Click to view this email in a browser http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/310797/b268a7c18c/29/9114c23c1e/ When I took over as commissioner in July 2005, I said safety - saving lives and reducing injuries - would be my first priority. I meant it. If I got extra transportation dollars (thank you, Portland City Council) I prioritized them for safety projects. With bike, automobile, freight, transit and pedestrian advocates, I held the City's first transportation safety summits. We analyzed and mapped crashes. We involved the public in figuring out solutions. We took action when needed. And it has paid off with safer city streets. In 2008, we saw the lowest number of total traffic fatalities ever recorded in the City of Portland: 20 traffic fatalities in the city - 15 auto fatalities, 5 pedestrians, and 0 bicyclists. For a complete summary of last year's traffic safety results in Portland, see the 2008 Traffic Fatalility Summary: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?OfficeofMayorSamAdam/b268a7c18c/9114c23c1e/4b4c2ed313/id=238406 At no time since we started recording fatalities in 1925 has the number of transportation fatalities been so low. Even one death or injury is too much, but our increased safety means that fewer families had to cope with the terrible tragedy that traffic fatalities bring, and that our neighborhoods are becoming more livable. For example, after several "right hook" bicycle fatalities in 2007 where vehicles turned right and collided with bicycles, my office spearheaded the installation of green "bike boxes" at 14 intersections around the city. These intersections represent the most dangerous hot spots for bikes - and now every one of them communicates a visible message to bicyclists and drivers about how to move safely through the intersection. The cities in the world with the safest streets are cities where the streets are accessible for people. Portland has increased walking, bicycling, and transit with a variety of strategies, including speed bumps, bike boulevards, bike lanes, curb extensions, and signal improvements to help people cross the street. Safer Routes to School programs empower kids to walk and bike to school, and programs like Sunday Parkways that change the way people think about their neighborhood streets. I am proud of these results, proud of the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Oregon Department of Transportation staff who have helped make them happen, and grateful for each injury and fatality that has been avoided in our city. Help us keep Portland's streets safe. Transportation funding has not kept pace with transportation costs. We need the Oregon Legislature to support Governor Ted Kulongoski's proposal to increase transportation funding and help provide resources for maintenance and safety work that Portland so badly needs. Please contact your legislator and urge him/her to support additional transportation funding to preserve the safety of our streets in Portland and around the state. To locate your legislator, go to www.leg.state.or.us and click on "find your legislator" in the menu on the right side of the page. Thanks, Sam Related article: http://cts.vresp.com/c/?OfficeofMayorSamAdam/b268a7c18c/9114c23c1e/cc0da376fe/story_id=123862324414288300 ______________________________________________________________________ If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: http://cts.vresp.com/u?b268a7c18c/9114c23c1e/ ______________________________________________________________________ This message was sent by Office of Mayor Sam Adams using VerticalResponse Office of Mayor Sam Adams 1221 SW Fourth Ave Room 220 Portland, Oregon 97204 Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy: http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html