Earlier this week, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) changed the speed limit on Willamette Boulevard from 35 mph to 30 mph, Director of Public Safety Gerry Gregg stated in an email Wednesday morning.
“This is an excellent improvement,” Gregg said.
James Kuffner, University Operations special projects manager, and UP liaison to the University Park Neighborhood Association (UPNA), has lived in the UP neighborhood for over 40 years. He said he was glad to see the speed limit finally lowered after several years of lobbying for the UPNA.
“For the last five or six years, or maybe longer, [UPNA has sent] at least one letter or one public testimony at either a council hearing or at PBT asking for a lowering of the speed,” Kuffner said.
The change came as a surprise to Kuffner, and other members of the University Park community. Despite this, Kuffner says UPNA welcomes the change, “[The lower speed limit] we believe will enhance pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle safety on that stretch, especially in front of the campus.”
