Portland Transport

Category: Safety

  • Traffic Engineers Getting Wild

    Via Planetizen: This Atlantic Cities article covers some innovative intersection designs that are intended to reduce theoretical conflict points – at least for cars. These don’t really seem to be intended for use in urban environments. Nonetheless, at least one “diverging diamond” example has been built with at least nominal accommodation for pedestrians and cyclists.…

  • Oregonian: TriMet abusing overtime?

    Mentioned earlier in the open thread, but today the Oregonian’s Joseph Rose is reporting that excessive overtime at TriMet is resulting in severe operator fatigue–a factor which led to an incident in 2011 where a Yellow Line train crashed into the buffers at the Expo Center station. (The driver apparently had dozed off). Go read…

  • Streetcar Safety Video

    Just in time for this weekend’s opening of the Streetcar Loop, this video is a joint production of Portland Streetcar, TriMet, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition. It provides advice on modal conflicts of all kinds, with a focus on bikes and streetcars. Nicely done!

  • A Note to the People Trying to Kill Me (on my bicycle)

    To the commercial van that right-hooked me a couple of weeks ago on Barbur Blvd. as I was passing the northbound freeway ramp at Terwilliger: The vehicle going straight (me) has the right of way. I was able to just barely turn inside you. If my bar end mirror scratched your paint, I’m very sorry……

  • Could Your Smartphone Save Your Life?

    Via Slashdot: GM is working on technology that would allow a car to detect the WiFi in your smartphone and trigger collision avoidance systems. A boon to pedestrians and cyclists? The driver might be distracted, but the car won’t be?