It’s National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 11-15). We want to take a moment at the top of this week’s Street Cred to thank our essential workers. Nothing like a historic April snowstorm to remind us how important they are for the safety of our community. PBOT crews have been working around the clock, coordinating with Urban Forestry and PGE to remove fallen branches, trees, and debris blocking roadways, handling road closures, on top of snow removal, de-icing, and spreading salt and sand.  

Mark your calendars PBOTers! Our next Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, May 4 will be hybrid. Join on Teams like you’re used to or come in person for a special treat.  

After Pi(e) Day, this might be one of nerdiest days of the year. May the Fourth be with you, it’s Star Wars Day! 

The Performance and Data Strategy teams will share updates on how they’re making our bureau work smarter, harnessing the power of analytics to advance our goals. Join us to learn more about:   

• PBOT’s Performance Management Framework, an organized tracking system, and our annual performance reporting calendar; 
• The Data Self-Assessment, tracking what’s working well and where we can up our data game; 
• PBOT’s Data and Performance Catalog, a new tool for staff to see data we have access to and how we use it to evaluate impact  

In celebration of Star Wars Day, in-person attendees get a nerdalicious ice cream sundae bar!  

Attending in person? Join us early at 11:30 a.m. (location coming soon) to ensure you have time to mingle and, more importantly, create your sundae! The hybrid Lunch and Learn will start at noon. Watch the Scoop for the virtual meeting link and in-person location.   

Questions? Reach out to Emma Sagor or Lauren Spear. May the Fourth be with you!   

Submitted by Mike Crebs 

Last week, a 94-year-old man asked Parking Enforcement Officer Lisa Welch for help finding his car downtown. He couldn’t remember where he parked and didn’t know his license plate number off hand. Officer Welch got a vehicle description and asked fellow Officers Jamie Wisner, Kimberly Landis, and Loui Sasnett to help search. They got the man’s phone number so they could contact him if they found it. 

Within the hour Officer Wisner spotted the car in a hotel zone, but the man didn’t answer his phone. A short time later, Officer Sasnett saw him walking and gave him a ride back to his car. 

Thank you to the Parking Enforcement team for going above and beyond once again for a member of our community.  

Article reprinted from SW Hills Residential League newsletter 

We were so touched by this article on the completion of SW Broadway Drive’s “Marx” Pedestrian Pathway, we reprinted it in full below. In it the SW Hills Residential League (SWHRL) thanks many PBOTers including PBOT’s Pedestrian Coordinator Michelle Marx who, if you haven’t heard, is leaving us at the end of the month. We want to take a moment to thank Michelle for the work she’s done for the city. Our next Pedestrian Coordinator has very large shoes to fill.  

While many worked for this, we’re calling it the Marx Pedestrian Pathway for the simple fact that Michelle Marx walked the road with us, saw it was dangerous, and pledged to do what she could to improve it. It took some convincing at PBOT – and some digging into PBOT couches for loose change – but she made it happen. We think we should memorialize this creation of safe passage for residents, students, and tourists, and as she’s returning to her roots in Texas, it’s a fitting cap to Ms. Marx’s career here. Her successor as Pedestrian Coordinator has large walking shoes to fill! 

PBOT’s ADA Coordinator Lisa Strader shared this lovely thank you with us: 

I had a call from a North Carolina resident who is praising our Temporary Pedestrian Accessible Routes (TPAR) guidance. He is a blind, double-amputee whose city—Wilson, NC—has nothing similar. He said he appreciated how clearly we defined “should” and “shall” items. He appreciated we have penalties identified for not following the requirements. He was very complimentary.   

Thank you to John Wilson who did a great job of writing our current Temporary Traffic Control Manual, along with the assistance of Alex Mastrud and under the guidance of Chon Wong. 

"Work is hard and sometimes people get mad at us or we have tough conversations with each other,” Capital Delivery Division Manager Steve Szigethy wrote in a recent email to the project team for the SW Capitol Highway – Multnomah Village to West Portland project. “But many people really appreciate what we do.” Steve then shared these comments, shortened and redacted some for privacy: 

My name is Ed. I've had the pleasure of watching your crew excavate the road for the BES drains today. I have to say that I'm really impressed. The people running the heavy equipment complete their work as if it was a highly choreographed ballet. The entire crew is totally unified in their approach. They huddle when there is an issue, make a decision, and continue. You can see that there is a friendly comradery among them. It's almost 5 p.m., they will have the road ready for traffic shortly. The crew is very polite. They've been very cordial to us; moving shrubs, etc. for us that were in the project path. They go out of their way to help the residents that are dealing with this project. LLC is an outstanding company.  

“I also have to thank the city of Portland. It was amazing to see the care the city took to help us plan the stairway access to the street. Notably, I'd like to commend Cedar [Heinle]; her design of the retaining wall is excellent. She's been helpful to my wife and me; taking the time to explain how Spring Garden Street will be graded onto Capitol. Cedar thinks on her feet and is very capable; she quickly amended her plans to incorporate our stairway wishes. And I'm sure the city has had to modify plans to accommodate the task's vagaries. All of us know that if there is a potential trouble spot path in the project, and it is known at the onset it will be addressed. It's the unknown bits at the design stage that delay a project and possibly prevent its success. And I'm seeing some talented people between Capital Projects and LLC working on this project and doing very well.    

“There are some deep holes, as Steve mentioned in his news briefs. I'm thinking that the last time Capitol was dug up this intensely, maybe steam-powered excavators were used. I figure Capitol had to be regraded to put the 1927 bridge in over the Oregon Electric Railway (now Multnomah Blvd.).  I think Capitol also underwent a large cut and fill redesign at that time to fix the grade after the bridge was installed. By looking at the grade level of all the yards along Capitol, you can follow what was probably the original road grade.  All that previous work is resulting in the use of a lot of retaining walls for this project; which makes this task even more intensive. And the retaining walls look great.   

 “I had a boss that accused me of ‘gushing’ about people too much; he told me he thought I was sucking up. I told him I wasn't a suck-up; I just feel that people should be commended when they do good work. Our society is really good at letting you know when you've screwed up; we should also let people know when they do a good job.

"So to all of you, you're doing a great job."

Surprise! We thought we were home free, but alas, mom nature had other plans. Hit by a historically rare April snowstorm Sunday night into Monday morning, with threats of winter weather continuing this week, PBOT’s Maintenance Operations crews were called into action.  

Beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday, crews moved into incident command with 24-hour coverage. As we publish this, they’re still working hard dealing with downed trees, limbs, and powerlines across the city. Clearing the right-of-way of this type of debris is a collaborative dance between PBOT, Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry, and PGE. It’s a team effort, but we all know PBOT crews are the best 😉.  

We'll share more in future issues, but for now, we want to share some positive messages on social media we got from Portlanders (and Commissioner Hardesty):  

The city communications team (based at OMF) forwarded this kudos to us: 

“Thank you to the Portland Bureau of Transportation for being very quick to repair the potholes in front of Sacajawea Head Start today! I think it was a less-than 3-day turnaround!” 

PBOT’s Maintenance Operations dispatch got this love letter for our Traffic Signs & Pavement Markings team: 

“I am so impressed. Your team was out here within the hour to fix the stop sign. Bravo and take a bow. I'd give everybody an A+ for effort!” 

Submitted by Lisa Strader, with additional information by Stacy Brewster 

PBOT is committed to providing content people with disabilities can access. This means plans, presentations, and all types of communications, including our website. Because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was adopted before the web was what it is today, it didn’t address digital content. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice issued guidance clearly identifying that Title II entities, like the City of Portland, and Title III entities, like banks, hotels, retail stores, theaters, and restaurants, must have accessible web content. 

The U.S. DOJ didn’t provide specific recommendations but referenced Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as existing technical standards. They also noted several lawsuits where cities, counties, universities, and private businesses were found in violation due to inaccessible website. Here is a link to U.S. DOJ webpage with guidance on web accessibility and the ADA. 

What is inaccessible web content? 

When you stop to think about it, websites offering programs or services folks can’t access are as much a barrier to people with disabilities as a building without wheelchair ramps. People with disabilities and advocates have long asserted that inaccessible web content is discrimination, but until last month there was little official guidance on the subject.   

Anything that limits the ability of people with disabilities to fully engage with your content, learn critical information, or use or interact with your program or service should be considered inaccessible. PDFs, documents, or webforms that can’t be read by assistive technology like screen readers mean that people who are blind or low-vision can’t navigate the site or engage with its content. Videos without captions provide less information and context to someone who is deaf. Websites that don’t allow for keyboard navigation or navigation through other assistive technology, can mean its inaccessible to someone who can’t use a mouse. 

Keep accessibility top of mind 

Although a lot of great accessibility features are built into Portland.gov compared with the city’s old website, we still encounter inaccessible content regularly. We see it in interactive maps or PDF forms that can’t be navigated with a screen reader, well-produced videos without captions, images without alt text or with lackluster alt text, text-heavy graphics that aren’t explained well in the body of the page, or charts and other graphics that don’t account for color-blindness. 

Interactive maps, a tricky case 

Some of you are aware of the limitations related to website maps. PBOT’s Mapping & GIS Program staff have been actively working with the Bureau of Technology Services and the Office of Equity & Human Rights (OEHR) to address this, not only for our bureau but for the whole city. As an interim step, PBOT has added messages to many of its map pages, such as our Winter Weather Center. These provide more context as well as contact information for users who need help with the map content. If you are a map owner and haven’t yet included a message like this, please contact Lisa Strader, PBOT’s ADA Coordinator to understand this important accessibility step.  

When you need help 

If in doubt, please ask. You can reach out to PBOT’s ADA Coordinator Lisa Strader, our web migration leads Stacy Brewster and Sarah Gandy, or the city’s lead on digital accessibility at OEHR, Joseph Sherman. Joseph holds open office hours Tuesdays, 12-2 p.m. through this Teams link. He also holds regular presentations on making accessible content. 

April is National Autism Month. Here are three things you might not know about autism.  

• The term is from the Greek word autos meaning “self.” Autism literally means “alone.” 
• It is the fastest growing developmental disability in Oregon. 
• Individuals on the autism spectrum enjoy people and form friendships but, due to differences in sensory processing and social skills, may approach it differently. It is important to understand and accept these differences. 

By Abby Hauth  

After a month compiling and voting for favorite places to eat, sip, and explore around PBOT Buildings, the results are in! Thank you to all who nominated their favorites around Portland, and all those who voted!  

We compiled all 90 nominated spots on Google Maps which you can find by office location here:  

• Downtown map 
• Maintenance and Operations map 
• 1900 Building map 
• Streetcar Maintenance Facility map

It may be hard to pick a favorite, but some rose to the top. Whether you check out new or old spots on these lists (or discover a favorite robbed of a nomination!), be sure to share on PBOT’s Food Teams channel with a picture of your order. Let’s spread the love and support local businesses.  

Drumroll please…. 

Maintenance Operations top picks 

The top coffee pick in Northeast for MO staff was Starbucks, followed by Heartbeat Cafe inside the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. For lunch, Smokin’ Fire Fish received the most votes, with Tamale Boy and Matt’s BBQ in second and third. For snack options: New Seasons (so. many. snacks!) came out ahead with Delicious Donuts right behind.  

Honorable Mentions 

After tallying up the final votes, we learned that Bentos Coffee 2 (BC2) was in the Portland Building for almost 20 years up until renovations began. The restaurant moved to 1033 SW Sixth Ave. and has been one of the few lunch spots near the Portland Building that remained open throughout the pandemic.  

Chang, the owner has been struggling to keep his doors open and is on the verge of closing unless business picks up. Let this be a reminder to continue supporting small businesses as much as possible while the pandemic continues. 

Thank you again PBOTers for these recommendations and votes! As teleworking staff continue heading back into the office to join those who have been working in person throughout the pandemic, we hope these lists give you new places to try out. Happy caffeinating, lunching, and snacking!!