Transportation activist, streetcar advocate, former City Commissioner candidate and blogger Chris Smith was at an event last night where U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer had some choice words about the Columbia River Crossing project. Here’s an excerpt from Smith’s report: Blumenauer said the the Columbia River Crossing was a metaphor for the lack of consensus for … Read more
Concept drawing of new improvements to “jug-handle” at NE Weidler and 102nd.
Governor Ted Kulongoski held a hearing in front of lawmakers this morning in Salem to announce his Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009. In an effort to raise money to pay for transportation infrastructure improvements and create jobs, Kulongoski proposed a 2-cent increase to the gas tax and a host of motor vehicle-related fees. The … Read more
I’ll have a full story about this on the Front Page on Monday, but this is a very important step in the process so I wanted to share the announcement below with you ASAP. Public comment period begins for Sellwood Bridge alternatives study Multnomah County is accepting public comments on a study of five build … Read more
Transportation for America, a national advocacy group working to hasten a paradigm shift in how the federal government approaches transportation infrastructure decisions, wants you tell President-elect Obama to make good on promises made during his campaign. Here’s the text of the sample letter: Dear President-elect Obama: First of all…Congratulations! Your election, and results from down-ballot … Read more
Adams has forwarded to Congressional leaders a request for $24 million to build a 110-mile network of bike boulevards.
52% of California voters said yes to a proposition that helps fund a $45 billion “bullet train” between Orange County in the south to the San Francisco Bay Area. This was a closely watched vote by transportation advocates nationwide because, if built, it will be the first project of its kind in America. While driving … Read more
Cover of Bicycle Facilities Strategy to Reach Platinum Status in Southwest Portland. A major effort to bring the quality of biking in Southwest Portland up to the standards of the rest of the city has finally landed on PDOT’s desk. SWTrails — a subcommittee of the Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. — has submitted a 65-page plan … Read more
David Brooks Widely-read New York Times op-ed columnist and regular NewsHour pundit David Brooks penned a column today that urged our government and leaders to put infrastructure projects on the fast-track. Calling it a “National Mobility Project”, Brooks thinks that the wisest way for government to hasten an economic recovery is through shifting the paradigm … Read more
The Bureau of Planning has canceled a community workshop that would have began a discussion about a preferred strategy to tackle a re-design of the 7 Corners intersection (where SE Division, Ladd, 20th, and 21st streets converge).
“We know this route network will not materialize overnight. But then again, neither did the Interstate Highway System.”— Adventure Cycling’s Ginny Sullivan Calling it a “very big milestone”, backers of the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) are celebrating a key decision that sets a course for creating the largest official bicycle route network in the … Read more
This defunct freeway ramp serves as a reminder of Portland’s freeway-fighting past.(Photo: John Russell) “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”–philosopher George Santayana Much of the why Portland is a city where bikes, pedestrians, and transit can flourish, is because we have taken a stand against freeways. Two events coming up … Read more