Love ’em or strongly dislike ’em, this is our state DOT.
Gate on I-5 bridge.(Photo: Todd Boulanger) Yesterday we received information from a reader that the gates on the I-5 bridge sidewalk had malfunctioned, staying closed for over 30 minutes on Wednesday night and blocking access across the bridge for people on bikes and on foot. That reader, Todd Boulanger, has since been contacted by Kimberly … Read more
Matt Garrett, Director of ODOT.(Photo © J. Maus) Last month, we wondered whether Governor Kitzhaber would make a personnel change at the most powerful position inside the Oregon Department of Transportation. This week the Governor announced a slew of changes atop various agencies — but ODOT wasn’t one of them. Read the email below that … Read more
Some interesting items on the agenda for a rare local meeting of Oregon’s official Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (they usually meet in Salem)… Bike/Ped Advisory Committee to meet Feb. 2 in Portland SALEM – The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet Wed., Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the … Read more
Governor Kitzhaber at his acceptance speech back in November.(Photos © J. Maus) Oregon’s newly elected Governor John Kitzhaber has made a many staff appointments in his first month in office. He’s named people to help him develop policy on issues like energy policy, business development, job creation, health care, affirmative action, and other issues. But … Read more
ODOT’s Sunrise Project comes with some big-ticket bikeway infrastructure, but it would also remove 23 acres of wetlands, among other impacts.(Photo: ODOT) The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has completed the environmental impact statement (EIS) and opened up the comment period on their Sunrise Project, which is one of two phases of their Sunrise Corridor … Read more
Detail from one of four concepts to widen I-5 near the Broadway/Weidler interchange taken from the I-5: I-84 to I-405 Design Workshop Concept Report prepared for ODOT. For context, the buildings in the upper left are the parking garages for the Rose Garden Arena. Yellow lines are newly widened freeways, orange lines show changes to … Read more
ODOT Traffic Safety Division Manager Troy Costales. Troy Costales is the Traffic Safety Division Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). In that position, he oversees about $28 million per year in a variety of programs to decrease the amount of fatal and injury crashes on Oregon roads. Costales was also on the committee … Read more
Design drawing of Springwater Trail Spur in Gresham. UTF-funded portion is in green. Blue lines are Powell Blvd (top) and Springwater Trail (bottom). The Oregon Department of Transportation is likely to confirm Wednesday the first three projects to be funded through their new Urban Trail Fund (UTF) program. The UTF was established as part of … Read more
In their ongoing effort to make the biking and walking path adjacent to I-205 into a “world class facility,” the Oregon Department of Transportation has just announced the “Equity Bike Ride” to show off what they’ve done and what’s planned for the future. Shelli Romero, ODOT’s Public Policy & Community Affairs Manager, has been doing … Read more
While standing on SE Hawthorne Blvd last night I looked up and saw an ad on the side of a TriMet bus that caught my eye… (Photo © J. Maus)
Gail Achterman at the 2008 Oregon Bike Summit.(Photo © J. Maus) The Oregon Transportation Commission is like the Jedi Council when it comes to setting statewide transportation policy. Its members are appointed by the governor and they have tremendous influence over funding, setting direction and priorities, and a host of other decisions that have a … Read more
People riding on the Eastbank Esplanade.(Photo © J. Maus) The Urban Trail Fund, a new grant program that was included in the state transportation bill (HB 2001) passed in 2009, will officially open for applications today. ODOT will award $970,000 this year to a maximum of four projects. Only one application is allowed per city … Read more
Comment of the Week: The public health angle should matter more