Portland is a lively city, full of bustling streets and energetic neighborhoods. Busy streets around Portland can be hazardous to drivers and pedestrians alike. Intersection daylighting can change that.
Intersection daylighting is a street safety measure that increases visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at intersections by prohibiting cars from parking up to the corner of a street. Most commonly, this means building physical barriers to block parking. Dana Dickman, traffic safety section manager for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), believes that one of the largest misconceptions about daylighting is that it solely benefits pedestrians’ safety. She says, “While [PBOT] does focus our limited resources in high pedestrian areas, daylighting helps increase visibility for all road users.”
Cars parked too closely to an intersection prevent drivers from seeing around the corner of roads and sidewalks. Jonathan Maus, founder and editor of news company BikePortland, which covers transportation in the Portland area, acknowledges that painting curbs yellow may deter drivers from parking, but adds, “In most cases, a city will just add colored paint to the curb and/or signage. This means daylighting is 100 percent reliant on people being considerate, and if not, enforcement of the parking law.” Implementing physical barriers around Portland, rather than relying on avoidable paint and signs, is generally more effective in preventing traffic accidents…