FILE - An alleged DUII driver collided head-on with a person in another vehicle on NE Glisan Street near 152nd Avenue in December 2021, resulting in serious injuries. Portland's traffic deaths dropped 16% in 2024, but East Portland saw little change, per the city's annual Deadly Traffic Crash Report.
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Fifty-eight people died in traffic incidents in Portland in 2024, a 16% decline compared to the previous year’s total of 69.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation released its annual Deadly Traffic Crash Report on Thursday. The report is part of Portland’s Vision Zero goal, the city’s plan to one day eliminate deaths and serious injuries on public roadways.
And the city did improve in some areas, especially the number of deaths for people driving motor vehicles. In some areas, though, the number of deaths remained relatively the same. East Portland, encompassing most areas east of 82nd Avenue, saw little change in the number of traffic deaths.
Many of the deaths, according to the report, had similar features: 83% took place in nighttime conditions and nearly half involved speeding to some degree.
PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera said the number of fatal traffic incidents soared during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. The period saw more erratic and dangerous behavior on roadways, leading to more crashes, he said.
Traffic deaths were particularly bad in 2023. Portland saw 69 deaths that year, and PBOT’s traffic safety manager said they were “heading in the wrong direction.”
But the data this year show modest improvement. Deaths of people driving motor vehicles declined 28% since 2023, although they remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.
“That really stands out to us,” Rivera said. “We seem to be having fewer instances of extremely egregious driving behavior.”
Related: As traffic deaths surged, Portland transportation bureau fell short of safety goals, audit says
The number of deaths for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists remained comparable to 2023.
But the report also notes that not everywhere saw improvement. East Portland, which typically has a disproportionate number of traffic deaths, saw no change in its death rate, about 15 per 100,000 residents. Portland City Council District 1, which includes East Portland, accounted for nearly half of all traffic deaths.
PBOT also listed 30 “high crash” intersections, which saw the most traffic deaths — the vast majority are east of 82nd Avenue.
Steph Routh, who serves on the Portland Planning Commission and lives in East Portland, said her neighborhood is just starting to update its streets, following decades with little or no investment.
The Deadly Traffic Crash Report also reflects the daily obstacles that residents in the area face, she said. Routh regularly has close-calls with cars when biking from the Lents neighborhood to downtown.
“It can be really unnerving,” she said, “and I think that that’s why we see a lot of people choose not to bike or walk a long distance, because they’re concerned about their safety.”
Routh and Rivera said that the area was developed with driving and speed as top priorities. It’ll take years and millions of dollars in investment to change the look of many East Portland’s streets.
“The investments made in East Portland have historically made it a convenient place to drive through, but not a particularly nourishing place to live in,” Routh said.
Related: In 2024: Nearly 200 people killed in Portland traffic crashes since 2021, reports says
According to Rivera, various road improvements at 102nd Avenue have already led to decreased speed and the agency is hoping to replicate that success on other roadways.
In addition to public investment, careful choices by drivers on the road can lead to fewer deaths, he said. Rivera noted multiple crashes last Thanksgiving weekend that resulted in the deaths of four people.
“That tells you, just in one weekend, what a difference that behavior and decisions of a handful of people can make,” he said.
