After OTC vote, Metro candidate Chris Smith calls for new highway governance model

Chris Smith is outraged by what just happened. The Portland Planning & Sustainability Commissioner member, transportation activist, and Metro Council candidate watched this morning as the unelected, five-member Oregon Transportation Commission brushed aside considerable concerns about the I-5 Rose Quarter project and voted unanimously to let the Oregon Department of Transportation move forward without any … Read more


Regional leaders greenlight $129 million for I-5 Rose Quarter project

We’re at that awkward stage in a highway mega-project when the agency in charge is under a cloud of controversy and still (after years of planning) doesn’t have an official endorsement to start construction, but still wants money to keep the project moving forward. Of course I’m talking about the Oregon Department of Transportation and … Read more


Governor Brown asked about I-5 Rose Quarter project at City Club event

Governor Kate Brown spent about an hour with members of the City Club of Portland today. At the event, a preview of the 2020 legislative session, Brown fielded two questions about the controversial I-5 Rose Quarter project. As we reported Thursday, the Oregon Department of Transportation and their bosses at the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) … Read more


City of Portland wants to make side guards mandatory on all garbage and recycling trucks by 2022

It’s been a long time coming, but Portland is finally about to take a big step forward in road safety. The Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (BPS) announced today they’ll propose a change to the City’s administrative rules that would require all garbage and recycling contractors to fill gaps in the sides of their trucks … Read more