Dr. Lee Cowles attended the PBOT presentation we had at the last Education meeting May 1st. He plans to speak in front of City Council against the proposal and is asking for others to back him.  If you wish to endorse his concerns, please contact the commissioners with the following suggested wording. The Board will follow up with members to see if they agree that EPCC should also endorse the efforts of Dr. Lee Cowles. If you want to speak directly with Dr. Cowles, you can reach him at 503-255-1506.

Vision Zero’s “NE 102^nd Trial Project”, scheduled to begin construction June, 2019, will provide some helpful safety features.  However, there are always trade-off’s and consequences from changes.  The Project will reduce north and southbound lanes from two to one lane each direction.   According to ODOT’s Crash Analysis Division (CAD), this section of 102^nd had 253 accidents, 2005 through 2016.  The intersections of Prescott and Wygant had 110 of those, of which 76% had at least one injury.  CAD analysis shows that 84% of those 110 were accidents due to congestion.

Studies and reports by the states of Maryland, North Carolina, Iowa, and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation concluded that increasing congestion increases the number of accidents.  Oregon hasn’t done such a study, but the results were confirmed by the CAD supervisor.

Decreasing the lanes will increase congestion, increase accidents, and increase injuries on 102^nd, especially at Prescott and Wygant, and connecting side streets.  In addition, Project results will not be known for at least two and a half years, according to Vision Zero, and they already have several “Trial” projects underway.

Therefore, despite the Project’s safety improvements for pedestrians and lower speed limits, the consequences far outweigh the benefits.  The following organizations have  reviewed the Project, and request that this Project be tabled immediately and re-designed to prevent increased accidents and injuries on 102^nd.