Cameras would target speeding vehicles in Portland’s High Crash Corridors

The city of Portland is trying to pass a law that allows cameras to take your picture if you are speeding and send you a ticket in the mail. The difference between this new measure and other photo radar is that currently an officer has to be present during the photo capturing to send the speeding driver a ticket. The new law would not require an officer to be present.

Certain roads, designated as high-crash corridors, are where the photos would be taken. These Portland roadways account for only three percent of the city’s streets but more than 50 percent of pedestrian fatalities occur on them.

The 10 high crash corridors are:

• NE Marine Drive from N Portland Rd to NE 185^th Ave
• NE 82^nd Avenue from NE Killingsworth to SE Clatsop
• NE 122^nd Avenue from NE Sandy to NE Foster Rd
• Sandy Blvd from E Burnside to NE Killingsworth
• SE Division Street from SE 11^th to 174th
• SE Powell Blvd from SE McLoughlin to SE 174^th Ave
• Foster Road from SE 52^nd to 162^nd
• SW Barbur Blvd from SW 65^th to Bertha Blvd
• SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy from SW 65^th to SW Barbur
• Burnside from SW Barnes to NE Gilham

House Bill 2621 would allow fixed cameras to be installed and would be programmed to take pictures of drivers going at least 10 miles and hour over the speed limit. The intent is not to generate revenue but to save lives by getting drivers to slow down.

The goal is to educate drivers about their driving behaviors and try to decrease the number of people injured or killed on these roadways. Some of the worst areas in Portland include SW Barbur Boulevard, East Burnside, and Division Street from SE 11^th to 174^th.