Some major bike projects have made the final list of projects that are eligible for a new list of Transportation System Development Charges (TSDCs) that will go in front of City Council next week.
for in part by TSDC funds.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus)
SDCs for transportation were first made a city ordinance ten years ago. In a nutshell, they assess one-time fees to new development and redevelopment to help pay for transportation improvements that increase system capacity. The fees are based on the increased number of trips that will be generated by a new development or change in land use.
The ordinance calls for the funds to be used only for “capacity-increasing projects.” Most cities tend to narrowly define that as motor vehicle oriented projects.
Back in 1997, Portland was the first city in the country to make multi-modal (non-car) projects eligible for these funds. Even so, bike advocates and planners have had to lobby the city to make sure a fair amount of bike projects were included.
Since 1997 TSDCs have contributed $44 million and helped fund 70% of the projects that were on the initial project list. TSDC project manager Kathryn Levine says that included over $800,000 that went to the Steel Bridge bike/ped path.
Next Wednesday (9/5), PDOT culminates their “10-Year Update” to that list with a public hearing in City Council Chambers.
They’ll present Council with their proposed list of projects that will be eligible for TSDC funding over the next ten years. Over their year-long study process — with input from stakeholders and a Citizen’s Advisory Committee that included Scott Bricker of the BTA — they whittled down a list of 215 projects to just 43.
Among those 43 projects are several major bike projects including the “Twenties” north/south bike boulevard and a bike/ped only bridge over I-405 at Flanders (see full project list PDF).
The inclusion of these, and several other bike-oriented projects, are a sign that PDOT values bicycles as an integral part of our transportation system.
You can show your support for these projects at next week’s public hearing:
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Public Hearing on Proposed Updates to the TSDC Program
Wednesday, September 5 at 2:00pm
Council Chambers: 1221 SW 4th Ave.
More details on the PDOT website
Learn more about the TSDC program and PDOT’s 10-Year Update.
View the final project list (PDF).