What projects should a street fee pay for? City announces town halls (updated)
The City of Portland is getting ready to write its most important transportation wish list in years.
pbot budget
City assembles ‘sales team’ for street fee plan (updated)
The City of Portland is pushing forward its plan to sell voters on a new revenue stream, most likely a per-household and per-business fee that participants say would raise perhaps $25 million a year for street upgrades.
Mayor Hales shares his thoughts on paving and the PBOT budget
Mayor Hales at a City Council PBOT budget work session yesterday.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) At an event last night I was able to grab Mayor Charlies Hales for a few minutes to ask him for his thoughts on the major PBOT budget move that was unveiled yesterday. At a City Council budget work session, Hales’ … Read more
Proposal looks to “realign” $7.15 million in PBOT budget for paving, maintenance
PBOT Interim Director Toby Widmer at a City Council budget work session today.(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland) With the ink on the paving audit barely dry, Mayor Charlie Hales’ interim director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation Toby Widmer, made a sweeping budget proposal during a City Council budget work session at City Hall today. They … Read more
Editorial: Activism for safer streets underscores larger transportation debate
“Demands for new biking, walking, transit, and other system improvements are common, but do you ever see activists clamoring for paving and street maintenance?” Twice this week citizens of Portland have taken action to raise awareness about unsafe streets. Benjamin Kerensa emailed us a video (watch it below) he put together of the crosswalk at … Read more
PBOT’s effort to cut budget could hit street lights, streetcar
Outgoing PBOT Director Tom Miller led a meeting of his budget advisory committee on Tuesday.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) When members of the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Budget Advisory Committee settled into their fourth and final meeting on Tuesday, they got some grim news. On top of the $4.5 million in ongoing cuts the bureau was … Read more
$700,000 expected in PBOT budget now gone
“We’re basically back where we started.”— Tom Miller, PBOT Director, in an email to his budget advisory committee Remember the $700,000 that was added back to the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s budget last month? Now it’s pretty much all gone. Last Friday, outgoing PBOT Director Tom Miller emailed the PBOT Budget Advisory Committee to announce … Read more
BTA-led coalition seeks to restore active transportation cuts in City budget
BTA’s Gerik Kransky (L) and freight advocate Corky Collier after the PBOT Budget BAC meeting yesterday.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) In the face of severe cuts to active transportation in the PBOT budget that came to light last month, a coalition led by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) presented a proposal yesterday to restore nearly half … Read more
PBOT budget proposal cuts active transportation by $1.5 million
A budget proposal by PBOT would end reduce the City’s support of Sunday Parkways.(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland) As PBOT grapples with a $4.4 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year, yesterday they proposed $1.5 in cuts that would directly impact biking and walking projects and programs. Members of the PBOT Budget Advisory Committee heard … Read more
Facing further cuts, PBOT floats new revenue ideas at budget meeting
PBOT Director Tom Miller at a meeting of his Budget Advisory Committee last night. (Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) The budget outlook for the Bureau of Transportation is a bit better this year than it was last year; but things are still grim. I attended the first of three PBOT Budget Advisory Committee meetings last night … Read more
PBOT Budget Advisory Committee asks Council to look at new revenue sources
It’s no secret that PBOT faces historic budget cuts. But there’s a big part of the conversation that hasn’t really gotten the attention it deserves: With gas tax and other motor vehicle-related revenues (like parking meters and registration fees) decreasing, more people choosing bikes and electric cars, and federal funding as unstable as ever, we … Read more
PBOT budget update: Cuts, consolidation, and no more ‘Options’
PBOT’s SmartTrips program is among the cuts.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) The City of Portland’s Transportation Options Division — the group behind such popular programs as Sunday Parkways and SmartTrips — no longer exists as a stand-alone section of PBOT. The consolidation of Options into a new “Active Transportation” group within PBOT’s org chart — and … Read more