On April 22nd, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) begin grinding down the old asphalt pavement along NE 87th Avenue from the dead-end section near Interstate 84’s sound wall north of NE Hassalo Street and progressing south towards NE Glisan Street. This follows work started last summer to update sidewalk corner curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. That sidewalk infrastructure upgrade and this repaving work underway will create a mostly accessible path through a section of Montavilla with inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure. The northeast section of the neighborhood’s connectivity is constrained by two freeways bordering it to the east and north, along with heavy traffic on NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street along the other edges of these blocks, inhibiting travel. NE 87th Avenue is part of the city’s low-traffic Neighborhood Greenway for walkers and people rolling to their destination.
Image from Portland Maps showing paving of NE 87th Ave in purple
In August 2025, cement masons reconstructed eight sidewalk corners along NE 87th Avenue and added a mid-block curb ramp on the south side of NE Glisan Street across from the northeast corner of 87th Avenue at the NE Glisan intersection. This project creates an opportunity for a near-continuously paved north-south pedestrian path between NE Hassalo Street and NE Glisan Street. However, missing paved sidewalks on the northern edges of 8631 and 8636 NE Holladay Street will require pedestrians to walk across the lawns of these homes to reach the new ADA curb ramps and the existing paved sidewalks. Future redevelopment of those properties could require installing new sidewalks to complete the pedestrian connection.
PBOT pavement grinding equipment parked along 8631 NE Holladay Street’s frontage without a sidewalk
PBOT will continue grinding down the road surface and then transition to repaving NE 87th Avenue from NE Glisan Street to just north of NE Hassalo Street. The maintenance paving crews will work on one travel lane at a time from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Drivers should expect delays and obey all crew instructions. The sidewalks will remain open. PBOT intends to complete work by Thursday, April 30th. Funding for this project comes from the voter-approved Fixing Our Streets tax, paid by heavy vehicle users and a 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax.
Dead-end section NE 87th Avenue north of NE Hassalo St
This work, along with the curb ramp improvements and repaving happening on NE Glisan from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues, will strengthen pedestrian and bike infrastructure for the Neighborhood Greenway network. The NE Glisan Street repaving and repainting project will provide space for bike lanes, and its intersection with NE 87th Avenue has a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to help people cross the busy NE Glisan roadway. People traveling outside a car should soon feel more comfortable navigating the neighborhood on NE 87th Avenue, thanks to these transportation bureau investments. Drivers should also enjoy a smoother street with brighter painted markings.
NE 87th Avenue looking north from NE Glisan St
Update May 1, 2026: Crews completed principle repaving work on April 30th. Replacement speed bumps and on street markings should return within the follow weeks as weather and scheduling allows.
Post-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking south past NE Hassalo StPost-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking north from NE Hassalo St towards the I-84 soundwall
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Crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) recently completed concrete work on sidewalk corner ramps along the west side of NE 87th Avenue from NE Hassalo Street to NE Glisan Street. These Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps create a mostly accessible path through a section of Montavilla with inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure. The northeast section of the neighborhood’s connectivity is further burdened by two freeways bordering it to the east and north. The heavy traffic of NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street surrounds the other edges of these blocks, creating challenges for people traveling in this area outside of a car.
Northeast corner NE Glisan St and 87th AveNorthwest corner NE Glisan St and 87th Ave
Cement masons reconstructed eight sidewalk corners along NE 87th Avenue and added a mid-block curb ramp on the south side of NE Glisan Street across from the northeast corner of 87th Avenue at the NE Glisan intersection. This project creates an opportunity for a near-continuously paved north-south pedestrian path between NE Hassalo Street and NE Glisan Street, intersecting with NE Pacific and Holladay Streets. However, missing paved sidewalks on the northern edges of 8631 and 8636 NE Holladay Street will require pedestrians to walk through the grassy lawns of these homes to connect from the new ADA curb ramps to the existing paved sidewalks. Future redevelopment of those properties could require the installation of new sidewalks, completing the pedestrian connection.
Image from Portland Maps showing planned paving of NE 87th Ave in purple
This corner work is taking place ahead of other planned street improvements. Portland Maps indicates PBOT intends to repave NE 87th Avenue from NE Flanders Street to NE Hassalo Street. That future work, along with the curb ramp improvements, will strengthen NE 87th Avenue in its role as a Neighborhood Greenway. It is one of the few crossings on NE Glisan Street in the neighborhood with a traffic signal light or Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to help people cross the busy roadway. People traveling outside a car should now feel more comfortable using NE 87th Avenue to navigate the neighborhood, thanks to these transportation bureau investments.
NE 87th Ave at Pacific StNE 87th Ave at Holladay StNE 87th Ave at Hassalo St
Correction: An earlier version of this article had NE 87th Avenue noted as NE 78th Avenue in one location. That typo has been corrected.
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At the end of July, some northbound drivers began using an alternate route to avoid the NE 60th Avenue and Halsey Street Area Improvement Project‘s construction site. Crews working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently reached a significant milestone on the west side of NE 60th Avenue, creating new wide-sidewalks and improved stormwater handling between NE Halsey and Holladay streets. Now that work has transitioned to the east side of the roadway, two-way traffic can no longer pass in the street, and drivers must detour around the now closed northbound NE 60th Avenue.
Project site maps courtesy PBOT
NE 60th Avenue is a frequently traveled road between NE Halsey and NE Glisan streets, offering people one of the limited number of overpasses across Interstate 84’s winding path through this neighborhood. Decades ago, contractors built the street with narrow curb-tight sidewalks. This street design allowed for 12-foot-wide vehicle travel lanes in each direction and ample parking on both sides of the street. As crucial as this street is for motorists navigating Portland, it also serves many pedestrians who must use it to access the NE 60th Avenue MAX light rail station adjacent to the freeway. Project planners expect the sidewalk widening and enhanced crossing points will help improve the overall safety and usability of the road while maintaining similar vehicle access.
This project will also add bike lanes on NE 60th Avenue from NE Oregon Street up to Hassalo Street, providing a critical I-84 crossing point for the 60s Neighborhood Greenway that City planners are constructing in segments across the city for enhanced non-motorist travel. The redesigned infrastructure will reduce some street parking as part of these improvements on NE 60th Avenue. Reconstructed sidewalks have curb extensions that push into the parking lane to make people waiting to cross the street more visible to drivers while remaining on the raised concrete. Curb extensions create pockets of curb parking spaces mid-block that are also protected from drivers by the extended concrete. That could entice more people to park on NE 60th Avenue, where fast-moving vehicles made street parking seem less desirable because of the risk of lane drift by drivers causing damage. The new narrower lanes and hard street infrastructure extending from the sidewalks may also induce vehicle speeds matching the posted 25 miles-per-hour limit, as similar narrowing infrastructure tends to curtail speeding.
NE 60th Ave looking south from NE Halsey St
Crews are currently excavating the east side of the street and removing sidewalks ahead of stormwater handling improvements. Reconstructed wider pedestrian zones will feature Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, similar to the ones created on the west side of the street. Road crews will then repave the street, and street painters will add the lane striping and two high-visibility crosswalks planned for NE 60th Avenue. Funding for the $9.67 million project that extends west down NE Halsey Street to NE 47th Avenue comes from money allocated in House Bill 2017, Transportation System Development Charges, General Funds, and the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF).
Northbound drivers on NE 60th Avenue can currently turn onto NE 61st Avenue north of the freeway to bypass the construction, but soon they will need to drive on NE Glisan Street to 47th Avenue or up NE Glisan to NE 67th Avenue when bypassing the road closure. Street parking is prohibited at the construction site while work is underway. TriMet bus line 71 riders should note that the transit provider closed stops in the construction area, and they will need to utilize other stops. Pedestrians will also need to navigate around construction zones and cross the street at places to find a safe travel path. PBOT expects this phase of construction to run through October 2025, but weather-related delays could change the schedule. PBOT encourages people to track the project updates on their website. Drivers should anticipate delays on NE Halsey Street and NE 60th Avenue until the crews complete the project in Summer 2026.
While pursuing needed home renovations to their 1955-era house at SE 80th Avenue and Harrison Street, Ellen Flint and her husband found they would need to spend all the contingency money they had budgeted on a new sidewalk. The couple knew they would need to add that missing section of pedestrian space along their property one day. Still, they had not anticipated combining it with this current accessibility project. This needed work could have stopped before it started if not for a $12,000 padding in their budget.
The Flints moved into the corner-lot home in 2013 when most of SE 80th Avenue south of their property was a gravel road. “80th South of Harrison was still unpaved, and people would literally practice dirt bike jumps. It was a rough road there, and there was no sidewalk. It was kind of sketchy,” recalled Ellen Flint. They had a sidewalk in front of their house facing SE Harrison Street. However, 100 feet of the property just had a raised concrete curb. Their large hedge along the east side of the lot allowed just enough room for people walking to exit the sidewalk north of their home and create a worn dirt path to the corner sidewalk ramp.
Design plans for the SE 80th and Mill LID showing limited improvements around the Flint home
The street is a critical connector for families with children at Bridger School, and it would soon play a significant role in the newly created 70s Greenway for people walking or rolling. In 2018, to improve the street’s condition, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) worked with neighbors to form a Local Improvement District (LID) on SE 80th Avenue from 100 feet north of SE Grant Street to SE Market Street. It included a section of SE Mill Street from SE 80th Avenue to SE 82nd Avenue to further help families navigate to the Portland public school. Adjacent residents in a LID pool their money with the city to build the improvements, lowering the individual costs for each property. The SE 80th and Mill LID would connect to the back of Portland Community College’s Southeast campus, where the institution constructed new sidewalks a few years prior. To the Flint’s surprise, the city did not include their home in the LID, with the project focusing on adding sidewalks to the east side of SE 80th Avenue. The LID work did reshape their sidewalk corner and added Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps.
Ellen Flint was unsure why the city excluded her home from the LID, but she appreciated the new ADA corner curb ramps because of her mobility needs. “I’m coming up on 30 years with a variation of rheumatoid arthritis. That’s why I bought a one-level home,” explained Flint, who, on bad days, has less confidence in taking tall steps. The pedestrian connectivity added by the SE 80th and Mill LID gives her hope that she can remain in this home as the years go on. “Now I can walk to the bus, and I can walk to the grocery store, and I can walk to coffee or whatever, and stay here as long as I want to rather than have to move because I can’t function,” said Flint. However, the broken sidewalk connectivity on her property was always on her mind. “One of my priorities [when improving the house] was we need to fix the sidewalk situation.”
Cement masons finishing new SE 80th Ave sidewalk on March 5th, 2024
The Flints understood that adjacent homeowners were responsible for the sidewalk repair and installation. The LID would have also required their financial investment but with a five-year loan from the city to help pay it down over time. They are not upset about paying for the hedge removal and concrete work but felt it came at an inopportune moment. The Flints 2024 house renovations built several accessibility features for their home. They created wider hallways, allowing easier ingress and egress as they adapt to changes in mobility needs over the coming decades. “We need to be able to make it easier for us to stay here and not have an accident or be forced to sell our house and move because we can’t get into the bathroom or use the kitchen,” explained Ellen Flint.
This proactive project already had a large budget with a contingency fund for unexpected cost overruns. The project’s budget is what triggered the need for sidewalk improvements. The city code states that changes to the property that are 35 percent or greater than the assessed value of all improvements on the site will surpass the Significant Alteration threshold, and those projects have to include frontage improvements, like sidewalks. Property owners must build new infrastructure as close to city standards as possible within the existing right-of-way. For some sites, that could be curb-tight sidewalks, but in this case, there is space for a small planting strip between the existing curb and the new public walkway. The “assessed value” used in the Significant Alteration threshold calculations is less than the market value of a property. For example, a home like the Flints could have an Improvement Value of $200,000. In that case, any project with a building permit valuation over $70,000 would trigger frontage improvements.
View looking south on SE 80th Ave showing the existing sidewalk continued by the newly laid concrete.
Ellen Flint maintains a positive view of sidewalk requirements as a benefit to the community. However, she wishes the city had programs to lessen the impact on people’s finances. “I’m lucky I could pay for it,” said Flint. “I think being able to create options that don’t burden people who want to do it or who need to do it [would help].” She could see having interest-free loans for sidewalks and street repair as a way the city could help homeowners take on sidewalk installation. Regardless of how people pay for public infrastructure on their property, Flint feels investing in sidewalks is in the owner’s interest. “Anybody who’s worried about paying for [sidewalks], just take up your capitalist approach to it. They increase the value of my home. The better my neighborhood is, the more my home is worth.”
The Flints’ contractors completed home renovations and frontage improvements this summer. For the last several months, pedestrians using the Greenway have enjoyed the extended sidewalk on the west side of the street. The couple have noticed more people walking by their house and are glad they could contribute to the sidewalk connectivity in the neighborhood. With the primary work done, the Flints can now tackle the street-facing elements around the new pathway, making it even more inviting for people traveling on foot. “We’ve got this blank slate there where we can put in things like trees, and I’m really jazzed about having a little Free Library there,” said Ellen Flint. As the weather improves, look for those additions along SE 80th’s newest section of sidewalk.
Update: This article was updated to remove an inaccurate example of project cost that could trigger a frontage improvement and to replace the term “cost” with building permit valuation. Montavilla News regrets that misrepresentation.
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On September 30th, contractors working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) began installing speed bumps on SE Harney Street, working northward towards SE Division Street. The roughly ten-day project will connect the southwest corner of Mt. Tabor Park with people walking, biking, and rolling from the South Tabor, Foster-Powell, and Mt. Scott-Arletta neighborhoods.
Brix Paving Northwest crews will work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily to construct the traffic-calming devices on the new Greenway route. Asphalt speed bump application requires outdoor temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so construction is weather-dependent. Crews will not need to close roads during installation. However, drivers in the area may experience delays and need to follow signage instructions and flagger directions to navigate around work sites. Motorists parking along the 60s Greenway may find some curbside spaces temporarily prohibited in spaces near construction activities.
Portland Maps image with the 60s Neighborhood Greenway route shown in blue
Street painting contractors will return to the greenway next month to apply sharrows, new crosswalk striping, and bike boxes to the road surface. Crews will also install new wayfinding signage along the route to help travelers navigate this part of the Safe Routes to School network. PBOT will daylight intersections as needed by removing some parking spaces near intersections where a stored vehicle blocks visibility at crossings.
In addition to painting and signage, PBOT plans to improve seven intersections along the new greenway. Road crews will add enhanced crossing treatments along SE 67th Avenue at SE Foster Road, SE Harold Street, SE Woodstock Boulevard, and SE Duke Street. Other intersections include SE Flavel Street at SE 68th Avenue, SE Harney Street at 72nd Avenue, and SE Division Street at SE 64th Avenue. Each of the seven intersections will receive new signage and high-visibility crosswalk striping. Workers recently completed curb ramp reconstruction at the SE Duke crossing.
Temporary enhanced crossing at SE 64th and SE Division near Mt. Tabor Park multi-use path
PBOT placed temporary crossing enhancements at SE Division Street and SE 64th Avenue as part of Portland Parks & Recreation’s new paved bike path and pedestrian accessway leading to Mt. Tabor Park. Contractors working for TriMet will reconstruct this crossing at a future date with input from PBOT staff during TriMet’s Powell-Division Safety and Access to Transit project.
When complete, the 60s Neighborhood Greenway will provide a comfortable route for people to walk and bike between Mt. Tabor Park and the Springwater Corridor. Portland has more than 100 miles of neighborhood greenways throughout the city that encourage lower traffic and low speeds for non-motorists safety while still allowing local access for people living on those streets.
Article and Photos by
Jacob Loeb
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This week, crews with Raimore Construction are wrapping up work on a new, safer crossing of NE Glisan Street at 80th Avenue. Due to stormwater management concerns, traffic engineers adjusted preliminary designs for extended sidewalk corners at this location with an innovative design that could save the city money and time if used in more places. This pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure enhancement project moved from inception to construction at an increased pace thanks to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s “Safe Routes to School” rapid response grant. It funded a large portion of the work without many of the application bottlenecks that often slow government projects.
Draft design image provide courtesy PBOT
The NE Glisan Street and 80th Avenue reconstruction features several safety improvements that will help schoolchildren, pedestrians, and cyclists cross a busy roadway that is wider than most in the area. NE Glisan supported one of East Portland’s longest-running streetcar lines, and that transit use required a more significant width to support the rail tracks and other adjacent traffic. A century later, with faster-moving cars on the street, long crosswalk distances now pose an increased risk to people walking or rolling through the intersections. Children walking to Vestal School frequently use this crossing, and it will soon become part of a bicycle and pedestrian Greenway realignment that extends along NE 80th to NE Halsey Street. To improve conditions, traffic engineers looked to shorten the crossing distance with two road features that provide people outside vehicles a safer place to wait for cars to yield. Crews will install two pedestrian refuge islands in the turning lane of NE Glisan Street, allowing people to cross in two phases and only focus on one direction of cross traffic at a time. These islands provide a stopping point mid-crosswalk while also forcing turning cars to remain in the travel lanes. This street design prevents other drivers from going around turning vehicles while their view of the intersection is blocked by the motorists turning right or left.
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staff designed the western crossing with curb extensions on the sidewalk corners to shorten pedestrian crossing distances further. These are bulbous concrete structures extending the corners into the parking lane so people trying to cross are more visible to the cars in the travel lanes. However, several topography issues threatened to remove or significantly reduce the safer sidewalk corners. A tight turning radius created by the proposed curb extensions on the northwest corner caused engineers to reduce its size. The built infrastructure on that corner now only extends two-feet into the parking lane of NE Glisan.
Northwest corner with shorter extension
The southwest corner had even more issues. Some of which dates back to Portland’s streetcar past. The NE Glisan Street rail line branched off the main track with the “Montavilla Spur” heading south to SE Stark Street. That track is still under the street in many places, and the curved rail lines run under this worksite. Removing old tracks is costly and time-consuming, and city staff try to avoid disturbing them whenever possible. That alone would not prevent the extension of a corner, but rainwater management was another concern. The city builds streets with higher centers, so water flows away from traffic and into the gutters at the road’s edge. Sidewalks also angle slightly to move water away from adjacent buildings toward the curb. When a sidewalk corner extends into the street and onto the sloped road, it has the potential to direct water back from the curb toward the building. Making the sidewalk higher often fixes this problem. However, the business’s front door leading onto this corner prevents that increase in sidewalk height. Consequentially, city engineers built the extended curb with a wide rainwater channel along the traditional gutter line, allowing rainwater to flow to the existing stormwater inlet. They then created an at-grade cutout for the crosswalk similar in design to the pedestrian refuge islands.
Southwest corner showing business front door in relation to extended curb height
The disconnected protruding sidewalk corner is relatively new on Portland streets, but its success could make safety updates less costly and easier to install. Whenever PBOT wants to extend a sidewalk corner, it currently takes complete corner reconstruction at the city’s or a developer’s expense. That work also requires crews to relocate stormwater inlets to meet the new shape of the curb. Some intersections also have underground utility lines at the street’s edge that prevent extended corners without significant expense. The disconnected protruding sidewalk corner accomplishes the same concrete protections as a traditional sidewalk, but crews can pour them on top of the road surface without disturbing below-ground obstacles. The curb ramp remains at the primary sidewalk corner, while designers placed the Truncated Domes that assist low-vision pedestrians at the edge of the extended corner. This positions all people waiting to cross in a visible spot beyond the parking lane and protected from traffic.
The new, safer crossing of NE Glisan Street at 80th Avenue could be a model for efficient infrastructure improvements. Its fast funding source is open to specific grant applications year-round, and its administrators are empowered to make quick decisions regarding an application. City staff’s creative workaround could open up more locations for safer infrastructure. If the newer pedestrian protecting design seen at the southwest corner works to keep rainwater moving in the right direction without clogging, Portland may begin using these designs in more places where cost or under-road conditions prevented them. Regardless of the citywide impact of this intersection’s design, families traveling to Vestal school, biking on the realigned greenway, and pedestrians will all enjoy a better crossing. Look for crews to complete construction in the coming weeks.
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Around 7:25 PM on August 18th, a car driving westbound on SE Stark Street crashed into a pedestrian crossing the road at 80th Avenue. An ambulance transported the person to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The marked crosswalk at the intersection had newly installed Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) signals meant to indicate to drivers that they should yield to people crossing. However, the RRFB lights never began blinking because crews had not activated the equipment in the six months since Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) contractors installed them.
In January, crews installed signal equipment on SE Washington Street at 86th Avenue and SE Stark Street at 80th Avenue. These RRFBs remained unavailable to people trying to cross those intersections while city staff waited for road markings and new electric service from the power company PGE. Six months later, around August 2nd, linemen connected power lines to the safety signals at both intersections. However, crews only activated the RRFB signals on SE Washington Street at 86th Avenue. Despite the service line connection earlier this month, PBOT representative Dylan Rivera explained that power service is not yet active on SE Stark Street at 80th Avenue, leaving people crossing there less protected. While this equipment remained inoperable, residents complained that these inactive signals created an unsafe condition where motorists were unsure of people’s intent to cross because they had not activated the crossing signal.
PGE attached power line from August 2nd
Crews working for PBOT started construction on safety upgrades at SE Stark Street and 80th Avenue over a year ago. People visiting the historic Montavilla Downtown area frequently use this marked crosswalk. This fast-paced street has limited safe crossing points with two lanes for automotive westbound traffic. PBOT engineers decided to update safety infrastructure here as part of the 70s Neighborhood Greenway project that will increase non-automotive uses at this intersection. In June 2023, crews reconstructed street corners to widen the sidewalk and install mounting infrastructure to support the new signal hardware. Road workers patched and repaved the intersection after trenching and laying new conduits between the corners in September 2023. In January 2024, with snow still on the ground, signal specialists installed RRFB hardware on SE Washington Street and SE Stark Street at 80th Avenue.
Completed and active signal equipment on SE Washington Street at 86th Avenue
The RRFB equipment remained inactive, awaiting the prolonged dry weather painting contractors require when applying high-visibility crosswalks to the road surface. PBOT representatives explained that the bureau’s policy requires street markings before activating crossing signals like RRFBs. Hicks Striping & Curbing completed the crosswalk work this April, and PBOT activated the RRFB at SE Washington Street and 80th Avenue soon after. However, the SE Stark Street unit remained unpowered and offline, along with an RRFB at SE 86th Avenue and Washington Street that crews completed as part of another project. At times, PBOT marked the dormant safety devices with caution tape, alerting pedestrians and cyclists to the non-functional equipment. After a prolonged delay, the utility company added power line connections to RRFB control equipment in early August.
Reader submitted photo taken minutes after the August 18th crash
This Sunday night crash occurred in the evening as the sun set behind Mt. Tabor, possibly limiting visibility. The RRFB equipment is designed to aid crossing pedestrians where light conditions or other distractions make them less visible to drivers. At the time of the crash, the activation buttons at this intersection were covered in caution tape, indicating they were not functioning. Witness reports say that one vehicle stopped for the pedestrian while a car in the second lane of the one-way street continued past, striking the southbound pedestrian and sending them to the ground. People at the nearby bar and restaurant residents saw the incident and called emergency services. Portland Fire & Rescue workers assisted the injured person until the ambulance arrived, and the driver of the car cooperated with the investigation.
Rivera expressed PBOT’s concern for the pedestrian and reinforced the need for signal equipment. “Injuries from crashes like this can impact a person for years, and our thoughts are with them and their community. Pedestrian beacons and crossing improvements such as the one nearly completed at this location can greatly improve visibility for pedestrians, and they have been shown nationally to reduce the chances of a fatal or serious injury crash. Even after the beacon is activated, we need everyone to use caution when driving on our streets.” PBOT has not set a timeline for activating this new safety equipment and is waiting on the utility company.
Update: As of August 20th, the RRFB signals on SE Stark Street at 80th Avenue are functional.
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The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) plans to break ground this Fall on a new 60s Greenway exiting Mt. Tabor Park and leading south until SE Harney Street. The new route, which prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists, will feature traffic calming elements and enhanced intersection improvements at five crossings. Neighborhood greenways offer a low-stress path for people traveling outside automobiles and are a critical part of Portland’s Safe Routes to School network.
Greenway Map Courtesy PBOT
This project takes advantage of two other projects along its route to enhance safety while reducing cost. The recently completed Portland Parks & Recreation path and multiuse trail leading to Mt. Tabor Park from SE 64th Avenue and SE Division Street provides the northern segment of the Greenway. TriMet’s Powell-Division Safety and Access to Transit project offers tentative plans to improve the SE Division Street at SE 64th Avenue crossing. A temporary pedestrian refuge island and marked crosswalk at this intersection currently helps people cross this busy street until crew build the TriMet funded enhancements.
Temporary pedestrian refuge island and marked crosswalk at SE 64th and SE Division
PBOT crews will install signage and striped crossings while improving visibility by removing on-street parking near corners at SE Foster at SE 67th Avenue, SE Harold at 67th Avenue, SE Woodstock at 67th Avenue, SE Duke at 67th Avenue, and SE Flavel at SE 68th Avenue. Engineers will only recommend parking removal where stored vehicles could inhibit visibility at sidewalk corners. Along the entire Greenway, workers will install speed bumps and painted bike direction markers called sharrows.
sharrow example
The 60s Neighborhood Greenway will contribute around four miles to Portland’s more than 100 miles of low-traffic and low-speed streets where people walking, bicycling, and rolling have priority. This project delivers on a long-requested north-south connector for people living in the South Tabor, Mt. Scott-Arletta, and Foster-Powell neighborhoods. Look for work to began later this year.
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On April 18th, crews with Hicks Striping & Curbing began applying high-visibility crosswalks and bike crossings to SE Stark Street at SE 80th Avenue. Workers plan to continue the street painting process one block south on SE Washington, completing this section of the 70s Neighborhood Greenway project. With road markings applied, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) can energize the rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFB) installed at each intersection to aid pedestrians and cyclists trying to cross these busy streets. Winter weather delayed this work, leaving both intersections without painted lanes or crosswalks. This work is a welcomed update to what has grown to be a problematic crossing point during construction.
Road crews began project work at this intersection in June 2023, completing most infrastructure work by January 2024. During that time, street users did not have a marked crosswalk or the ability to use the installed RRFBs. According to PBOT representative Hannah Schafer, crossing lights require street markings. “We must complete the striping of the crosswalks before we can turn on the RRFBs. As soon as the weather allows, we plan to complete the striping, and then we will activate the RRFBs.” That delay frustrated many pedestrians who found that cars would not stop reliably for people attempting to cross.
Drivers traveling through these intersections and users of the Greenway should plan for delays and detours during this phase of work. Crews will need to close through traffic on SE 80th Avenue and reduce east-west travel lanes one at a time to apply the street markings. Work will take several days to complete, but the favorable weather forecast should allow for the speedy completion of this project. People on foot and bike should have a safer experience crossing SE Stark and Washington Streets at 80th shortly, thanks to the striped crosswalk, bike crossing, and RRFBs.
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Looking south, new traffic separators extend all the way to NE Tillamook Street
Landowners often use the Forest Sentry gate in remote locations where restricting unauthorized vehicle access is necessary for safety. Its one-piece design and solid construction resist sag or damage by extending its structure under the roadway. Golf course maintenance vehicles still need northbound access to this road, and a reliable gate is an essential part of this road reconfiguration. A recently built multi-use path leads from NE Tillamook Street to the north side of the gate, allowing cyclists and pedestrians access. The 600 feet of concrete traffic separators discourage vehicles from driving around the gate by heading in the wrong direction using the southbound lane.
These updates are part of the 70s Neighborhood Greenway project, nearing completion. NE 72nd Drive is a narrow street that challenges modern two-way traffic in segments due to tree placement and embankments. Removing one lane of travel allows for continued multimodal use. However, some area residents oppose this closure as it adds a 1.3-mile detour for northbound drivers to navigate around the golf course. Cyclists traveling north should note that the new traffic separators also make it difficult to safely ride around the gate from the roadway. They should instead use the multi-use path until past the gate. Southbound users can continue to use the street unobstructed.
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