Portland Traffic Deaths Increased Despite Vision Zero Efforts

An audit from the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) reveals that traffic deaths almost doubled between 2018 and 2023, despite the city’s pledge to implement Vision Zero policies in 2016. According to an article by Emily Girsch for KATU, the number of annual traffic deaths in the city dropped from 42 to 35 between 2016 and 2018, but rose steadily since then to 69 traffic deaths in 2023.

“The audit shows that PBOT successfully completed some of the projects in the program, like changing the signal timing at traffic lights, but fell short on other projects, like installing speed cameras and adding street lighting as planned.” PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera blamed the failures on their contractor and factors outside their control such as the budget allocated to Vision Zero projects. “Our budget has been flat to negative. So the funding available to make our streets safer has not been keeping pace with inflation.”