A living example of an under-deck bike path in Roseburg, Oregon, at dusk. (Photo by Stephanie Noll)

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The Oregonian Editorial Board published an editorial piece today that calls the funding of a bicycle and pedestrian facility on the new I-5 bridge into question.

In the editorial, The Oregonian states their skepticism about projections of how many people will cross the bridge by bike and foot, saying the numbers being produced by project staff "deserve very close scrutiny because of another figure looming over the project: $100 million."

(Just for perspective, $100 million is about 2% of the total cost of the project, which is estimated at upwards of $4.2 billion.)

The Oregonian points out that as CRC staffers look for places to cut spending, the bike/ped facility should not be spared the axe. They write: (more...)

Grassroots activists at Sunday Parkways explained
why they want to stop a
12-lane I-5 bridge.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project watchers are buzzing after a front page story in The Oregonian yesterday detailed its planning costs.

According to reporter Dylan Rivera, the planning effort for the new I-5 bridge has cost taxpayers $65 million. Here's more from his opening paragraph:

"A new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River has so far cost taxpayers $65 million, without a spade of dirt turned. By this time next year, the tab will hit $100 million -- burning though cash at a rate of more than $1 million a month.

The result: mainly an environmental impact statement and thousands of pages of reports."

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Detail of ride flyer.

Cascadia Rising Tide -- a grassroots network of activists that, "take direct action to confront the roots causes of climate change and promote local, community-based solutions to the climate crisis" -- will lead a ride next week exploring areas of North Portland that will be impacted by the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project.

Calling the CRC "our region's biggest threat to bicycles and the people that love them," Rising Tide has decided to do the ride during Shift's Pedalpalooza event (which kicks off Thursday). (more...)

Brother, can you spare $4 billion?
(Photos © J. Maus)

If you had $4 billion to spend on transportation, what would you do?

Come join our very own Jonathan Maus at tomorrow night (Thursday, May 7) at 7:00pm at Roots Organic Brewery at 1520 SE 7th Ave for a game show-style debate over what kinds of projects we could fund with the Columbia River Crossing’s projected $4 billion price tag. The event, called Brewhaha: Let’s Make a Deal, will bring together representatives of various non-automobile transportation modes to debate how such a sum of money could be spent. (more...)

Front page of The Columbian newspaper today.

U.S. Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) is featured in a front page story in today's edition of The Columbian newspaper expressing his concerns about the "fiscal reality" of the new I-5 bridge (the story is only available in their print edition).

Echoing a sentiment shared by economist Joe Cortright at Sunday's rally in opposition to a 12-lane Columbia River Crossing (where Cortright compared the CRC staff's accounting to Bernie Madoff), Baird told The Columbian that "he has longstanding concerns about how to pay for a project expected to cost $3.5 billion" and that he has "received few answers". (more...)

If you missed Sunday's CRC rally in Waterfront Park, Dan Kaufman from CrankMyChain! CycleTV has put together a video with 7+ minutes of footage (watch it below). (more...)

View of the crowd from atop
the Morrison Bridge.
-Slideshow below-
(Photos © J. Maus)

A large and energetic crowd showed up for the CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally held in Waterfront Park today.

They were energized by a long list of speakers ranging from Portland City Councilor Amanda Fritz to Republican Washington State Senator Don Benton. The main message to the crowd was this: It's not too late to change the course of the Columbia River Crossing project and it will be up to citizens to make it happen. (more...)

Organizers of the CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally have just released their third spoof "Bridge Shopping Network" video. But something has gone awry -- hosts Joe and Kristen's sales pitch is interrupted by anti-CRC hackers!

From the release notes: (more...)

Current routes to the rally

Planning to attend Sunday's Build Less Bridge CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally?

A new online map can help you meet up with other folks riding from your part of town, or organize a feeder ride of your own.

The event is on Sunday, April 5th at noon in Waterfront Park under the west side of the Morrison Bridge.

Routes on the map so far leave from places like Vancouver, St. John's, Cully, Northwest, Mount Tabor, and the Woodstock neighborhood. Each route stops at one or more parks along the way to pick up more riders and join forces with other rides. (more...)

An anti-12 lane CRC sign
(Photo © J. Maus)

An editorial in this morning's Oregonian criticizes Bicycle Transportation Alliance leaders for their recently stated opposition of the plan to build a new, 12-lane highway bridge over the Columbia River, and for encouraging their members to attend a rally in opposition to the plan.

Claiming that the BTA seeks "to destroy the bridge," the editorial board advises the organization to "broaden its reach" instead of compromising the "fragile coalition" of interests working on the project.

And, oh by the way, it's a terrible move for cyclists, too. The governors of Oregon and Washington have promised that the new I-5 bridge will be the most environmentally friendly bridge ever built, providing vastly improved access for cyclists and walkers, in addition to light rail and tolling to control congestion.

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The grassroots group that is forming to oppose plans for a new 12-lane Columbia River Crossing (CRC) bridge project on I-5 has released the second in their series of mock sales pitches.

In the first episode, host (and local author) Joe Kurmaskie tackles the bridge's cost ("...only one million easy payments of $4,000 each!") and its potential impact on transportation spending and priorities in coming decades.

The second episode, titled "Bridge Cures Cancer," focuses on the public health costs of highway projects.

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Below is the full text of the BTA's press release in opposition to the CRC project:

BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION ALLIANCE FORMALIZES OPPOSITION TO COLUMBIA RIVER CROSSING

Monday, March 22, 2009 – The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) announced today our opposition to the massive freeway expansion, known as the Columbia River Crossing, that is being planned between Portland and Vancouver.

Widening the freeway to move more cars will generate more traffic in Portland and in Clark County, will speed up climate change by releasing more greenhouse gases, and will spew pollutants into the air around N Portland and Vancouver neighborhoods. (more...)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) issued a statement today in opposition to the Columbia River Crossing project. The statement is by far the BTA's most strongly-worded criticism yet in the 18 months they've been tracking the project.

After Mayor Sam Adams and Portland City Council (and soon thereafter the Project Sponsor's Council) voted in support of building the new I-5 bridge to a size that could accomodate up to 12 lanes, many BTA members and others in the community felt like the project had taken a major turn for the worse. (more...)

As promised, a "grassroots coalition of Portlanders and Vancouverites" has launched their first of several satirical videos mocking the current plans for a 12-lane I-5 bridge. This is the same group that has put together an impressive list of speakers and plans for an April 5th rally they are now calling the CRC Opposition and Alternatives Rally.

The video (embedded below) was released this morning along with a press release with more details about the upcoming rally in Waterfront Park.

Here's the "Have we got a bridge to sell you!" video (YouTube link): (more...)

Here's the latest from the grassroots group who are mounting a campaign against the 12-lane CRC bridge plans:

Bill Bradbury To Speak At CRC Opposition And Alternatives Rally

Citizen's Coalition Schedules Rally for Noon, Sunday, April 5th Waterfront Park, Releases Satirical Video

A grassroots coalition of Portlanders and Vancouverites opposed to the current scope and direction of the Columbia River Crossing project will host an Opposition and Alternatives Rally at Waterfront Park. The event is schedued for noon, Sunday, April 5th, on the lawn of Portland's Waterfront Park - just north of the Hawthorne bridge. Rally organizers call this the opening salvo in a sustained campaign to block funding for the project in its current form, and to offer alternatives that match the desires of a community to be fiscally responsible, address environmental challenges and tackle livability issues effecting the region. (more...)

This is a screen shot of an upcoming video that will be released by a coalition of citizens who oppose the current direction of the CRC project.

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As expected, the Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council made their recommendation today that the new I-5 bridge be built with 12 total lanes.

Here's more from the Portland Business Journal:

"The Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council...wants six lanes in each direction for the replacement bridge, which would also offer bicycle and pedestrian lanes and a light rail line. Another advisory council formed by the group will explore tolling options for the bridge, expected to cost in excess of $4 billion."

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Mayor Adams (L) and Vancouver
Mayor Royce Pollard before a
CRC meeting in February 2007.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On Friday, the Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council will meet to solidify the lane configuration of the new I-5 bridge. According to a press release sent out by the CRC project, the meeting will result in "a recommendation on the number of add/drop (auxiliary) lanes on Interstate 5 in the CRC project area."

There has been a lot of public and media attention given to the CRC lane decision after Mayor Adams and Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard put forth a compromise lane proposal last week.

That proposal was supported 4-1 by the Portland City Council, giving Mayor Adams the authorization to vote "yes" on a bridge that could accomodate up to 12 lanes (although there's no specific mention of 12 lanes in the CRC press release). (more...)

Joe Kurmaskie, seen here at the
"We are All Traffic" rally held in
November 2007 after two
bike fatalities.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Mayor Sam Adams' support of a proposal that would authorize the construction of a new I-5 bridge that could "be built to accomodate up to 12 lanes" has sparked a new level of opposition to the current direction of the Columbia River Crossing project.

Adams' decision to compromise with Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard on this issue has provided a spark for citizen activists to organize and rally in opposition to the project.

A loose coalition of activists has come together and is planning a rally at 12:00 noon on April 5th in Waterfront Park (which is, fittingly, the site where the Harbor Drive Freeway was once located before it was removed, thus sparking Portland's green transportation planning legacy). (more...)