Opinion: What I Think
We all want safe streets and we all hate cut-through traffic: these are drivers who zoom by our homes, putting our kids and pets at risk, so they can save a minute on their trip. It’s selfish and unsafe. There’s a simple solution to stop that: diverters. Diverters are physical barriers that redirect auto traffic but allow other modes to pass through. Diverters exist already in our neighborhood at NE 35th and NE Klickitat, and soon the Portland Bureau of Transportation will put in a pilot diverter at Alameda and Fremont.
The issue that commonly arises from PBOT-proposing diverters is that it will bring more traffic onto other neighborhood streets. This concern creates an adversarial environment where neighbors are working against projects that would improve other neighbors’ safety. For example, NE Alameda south of Fremont sees over 1,400 car trips a day, but residents were concerned about the increased traffic on NE 38th—one block over—that sees 200 cars daily.
Thankfully, there are solutions that improve safety for all neighbors without concern about increased traffic on other neighborhood streets. In London, they are called Low-Traffic Neighborhoods and in Barcelona, Spain, they’re called Superblocks. They are the strategic placement of diverters throughout a zoned neighborhood that remove all cut-through traffic.
Diverters don’t make our lives difficult: we will learn to make small adjustments to get to and from our homes. We can use these simple tools to keep our neighborhood free of cut-through driving and our kids and pets safe.
Sam Balto is a father of two young boys, passionate educator for over 10 years, safe-streets-for-kids advocate, and a BWNA board member. He enjoys walking with his boys to the bagel shop on the weekend. Feel free to reach out with any questions at sambalto@gmail.com.
BWNA respects the views and beliefs of all Beaumont-Wilshire newsletter contributors. The opinions expressed by these writers do not necessarily reflect the views of BWNA. Submit letters (275 words maximum) to Editor@BWNApdx.org.