2006 Year-in-Review

We do the Year-in-Review not only to hold ourselves accountable to you but to provide you a glimpse of our plans for the year ahead.

As you know by now, it's not my style to duck an issue just because solutions aren't obvious or because the solutions are obvious but there's no clear sense of how to achieve them.

In my area of City Council responsibility, I see four trends that give me great concern; 2007 is an opportunity to make real headway in solving them.

At Sam's urging, the Mayor and City Council directed PDC in December of 2005 to negotiate a new funding package with South Waterfront property owners that included a significant increase in affordable housing. As a result, in April City Council approved $18 million in new dollars for affordable housing in South Waterfront, bringing the total allocation to $25.7 million, which will fund 3-5 projects and funds completion of the first 200-unit project by 2009.

Sam knew this was a controversial idea. Putting parking meters in a Neighborhood Business District in order to generate revenues to reinvest back into the District was the topic of  the book "The High Cost of Free Parking" by UCLA Professor Donald Shoup.

Sam first heard this idea at the 2005 Railvolution Conference. Sam realized that this could be an opportunity to improve our City's parking management. Demand for on-street parking to access neighborhood businesses exceeds supply. That means we need to be vigilant about ensuring effective parking turnover. The proposed addition of parking meters, which are proven to increase turnover, would make parking more efficient.

By David Zagel - David Zagel and Sam grew up together in Newport, Oregon; David now lives and works in Portland.

David: I saw in a couple of newspapers say that you are running for Mayor...

Sam: You could just as easily ask me if I am running for re-election and I'd say the same thing: I'll decide what to do with my future at the end of 2007. In the meantime, I am focused on the work in front of me. I work with a great staff and bureau teams; I have a wonderful job in a city I love.

Welcome to our 2006 Year-in-Review. First, whew! Yes, I'm so glad the tram is running. But as you will read we did much more than build the tram. Thank you for interest in reviewing my team's work. We're proud to serve you.

You may be wondering, "uh, Sam, year-in-review? It's February... don't these things usually get released in January?"

Usually.

Through his oversight of PDOT and BES, Sam is committed to increasing opportunities for firms owned by minorities and women and emerging small businesses (M/W/ESB).

Sam also is committed to ensuring that contract work performed for the city is done in a cost effective and responsible manner, that the money is spent locally when possible, and that the City support minority and woman owned businesses

You may be wondering, "uh, Sam, year-in-review? It's February... don't these things usually get released in January?"

One of the most troubled projects Sam inherited as the new Transportation Commissioner was the OHSU-South Waterfront Tram.

Significantly over budget already, cost overruns followed cost overruns. It was clear that those overseeing the project were not in control of it.

He relieved the original project managers of their duties and placed a new manager at the helm. To get a clearer picture of the true state of the project, he brought in independent auditors. They found that the tram's pricetag was going to rise.

Following through on a project that was set forth by former Transportation Comissioner Jim Francisconi, the Freight Master Plan was completed in 2006. City Council unanimously adopted the plan in May 2006.

Through freight policies, operational strategies, and system improvements, the Freight Master Plan will provide a road map for how Portland manages freight and delivery movement today and into the future.

Portland Streetcar Extended

The Portland Streetcar made its debut on July 20, 2001, making Portland the first city in North America to build a modern streetcar system with modern vehicles.

This year, we got to celebrate Portland Streetcar's extension into the South Waterfront district, where there will be two new stops -on Gibbs St. by the tram station and further into SoWa on Lowell St.

 I-5 Traffic on the Bridge Has Grown, and Grown, and Grown..The I-5 bridge between Portland and Vancouver is a mess. And Sam is working to fix it.

Sam is a member of the Columbia River Crossing Taskforce, which is charged with improving the current I-5 crossing. It has been a long process, but the group has narrowed down the potential projects to two - dismantling the current I-5 bridge and building a new I-5 bridge with more automobile capacity, pedestrian and bicycle accomodations, and some form of transit.

"Whether or not you ever ride a bike, each Portlander should support our efforts to get more people  on bikes," said Sam.  "It cuts down on car congestion, it reduces pollution, and it makes bike riders healthy."

<> Bicycling Magazine, after 10 years of naming Portland the best bicycling city in the USA, finally came up with a new category in 2006 just for Portland - Best Overall City for Bicycling - to give others a chance at number one in their own population categories. Why? It is our innovative programs, from designated bike-only areas at traffic signals, hundreds of miles of safe and convenient bikeways, Pedalpalooza (a month long bicycle festival), to free bike lights given out by Portland's Traffic Police Division, that make riding in Portland practical even for new cyclists. The Eastbank Esplanade and Springwater Corridor got a shout out getting cyclists from the heart of downtown to farm country by bicycle. Providence Bridge Pedal - where two-wheeler take over 10 city bridges and close down part of the interstate freeway system is second in size only to New York City. It comes down to momentum: pedal around Portland and your can see it for yourself.

Bridge Counts are way up!Portland's bikeway network - bike lanes, low-traffic bike boulevards, and off-street paths - grew 232% since 1991. During that same period, the number of bicycle riders daily crossing the four main bicycle bridges in Portland increased 322%. This increase was especially noticeable on the Broadway, Hawthorne, and Steel Bridges, where combined daily ridership went from 2,115 in 1991 to 10,786 in 2006. Until 2004, increases in riders mirrored infrastructure investments in bikeways. The Burnside Bridge is the only bicycle bridge without an increase in ridership - and it is the only bridge that has had minimal infrastructure improvements for cyclists. Since 2005, Portland Transportation and the energized bicycling community have focused on encouragement and educational efforts such as new bikeway signage, Safe Routes to School programs, and the SmartTrips individualized marketing approach reducing car trips and increasing bicycling. This has led to skyrocketing increases in ridership - 15% and 18% increases in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

SmartTrips Northeast Hub

Modeled on successful TravelSmart Projects in Multnomah/Hillsdale, Interstate and Eastside Hub, Transportation Options SmartTrips Northeast Hub was a coordinated individualized marketing and outreach strategy designed to inform and show residents and employees how to get around by walking, cycling, taking transit and carpooling and increase their physical activity. From March through November 2006, fifteen programs were implemented to decrease drive alone and increase environmentally-friendly trips. Programs included newsletters and order forms to 24,000 households offering free information and activities about all transportation options. Additionally guided walks (Ten Toe Express Walks and Senior Strolls), bicycle rides (Summer Cycle and Women on Bikes Rides), and clinics (Smart Living and Women on Bikes Clinics) were offered.

.I-5 traffic is a drag, especially at Delta-Lombard, a major traffic bottleneck that leads to severe congestion, safety and operational problems. The problems on this segment of I-5 also seriously affect regional accessibility and commerce. The need for this project was identified as one of several highway, transit and freight projects recommended by the I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership, an effort of community leaders and citizens from both states.

Author: Mike Rosen

Non-native, invasive weeds are spreading through Portland's natural areas, displacing native plants and destroying wildlife habitat. In November 2005, City Commissioner Sam Adams convened a town hall meeting to begin developing a strategy to stop the spread of invasive plants.

As a result of the town hall meeting, City Council adopted the Invasive Plant Species Resolution. The Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Watershed Division has the primary responsibility for coordinating and implementing the effort. The Watershed Division is identifying projects and resources to accomplish these objectives of the Invasive Species Resolution: