Poster on display at the recent CRC public hearing in Portland.Click to enlarge(Photo © J. Maus)

The Columbia River Crossing project is set for some major decision points in the next few weeks.
Metro, the Portland Planning Commission, and the Portland City Council will make their decisions on what should be the Locally Preferred Alternative […]

Denied.Download letter (945k, PDF)

A request by a coalition of 13 advocacy groups that sought an extension to the comment period on the Draft Environment Impact Statement of the Columbia River Crossing project has been denied.
In a letter (download PDF here) from the U.S. Department of Transportation, to Tom Buechele of the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Group […]

OPB’s Think Out Loud show is discussing the Columbia River Crossing project this morning (9-10am).
They’ll have guest experts from all perspectives on the controversial project and they’ll also take questions from callers and commenters on their website.
You can listen live, wait for the re-broadcast tonight at 9:00pm, or check the show website for an MP3 […]

Greg Raisman wants to make the bike corrals on SE Belmont a bit more pleasing to the eye.(Photos © J. Maus)

By the end of this summer, sculpted sunflowers will adorn the on-street bike parking (PDOT calls them “bike corrals”) on Belmont Street.
The project is community-wide effort being spearheaded by Greg Raisman, a Sunnyside neighborhood resident […]

(All photos © J. Maus)

The Columbia River Crossing project — A $4.2 billion plan to improve safety and relieve congestion on I-5 between Portland and Vancouver — continues to hit speed bumps.
On Friday, a coalition of 13 groups issued a press release calling for a 60-day extension to the official comment period currently […]

Below is the official press release…

Thirteen Organizations Request More Time to Comment on Columbia River Crossing
(Portland, OR) On May 21, 2008, thirteen organizations requested 60 additional days to comment on the plan to replace and expand the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River.
The organizations made the request because the public needs more time […]

Current bike access on I-84 over the Sandy River is not so great.(Photo © J. Maus)

A special unit within the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) — formed to manage their $3 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA) State Bridge Delivery Program — is moving forward on a project to replace the I-84 highway bridges over […]

The City of Portland is moving forward with their plans to build a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-5 that will connect the Lair Hill neighborhood with the South Waterfront district near the Aerial Tram.

One of the concepts drawn up for the new Gibbs Street bike/ped bridge.

Project manager Jody Yates says a new survey […]

“Moreso than any other project I can think of, this project has had the most divergent set of opinions within the BTA in a long time… We are still having a hard time stating our positions.”– BTA executive director Scott Bricker

After a year of working in good faith with the staff of the Columbia River […]

Ted Gilbert and Linda Robinson — shown here at Gilbert’s office in downtown Portland yesterday — share the newly completed Gateway Green Vision Plan.(Photos © J. Maus)

About seven miles east of downtown Portland, lies 35 acres of unused land between two interstate freeways.
Today, it’s just another anonymous, ODOT-owned parcel, but that’s about to […]

Does infrastructure — like this bike lane — influence people’s bicycling behavior?(Photo © J. Maus)

How does the the built environment influence bicycling behavior? What routes do cyclists take? Will cyclists go out of their way to use bike lanes and other bike-specific infrastructure?
Those are the questions Portland State University professor Jennifer Dill has […]

Download the letter (490k, PDF)

On Tuesday, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) pledged their full support for PDOT’s efforts to improve bike safety by installing bike boxes at intersections.
Their support came in the form of a letter written to Scott Wainwright, a top highway engineer for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), who also sits on […]

Mirrors like this are being used in Amsterdam to reduce right-hook collisions.(Photos: Todd Boulanger)

Here’s an interesting idea that was spotted by City of Vancouver transportation planner Todd Boulanger on a recent trip to Amsterdam.
Boulanger visited the Netherlands in April to attend the Intertraffic Conference and he ran across what he calls a “new application of […]

The CLF wants you to think about a Climate Smart CRC.

There’s a lot going on with the Columbia River Crossing project.
The much-anticipated Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been released and we are now in a 60-day public comment period (that ends July 1st).
Comments on the DEIS will help regional decision makers choose which […]

This just in from PDOT…
What: CLINTON STREET BICYCLE BOULEVARD ENHANCEMENT PROJECT OPEN HOUSE
When: Wednesday, May 14th 2008
Time: 4:30 - 7:30pm - drop by anytime
Where: St Philip Neri Parish Church - Carvlin Hall
[…]

Green bike lanes, like this one on SE 7th in Portland, are also being installed in Seattle.(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland isn’t the only city in the region to go green for bikes. The Seattle Department of Transportation installed that city’s first green bike lanes earlier this week.
According to a press release from SDOT, green […]

Commissioner Adams during an interview in October 2007.(Photo © J. Maus)

In a letter sent out this morning to subscribers of his email newsletter, City Commissioner Sam Adams summed up PDOT’s budget woes and made some final statements on the defunct Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan (I think the statement will also be published as […]