Another transportation-related policy change, made unilaterally by the city’s administrative wing, has rankled city council members.
According to the Willamette Week,
Members of council, led by Councilor Eric Zimmerman, said Wilson’s unilateral directive to extend the hours of paid parking from 7 to 10 pm in pockets of the city this summer—a move that has frustrated many Portlanders—is an overreach of Wilson’s administration.
“We could revert back to the paid parking hours as they were on the last fiscal year if we want to get serious,” Zimmerman pitched to his colleagues, “and take back our control as the legislative body at this city.”
An “overreach of Wilson’s administration”? Hmm, why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah, it’s just like how an office overseen by Mayor Wilson unilaterally decided to remove traffic diverters on two neighborhood greenways in Northwest Portland. In my coverage of that issue back in August, we learned that most members of city council hadn’t even heard about the plan. In fact, City Councilor Mitch Green was so peeved by this lack of consultation that he’s shared an intention to change city code so it won’t happen again.
Green pulled out a statute in Portland City Code that states, “City Council is the road authority for all public streets.” Then he told a city advisory committee that, “The city administrator is allowed to execute our vote. It’s inappropriate for the city administrator to pull back on investments they’ve made without at least notifying city council and asking for permission. That needs to change and that will change.”
On the paid parking issue, it looks like city councilors are split on the merits of the policy, but united in concern over how it was implemented.
On a related note, I can’t help but notice the hypocrisy here from Councilor Zimmerman. He’s concerned about administrative overreach when it impacts a policy he dislikes (paid car parking), but he didn’t speak up when it impacted a policy he likes (removing the diverters).
The Willamette Week story makes it clear that even City Administrator Mike Jordan isn’t sure who has ultimate authority over transportation decisions. Seems like this is an issue we need to rectify immediately. Either that, or maybe the mayor and other administrative office staff should do a bit more outreach to their colleagues before moving forward with major policy changes.
