Bend is in the process of compiling five years of traffic crash data to help inform future safety plans and wants the public to help point out problem areas.
The City of Bend launched a new survey and an interactive comment map for people to say which areas they think need safety improvements and share challenges of traveling around Bend. More than 800 people have already responded to the survey and more than 300 have commented on the map. Those will remain available until May 15.
The feedback will complement a much larger set of crash data as part of a comprehensive report designed to help the City make decisions about how to make Bend streets safer.
A final set of recommendations in the report — the Bend Transportation Safety Action Plan, or TSAP for short — won’t be adopted until next year. But consultants have already presented a host of crash data to a group of City councilors, City staff, police, agencies and community members advising on the plan.
There is a catch: the bulk of this new report is based on data that’s anywhere from three to seven years old. Consultants only analyzed crashes from 2019 through 2023.
That’s because it takes time for the Oregon Department of Transportation to verify the details of each crash, said Tyler Deke, manager with the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization, the City agency leading the safety action plan. It can take anywhere from 14 to 16 months from the initial crash report to the time ODOT releases crash data for a given year, Deke said.
Consultants may add fatal crash data from 2024 if time allows, Deke said.
Bend streets saw 5,103 crashes between 2019 and 2023, according to a memo consultants presented this month. Of those, 27 were deadly, and 175 more resulted in a serious injury — a cumulative total of 5% of all crashes. That’s up from 2% the last time Bend created a transportation safety action plan in 2019, which covered the years 2012 through 2016.
The spike in fatal and serious injury crashes following the COVID-19 pandemic is consistent with other areas, the memo said.
Consultants also ranked intersections and street segments by crash frequency and severity. Topping the list were some of the busiest thoroughfares in the Bend area, including U.S. Highway 20/Greenwood Avenue, 3rd Street, Franklin Avenue, Mt. Washington Drive and Reed Market Road. The intersection of U.S. 20/Greenwood and 27th Street was deemed the most dangerous intersection in the City, followed by the intersection of U.S. 20 and O.B. Riley Road near Tumalo.
But that intersection is another example of how data from the safety action plan is lagging behind reality: ODOT constructed a roundabout there in 2023 to improve safety.
The safety plan update comes amid a surge of new transportation projects in Bend partially funded by a $190 million transportation construction bond voters passed in 2020. Of the top 20 most dangerous intersections identified by the crash analysis, 10 have had construction projects since 2023, and eight more are already listed for future improvements. Of the top eight most dangerous street segments, four have already seen construction projects, and one more is planned.
Part of the most dangerous road segment, part of U.S. Highway 20 in north Bend, no longer exists due to a major highway reconstruction completed in 2020.
Some of the work for policymakers will be picking apart whether projects already constructed are good enough, and which areas haven’t been addressed yet, said Bend City Councilor Ariel Méndez, who chairs the policy board for the City’s transportation planning agency.
For example, the City recently built new bike paths on NE Franklin Avenue, one of the most dangerous road segments, according to the crash data. The City has added 1.5 miles of bike lane, 8 miles of sidewalk and 10 improved crossing since July 2025, according to a City dashboard.
“I would expect the results to improve from a safety perspective, but we’re going to have to wait a couple of years to see if that actually shows up in the data,” Mendez told the Source.
Preliminary data shows 12 traffic deaths in the Bend area since 2023, the consultant’s memo notes.
Ultimately, the City Council’s goal is for zero traffic deaths on Bend streets, and to reduce overall crashes by 10%. Based on preliminary data, it’s on track to exceed that mark, with 930 crashes logged since 2025.
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