35 Member Citizen Task Force Helps 'Keep Downtown Portland Moving'

By Roland Chlapowski

With so much private and public construction in downtown Portland, navigating it -- whether by foot, bike, transit, or automobile -- has become more frustrating than it used to be. That is why Sam supported and expanded funding for Keep Portland Moving, a PDOT campaign to promote a vibrant, accessible downtown Portland.

Overseen by a 35-person stakeholder steering committee, Keep Portland Moving coordinates projects and works with other PDOT staff to give construction guidelines that minimize the impact of all of the new investment underway downtown.

As frustrating as traveling downtown might seem now, things would be much worse if it were not for this campaign, which coordinates complex projects, provides information to the public, and reacts in real time to calls it takes on its hotline.

Other KPM accomplishments include moving the bus mall to 3rd & 4th Avenues (in partnership with TriMet), working with a task force to consider new technologies like advance parking information and real-time traffic updates, and the installation of webcams that allows traffic engineers to know when problems are happening to address them immediately. The Task Force also looked into things like night work options, the appropriate enforcement of construction permits, and programs to keep people from commuting at peak hours. The Task Force/Advisory Committee of 35 members was convened in April, 2007, and has met eight times to discuss and guide the activities of the Keep Portland Moving campaign.

Sam has secured funding for this new position from City Council because he believes strongly that the best coordination amongst both public agencies and private developers is what Portlanders deserve.

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