When completed, the new SW Capitol Highway will have 27-feet of space for walking and rolling and 24-feet of space for driving.
(Concept drawing of intersection looking southbound.)

The Bureau of Transportation has issued a major update to the plans for a project that will add a protected lane for vulnerable road users on a one-mile section of SW Capitol Highway between Multnomah Village and Barbur Blvd.
[Read more…]

We did it!

You raised your voices. Oregon Governor Kate Brown heard them. And she has changed her mind.

The Governor just announced she will not go through with her threatened veto of over $2 million in funding for the SW Capitol Highway project. The project will build a crucial biking and walking connection between Multnomah Village and Taylors Ferry Road that the neighborhood has worked for since 1991.

Here’s the official word via a letter from the Governor’s office (full PDF of the letter here):
[Read more…]

Pressure on Oregon Governor Kate Brown to reverse a threatened veto on the SW Capitol Highway Project has increased significantly over the past week.

As we await word on her final decision, here’s a recap of what’s happened since we first reported the story six days ago:

➤ Stats from an email we sent to BikePortland supporters (paid subscribers and donors) show that over 60 people have clicked over to Governor Brown’s feedback page so far. That’s in addition to many people who’ve told us — via Facebook, Twitter, and on the BP blog — that they took action and made their voice heard. Thank you for all your support!

➤ Respected nonprofit organizations like Oregon Walks, The Street Trust, and the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association have all boosted our campaign by linking to our action alert and stories.
[Read more…]

Pressure is building on Oregon Governor Brown to reverse her threat to veto a long-awaited infrastructure project in southwest Portland. In the past two days readers of BikePortland have helped spur dozens of phone calls and emails to her office. Our community’s voices are helping buoy efforts by legislators who are urging the Governor to reconsider.

Here’s where things stand…[Read more…]

Don’t do it Governor!

A threat by Governor Kate Brown to veto a highly anticipated project in southwest Portland has been met with shock and bewilderment by advocates and legislators. Now with little time to spare before Brown acts on her stated intentions, an effort has begun to persuade her to change her mind.

Neighborhood advocates have been urging the City of Portland to make Southwest Capitol Highway safer 26 years. The City of Portland has raised about $10 million for a project that would finally build sidewalks, bikeways and make other updates to the street between Multnomah Village and Taylors Ferry Road. Thanks to the passage of House Bill 5006 last month, everyone expected an additional $2 million for a final, key segment of the project. Governor Brown’s inexplicable veto threat puts that funding in jeopardy.

Asked for comment this afternoon, Brown’s Communications Director Chris Pair offered no additional rationale for the threat beyond what was shared in a statement yesterday — that they felt the project should go through more vetting and evaluation and that it should have been included in the larger transportation package.

But that explanation doesn’t sit well with Senator Ginny Burdick, whose district is directly adjacent to the project. [Read more…]