Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Portland’s Safer Streets: How Do They Do It?

10:31 AM EST on January 6, 2009

Last Sunday in New York, the Street Memorial Project organized a ride in memory of the 14 bicyclists and more than 100 pedestrians killed by cars in the city in 2008. You can see the StreetFilm about the ride here.

215449694_c53892daf9_m.jpgPBOT traffic safety expert
Greg Raisman. Photo © J. Maus.

In Portland, OR, they marked a much happier milestone this New Year's. That's because 2008 was a year in which no cyclists died on that city's streets. Streetsblog Network member Bike Portland talked with the Portland BOT's "chief traffic safety guru," Greg Raisman, to get some insight into why and how it happened.

In an interview with Bike Portland's Jonathan Maus, Raisman makes the point that safe streets are by no means just good for bikers and pedestrians:

All traffic fatalities are a symptom of the same disease. It’s equally sad and tragic if a person is killed while walking, biking, or driving. It also appears that the conditions that make it safer for the mostvulnerable make it safer for everyone. As roads become safe enough that a child can safety walk or bike to their friend’s house, the roads also become safer for driving to that friend’s house when you have to.

His attitude is inspirational.

Elsewhere on the network, Car Less Ohio reports on Columbus's efforts to become the "best bicycling city in the country," Greater Greater Washington posts on how urban bike trails aren't just for recreation, and The Transport Politic updates the banks/transit financial mess.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

‘Duped’: Blowing the Whistle on an Illegal Temporary License Plate Business

Temporary license plates exist so that people who buy cars can drive them before receiving metal plates. But drivers found another use for them during the pandemic: buy a temp tag on the black market and you can keep your car anonymous and off the books.

June 9, 2023

Another Cyclist Attacked in Oakland

A passing car’s passenger assaulted cyclist David Colburn on Wednesday while he was riding his bike on San Pablo in Oakland. The passenger “…leaned out a window to intentionally smack me in the head.”

June 8, 2023

How Auto-Centric Infrastructure is Making Us Sick

Instead of endless promises to fix America's "crumbling roads and bridges," filmmaker Andy Boenau argues we need to talk about our crumbling minds and bodies — and how our autocentric infrastructure approach contributes to them.

June 8, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Undoing Autocentric Design in a Michigan City

A Michigan city tries to undo the mistakes of the past. It's hard.

June 8, 2023
See all posts