Office of Transportation

During the political season some can feel pressured to make inaccurate or misleading statements for perceived gain, and regrettably the current season is no exception. Many inaccuracies have been uttered about the proposed new crossing at NW Flanders Street over Interstate 405 that would reuse the center span of the existing Sauvie Island Bridge. This is a terrific project as the facts clarify.

Commissioner Adams was at City Hall to congratulate Rob Widmer of Widmer Brothers Brewing who crossed the finish line Thursday five minutes ahead of his brother, Kurt, who drove.

The event, a Bicycle Commuter Challenge, kicked off National Bike Month by showcasing the efficiency of riding your bike to work instead of commuting by car. Two paths from the Cadillac Cafe in Northeast Portland to City Hall on SW 4th Avenue were traveled by bicyclists. Rob arrived after 16 minutes of following the same route as Kurt, who traveled by car and arrived after 21 minutes, while Kim Seymour, of David Evans and Associates, biked along the NE Tillamook bike boulevard and the Eastbank Esplanade, a low-traffic route, arriving just 2 minutes later than Kurt.

Bike boxes are a hit, but some community education on their usage is needed. City of Portland and the Office of Transportation along with Portland's own Matt Giraud made a video to clear up a few questions that bicyclists and motorists may have.

By Dylan Riviera

To direct growth in the coming decades, Portland is embarking on a back-to-the-future course, to a time in the early 20th century when streetcars were as commonplace as buses are today.

What: A press event for Portland's new bike boxes
When: Thursday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: Clever Cycles, 908 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

The Bike Box celebrates its day in the limelight tomorrow, Thursday, March 27 at 10 a.m. Sam, along with State Representative Jackie Dingfelder and Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder host this press and community event.

Portland's Streetcar Connecting CommunitiesAre you interested in learning more about the streetcars in Portland? How about a streetcar corridor in your community? In either case, come to the Streetcar System Plan Workshop in your district. The outcome of these meetings will be a community decision about whether to take on a two-month study of potential streetcar corridors in each district or decide that it’s not a priority for the community at this time.

Officials begin collecting information on how residents aim to share the cost of pedestrian improvements

By Shasta Kearns Moore

Efforts by businesses in the Columbia corridor helped keep project on radar screen of local agenciesLike a two-lane blacktop tourniquet, Northeast Columbia Boulevard to Lombard Street impeded the smooth flow of traffic near Portland International Airport. With freight and everyday commuters stuck at choke points, the business community and the city recognized the need to improve Portland's most important east-west arterial for freight traffic.

Today, at my request, city council referred the "Safe, Sound & Green Streets" program back to my office with an expectation that we will refer the program to voters in November 2008.

You have heard from me many times that Safe, Sound & Green Streets will be an important step forward for Portland when implemented. For the first time in nearly two decades, Portlanders will have stable funding to meet basic safety and maintenance needs on major streets.

A program of this consequence should be enacted by a unanimous city council. Until last week, my council colleagues were united in supporting safer streets as a matter of leadership. At council proceedings, transportation staff, community leaders, and all who have participated to date appreciated council's acknowledgment of the painstaking analytical and public outreach effort.

That effort has earned support from an 89-person stakeholder committee covering a range of transportation interests, the editorial boards of The Oregonian, The Portland Tribune and The Portland Business Journal, and untold numbers of Portlanders who responded to our citywide notices and attended one of the 21 town hall meetings we hosted in every corner of the city.

In addition, we worked in good faith to reach a compromise to address the concerns of convenience stores and the petroleum representatives.

Regrettably, the influence of oil industry representatives has taken its toll. I no longer have unanimous council support to enact the program.

I now propose that city council refer the Safe, Sound & Green initiative to the November general election ballot.

Portlanders can trust that oil industry representatives will embark upon a monumental misinformation campaign. Watch the money: they will spend much more on television ads and other venues to kill Safe, Sound & Green than they would have spent to simply pay their fair share to return Portland's major streets to working order.

As the champion of Safe, Sound & Green, it's true that I worry about holding onto the factual high ground during this tsunami of misinformation.

This is Portland, however. Portlanders have a proud history of supporting well-articulated, reasonable investments in their community. It's part of what makes us the best city in the country. Safe, Sound & Green will save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and--most importantly--save lives.

The general election in November 2008 is virtually guaranteed to ensure the highest voter turnout in the city's history. As a result, the best possible conversation that engages the maximum number of Portlanders about Safe, Sound & Green will occur over the next nine months. In spite of all the oil industry dollars to be spent, I am confident Portland will prevail.

I want to thank my colleagues for their continued support in addressing the transportation concerns facing our city. And I want to thank all of you.

Links to learn more:

• Safe, Sound & Green (Project maps, finances, history)
• Safe, Sound & Green Streets Stakeholder List
• Street fee will pay off in safety, The Portland Tribune
• Moving beyond a gas tax, The Oregonian
• We can pay now or pay later, The Portland Business Journal
• Recent news articles about Safe, Sound & Green

OREGONIAN EDITORIAL - Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Seven years ago, then-City Commissioner Charlie Hales tried to add a novel road-repair fee to Portland utility bills. In the rear-view mirror, it's beginning to look like a smart maneuver. At the time, it felt like a swerve, both fast and slick.

City wide problem, city wide solutionThe asset value of Portland's transportation system is approximately $7.1 billion. The city owns an operates 3,949 lane miles of roads, 157 bridges, 992 traffic signals, eight million square yards of sidewalks, 37,352 improved corners and over 53,000 street lights.

Our system needs investment. Our system is only effective if we can safely and efficiently move people and freight through our system. 380 people died and 2,662 serious injuries have occurred because many of our many fixable safety challenges that can not be addressed due to lack of funding for maintenance and safety.

Portland, like most Oregon cites, relies on the state gas tax as its primary source of funding to maintain and operate our local streets and bridges. The gas tax has steadily eroded as a funding source and has not been increased since 1993. As a result, many of our assets have fallen into disrepair and important services have been cut. Over the last seven years Portland Office of Transportation has had to make cuts in service totaling $42.4 million. These cuts have resulted in reductions in services, unaddressed safety needs and a growing percentage of the City's transportation infrastructure that is in poor and very poor condition.

In response to the testimony we heard on Wednesday, January 9 regarding the "Safe, Sound and Green" transportation funding proposal, I propose two substantive changes and a procedural option for council and the community to consider.

Add a "Claw Back" Provision

January 10, 2008

By WILLIAM YARDLEY

Sam, who came into office in 2005, adopted many projects from predecessors, but most of them were straightforward, and only a few were contentious.  The Burnside-Couch Couplet Plan was not straightforward, but it certainly was contentious.