Hayhurst Neighborhood Association

Tag: Portland

  •  SW Shattuck at Illinois and 60th: Advocacy for Intersection Safety

     SW Shattuck at Illinois and 60th: Advocacy for Intersection Safety

    The intersection of three roads: SW Shattuck Road, SW Illinois Street and SW 60th Avenue, has long been a confusing and dangerous place to navigate. With hundreds of new residents arriving soon at Raleigh Crest, traffic in the area will increase. Recently, Hayhurst Neighborhood Association board members and others have advocated for a safer situation at this multi-access corner.

    Background

    In 2024, Raleigh Crest submitted an application to build 263 new homes on the former Alpenrose Farm site. The traffic study for the application identified speeding as an issue on SW Shattuck Road and estimated that there would be 2,200 more daily vehicle trips on SW Shattuck. The development’s main entrance would be a westbound extension of SW Illinois Street. During the Land Use review, Hayhurst neighbors advocated for needed safety improvements to surrounding roads, especially to the SW Shattuck/Illinois/60th intersection. This included stop signs on Shattuck at the new crossing, improving Shattuck north to Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy (BHH), a flashing beacon marked crosswalk, and  speed cushions on SW Shattuck. 

    As those improvements were not approved in the City of Portland’s November 2024 land use decision, ongoing concerns about the safety of the SW Illinois/60th/Shattuck intersection, especially for schoolchildren crossing to Hayhurst Elementary School and catching the bus, led neighbors to propose that SW 60th be converted to a one-way street southbound to help with safety concerns and relieve some of the intersection congestion.

    Outreach

    The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) approved the proposal subject to outreach to the neighbors in the affected area. Volunteers prepared and distributed 177 letters supported by PBOT to all neighbors on SW 60th Ave, SW Idaho St (50th to 60th), SW Nebraska St (50th to 60th), SW 55th Dr (Illinois to Idaho) and SW Illinois St (55th to 60th) in early September 2026 asking for feedback by September 30th. Seven people responded to HNA by email, with two in support and five opposed to the change. Two more emails addressed traffic on SW Nebraska, but did not take a position on the change. All feedback was forwarded to PBOT. Additionally, some neighbors wrote directly to PBOT, and some posted on Facebook and Nextdoor.

    Neighborhood Association Meeting September 2026

    Hayhurst Neighborhood Association invited neighbors and Portland Bureau of Transportation to the monthly meeting on September 14th to discuss the proposal. PBOT representatives Carlos Hernandez and Matthew Machado attended the meeting to listen to neighbors’ concerns and talk about ideas and plans to improve traffic safety. . Nine neighbors living in the affected area joined to share their concerns and suggestions. 
    You can watch the meeting recording here. The discussion starts at 17:00.

    Portland Bureau of Transportation Presentation

    At the September meeting, PBOT representatives provided the following information about the status of the intersection:

    • They will request traffic counts on SW 60th between SW Nebraska and SW Illinois to provide data on numbers and types of vehicles and their speeds to help them evaluate the intersection.
    • The Raleigh Crest Public Works permit for Stage 1 is final so any changes to the intersection would need to be considered as part of Stage 2 or a separate work order.
    • The Stage 1 permit calls for extensions to tighten the intersection for crosswalk safety.
    • According to traffic engineering rules, stop sign installation on Shattuck would require 200 cars per hour. An unwarranted stop sign could contribute to more speeding.
    • The Oregon DMV data through 2024 does not show any reported crashes for the intersection. However, a crash at the intersection in March 2025 was reported to them by the neighborhood.
    • Portland Fire Bureau is still evaluating whether speed cushions can be added to SW Shattuck Road. PBOT noted at the meeting that Shattuck is a Major Emergency Route south of BHH, but not north of BHH which is why that section has speed cushions. However, per the Southwest In Motion Plan (SWIM), all of Shattuck is a Major Emergency Response Route and eligible for speed cushions. PBOT submitted a plan for speed cushions between Vermont and BHH to the Fire Bureau.
    • The planned traffic study that Hayhurst is holding funds for will help identify what changes may be needed, e.g. stop signs on Shattuck.

    Neighbors’ Issues

    Neighbors reported the following concerns about the intersection and SW Shattuck Road:

    • Vehicles entering the intersection northbound from SW 60th need to swing across Illinois to see out and make a turn onto Shattuck. School buses have to swing out across both lanes of Shattuck to turn right onto Shattuck from Illinois.
    • It’s an awkward wide open intersection and there is poor visibility at the intersection,It’s made worse by excess vegetation in the right-of-way.
    • The existing stop signs on 60th and Illinois are too far back to be effective.
    • Traffic using the intersection is uncontrolled by the existing layout.
    • Excessive speeding on SW Shattuck
    • The SW Illinois Greenway already has too much traffic for safe walking and biking, but the speed bumps help slow vehicles down.
    • There is speeding on SW 60th, which could get worse if made one-way.
    • Vehicles coming up 60th have nearly t-boned vehicles driving west on Illinois at the intersection.                                      
    • Drivers will likely cut through the neighborhood due to increasing traffic on Shattuck.
    • Traffic is increasing on SW Nebraska possibly due to drivers avoiding the speed cushions on SW Illinois.
    • The SW 55th and Illinois intersection is unsafe.

    Neighbors’ Suggestions

    In addition to converting SW 60th to one-way, Hayhurst neighbors made the following suggestions to help improve safety at the intersection and on Shattuck:

    • Completely close off SW 60th vehicle access to the intersection, turning it into a walk/bike way.
    • Better position the stop signs for SW 60th and Illinois.
    • Cut back vegetation on both the north and south sides of the intersection.
    • Separate the intersection into four lanes — two for SW 60th and two for Illinois.
    • Add a median or planter to separate the traffic in the intersection.
    • Add stop signs to SW Shattuck to protect the new crossing.
    • Add speed cushions to SW Shattuck to reduce speeding.
    • Add speed cushions to SW 60th.
    • Add speed cushions to SW Nebraska.
    • Wait until Raleigh Crest homes for Stage 1 are built to better identify the solution(s).
    • Improve SW Shattuck for walking and biking north of Raleigh Crest to BHH.
    • Make the intersection a roundabout.

    Follow-up

    After the meeting, PBOT contacted the Raleigh Crest developer to remove the one-way striping and signs from the intersection plans but the striping had already been done. PBOT then requested that they paint over it. More intersection striping and wands were added to tighten the intersection, and neighbors started reporting on October 12 that they cannot safely turn onto Shattuck from SW Illinois Street. PBOT’s Matthew Machado visited the intersection the next day to determine what corrections are needed. He has submitted revised intersection plans including relocating some of the white curbing and modifying some of the striping. A revised plan has been sent over to Public Works Construction to send to the contractor. He will be meeting with the contractor on site early the week of October 20 to walk them through the changes, and will know when the changes can be made after the meeting.

    Here are some images of the intersection (photos by Alissa Cattone):

    SW Shattuck Road at SW Illinois Street intersection in SW Portland Oregon