(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.
1000 Friends is organizing this evening game show style event, hosted by 1000 Friends Executive Director Bob Stacey, in association with theOregon Bus Project, Transportation for America, and the Portland Mercury.
The audience will learn about transportation funding and projects, have some fun, and spend an imaginary $4 billion in “Transpo-bucks” on their choice of bike boulevards, light rail, paving unimproved roads, better signaling, reducing bus fares, paying bus drivers, bike path improvements…you name it!
about highway modernization.
Debaters include Mara Gross of the Coalition for a Livable Future (CLF), who will be talking about highway modernization; Chris Smith of portlandtransport.com will be talking about buses and rapid transit; Rep. Nick Kahl (D-East Portland) will be talking about Oregon’s plans for high speed and intercity rail; and BikePortland’s Maus will be talking about how a much lesser investment could be enough to turn Portland into a truly world class bicycling city.
The debate will end with a Q&A and transit-funding brainstorming session, so bring your ideas. CLF will also be leading a CRC letter-writing session for those interested, tentatively titled, “Bigger is Not Better” or “Yo Leg, 12 Lanes is Wack.”
The CRC is facing some impressively large hurdles at the state and federal level, and debate over the size of the project continues here in Portland despite local officials’ acquiescence to the project.
Meanwhile, advocates for cheaper, smaller alternatives are just getting warmed up. The hilarious “Have we got a bridge to sell you” video campaign and last month’s rally in Waterfront Park are only the start. We’ll update you soon on more direct action being taken by opponents of the CRC over the Memorial Day weekend — there are some large scale, exciting plans in the works.