September 7, 2016
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Sasquatch demonstrates crosswalk safety at Cesar Chavez K-8 in north Portland.
photo by
d ylan r ivera , p ortland b ureau of t ransportation
Sasquatch puts Focus on Safe Crossings
The first week back to school
came with a crosswalk safety
campaign to increase awareness
of traffic laws, promote safe and
responsible travel, and ultimately
reduce the number of people hit
or killed by cars, trucks and other
vehicles.
The Portland Bureau of Trans-
portation and Portland Police Bu-
reau, for example, held a crosswalk
safety education and enforcement
action last week at Cesar Chavez
School at North Willis Boulevard
and Courtenay Avenue.
The star attraction was Sas-
quatch, the mythical Bigfoot char-
acter from “Oregonians Crossing”
a statewide traffic safety cam-
paign.
Under Oregon law, every in-
tersection is a legal crosswalk
whether it is marked or unmarked.
People driving must stop and stay
stopped for people walking when
the pedestrian is in the travel lane
or the adjacent lane.
Near schools, people driving
need to be especially mindful and
watch out for parents and children
walking and biking.
As students head back to school,
it’s particularly important to obey
traffic laws and drive safely in
school zones. Drivers should also
be aware that Portland police offi-
cers will be at every school during
the first few weeks of the school
year to enforce school speed zones
and other traffic laws.