Transportation Director Calls Traffic ‘Public Health Threat’
Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Leah Treat declared war on cars Tuesday, saying her top priority was providing more alternatives to automobiles for city residents.
“We have a growing public health crisis in Portland — traffic,” Treat said during a lunch jointly sponsored by the Portland City Club and the Oregon Active Transportation Summit at the downtown Sentinel Hotel. The summit is a gathering of bicycle, walking and alternative transportation advocates being held this week at the hotel.
Citing statistics that show more Portanders are being killed in traffic accidents than by homicides, Treat said her guiding philosophy is Vision Zero, a movement she said started in Sweden in 1997 that makes safety the top transportation priority with a goal of eliminating all traffic-related deaths.
Read more via The Portland Tribune
