This OPB article and Bike Portland lawsuit might be interesting to people and their loved ones who walk, cycle, or drive in Portland, Oregon, and maybe beyond.
OPB News article: “Lawsuit Claims Portland Illegally Lets Drivers Park Too Close To Intersections,” by Donald Orr OPB Feb. 24, 2020 (archived here.).
The OPB article links to the Bike Portland news article (archived here) and a copy of the complaint filed in Multnomah County, 18 February 2020.
Maybe you saw the recent New York Times Magazine Tip: “How to Make a Citizen’s Arrest,” by Malia Wollan, May 6, 2016. (Also in their “Crime and Criminals” library.)
Maybe you wondered about Oregon’s laws on citizen’s arrests?
Maybe you also wondered if Portland, Oregon, means business with its Vision Zero plan (zero traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries)?
Do you know where the most pedestrian fatalities occur? What about those Crosswalk Laws?
Take the Look Before Crossing quiz. It’s quick and fun and educational. What more can you want?! If you live in Portland, take the quiz soon and win a free “I Break for People” bag.
Take the quiz with your children or your walking-buddies!
The Willamette Pedestrian Coalition is sponsoring a Pedestrian Legal Clinic. Visit the WPC’s website for dates, times, locations of the clinics.
The WPC also has information about grants to enforce crosswalk safety laws and lots more at the website. (It’s also a very nice website – easy to read and navigate.)
I’m glad to see all this power to the pedestrian action. I’ve been puzzled by the new(ish) Share the Road program. Notice the parties who are being asked to Share the Road: 2+ wheeled motor vehicle drivers and pedalcyclists.
Read the legal guide book (156 pages!) “Oregon Pedestrian Rights: A Legal Guide for Persons on Foot,” from one of the lawyers who brought us these other guides, which I posted about here (including the bicyclist legal guide, Pedal Power) (and don’t forget about this bicycle manual from DMV).
Previous pedestrian posts here and here, on how not to die walking across the Morrison Bridge.
Thanks to Jack Bog’s Blog for the lead.
I loved this expression, purposefully cowardly, as a description of the care pedestrians and bicyclists must take when traveling the highways and byways.
It was used by Neal Pierce in an interview he had with J. David Santen, Jr., in the March 13th, Oregonian, inPortland article, “Why parks? Neal Peirce has some answers.”
Excerpt: “[Santen] You wrote recently that 2008 might be the year of the bicycle, and point to Portland as a place that has worked to make biking safer. I recently bought a bike and a trailer for small children — it’s still kind of scary.
This horrifying speed-of-light crash shows how fast accidents (of all kinds) occur and how not to share the road.
Portland metro-area newspapers, bloggers, elected officials, and advocacy groups are all trying to find common ground (so to speak and yes, I’m once again the mistress of understatement) on how pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers can share the road.
My advice of the day for drivers and bicyclists: Look RIGHT before turning right, not just left and for crying out loud, SLOW DOWN. It’s your children and other loved ones who are at risk on the road.
Oregon Legal Research Blog