the
pedestrian realm and have a traffic control plan for the construction – both of which are
disruptive. Once cameras are in, we have seen an increase in knock downs, vandalism and
neighborhood concerns about flashing and placement. Each one of these issues means we
are working to establish cameras and get/keep them working multiple times for each
location. As an example, we had a camera at new location that was been knocked down
twice before it was even operational. This meant that for one location we had three
construction cycles. With the additional, internal and external capacity summarized above,
we are better positioned to address these challenges in the right of way.
Over the past year, PBOT and PPB have made it easier for people to access either low or no
cost access to the traffic safety class which is available for first time offenders. People that
have received a citation for the first time can opt to take a traffic safety class with a reduced
cost and no impact on their driving record. For low-income people, there is a simple option
to share proof of participation in any income assistance program for further reduced or no
cost class.
PBOT will continue to research best practices for additional low-cost or non- punitive options
for violators which prioritize education around the impact and dangers of speeding and
disregarding signals.
RECOMMENDATION 3
Ensure it accounts for other data sources that could help identify smaller-scale
improvements that could have positive equity impacts.
Agree or Disagree with
Recommendation
Target date to complete
implementation activities
Agree Activities are underway and
continuous
Narrative for Recommendation 3
PBOT assesses many sources of information to support equitable safety outcomes for people
in Portland. We use both qualitative and quantitative data to inform safety investments.
Below we have included some examples of work that provide opportunities to identify smaller
scale improvements and sources of information that help us invest in ways that center racial
equity and climate justice.
In 2023, PBOT conducted an analysis of the ten street segments on the High Crash Network
that had the highest equity matrix scores and the highest number of Vision Zero traffic
crashes. Through this analysis, staff detailed the contributing factors and the travel
movements that led to each serious crash in the segment and identified low-cost
interventions. The result is a list of more than 250 low-cost safety treatments that PBOT is
delivering over the course of several years to target investments in communities where it’s
needed the most.
Over the last year, the Vision Zero team has restructured the work plan of a team member to
focus on outreach, education, and support of communities disproportionally impacted in fatal
traffic crashes. Currently this includes Portlanders and visitors who are:
• Unhoused/homeless
• Black
• Indigenous
With added capacity for outreach, the Vision Zero team can combine traffic safety data with
direct community input to understand neighborhood level safety needs.
In 2023-24, PBOT’s Vision Zero team partnered with two community organizations to develop
a report titled, Beyond Traffic Safety: Building Community Belonging and Safety in Public
Spaces. The report documents community members’ experiences and reflections on what
personal safety means to them and ways government agencies and community-based
organizations can engage to make public spaces safer. Link to more information on Beyond
Traffic Safety. This body of work supports a more wholistic view of safety for community and
shines a light on small scale projects and/or programs that can be done in combination with
large scale corridor work.
Opportunities for small scale projects that have positive equity impacts are also identified
through other PBOT programs such as Safe Routes to School, 823-SAFE, Ramps by
Request, Pedestrian Network Completion, and neighborhood-based planning efforts. These
programs coordinate with Vision Zero to ensure we are addressing opportunities at all scales
and on all types of streets to make safety investments.
Please contact: Dana Dickman, Safe System Section Manager at
dana.dickman@portlandoregon.gov with any questions.
COPY:
Mayor, Ted Wheeler
City Administrator, Michael Jordan
Deputy City Administrator, Jonas Biery
Deputy City Administrator, Sara Morrisey
Deputy City Administrator, Mike Myers
Deputy City Administrator, Donnie Oliveira
Deputy City Administrator, Sonia Schmanski
Deputy Director - Planning, Projects and Programs, Art Pearce
Deputy Director – Transportation Operations, Wendy Cawley
Auditee may copy any DCA, Director, Service Area or Bureau staff, those charged with
governance, and/or audit staff.
KC Jones, Director Audit Services
Bob MacKay, Senior Performance Auditor