Portland City Council to review Vision Zero effect

Yahoo

2 days ago

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In 2016, the Portland City Council adopted Vision Zero, a plan to stop traffic deaths completely by 2030. Clearly, that's not working, as two more pedestrians were killed in crashes this past weekend in separate parts of the city.
One of those crashes happened around , one of Portland's Last year in Portland, 69 people died in traffic crashes, up from 62 the year before.
Pedestrian dies after late night Northwest Portland crash
Highway safety experts are pushing for city leaders to go for a new plan instead of . The plan by 30% over the next 5 years.
David Harkey the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said they 'still believe in the concept of Vision Zero, but we feel like we really need this interim target to help us move in the right direction.'
Harkey, who spoke to , North Carolina, said he saw a sharp incline in traffic-related deaths in recent years.
'If we can get everybody on the same page and moving in the same direction, I think people will take notice and we will start to see changes in policy and practice that will make a difference,' Harkey said.
On Wednesday, the Portland City Council will review the progress made with Vision Zero. KOIN 6 News will follow this story.
Gina Hicks, who lives near SE 122nd and Ash, said she's not surprised at the fatalities in the area.
Portland traffic deaths decline, but deadly trends persist, new report says
'We have a lot of people here with mental health problems right out in traffic, and the traffic doesn't always stop at this white line,' Hicks said. 'When the traffic's backed up, they will go through the intersection and nobody's expecting that. And so it's a danger to pedestrians.'
She said she's nearly been hit at this intersection. 'Being in a wheelchair, unless they're looking, they can't see me.'
'We got the intersection behind me and that walk signal takes a long time to change. And so people tend to just walk out in and take their chances,' she said. 'The traffic is really heavy through here.'
In the meantime, Gina Hicks said something needs to be done.
'They need to have, like, better marking through here, maybe more warning signs if there's a stop coming up here,' she said. 'It's a danger to pedestrians.'
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