Adams has dedicated $500,000
for bikes in his budget.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In his forthcoming budget proposal (due out tomorrow), Mayor Sam Adams will include a dedicated funding source devoted to bicycle programs and projects that he calls the "Bicycle Infrastructure Improvement Fund".

In a phone call this afternoon, Mayor Adams told me the money will come from a portion of utility license fees. Last year Adams requested, and City Council approved, that a portion of those fees go toward the Bureau of Transportation (since PBOT is responsible for maintaining the right-of-way utility companies use to work on their wires, pipes, etc...). (more...)

Will he deliver a Platinum budget?
(Photos © J. Maus)

Right now in City Hall, Mayor Adams and his staff are getting set to release their transportation budget.

When the Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) released their budget back in February, it was embarrassingly bad for bikes. There was no dedicated revenue for bike projects, one-time funding for the Transportation Options Division (which funds Safe Routes to Schools among other things) was reduced 40%, and there was no guarantee to fund new bike boulevards (eventually, PBOT Director Sue Keil found $178,000 for the boulevards).
(more...)

How can the city say no to
a face like this?
-Slideshow below-
(Photos © J. Maus)

Last Friday, about 100 people -- most of them families with kids in tow -- rode to City Hall as part of a special edition of the BTA's monthly Kidical Mass ride. The goal was to raise awareness about the city's budget that currently threatens to lop off about 40% of funding for Safe Routes to Schools programs and is non-committal in terms of funding for promised new bike boulevards.

Riders met up at three locations throughout the city before coming together for a rally and hot cocoa on the steps of City Hall.

At the rally, people held signs that said, "Safe Routes to School is Kids on Bikes", "Funding Safe Routes = Healthy Families", and "Portland Needs Safe Routes!". The BTA's Michelle Poyourow took to the mic and urged the crowd to keep tabs on upcoming opportunities to weigh in on the the budget (the Mayor releases his version on April 28th) and to contact City Commissioners and urge them to fund bike projects and programs. (more...)

A politician's worst nightmare.
Kidical Mass storming City Hall.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) plans to use their monthly "Kidical Mass" ride as way to send a clear message to City Council about their upcoming budget: Find more money for the city's Safer Routes to Schools program.

Hoping it is seen as, "a show of force for the Portland City Council," the BTA wants to bring attention to a 40% reduction in the Safe Routes program that's currently being proposed by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation. The 40% dip is the result of PBOT holding back "one-time" funds (given out from surpluses in the city's General Fund) it has enjoyed over the past two years. (more...)

In a statement just published on his website, Mayor Sam Adams has responded to concerns from Portlanders about the Bureau of Transportation's requested budget for 2009-2010. As we've reported, PBOT's budget puts a high priority on arterial paving and is slim on bike project funding. It also includes a budget revision that would scale back funding at the Transportation Options division and the Safe Routes to Schools program would take 40% hit.

Adams has just posted a statement about this on his website. Here's the full text: (more...)

Mayor Adams made his first State of the City address at the City Club in downtown Portland today.

According to a report just published by the Portland Tribune, he apologized for the distraction of the Beau Breedlove situation and he outlined his efforts to make Portland a sustainability leader. The Trib writes that Adams was "warmly received" and that he received a partial standing ovation and hearty applause from the crowd (more coverage of the event here).

The Portland Mercury reports that he was questioned after his speech about a 40% drop in Safe Routes to Schools funding in the Bureau of Transportation's requested budget. Here's how it went: (more...)

PBOT Director Sue Keil at a
press conference in May 2008.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Back in January, just days before the Willamette Week broke news of Mayor Sam Adams' relationship with Beau Breedlove, the incoming Mayor unveiled an ambitious plan of projects he promised to complete in his first 100 days on the job.

Among those promises were several biggies for bikes; a "high profile" cycle track and 15 miles of bicycle boulevards to be "identified and implemented" in 2009 (there were other bike-related promises, but those were the big ones).
(more...)

A sharrow in action on
NW 9th in Portland.
(Photos © J. Maus)

The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet are discussing the idea of installing shared lane markings (a.k.a. sharrows) on the entire length of the new downtown transit mall.

Sharrows are a type of pavement marking that are placed on streets with relatively heavy and/or high motor vehicle speeds, where there is not sufficient space to put a bike lane, and where bikes and cars share the same travel lane (for more on sharrows, see this fact sheet published by PBOT).
(more...)

One of the worst storms in Portland
history is yet another strain on
the City budget.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Already on a downward slope due to a dwindling gas tax and lower parking revenues, and facing millions in necessary cutbacks, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is now feeling the hurt due to the severe storm that refuses to relinquish its grip.

In their daily storm conditions and report update published this morning, PBOT wrote that their annual budget includes one million dollars in "contingency for any type of emergency response". The statement goes on to say, (more...)

[Note: You'll notice I've begun using the acronym PBOT instead of PDOT. That's because the Portland Department of Transportation (which actually is the Office of Transportation but no one ever called it POOT) will soon officially become the "Bureau" of Transportation.]

Citing an expected shortfall of $6.4 million for the coming financial year, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), through their Budget Advisory Committee, has launched an online Budget Prioritization Survey. The budget shrinkage, they say, is due to a "sagging gas tax and lower parking revenue". (more...)