Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Millicent Williams has made it a habit to attend the monthly meeting of the Portland Freight Advisory Committee. At this morning’s meeting she answered some questions from members of that committee that I feel deserve a bit more attention.
Oregon Trucking Association President and PFAC Chair Jana Jarvis said she thinks if PBOT wants more public support for new taxes and revenue, the agency needs to get better at messaging the vital role infrastructure plays in Portlanders’ lives. “We’ve got to find a narrative that connects the average citizen with what that investment would do,” Jarvis said.
In her answer, Williams offered information about an upcoming reorganization at PBOT, then got into one of my favorite subjects: messaging and how word choice can help PBOT achieve their goals quicker:
“We’re not completely reorganizing, but we are realigning, and we recognize that in so doing we have an opportunity — by what we call each of the groups within our structure — to convey the message of what we do. We need to speak in plain language about what it is.
I first got here, people would say, ‘… active transportation…’ and I was like, ‘What are you talking about? What do you actually mean? Do you mean biking and walking?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah,’ and I was like, ‘Well, can we say that? Because I don’t know what you mean!’ And unless you’re in those spaces or hear that language used often, it’s mystifying and we need to demystify our work and do better at communicating what our goals are.”
One of the next questions came from 50-year trucking industry veteran Bob Short (who, like several others on this committee, have served way longer terms than members of other PBOT modal committees, but I digress):
“I’ve been on this committee for nearly 20 years and there has always been discussion around the idea that that basic maintenance and infrastructure money has been diverted over the years to do other more quote/unquote, “interesting projects,” “social engineering, and that sort of thing. And that maintenance has kind of been a not very high priority with the bureau. I wonder if you would like to comment on that?
Director Williams:
“… much of what we see in terms of project work that’s happening is funded by outside sources. So in as much as there’s the perception that we’re diverting funds to some of that more creative work, we have an opportunity to kind of dispel some of that mythology. Much of the more creative work is funded by outside sources. The basic maintenance dollars that we have are part of that small, $100 million dollars which has to be used to do a whole bunch of stuff… there are some who have described PBOT as almost like a nonprofit in that we do so much grant writing.”
Then Williams expanded on her belief that PBOT needs to get “back to basics”:
“I do want us to get back to the basics. I want to make sure we’re prioritizing basic maintenance and operations and demonstrating our commitment to that work, because that’s what Portlanders have told us. That’s want they want. That’s what we know is necessary… I’ve often said, ‘Yes, we need to be innovative,’ but I can’t I can’t in good faith sign off on ideas that have us placing a stripe on alligator roadways. And the stripe is what’s holding the road together, instead of the bed of the road.
So we are shifting, at least in terms of prioritizing our budget and potential cuts to the budget — the places that we held harmless were in the maintenance and operations spaces. And if we had to cut anywhere, it would not be there.”
The last exchange I’ll share came from committee member Steve Sieber, a principal at development firm Trammell Crow. He asked about how Portland’s new form of government will impact PBOT.
Sieber:
“Do you see big changes in the next year or so for PBOT in this new approach for consolidation of the infrastructure bureaus, or more coordination of the infrastructure bureaus? How does it affect PBOT?”
Williams:
“I anticipate that we will see very little impact to our daily operations. There will be the opportunity for greater coordination and collaboration on some of the major work that we do as a city… but our day-to-day operations will largely be unchanged. What you’ll likely see is greater intentionality around the coordination [between bureaus]… I would dare say you won’t see any changes of note probably for several years, if not, probably around five years when you would see — if there were massive changes — would take about that. And I don’t think you’ll see them.
Having worked in this strong mayor/city administrator form of government as a director, the beauty is that you’re left alone to do your work. So there’s very little need to be concerned.”