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Former PBOT staffer setting up ‘Committee on Transportation Equity’ for Biden Administration

A new advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation will have fingerprints of a former Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) staffer all over it. Irene Marion worked on equity and inclusion programs at PBOT for about five years before taking a job with the Biden Administration in January 2021. Now, as director of the … Read more


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Obama picks Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx for USDOT Secretary – UPDATED

Anthony Foxx could be our next DOT Secretary.(Photo: Anthony Foxx Facebook Page) News has broken this evening that President Obama will pick Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx as the next US Department of Transportation Secretary. Foxx, 41, would replace Ray LaHood, who Obama appointed in December 2008. Foxx has been mayor of Charlotte for almost four … Read more


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USDOT distracted driving efforts now aimed at auto makers

From Ford website. I was happy this morning to find a statement from U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood’s office that his war on distracted driving now includes new regulations for automakers. The proposals come as President Obama’s just-released transportation budget includes $330 million to combat the problem. For the past few years, I’ve been disturbed … Read more


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Q & A with Polly Trottenberg, Asst Sec of Transportation Policy at the USDOT

Last week I sat down with Polly Trottenberg, the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Asst. Sec. Trottenberg was in town to deliver a $17.7 million check for the Sellwood Bridge Project. I caught up with her at Clever Cycles on SE Hawthorne Blvd. We talked about the role of … Read more


US DOT: Northwest leads nation to lowest level of traffic fatalities ever

“A regional breakdown showed the greatest drop [12%] in fatalities occurred in the Pacific Northwest states.”— US DOT The US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that National Highway Safety Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) projections show that between 2009 and 2010 traffic fatalities dropped to their lowest level in recorded history (PDF of … Read more


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How’d Oregon do in TIGER II?

This morning the U.S. Department of Transportation released a full list of award announcements for their TIGER II grants. More than 70 projects — split between 42 capital construction projects and 33 planning projects — worth $600 million were funded. Oregon received three grant awards, two for construction projects and one for planning. Washington County … Read more