Episode 13 – Portland: The Art of Crossing NE 82nd Avenue
Original air date: March 10, 2010
At NE 82nd Avenue and NE Jonesmore Street in Portland, there is one MAX light rail station, two bus stops, one traffic island and two crosswalks. For years, commuters rushed across the street through the traffic island (instead of using crosswalks) to catch the bus once they exited the Max station. Traffic accidents took place due to fearless pedestrians and careless motorists at this very busy intersection.
The City of Portland, Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland Bureau of Transportation decided that a wall was needed on the traffic island at NE 82nd and Jonesmore, to force commuters to use the crosswalks when crossing the street.
In the spring of 2009, Justin Gorman (an installation artist) and Scott Pitek (architect) were commissioned by the City of Portland to design a sculpture fence. In late February 2010, when the wall was nearly completed, an activist group, “People’s Department of Transportation,” (PDOT) was formed due to their opposition to the wall. Elly Blue and Joe Biel are two of the founders of PDOT.
I invited the two designers of the wall and the two founders of PDOT for a chat about the wall on location at NE 82nd and Jonesmore in Portland.
Music for this episode is performed by Glenn Gould from Bach: The Two and Three Part Inventions and includes “Invention No.12 in A Major, BWV 783”; “Invention No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 784” and “Sinfonia No. 14 in B-flat Major, BWV 800.”
People’s Department of Transportation
Thirty Thousand Seconds
82nd Ave. Median Sculpture
Show Credits
Produced By:
Ivy Lin
Episode Credits
Special Guests:
Justin Gorman
Scott Pitek
Elly Blue
Joe Biel
Episode 13 – Portland: The Art of Crossing NE 82nd Avenue
Original air date: March 10, 2010
At NE 82nd Avenue and NE Jonesmore Street in Portland, there is one MAX light rail station, two bus stops, one traffic island and two crosswalks. For years, commuters rushed across the street through the traffic island (instead of using crosswalks) to catch the bus once they exited the Max station. Traffic accidents took place due to fearless pedestrians and careless motorists at this very busy intersection.
The City of Portland, Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland Bureau of Transportation decided that a wall was needed on the traffic island at NE 82nd and Jonesmore, to force commuters to use the crosswalks when crossing the street.
In the spring of 2009, Justin Gorman (an installation artist) and Scott Pitek (architect) were commissioned by the City of Portland to design a sculpture fence. In late February 2010, when the wall was nearly completed, an activist group, “People’s Department of Transportation,” (PDOT) was formed due to their opposition to the wall. Elly Blue and Joe Biel are two of the founders of PDOT.
I invited the two designers of the wall and the two founders of PDOT for a chat about the wall on location at NE 82nd and Jonesmore in Portland.
Music for this episode is performed by Glenn Gould from Bach: The Two and Three Part Inventions and includes “Invention No.12 in A Major, BWV 783”; “Invention No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 784” and “Sinfonia No. 14 in B-flat Major, BWV 800.”
People’s Department of Transportation
Thirty Thousand Seconds
82nd Ave. Median Sculpture
Show Credits
Produced By:
Ivy Lin
Episode Credits
Special Guests:
Justin Gorman
Scott Pitek
Elly Blue
Joe Biel
Posted 3 years ago
