Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Metro President David Bragdon have been joined by two leaders from Vancouver in their disdain for the current state of the Columbia River Crossing project.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt
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Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart
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In addition to Adams and Bragdon, a joint letter released today (download PDF) calling for stronger local control of the project was signed by Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart and recently elected Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt.
In the letter, the four electeds “warned” the governors of Oregon and Washington that the CRC project “as currently proposed imposes unacceptable impacts on our communities.” In addition to those impacts, the letter made it clear that the concerned quartet want more local control of key decisions about the project.
Says Mayor Adams via an official statement about the letter:
“I want to see this project move forward, but in its current form, it does not have the support it needs. We are asking for a states-local partnership to take a hard look at the options on the table and come up with something our region can support.”
The letter voices support for the idea of an improved I-5 bridge over the Columbia and offered three suggestions to “get the stalled project back on track.” Those “specific actions” include; creating a finance plan that is “fair” and doesn’t drain regional transportation funding coffers, completion of performance targets to guide design and operation of the project, and an analysis of “critical project assumptions around traffic and economic consequences.”
A lack of public support for the CRC was on clear display at its last major public meeting. At a Project Sponsor’s Council meeting in early December, people turned out in droves to voice criticisms and concerns about the project’s direction.
The Project Sponsor’s Council is set to meet again this Friday in Vancouver. The main item on the agenda will be a discussion of “performance goals and objectives focused on long-term management of the transportation corridor.” The grassroots activist group, Stop the CRC is already making plans to be there.
Browse all our coverage of the CRC here. Download a PDF of the letter here.