Safe Streets
Community Safety, Part II
In 2023, 69 people were killed in traffic crashes in Portland, the highest death toll in at least three decades and surpassing 2021's record high.
According to Portland Police Bureau data, Portland recorded 73 homicides in 2023, 61 by gunshot.
Got that? More people are killed every year by cars than guns. And it is getting worse.
We see incredible mountains of hand-wringing and City resources going to combat gun violence, as we should, but we lament street deaths as unavoidable tragedies and claim that there is no money to implement proven fixes to death by car, making safety improvements compete with paving and road expansions.
We spend way too little on improving conditions for walking and cycling and changing road designs to slow traffic – the number one action we can take to reduce crashes and deaths.
Fast moving traffic brings little benefit to our community. We do need to be able to get around, and that includes local freight, but making our streets convenient for commuters only makes our neighborhoods more dangerous, increases noise and air pollution, and makes getting around more difficult for us.
What to do? Here are just a few ideas:
Road safety is NOT a gas tax problem, it is a City problem.
Repeal the charter provision banning paying to repair sidewalks.
Make all business districts directly and safely accessible by bike.
Build more diverters on neighborhood streets.
Lower speed limits city wide (20mph on neighborhood streets and business districts, 30mph on arterials) and ENFORCE them.
Require Drivers Ed for all drivers!
Tell ODOT – No more freeway capacity in the City
There are many ways we can make this City quieter, healthier, and safer for all.
What are your ideas?
A note from Rex regarding Issue Pages: I committed at the beginning of my race for City Council to listen, to study, and to deeply think about the many issues that confront our community. While like everyone else, I had a lot of opinions and thoughts about these issues, I don’t believe it serves our City or contributes much to the quality of the discussion to take positions without doing the work to understand first. My website has appeared to be a little thin to some people. This is deliberate. As I learn more, talk with more people, I will share what I learn and am thinking about these issues. Thanks for your patience.
