PBOT spent $4.7 million paving Sandy Blvd this summer
— despite what you might have read in The Oregonian
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Remember back in February when The Oregonian splashed their big, “Portland’s Road to Ruin” story on the front page? The story aimed to create the perception among readers that the Bureau of Transportation was spending so much on “bike routes” they had nothing left for paving. Zero. Zilch. Nada. No paving until 2017.
Today, PBOT released a list of paving projects completed this summer that shows, contrary to The Oregonian’s article, the agency has been very busy paving streets. Since February, they’ve poured millions of dollars into over a dozen projects to smooth out roads.
Compare the facts (more details below) with what The Oregonian’s Beth Slovic wrote back in February; “… [PBOT] has shelved plans… to overhaul any other badly deteriorating road in its 5,000-mile system — until at least 2017.” “The bureau has other priorities,” she continued, “such as $900,000 to build 13.5 miles of bike routes.*”
That headline was designed to get people fired up. And it worked. Hundreds of angry comments poured onto OregonLive.com, a few months later The Columbian newspaper parroted the “no paving until 2017” line in an editorial blasting Portland’s priorities, mayoral candidate Charlie Hales trumpeted the article on his website as a reason Portland needs a “roads first, back to basics” focus (thankfully, he later removed reference to the article), and Sheila Hamilton, co-host of popular radio morning Dave & Sheila on KINK-FM, was irate.
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