Coming very soon!

With existing plans as a foundation, buoyed by success of three initial projects, and — most importantly — with the full support of City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and her staff, Portland City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to endorse the Rose Lane Project. [Read more…]

“As our population booms and we have smaller and smaller right-of-way to share, biking really needs to have a lot more direct focus from the Commissioner.”
— Jamey Duhamel, policy director for Commissioner Chloe Eudaly

Duhamel at Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting last night.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

A big thing happened at last night’s Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting: A current City Commissioner (via a staff person) expressed a direct interest in bicycling and said they want to make it a bigger part of their portfolio.[Read more…]

Group photo after proclamation was read at Portland City Council this morning.
Left to right: Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly; Oregon/SW Washington Families for Safe Streets volunteers Michelle DuBarry, Darla Sturdy, Kim Stone, and David Sale; Commissioner Nick Fish; Mayor Ted Wheeler.

Mayor Ted Wheeler announced at today’s City Council meeting that Portland will join a global movement by marking November 17th as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. [Read more…]

The City of Portland officially kicked off the Rose Lane Project Thursday night at a special Portland City Council meeting that focused on climate change and was held on the campus of Portland Community College Southeast at 82nd and Division. It was a fitting time and place to unveil a project that could lead to the most significant transformation of how Portlanders get around since we built those damn freeways decades ago.[Read more…]

Cover of PBOT’s Vision Zero 2-Year Update.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is making steady progress on their march toward safer streets. They’ve queued up an impressive slate of capital projects, worked the legislature to gain authority for speed limits and enforcement cameras, and have passed important plans with the policy backbone that enables them to do things like remove auto parking from corners (a.k.a. “intersection daylighting”), install crossing treatments in more places, and so on.

Last week PBOT brought their annual Vision Zero 2-Year Update (PDF) to city council. They don’t have to get council’s official blessing for reports like this, but PBOT often takes this step to burnish council relationships, lay political groundwork for funding requests, and get explicit support for what might be controversial Vision Zero-related moves down the road.

Things like this usually get unanimous support because PBOT doesn’t bring half-baked ideas to council and they brief each commissioner beforehand to make sure they are up-to-speed with the issues and information. So it was a big surprise when Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty voted no.[Read more…]

In the past five years, people walking have accounted for nearly 40% of Portland’s traffic fatalities.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty wants the transportation bureau to do more about distracted walking.
[Read more…]

Left to right: Foster Area Business Association President Allen Rowand, Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association Co-chair Eric Furlong, Portland Mercado Director Shea Flaherty Betin, Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, Transportation Director Chris Warner and Prosper Portland Commissioner Peter Platt cut the ribbon the Foster Transportation and Streetscape Project. (Photo: PBOT)

“I know it was a long time coming. I hope it was worth the wait.”

That was Portland Bureau of Transportation Commissioner Chloe Eudaly this morning as she stood near the intersection of SE Foster and 72nd along with PBOT Director Chris Warner and Foster-area business and community leaders. The occasion marked the official completion of the Foster Road Streetscape Project.
[Read more…]

There’s more of this to come.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)

The cat is officially out of the bag.

In a story posted this morning, the Willamette Week reported that PBOT Commissioner Chloe Eudaly wants to go big for bus only lanes.

In 18 months, Portland streets could see the most dramatic change in public transit since the arrival of the streetcar. All it will take is gallons of red paint.[Read more…]

Pretty safe to say the commissioner won’t be at the World Naked Bike Ride.

It’s been many years since we’ve had a transportation commissioner as willing to voice progressive ideas and positions as Chloe Eudaly.

I’m not sure if it’s because Commissioner Eudaly is simply more comfortable on social media than any other council member, or because she sees the communication channel as a strategic tool to shift the conversation her way. Whatever the reason(s), I like it. And if you care about smashing the transportation status quo, you should too.

Two recent Facebook comments from the Commissioner stand out. One was lighthearted, the other more meaty.
[Read more…]