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The Oregon Department of Transportation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation have announced a long-awaited plan to improve safety along 82nd Avenue in East Portland, a road that’s become a hot spot for fatal car crashes and pedestrian deaths.
The plan is to transfer the ownership of the road to PBOT from ODOT’s hands, along with making vast improvements to the quality of the road.
“PBOT and ODOT agreed that the state highway, which traverses one of the state’s most diverse areas, needs significant safety and maintenance investments,” the joint statement said.
For several years, walking safety advocates have demanded that ODOT give 82nd Avenue to Portland—a change that would allow city officials to transform a neighborhood arterial that is now technically a state highway. With traffic deaths reaching 25-year records and two people killed crossing 82nd this spring, that call intensified—and local elected officials joined in. (Last month, ODOT acceded to a long-standing request to lower speed limits on much of the road from 35 to 30 miles per hour.)
The price tag for the revamp, as well as repairs that include repairing traffic lights, signals, ramps for those with disabilities, and paving, is $185 million. It would also fund the upgrade of certain sidewalk and pedestrian crossings.
The plan now hinges on whether the Oregon Legislature is willing to allocate $80 million in state funds to the road. If legislators approve it, PBOT has pledged to use $35 million and ODOT has pledged to kick in $70 million to backfill the plan’s spending needs.
“We find ourselves in a unique circumstance with full agreement on what should be done on 82nd Avenue, but without complete funding to make the changes,” the transportation agencies’ letter to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means read. “Today, most trips on 82nd are local and provide access to businesses and destinations. As such, and to ensure greater responsiveness to evolving community needs, both [agencies] agree that the city should own, operate and maintain the facility with a funding plan to bring 82nd Avenue to state of good repair and basic safety.”
City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who oversees the bureau, backed the plan.
“Eighty-second Avenue is the geographic and cultural center of Portland, with a diverse array of businesses, restaurants, and residents,” Hardesty said. “The pedestrian deaths that have occurred recently are unacceptable but preventable with proper investment in safety infrastructure improvements. Portland is ready to take ownership of 82nd but will need adequate state funding to get it into a state of good repair.”