Portland Bureau of Transportation, as part of it's push for increased traffic safety in the city, has dropped the speed limit for a section of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard to 20 mph.

The new lower speed limit applies from Southeast 30th to 50th avenues. In a news release, PBOT said the changes are the result of recommendations from a traffic crash investigation from 2016.

In addition to the speed change, PBOT has installed new ADA compliant curb ramps and a median refuge island at Southeast 43rd Avenue. Parking spots were also moved away from corners at key intersection along the busy Hawthorne Boulevard commercial area.

The release states that from 2005 to 2014, "one person died and nine people were seriously injured while traveling on the one-mile stretch of Southeast Hawthorne between 30th and 50th avenues. In all, there were 420 crashes involving 881 people on the one-mile segment of Hawthorne from Southeast 30th to 50th avenues."

The changes are part of the Vision Zero project and were made as a result of investigations of several crashes in the area.