Commissioners Fish and Fritz andMayor Adams listen to testimony at the budget hearing last night.(Photos © J. Maus) Given the City’s budget woes and the fact that our Mayor is currently being investigated by the State Attorney General and has been embroiled with an unending stream of negative media attention, you’d think Portlanders would line … Read more
Bike advocates huddled with theBTA’s Scott Bricker before testifying at the 2007 hearing.(Photo © J. Maus) With the prospects of bike funding looking grim Salem, the residents of Portland have a chance to set a different tone. Tonight (5/21) in Southeast Portland the Mayor and City Commissioners will listen to testimony about the Mayor’s proposed … Read more
Adams has dedicated $500,000 for bikes in his budget.(Photos © J. Maus) In his forthcoming budget proposal (due out tomorrow), Mayor Sam Adams will include a dedicated funding source devoted to bicycle programs and projects that he calls the “Bicycle Infrastructure Improvement Fund”. In a phone call this afternoon, Mayor Adams told me the money … Read more
Will he deliver a Platinum budget?(Photos © J. Maus) Right now in City Hall, Mayor Adams and his staff are getting set to release their transportation budget. When the Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) released their budget back in February, it was embarrassingly bad for bikes. There was no dedicated revenue for bike projects, one-time funding … Read more
How can the city say no to a face like this?-Slideshow below-(Photos © J. Maus) Last Friday, about 100 people — most of them families with kids in tow — rode to City Hall as part of a special edition of the BTA’s monthly Kidical Mass ride. The goal was to raise awareness about the … Read more
A politician’s worst nightmare. Kidical Mass storming City Hall.(Photos © J. Maus) The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) plans to use their monthly “Kidical Mass” ride as way to send a clear message to City Council about their upcoming budget: Find more money for the city’s Safer Routes to Schools program. Hoping it is seen as, … Read more
“I believe in bicycling. Investing in bicycle projects in Portland makes the city a safer, greener, healthier place.”— Mayor Sam Adams In a statement just published on his website, Mayor Sam Adams has responded to concerns from Portlanders about the Bureau of Transportation’s requested budget for 2009-2010. As we’ve reported, PBOT’s budget puts a high … Read more
“Our hope is to find funding to backfill the Safe Routes program…but we can’t guarantee that.” — Catherine Ciarlo, transportation policy advisor for Mayor Adams Mayor Adams made his first State of the City address at the City Club in downtown Portland today. According to a report just published by the Portland Tribune, he apologized … Read more
PBOT Director Sue Keil at a press conference in May 2008.(Photos © J. Maus) Back in January, just days before the Willamette Week broke news of Mayor Sam Adams’ relationship with Beau Breedlove, the incoming Mayor unveiled an ambitious plan of projects he promised to complete in his first 100 days on the job. Among … Read more
A sharrow in action on NW 9th in Portland.(Photos © J. Maus) The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet are discussing the idea of installing shared lane markings (a.k.a. sharrows) on the entire length of the new downtown transit mall. Sharrows are a type of pavement marking that are placed on streets with … Read more
One of the worst storms in Portlandhistory is yet another strain on the City budget.(Photo © J. Maus) Already on a downward slope due to a dwindling gas tax and lower parking revenues, and facing millions in necessary cutbacks, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is now feeling the hurt due to the severe storm that … Read more
[Note: You’ll notice I’ve begun using the acronym PBOT instead of PDOT. That’s because the Portland Department of Transportation (which actually is the Office of Transportation but no one ever called it POOT) will soon officially become the “Bureau” of Transportation.] “If you had to cut $6.4 million out of Transportation’s budget, how would you … Read more