Almost six months ago, Sarah Pliner was killed in a collision with a truck driver<\/a> while trying to ride her bike across Southeast Powell Blvd at 26th Ave, right across the street from Cleveland High School. This tragedy heightened awareness of the dangerous conditions on Powell Blvd and advocates called on the state transportation department<\/a> and the City of Portland to make it safer.<\/p>\n There\u2019s always the fear that momentum for an issue like this will fizzle out as the news cycle moves onto a new topic. But while the public conversation about it has cooled down, a group of advocates, lawmakers and transportation officials have continued to hold regular meetings about safety on Powell Blvd.<\/p>\n I attended one of these \u201cPowell Safety Workgroup\u201d meetings in the Cleveland High School library last Wednesday.<\/p>\n This group has meeting monthly since December. It\u2019s comprised of Oregon representatives Mark Gamba, Rob Nosse, Khanh Pham and state Senator Kathleen Taylor (all of whom represent parts of the southeast Portland area), Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland Bureau of Transportation officials, Portland Public Schools staff, and representatives from transportation advocacy groups BikeLoud PDX<\/a>, The Street Trust<\/a> and Oregon Walks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Per protester requests after Pliner\u2019s death, ODOT did reinstate a bike box and short bike lane<\/a> on 26th Ave at Powell as well as implementing signals with pedestrian leading intervals<\/a> at several intersections on this street. But advocates \u2014 and state politicians \u2014 want more.<\/p>\n Portland-based nonprofit Oregon Walks<\/a> compiled a list of proposed safety improvements on Powell they saw will make it a \u201cgrand boulevard that is slow, human centered and safe\u201d where \u201cpeople want to linger rather than avoid.\u201d The list (in visual form above) includes immediate suggestions to implement automatic speed enforcement systems and make low-cost intersection safety improvements as well as longer term infrastructure changes such as narrowing driving lanes and overall supporting mode shift to transit, bicycling and walking.<\/p>\n Members of BikeLoud PDX are also taking part in these meetings and have focused on demanding that ODOT follow its own Blueprint for Urban Design<\/a>, which recommends spacing crosswalks every one to two blocks on streets like Powell. Policymakers are making requests, too: Gamba inquired about building raised crosswalks on Powell, an infrastructure tool which has been shown to reduce pedestrian crash rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advocates are pleased that local politicians have shown a firm dedication to the cause over the last several months (they seemed impressed by Gamba\u2019s support of raised crosswalks). But so far, transportation department officials haven\u2019t made any commitments beyond what they\u2019ve already installed and\/or announced, so any further changes remain to be seen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bikeportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-13-at-12.47.27-PM-scaled.jpg\")
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