27 Tickets Issued During 2-Hour Traffic Safety Mission

PORTLAND, OR — Portland police officers on Monday issued 27 traffic tickets during a two-hour traffic safety operation along a mile and a half section of Southwest Barbur Boulevard.

From 6 to 8 p.m. May 21, Portland Police Bureau officers from the Traffic Division setup between Southwest Hamilton Street and Southwest Terwilliger Boulevard to watch for unsafe drivers on Southwest Barbur Boulevard.

The safety operation was part of the Bureau's ongoing Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities in the city.

According to Portland police spokesman Sgt. Christopher Burley, officers focusing on dangerous driving behaviors were given free rein to stop drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists they deemed a threat to public safety.

"The officers were encouraged to share information about the Vision Zero program during these contacts. As always, officers were allowed the discretion to issue citations, warnings or classes," Burley explained in a statement. "This area of Southwest Barbur Boulevard includes heavily traveled bike lanes, bus stops and a crosswalk that was the location of a pedestrian fatality several years ago."

Of the 27 citations given by officers, one in particular was reportedly for a driver who was caught traveling 58 mph in a 35 mph zone.

For more information on this traffic operation and other Vision Zero traffic operations, visit the city's Vision Zero website here.

Image via Shutterstock/Portland Police Bureau