A survey created by Metro and sent to their nearly 10,000 member Opt In Panel last month has drawn the ire of non-profits, local business owners, and citizen advocates — 26 of whom have signed onto a letter outlining their concerns that was sent to Metro President Tom Hughes and members of the Metro Council today.

When the survey was released at the end of December, we shared the negative reactions it received from many in the local transportation advocacy world. Many who took the survey, myself included, cringed at the content and framing of several of the questions.
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Annual trail use between 2008 and 2011 shows a steady climb (despite all the rain last year!).
(Graphic: BikePortland)

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A Metro survey aimed at the 8,000 members of their Opt In Panel drew swift and critical reaction from active transportation advocates yesterday.

The survey was introduced as "some questions about infrastructure projects and economic growth in the Portland-metropolitan area." Despite its intentions, the questions and phrasing rubbed some Opt In members the wrong way and they went to Twitter to share their reactions.
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Survey says. Give us more!
(© BikePortland)

A Metro 'Opt-In' survey on active transportation shows that a majority of respondents from around the region feel it's important to make greater investments in dedicated bicycle infrastructure. The survey, which was answered by 3,865 members of the Opt-In feedback panel, was to help inform in Metro's first ever Active Transportation Plan they'll begin to develop next year. (more...)

JPACT came together this morning to green light $16.8 million in federal grants for active transportation projects.
(Photo © J. Maus)

A Metro committee unanimously approved a $70.7 million package of federal "regional flexible funding" at a meeting of their Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) this morning. 14 projects (totaling $22.9 million) — including $2.0 million for the Portland Bike Sharing Project — were included in the passed resolution.

But prior to the vote, there was a heated exchange between Mayor Sam Adams and Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury. It came after two citizens gave testimony to the committee about concerns that equity considerations and public input around the bike sharing project has been inadequate. Kafoury supported the concerns and tried to delay a vote on the project, while Adams spoke up in its defense. (more...)

Blumenauer: Come together. Right now.
(Photo © J. Maus)

United States Congressman Earl Blumenauer spoke during a rare appearance at an influential Metro committee last week, doling out some tough love over the groups' inability to come together around a regional vision for transportation investments. It was a rare showing of straight talk that speaks to a larger issue facing metro Portland's elected officials and transportation leaders:

To achieve a new vision of transportation it will take big and bold projects that the entire region supports... But what projects fit that bill? And are regional leaders capable of agreeing to a single priority over pet projects in their own backyards?

Metro's 17-member Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) is staffed by bigwigs like Portland Mayor Sam Adams, TriMet GM Neil McFarlane, and many other agency directors, Metro staffers, mayors, and commissioners from around the region. The group recently submitted five projects to the U.S. Department of Transportation's TIGER III grant program.
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Bike? Walk? Bus? Metro wants to know
more about how you get around.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Metro has launched a survey to learn more about how Portlanders get around without a car.

The survey is part of a multi-year effort to create a Regional Active Transportation Plan (ATP), a first for Metro. The survey went out to the nearly 6,500 people who have signed up for Metro's Opt In Panel.

The manager of Metro's active transportation efforts, Lake McTighe, says the survey is the first step in "gaining some background that will help inform the planning process." McTighe acknowledges the limitations of the Opt In panel (whose members are mostly white and from Multnomah County) and says the data will be just one source among many.
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Cross-section of proposed project
that would link the Springwater
to the Trolley Trail in Milwaukie.

While much of the media attention for the current round of Metro's regional flexible funding allocation revolved around the Portland bike sharing project, there are a host of other (extremely important) projects and programs that have been selected.

Metro is accepting public comments on all the projects until 5:00 pm on October 13th. Metro wants to know, not simply whether or not you support a project, but how you'd like to see it implemented. (more...)

Metro plan will identify major
bikeways and the money to
build them.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Metro has earned state grant to develop a "Regional Active Transportation Plan." According to project manager Lake McTighe, the plan will guide the development of our regional walking and biking network and, "Identify priorities and a funding strategy to get those priority projects and corridors built."

The grant comes from the Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Transportation Growth Management program. Metro requested $280,000 and will combine that amount with $56,000 in Metro matching funds.

Here's more from the grant application (PDF here):

"The project will further refine the Regional Bike Parkway concept, adopted in the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan (adopted June 2010)... (more...)

Hillsboro Mayor
Jerry Willey.

Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey is concerned that some measures being considered by our region to reach Oregon's climate change goals are too expensive and that it's time to ask "the bicycle community" to pony up to pay for some of them.

Willey's comments came during the Metro Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) meeting on Wednesday where representatives from around the Portland region discussed Oregon's climate change policies, which call for a reduction in GHG emission levels to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and a 75% reduction by 2050.
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The bike/car collision this morning on NE Marine Drive happened in a location where Metro owns an easement for a future trail that would place the bikeway off the main road.

In a rare blend of advocacy and communications, Metro has posted a story on their website about the crash, saying that the collision, "highlights the importance of Metro's work to close trail gaps" (but unfortunately calls it an "accident"). (more...)

Now just an on-street bike lane, the Staples
donation will make it easier for Metro to
complete the pathway.

Metro announced today that office supply company Staples Inc. has donated the easement rights for future development of the Marine Drive trail.

Staples owns a distribution center that backs up against Marine Drive just east of the Portland-Gresham border (east of NE 185th, see map below). Marine Drive is a popular bicycling route and is part of the 40 Mile Loop. However, while much of Marine Drive is a multi-use path separated from high-speed motor vehicle traffic, there are still portions with on-street bike lanes where Metro would like to fill the gaps in non-motorized corridor. (more...)

In case you haven't heard, Metro has launched a new way to gauge public opinion. It's called Opt In and they liken it to an "online opinion panel." Once enough people have signed up, they'll use the citizen panel to gauge feedback on important issues facing the region: things like how to set transportation investment priorities.

Since its launch in January, about 2,000 people have signed up. Metro is making a big push to reach 10,000 by the end of this year because that's the number they need for the responses to be statistically significant.
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Saving money.
(Photo © J. Maus)

A new report* estimates that our regional trail network saves us about $115 million per year in averted health care costs. The report (PDF) was done for Metro and focused on their interconnected system of trails, parks and greenways known as the Intertwine. The Intertwine (background story) consists of 1,250 miles of designated biking and walking trails, 12,000 acres of developed parks and 24,000 acres of maintained natural area and is visited by an estimated 8.3 million people each year.

In Physical Activity and the Intertwine: A Public Health Method of Reducing Obesity and Healthcare Costs, naturopathic doctor and public health expert Kurt Beil looked at the Intertwine as a public health asset. He analyzed the estimated amount of physical activity that occurs on the Intertwine and did some calculations to come up with health cost savings. Here's an excerpt from his report: (more...)

Bob Stacey during an
interview last fall.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Bob Stacey, the former director of land-use non-profit 1000 Friends of Oregon and candidate for Metro President, has withdrawn his application for a vacant spot on Metro council.

Stacey — who has become a favorite of many bike advocates in Portland for his positions on transportation issues — says he made the decision because it is clear to him that he wouldn't win a majority of Metro Council votes and that former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts looks to be a shoe-in. Not wanting to "waste the time" of his supporters, Stacey says he'll bow out of this race to focus all efforts on the May 2012 Metro election. (more...)

Bob Stacey has his work cut out for him
in bid for vacant Metro Council spot.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Metro has received eight applications for the vacant Council spot left open by the resignation of Robert Liberty last month. As our regional government that plays a fundamental role in transportation investments and land-use policy, the process for deciding who gets the spot is worth our attention.

Here are the eight applicants (taken from Metro press release): (more...)

Biking in downtown Hillsboro.
(Photo © J. Maus

Metro has been awarded a $75,000 grant from health care company Kaiser Permanente for a biking and walking map project in Cornelius, Forest Grove and Hillsboro.

The goal of the project, which Metro staffer Katie Edlin says is currently called, "Vámanos! Let’s explore Cornelius, Forest Grove and Hillsboro by bike and foot," is to promote existing biking and walking routes to those communities. The project would also have a specific focus on connecting with Latino families.
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Liberty at a Bike to Work
Day event in the Lloyd District
in May 2009.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Big news at Metro this morning with the announcement that councilor Robert Liberty has resigned.

According to Metro, he is out effective January 15th to become the executive director of the Sustainable Cities Initiative at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Liberty has served District 6 since 2004 and was the council's most outspoken critic of the Columbia River Crossing project.
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There's plenty of room on Barbur
for a transit corridor.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced that Metro has won a $2 million grant to do an analysis of the "Southwest Corridor" project. The corridor would run from downtown Portland south via Barbur Blvd (99W) to Sherwood. This could bring major changes to Barbur Blvd and help tame the motor vehicle traffic on that street that has led to two high profile fatalities this year.

Below is a short blurb on the project: (more...)

Metro announced $533,000 in Regional Travel Options grants today. According to Metro, the federally-funded grants are given to projects that "reduce the number of people driving alone to improve air quality and address community health issues."

Grant winners this cycle include a wide range of projects — from bike parking to "transportation mobility counseling." One award that catches my eye is $53,000 for Sunday Parkways out in Wilsonville.

Check the full list of winners below. (more...)