Our transportation system is in trouble.

• 3941 miles of Portland streets, 32% of arterials in poor condition*
• 157bridges, 22% in poor condition*
• 992 traffic signals, 43% in poor condition*
• Each year of deferred maintenance adds an estimated $9 Million to future maintenance costs.

The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) gets most of its funding from the state gas tax, which has remained at 24 cents/gallon since 1993. Over that time, the cost of basic transportation materials (such as asphalt) and construction has grown by incredible 70%. That means that every dollar PDOT had to spend in 1993 is worth only 30 cents today. Because of this, PDOT has been cutting its budget -which means deferring maintenance and reducing service levels- each and every year for the past 7 years.

Since I have become transportation commissioner, I have cut PDOT's budget every year I've overseen it, supervised the replacement of nearly every high-level manager, and the implemented of a series of cost-saving and productivity-boosting measures. While finding these kinds of efficiencies and exerting strong management are important efforts -which will continue- I've been forced to recognize that they cannot bridge the funding gap created by the 70% in cost escalations, and they can't dig us out of the maintenance hole we find ourselves in today. And while I am not excited about raising the conversation about finding new money for PDOT with our community, every year that we wait to solve the problem, our maintenance falls behind at least another $9 million. So while I know that it won't make me the most popular person right now, I feel compelled to be a good steward of the taxpayers' $7.1 billion in transportation assets and at least alert people of the problem we are all facing.

With your help we can reverse the decline of Portland’s basic transportation system and fund long overdue safety projects, saving taxpayers millions of dollars and saving scores of lives. Please attend a town hall meeting to learn more, ask questions, and share your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions with me about this difficult, complex, and not-at-all-glamorous subject.

Neighborhood Town Hall Meetings:

Southwest Portland -
Tuesday June 19, 7PM -9PM
Multnomah Center 7688 SW Capitol Highway

Southeast Portland -
Wednesday June 20, 7 PM- 9PM St.
Phillip Neri Church -Carvlin Hall 2408 SE 16th Avenue

North & North East Portland -
Tuesday June 26, 7PM -9PM
King Neighborhood Facility 4815 NE 7th Avenue

Northwest Portland -
Wednesday June 27, 7Pm -9PM
Friendly House Conference Room 1737 NW 26th Avenue

Central Northeast & East Portland -
Monday July 2, 7PM to 9PM
Firehouse #12, 4415 NE 87th Avenue

FEEL FREE TO ATTEND ANY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD TOWN HALLS.

While we will tailor our presentations to focus a bit more on issues important to the particular neighborhoods we are visiting, the townhall is ultimately about city-wide transportation issues. You will definitely gain from attending any of the above townhalls (even those outside of your neighborhood).

We also want to stress that this is the first round of neighborhood townhalls, and that there will be an additional round of townhalls and outreach come the fall.