Should Portland appropriate grant award of $207,411 for speed racing street takeover?

This ordinance allows the City to appropriate $207,411.35 in grant funds awarded by the State of Oregon's Transportation Safety Office to address the prevalence of Speed Racing and Street Takeover events. The grant will fund PPB overtime missions to combat planned and ad hoc street racing/takeover events. These events traditionally involve hundreds, if not thousands, of people and have led to sever injuries and deaths to bystanders and participants and routinely block important access points for first responders. Grant funds will cover responding officer overtime and associated benefits and will also allow the Bureau to purchase supplies and equipment, such as deployable cameras, to increase the effectiveness of responding officers' attempts to break up existing and prevent potential street racing/takeover events and to prosecute those responsible for violating traffic law to conduct these events. The grant requires matching funds, that will be provided via straight time and associated benefits from the Bureau's general fund.

The reviewed sources do not clearly identify every existing policy, service, contract, or obligation that would remain unchanged.

This proposal concerns transportation & public works and requires action through Portland’s public legislative process.

Traffic safety impacts all Portlanders, whether they are drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians. Reducing the number of traffic incidents and injuries involving street racing/takeover events will have a positive impact across the City. Since 2021, there have been 12 homicides related to street takeover events; preventing the proliferation of these events is a key goal of the Bureau and will help reduce the incidence of violent crime, and traffic-related injuries and deaths, across the City.