The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently received permission from the Oregon Department of Transportation to lower speed limits on SE 92nd Avenue from SE Lincoln Street to SE 91st Place. In the coming months, crews will replace the 30 mph speed limit signs with 25 mph signage, signaling drivers should reduce speed. This update impacts less than a mile of SE 92nd Avenue and partially overlaps with an existing school zone that drops speed limits to 20 mph when timers activate flashing indicator lights.
Southbound drivers on SE 92nd Avenue will have ample visual queues for the changed speed as PBOT upgraded the marked crossing at SE Lincoln Street in 2023 with concrete-protected bike lanes and high visibility crosswalk markings. This 25 mph section of roadway will cross SE Division Street and SE Powell Boulevard, which will retain 30 mph speed limits. Cars turning on SE 92nd from those busier streets will need to observe the reduced speed limit. PBOT is making these changes to minimize pedestrian injury near high-crash corridors and areas that would benefit from slower speeds. A pedestrian struck by a person driving a vehicle traveling 20 mph or below has a 90 percent chance of surviving a crash. However, they have less than a 50 percent chance of surviving a collision with a vehicle traveling 30 mph or above, and fatality rates rise quickly as speed increases. Reducing speed saves lives and is particularly valuable in areas where pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists cross paths.
Five other Portland streets will also receive new reduced speed limits around the same time as SE 92nd Avenue. PBOT does not directly control speed limits on many of Portland’s streets; instead, it must request permission from the Oregon Department of Transportation to change speed limits. A 2022 state law allows Oregon cities to apply for the authority to designate speed limits on roads they maintain. However, those municipalities must designate an engineer to oversee the process. A PBOT representative explained that ODOT still controls most of Portland’s speed limits.
- SE 162nd Avenue from Stark Street to Powell Boulevard (35 to 30 mph)
- NE Fremont Avenue from SE 102nd to 122nd avenues (30 to 25 mph)
- SW 62nd Avenue from Taylors Ferry Road to Pomona Street (30 to 25 mph)
- N Argyle Street/Way from Interstate Avenue to Columbia Boulevard (30 to 25 mph)
- N Mississippi Avenue from Fremont to Cook streets (30 to 20 mph)
Speed Limits do not officially change until PBOT crews install new signs. Drivers traveling through these areas should pay attention to posted speed limits in anticipation of the update. They should remain aware of other street users to avoid the types of collisions that encouraged this speed limit reduction.
