Again in June I acquired an e-mail from a reader named Craig Doerty. He wanted assist with an issue. An enormous drawback: Automotive drivers routinely fail to barter the s-curve intersection in entrance of his home and he lives in concern that they’ll slam into him and/or his house.
His issues are very affordable as a result of it has already occurred.
Late on a Saturday may in October 2021, the motive force of a small hatchback misplaced management within the flip and managed to run proper up into his entrance yard and struck his home. “My home simply shook like a bomb had gone off,” he shared with me on Thursday. The motive force took chunks off Craig’s storage and destroyed he and his neighbor’s fence earlier than it got here to relaxation almost within the yard subsequent door. And that was simply one in every of a number of incidents the place a driver slammed right into a home on this neighborhood.
Craig stated he’s witnessed a couple of dozen collisions. Homes on every nook have been struck. The fence and wall of 1 home, which was closely broken and draped with a tarp after I was on the market from a crash only a few weeks in the past, has been hit at the very least 5 occasions in current reminiscence. Parked vehicles have been totaled. Visitors poles and bushes have been uprooted.
Craig’s neighbor, Brendan Bishop, has additionally been rattled by the omnipresent risk of the road.
“It’s sort of like growing PTSD somewhat bit… It’s such as you hear you hear a noise and also you virtually at all times assume it’s an accident or crash,” Brendan shared. After his home was hit in 2021, he filed a report with the Metropolis of Portland’s 823-SAFE Visitors Security & Neighborhood Livability Hotline. He warned about rushing drivers, curbs that aren’t ADA-compliant, a spate of crashes, individuals doing donuts on the broad expanses of pavement left over from the break on the street grid. PBOT responded just a few weeks later. They might put the request for an engineering investigation within the queue and will count on to listen to one thing in three months. Brendan was relieved.
Seven months later he hadn’t heard again, so he emailed PBOT’s 823-SAFE workers individual once more.
“Because the time I first referred to as, one other accident occurred early this morning, a automobile going west certain, hit a phone pole, arrow signal and cease signal and slammed into a house. I do know these items take time, however I extremely suggest sending somebody to the nook before later… It’s extraordinarily scary… One thing must be executed quickly or one other accident will happen.”
The PBOT staffer stated an engineering evaluation had been accomplished and the company was will to replace some curve advisory indicators and add a painted bike lane in a single route. However that was it. Brendan and Craig need to see one thing rather more substantial, like a concrete median island and/or some kind of visitors management and calming gadget.
Neither of those of us are well-versed in transportation advocacy. They only need to cease being scared.
“I need to say I really feel let down by town however I don’t assume that’s the case,” Craig shared. “I simply assume we haven’t been loud sufficient about it but.”
I inspired them to get entangled with their neighborhood affiliation, to plug into PBOT’s Decrease SE Rising Space Plan venture, e-mail their elected representatives, and do no matter they will to maintain their issues within the information.
There are numerous harmful intersections in Portland that want pressing adjustments. This one appears particularly egregious. For eastbound visitors, there are not any cease indicators or alerts on Woodstock for about one mile between 52nd and 69th. Meaning drivers have an ideal straightaway to assemble pace with little or no warning {that a} sharp nook is developing. Craig and Brendan stated drivers like to “drift” across the corners for enjoyable.
We’ve lined a number of current tasks the place PBOT has used a mixture of painted pavement and plastic wands and curbs to slender intersections. It appears like that may be a minimal right here.
What do you assume? Do you journey or drive or stroll on this space? What’s your expertise with this s-curve or equally designed intersections?
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