In late October, Tualatin City Council approved the first round of community-nominated Neighborhood Traffic Safety projects to be constructed in 2020. The seven priority projects include signalized pedestrian crossings and driver feedback signs at these locations:

Mohawk St east of Martinazzi Ave

90th Ave and Sweek Dr

Borland Rd between Bridgeport Elementary School and 60th Ave

Nyberg Ln at Boones Ferry Park (between 50th Ave and 65th Ave)

Martinazzi Ave between Avery St and Dakota Dr

Tualatin Rd between 105th Ave and 115th Ave

Nasoma Ln between Boones Ferry Rd and 90th Ave

All seven projects will be completed next year as part of Tualatin Moving Forward, the City’s bond-funded transportation program.

Most of the new pedestrian crossings will include state-of-the-art reflective signage plus rapid flashing beacons with push-button controls. Research shows these attention-grabbing signals are the safest option for protecting drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The high intensity LED beacons command drivers’ attention whenever pedestrians want to cross, in all weather conditions, with day and night time visibility.

“These new rapid flashing beacons have been very effective wherever we have installed them at pedestrian crossings and in school zones,” said Jeff Fuchs, P.E., Tualatin Public Works Director. Along with driver feedback signs, the new pedestrian crossings with flashing signals are the safety improvements requested most often by Tualatin neighborhoods.

The driver feedback signs represent another emerging technology. These solar-powered LED screens (Tualatin already has several in place) use radar to display speeds and slow drivers and are also highly effective.

The recently announced neighborhood safety improvements were selected through a community-wide process that sought nominations from Tualatin residents and community groups. Around 145 project ideas were submitted by community members. The selected projects met the criteria of spreading improvements citywide, solving specific safety problems, and fitting within the program’s budget.

Another round of safety projects will be selected in October 2020. Residents who want to suggest a project in their neighborhood can go to the website TualatinMovingForward.com and click on the Suggest a Project button.