Lars Larson: Portland’s “vision zero” needs glasses

By Lars Larson,
NW and national radio host

Go ahead, accuse me of having a dog in this fight because a drunk killed my mom on New Year’s 54 years ago: I do.

Portland created its own traffic fatality problem and now refuses to take the only actions it knows would fix that carnage.

The Rose City’s streets ran red with blood in 2023, racking up a 30 year record high number of deaths.

That, despite the much heralded “Vision Zero” program aimed at cutting fatalities.

So far, the only thing 185-million blown on 7 years of Vision Zero produces: more body bags.

Here’s my short list of fixable items:

Police.  Several years of zero traffic enforcement with just 14 officers added back only 7 months ago.

That’s roughly 3 traffic cops on the street at any given time in a city of 650,000.

At best, it’s a token effort.

De Facto legalization of hard drugs by voters which lawmakers refuse to reverse.

Someone please tell me legalized Heroin, Meth and Fentanyl don’t play a role.

Legalized pot with no effective way to police intoxicated driving.

Thousands of people camping on or near streets or highways.

If city hall were honest, it would call its program “Zero Intelligence”.