Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson will be taking a lead role in a new partnership between the Timbers and the City of Portland focused on promoting road safety.

The Timbers announced Thursday that they would be partnering with the city and the Portland Bureau of Transportation to support Vision Zero, a road safety initiative that aims to end "traffic violence in the city" and work to "eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the community's streets by 2025."

Through the partnership, the Timbers will be focused on encouraging safe driving choices and drawing attention to the dangers of drinking and driving.

Gleeson's involvement in the program comes four months after he and teammate Liam Ridgewell were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Lake Oswego.

Gleeson plead no contest to the charges and agreed to enter an alcohol diversion program in November, while the city of Lake Oswego dropped the charges against Ridgewell in January after a judge ruled that officers did not have probable cause or reasonable suspicion to detain Ridgewell.

At the time of the arrests, the Timbers released a statement saying that members of their organization have a "responsibility to this community and are expected to represent the club and city the right way."

According to the Timbers, Gleeson's role in the Vision Zero program will include promoting driver safety education, featuring in public service announcement campaigns, talking with high school students about driver safety and participating in safety messages to be used in classrooms and diversion classes.

Led by Gleeson and Ridgewell, as team captain, Timbers players will work with local schools to promote "safe driving choices and behavior" and will be "featured in specialized public service announcements that also will be featured during games at Providence Park."

"As Timbers players, we are very fortunate to have incredible support in this community, and being in a position to make a difference in the city I call home and to help make Portland a safer place is extremely rewarding," said Gleeson, in a prepared statement. "In my case, I feel a personal responsibility to share my own experience with as many people as possible and turn my particular situation into a positive by supporting Vision Zero's efforts to educate and promote safety on our streets."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg