The Portland Bureau of Transportation has completed new street lighting on four high-crash corridors and is undertaking a major replacement of street name signs as part of a broader effort to reduce pedestrian accidents during darker months.
Pedestrian crashes in Portland surge significantly in fall and winter. From 2015 through 2024, the city averaged 23.3 traffic crashes per month involving pedestrians from October to March, compared to 16.9 per month from April to September, according to the bureau.
The bureau installed new street lighting on four High Crash Network streets in 2025: NE Halsey from 114th to 162nd avenues, 82nd Avenue from Killingsworth to Clatsop streets, NE Glisan from 82nd to 162nd avenues, and SW Capitol Highway/49th Avenue from Barbur Boulevard to Stephenson Street. The upgrades prioritize dangerous streets in areas with higher populations of people of color and people living on low incomes, the bureau said. Street lighting improves visibility and reduces crash incidence at specific locations, according to the bureau.
The bureau is replacing 32,000 street name signs with high-visibility versions citywide. Crews completed replacements east of 82nd Avenue from 2023 to 2025 and have been replacing signs west of 82nd Avenue in Northeast and North Portland since 2025.