The Coalition for a Livable Future is a Portland-based non-profit that works with over 90 separate organizations to “promote healthy and sustainable communities”.
In the recent issue of their Connections Journal newsletter, CLF Policy Director Mara Gross pens a cautionary article about the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions inherent in the current plans for a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River.
In The Columbia River Crossing’s Carbon Tire-Print (download PDF), Gross writes that the $4.2 billion (estimated) project is an,
“unprecedented opportunity to plan a transportation project in a way that minimizes its global warming impact.”
Gross writes that “it’s unclear why we need a 10 to 12-lane bridge [one of the options on the table],” and cites numerous studies that demonstrate adding road capacity does not help relieve congestion. From the article:
“When road capacity is increased, congestion is temporarily reduced, but new demand quickly increases the congestion again because people make trips they previously would not have made.”
According to Gross, if Oregon and Washington hope to live up to climate change goals adopted by the Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming, this project should go through more analysis. She cites an Oregon Department of Energy study that estimated that 38% of Oregon’s CO₂emissions (the primary cause of greenhouse gases) come from vehicle exhaust and writes,
“…we haven’t seen any meaningful analysis of future land use patterns we might expect to see in Clark County if we build a big bridge. The CRC staff should study how adding lanes may lead to new low-density development on the urban fringe and increased emissions…a bridge that encourages more cars and increased vehicle miles will erase gains from increased fuel efficiency and make it much harder to reach our global warming goals.”
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski seems to be in line with the CLF’s concern about the project. In a recent story in the Columbian newspaper he said,
“Any time today that you’re talking about a transportation project, particularly in a large metropolitan area…you’d better look at the issues around global warming and around sustainability. You have to look at urban transportation differently than in other places.”
The CRC Task Force met in Vancouver last tonight where they discussed a draft of their Locally Preferred Alternative, presented environmental findings, and discussed the Draft Environment Impact Statement (DEIS), which will be released for public comment in February and March.