Portland Launches Tool for DIY Community Road Safety Interventions

Portland, Oregon has assembled a toolkit of resources for community groups that want to make their streets safer.

According to a Strong Towns blog, the city’s Safe Streets hub offers a wealth of data such as crash statistics and maps of high-injury corridors, as well as guidance for building low-cost safety interventions. “This resource will make it easier for communities to identify dangerous areas and clearly communicate the need for change. Instead of working with fragmented or outdated information, people now have a shared regional picture of where the risks are and how severe they are.”

The Community Quick-build and Demonstration Projects guide provides step-by-step instructions for designing and implementing low-cost interventions such as temporary crosswalks, curb extensions, traffic diverters, and protected bike lanes. “Since Oregon Metro is a regional governing body, every city within its boundaries now has access to the same tools — and encouragement from the regional level to use them. That alignment can help accelerate safer, more productive street design across dozens of jurisdictions.”