Hi Sunnyside! The big news of the month concerns ongoing efforts to make SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. safer for all users through the neighborhood. Following the tragic death of Belmont librarian Jeannie Chavez by a drunk, reckless driver, PBOT investigators reviewed the area around SE Taylor where Diaz was killed. While they will not take any direct action at this time to address the underlying road and sidewalk design that contributed to this incident, they did determine that a step can be taken to reduce traffic-related accidents at that intersection. A PBOT engineer discovered that while only 1.7% of the vehicles entering this intersection were turning left, 25% of the accidents involved left-hand turns. To reduce this number, PBOT decided to install traffic diverters at the intersection that will prevent left-hand turns to/from Chavez at Taylor. PBOT believes that this action could have a significant effect on car crashes at this intersection. We at the SNA are not resting on this issue, nor are we satisfied with this as the sole response from PBOT. We continue to work with the city to re-envision Chavez as a street that could be safe and productive for everyone.
Our next General Meeting will be another busy one! On the agenda we will have an update from Central Precinct officers on public safety, a briefing from the Belmont Library team about the coming renovations and a presentation from Cascadia Action, who is asking the SNA to endorse other neighborhood efforts to negotiate with polluting industries, primarily in North and Northeast Portland. Hope to see you on November 9th!