Commissioner Adams during an
interview in October 2007.
(Photo © J. Maus)

In a letter sent out this morning to subscribers of his email newsletter, City Commissioner Sam Adams summed up PDOT’s budget woes and made some final statements on the defunct Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan (I think the statement will also be published as an Op-Ed in the Oregonian but haven’t confirmed that yet).

In the letter, Adams writes that the combination of high fuel prices, the increasing cost of materials and declining Gas Tax revenue (because Oregonians are driving less) has created a “massive new transportation challenge facing our City.”[Read more…]

Not surprisingly, Commissioners Adams’ opponent in the race for mayor, Sho Dozono, has issued a statement in response to Adams’ decision to pull the plug on the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bike/ped bridge in Northwest Portland.

Here’s the statement (emphasis mine):[Read more…]

Adams addressed the media
in his office this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus)

In a cramped meeting room in his office a few minutes ago, Commissioner Adams explained how rising gas prices have impacted PDOT’s transportation budget and that the Sauvie Island Bridge span reuse project is the first casualty.

Standing next to PDOT Director Sue Keil, Adams said rising fuel prices have given PDOT a “double hit” and that the situation has forced them to “rethink how we spend our money.”

As expected, Adams also addressed his decision to halt plans to install the Sauvie Island Bridge span in Northwest Portland. He expressed some of the same sentiments he shared with me last night.[Read more…]

City of Portland Commissioner Sam Adams will announce tomorrow (5/7) that he will pull the plug on a plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.[Read more…]

[Update: Download the presentation given by Commissioner Adams today at City Council (6MB, PDF)…or watch it on YouTube.]

Adams making his case to City Council.
(Bad phone photo)

City Council is poised to hear an ordinance this morning that will authorize PDOT to “enter into a contract with Max J. Kuney Construction, owner of the old Sauvie Island Bridge, to rehabilitate, relocate and acquire the old Sauvie Island Bridge center span for the purpose of moving it to NW Flanders St over I-405.”

I’ll start with a brief update on the project followed by some live reporting (below) once the proceedings begin.[Read more…]

New logo unveiled today

Commissioner Sam Adams held a press conference today to officially launch Flanders Crossing: Sauvie Island Bridge Relocation Project.

The event was an attempt to clarify the proposal for the project that will be voted on by City Council next week, to outline why the the project is necessary, and to demonstrate that it has the support of neighborhood residents, business owners, bicycle advocates, and a majority of City Commissioners.[Read more…]

Looking across NW Flanders over
I-405 — not quite an intersection, yet.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has issued a statement clarifying his opposition to the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a human-powered vehicle crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.

Perhaps wanting to build some momentum for his position — which will make him the lone dissenter to the plan when it comes up to City Council next week — Potter renewed his previous arguments against the project, and he shared a new one.

Here’s the short statement posted to his website yesterday (emphasis mine):[Read more…]

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Tom Miller, 503-823-1121
April 23, 2008 Or: Shoshanah Oppenheim, 503-823-1125

ADAMS, LEONARD, AND SALTZMAN FILE ORDINANCE TO ACQUIRE AND RELOCATE SAUVIE ISLAND BRIDGE

(PORTLAND, OR) – The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) announced today that City Commissioners Sam Adams, Randy Leonard, and Dan Saltzman will together file a City Ordinance that authorizes the City to acquire the center span of the Sauvie Island Bridge and relocate it from its current location to Northwest Flanders Street. [Read more…]

The Sauvie Island Bridge span —
which now sits 11 miles north of
downtown Portland and connects
Highway 30 to Sauvie Island — is
headed to Northwest Portland.
(Photo © J. Maus)

In a press release from City Hall this afternoon, PDOT announced that City Commissioners Sam Adams, Dan Saltzman, and Randy Leonard have agreed on a course of action that will put the Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan up for a second City Council vote on May 7th.

If all goes according to plan, PDOT and Kuney will begin work on the project — which will relocate the span and put it to use as a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over I-405 at NW Flanders Street — on June 6th.

PDOT also announced they’ll hold a press conference on Friday to announce details of the plan.[Read more…]