Organized By Alex Reed
ODOT Region 1 HQ, 123 NW Flanders St, Portland, OR 97209 (45.526051, -122.672043)
A follow-up to Monday's protest of the danger of Powell Blvd, highlighted most recently by the crash that took off Alistair Corkett's leg. Monday's protest: https://www.facebook.com/events/1057435414283935/ http://bikeportland.org/2015/05/11/protest-se-powell-slows-traffic-draws-big-crowd-143079#comments The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is the agency almost completely responsible for the conditions on Powell Blvd. and the other Portland state highways (e.g. Barbur Blvd., 82nd Ave.) It has consistently refused to prioritize safety, prioritizing motor vehicle capacity instead. This is why we are organizing a "Die-in!" at ODOT Region 1 headquarters downtown. We will show the deadly consequences of ODOT's priorities by acting as the dead and wounded victims of crashes on Powell Blvd. Please bring a white shirt that you are willing to have stains on if you are able; we will bring fake blood! More info about ODOT: We believe ODOT, with its focus on auto capacity and transport between cities, is the wrong agency to control arterials within cities. ODOT has consistently prioritized auto capacity over lives. This is why 26th Ave. does not have a left-turn signal at Powell, which would have prevented this accident. In the past, ODOT refused to put in a left-turn signal because it would slow down cars on Powell. How many limbs and lives does it take to be worth a few seconds or minutes? The problems on Powell are not isolated to the area around 26th. Indeed, Powell is more neglected and deadly in East Portland. There are no sidewalks on Powell in the vast majority of its length past I-205. Marked crosswalks are few and far between. This is why are calling on the state legislature to pass a bill to transfer Powell and the other urban state highways in Portland to the control of the City of Portland. We are also calling on ODOT to prioritize funding to bring Powell and the other urban state highways up to standards minimally sufficient for city life (sidewalks and crosswalks would be a good start). The City's Bureau of Transportation, though not perfect, is at least more directly responsive to local safety concerns than ODOT. This protest organized by BikeLoudPDX (Monday's was not - though awesome!)