Portland Solutions is moving ahead with a plan to remove two traffic diverters located on Northwest 20th Avenue and Northwest Johnson Street this week, sparking considerable backlash from community advocates who are concerned about safety and transparency.
The diverters, built as part of the Northwest In Motion Plan, are designed to enhance traffic calming measures in the area. However, the city office has decided to eliminate this infrastructure without any public notice, raising questions about the decision-making process.
One diverter situated on NW 20th Avenue at Everett is notably close to the route utilized by the Chapman Elementary School bike bus, leading to heightened safety concerns for families in the neighborhood.
In response, community advocacy groups have begun mounting campaigns against the removals. Strong Towns PDX has issued a statement opposing the changes and is distributing an email template aimed at applying pressure on city officials. Similarly, Bike Loud PDX has launched a campaign urging Portland Solutions to halt their plan until it can be more thoroughly evaluated by the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. Additionally, Bike Bus PDX has contacted Mayor Keith Wilson, representing nine local bike bus leaders, asking him to delay the removals.
As for the timing of the removal, initial reports indicated uncertainty about when the diverters would be taken out. However, a spokesperson for Portland Solutions revised that timeline, stating that the work would commence this week. This information came after a series of inquiries I made regarding the rationale behind the city’s decision to remove the diverters.
I reached out to Portland Solutions for further information, and their response did not cover all my questions. Although I requested a phone interview and a named representative for attribution, I was informed that all communications would go through the committee’s collective response.
Portland Solutions Director Skyler Brocker-Knapp addressed city councilors and city officials in an internal email, indicating that the removal of the diverters would allow for a return to two-way traffic on NW 20th Avenue, aimed at facilitating patrols by the Portland Police Bureau and improving street safety. The proposed changes include replacing the current northbound bike lane on NW 20th with a sharrow marking and adding stop signs to NW Everett, effectively turning it into a four-way stop intersection. At NW Johnson and 15th, the plan originally suggested removing the diverter and bike lane. It has since evolved to include the retention of the bike lane by eliminating on-street parking.
Portland Solutions has indicated that these changes could be
image source from：bikeportland
