Drivers on SE Thorburn Street merging into SE Washington Street up to I-205 will see a new 25 miles per hour (mph) speed limit. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) reduced speeds on the roadway from 30 mph in June as its contractors began work creating approximately 355 feet of new sidewalk on the north side of SE Thorburn Street, between SE 73rd Avenue and SE 74th Avenue, filling a sidewalk gap. This work follows a 2025 lane reconfiguration in the area that reduced the number of travel lanes in each direction and added improved bike and walking infrastructure.
PBOT changes speed limits regularly to improve street user safety. The 2025 redesign made space for increased pedestrian access on both sides of the roadway and created dedicated bike lanes. The slightly reduced vehicle speeds will help those outside a motorized vehicle remain safe and lessen the injury caused by a crash. People walking or rolling on the south side of SE Thorburn Street use an on-roadway path, as the sloped topology and mature tree line of the adjacent properties make sidewalk expansion more involved. The north side of the street has some sidewalks that are narrow and curb tight—lacking a buffer space between the pedestrian zone and the raised curb.
In a section of SE Thorburn Street where people walk through grassy, undeveloped land and gravel paths near SE 74th Avenue, contractors working for PBOT will build a 7-foot-wide sidewalk, with some sections reduced to 5 feet wide, to preserve existing street trees. During that work, cement masons will create new curb ramps at the intersection of SE 74th Avenue and reshape the sidewalk corners to make the intersection more perpendicular, which can slow turning vehicles and lessen the pedestrian crossing distance.
This work is part of the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project and is funded by general transportation revenue, House Bill 2017, with a budget of $371,000. Crews working in the area will periodically close one lane of vehicle traffic on SE Thorburn Street between SE 73rd and 74th avenues through June 30th. Street users should anticipate some delays and detours as construction continues in the area. Drivers should also note the new, slower speeds on these streets.
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