As we wind down 2009, it's time to talk about that uncouth topic: money.
Portland Transport is run on the cheap, so our needs are minor, but they're not zero. Equally important the IRS wants to see that we have a diversity of supporters to let us keep our 501(c)(3) status.
So' [...]
The folks who brought you WalkScore now bring you City-Go-Round which will help you find transit information applications for your city or region (also biking, walking and driving apps) and will further tell you which transit agencies near you provide open data (kudos to TriMet for starting [...]
The Portland Mercury is reporting that at this morning's Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation meeting, the committee rejected an amendment from Mayor Adams to review the project list for climate impacts, while adopting a weaker amendment by Councilor Rex Burkholder.
The weaker language postpones any real impact by climate [...]
Every December I look forward to reviewing project presentations at the PSU/PBOT Traffic and Transportation class, and then publishing them here.
Another great crop of projects this year. Here are six of them. I will feature one special one in a few days!
Alexis Grant wants to make rail crossings around [...]
Different groups have had different top priorities: some favor transit, some sidewalks, one group said bikes.
But in all six workshops so far, congestion mitigation has [...]
Read this very carefully.
On Thursday, JPACT will consider conflicting Climate Change amendments to the Regional Transportation Plan from MPAC and TPAC.
The attached memo (PDF, 143K) makes this even more confusing, but fundamentally the folks on the Metro Policy Advisory Committee, which is focused on land use and community building [...]
Apparently, there are iPhone apps that will let you signal other drivers when you're about to leave a space, and apps that will map out parking regulations for you.
I think I'll stick to the transit apps, thank you very much!
Still, these are interesting applications of crowdsourcing...
[...]Citizens signing up to testify at this morning's Project Sponsors Council meeting for the Columbia River Crossing were told that 10-15 names would be selected at random to testify in the limited time available.
This evoked loud protest at the start of the meeting and co-chair Henry Hewitt announced that everyone [...]
They issued a joint statement late on Thursday, including:
A change in direction is needed for the Columbia River Crossing Project to be successfully accomplished. The current proposal is mired in financial challenges, and the region risks missing critical federal deadlines unless we change course. The project refinement recommendation before [...]
Friday is D-day! This from the Coalition for a Livable Future:
Protest and Testify at the CRC Project Sponsors' Council meeting
When: Fri, Dec 4
9:30 am - action before the meeting
10am - public testimony
Where: Port of Portland
121 NW Everett St, Portland
Background
Cuts have been made to the Columbia' [...]
Listen to the show (mp3, 27.0MB)
Sara and Tori are joined by Roger Geller, City Bicycle Coordinator in the Office of the Director and creator of the Bicycle Master Plan. The 2030 Bicycle Plan is the crystal ball to the future of cycling and the city's goals.' [...]
Via Congressman Blumenaur's Office:
Secretary LaHood announced today that the FTA will make $280M available for competitive grants for urban circulator's (they don't have to be Streetcars, but...) as part of the administrations urban livability initiative.
A big chunk of the money is previously allocated transit dollars the Bush Administrative never' [...]
Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2009 Transportation Seminar Series
Speaker: Jennifer Dill and Chris Monsere, PSU
Topic: Initial Assessment of Portland's Green Bike Boxes
When: Friday, Dec 4, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204
First the Columbia River Crossing sponsors talked of an 'iconic' bridge as a gateway between the two states - we got a concrete slab.
A world-class bikeway was envisioned - instead the design looks like a dank cave.
Now the Trib reports that Hayden Island residents who were once told that [...]
Chandra Brown of United Streetcar (a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works) is one of 100 business people who will be at President Obama's December jobs summit. Here's the press release from Congressman Blumenaur:
Blumenauer Announces United Streetcar President Chandra Brown to Join President Obama at Jobs Summit
Portland, OR -Congressman Blumenauer (D-Ore) [...]
The coalition of folks opposing the CRC hope to make a big public showing at the next Project Sponsors Council meeting on December 4th (9:30AM at ODOT in Old Town).
This is the meeting where the Sponsors will review the proposed cost reductions. The central message for the activists will be [...]
Last week, in a post about bike funding, I alluded to a proposal to allow more bike facilities to be funded as part of transit projects. Now Congressman Blumenaur's office is urging advocates to comment on the proposal:
Dear Transit, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Friends and Colleagues,
As Jonathan Maus posted in the [...]
Metro is reporting that TPAC (Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee - the technocrats) had a discussion about the impacts of climate change policy on the Regional Transportation Plan, but the momentum still appears to be for the status quo on the project list:
Other TPAC members, while acknowledging the importance and [...]Via the Streetsblog network.
The Dutch cabinet has agreed to reduce vehicle ownership taxes and impose a new tax based on kilometers driven (complete with GPS tracking - privacy protections are promised). The new tax will be higher during peak driving hours.
The government is predicting reductions in both emissions and [...]
This complaint off the Google Transit e-mail list today:
The walk score of the homes in Great Neck are artificially low in www.zillow.com which is a home valuation web sitedue to the fact that the MTA or the LIRR trains do not provide them with the transit data.
This has depressed [...]
Streetfilms has a great video with William Lind, a conservative transit advocate, about how to talk about transit in terms that conservatives will appreciate.
I would also note that the late Paul Weyrich, who co-founded the Heritage Foundation, was a trail transit advocate, evening making that point while serving [...]
Sidewalk projects on Barbur, 82nd and NE Glisan using Federal stimulus funding are approaching construction.
[...]As the "Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030" moves toward City Council adoption, the question that moves front and center is "how do we pay for it?"
The estimated price tag runs into hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years - but is still small in comparison to our other transportation [...]
NE Community Forum to be held Saturday, November 21st:
Impacts of the Columbia River Crossing (CRC)
On Saturday, November 21st the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods and the Sustainability Clinic at Willamette University College of Law will be hosting a Columbia River Crossing Impact Forum. Students of [...]
Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2009 Transportation Seminar Series
Speaker: Tony Rufolo, PSU
Topic: Adventures in DC: Getting Washington Perspectives on Transportation Research, Finance, and Policy
When: Friday, Nov 20, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204
OPB is quoting Mayor Sam Adams threatening to vote no on the Regional Transportation Plan unless we can get project-by-project analysis of climate change impacts (against a context of an RTP that predicts a 50% increase in GHG emissions by 2035).
Metro is taking the position that such analysis would [...]
CRC staff is out shopping the new slimmer version of the Columbia River Crossing, now with only 10 lanes (no word on the exact lane configuration, but apparently it can be re-striped to 12 lanes later) and a few less interchanges - and an uglier design across Hayden Island.
Here's' [...]
The not-to-be-missed annual appearance of Gordon Price at the PBOT/PSU Traffic and Transportation class. Open to the public:
On Thursday 11/19, Gordon Price will give a free presentation on the effective integration of transportation in high-density environments with an emphasis on land use. If you've seen Price speak before, fear not!' [...]
I jotted down some of the comments I made at the last Planning Commission hearing about the relative costs of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, and the same point is also being discussed at BikePortland and the plan will be featured on Think Out Loud on [...]
7th Annual Region X Student Transportation Conference
On Friday, November 13th, the University of Oregon will be hosting the 7th Annual Region X Student Transportation Conference. Students from transportation-related programs in Northwestern universities are invited to attend to present their work and hear about what other students are doing in the [...]
Updated 11/15/09:
For those who can't attend in person, the meeting with be streamed.
Original Post 11/12/09:
The House Interim Transportation Committee is meeting on November 19th and will discuss the Columbia River Crossing and High-Speed Rail among other issues.
The good folks at walk score have added transit access as one of the scoring criteria - at least in those cites like Portland that have Google Transit feeds.
I'm happy to report that being 0.16 miles from the Streetcar line has driven my walk score up to 98 (aka' [...]
The good folks who bring you the "Safer Routes to School" program in Portland are also sponsoring this panel:
Monday, NOV 16TH, 10:30 AM - Noon
Panel Discussion: Promoting Active Transportation at School - Successes and Lessons Learned
Location: NORTH PORTLAND LIBRARY BRANCH (512 N Killingsworth St)
Develop new ideas for successful active [...]
Rob Zako posted the message below to the OTRAN list and with his permission I'm cross-posting it here.
-- Chris
This afternoon, I attended a portion of the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) meeting, in particular, the agenda item dealing with progress on updating the Eugene-Springfield-Coburg regional' [...]
But we can do better!
The following is from the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition:
FOR RELEASE
MONDAY, NOV. 9, 2009
CONTACT:
Stephanie Routh
Willamette Pedestrian Coalition
steph@wpcwalks.org
Portland ranked 44 in Nation for Preventable Pedestrian Deaths, Report Shows
Willamette Pedestrian Coalition Urges Members of Congress to Support Increased Focus on Pedestrian Safety in Upcoming [...]
Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2009 Transportation Seminar Series
Speaker: Joan Walker, UC Berkeley
Topic: The Power and Value of 'Green' in Promoting Sustainable Travel Behaviors
When: Friday, Nov 13, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204
[...]
The Trib reports that according to "sources who declined to be identified" project staff are briefing local leaders on alternatives to trim the cost of the Columbia River Crossing project.
I thought we were supposed to have public process for this sort of thing? How about going back and doing [...]
The election of a new mayor in Vancouver, one who ran on the platform of a slimmed-down Columbia River Crossing that would not require tolls for funding, should be an opportunity to re-examine the fundamentals of the project.
The Oregonian editorial board is begging the presumed Mayor-elect to "shoulder the" [...]
Wearing my Planning Commissioner hat, I blogged about land use connections and build-out strategies for the plan.
[...]Thanks to the alert reader who forwarded this on:
Straub Hall (behind the Erb Memorial Student Union), Room 146 - Session III, Saturday, November 7th, 3:00pm to 4:15pm
The transportation network in the United States consists of a 20th Century system in a 21st century world. The costs of congestion hamper our [...]
Update: 11/20/09
The slides are now online.
Original Post: 11/5/09
I'm attending the Congress for New Urbanism Transportation Summit here in Portland this week (where I've had the opportunity to meet several other transportation bloggers!).
For me the highlight presentation on opening day on Wednesday was about the safety affects of different street [...]
Listen to the show (mp3, 28.2MB)
Elly and Sara talk with members of the Bike Temple and Bike Farm, two Portland-based community resource centers on a mission to support your spiritual and earthly bike needs.
[Editor's note: I have replaced the audio file with a different version with' [...]
A piece at Human Transit underscores the question: if TriMet drops frequency on it's "Frequent Service" routes to 17 minutes (the standard TriMet had defined was 15 minutes) are they still frequent?
[...]Monday's Oregonian points out that the Vancouver mayoral election is the not the definitive word on tolling for the Columbia River Crossing. In fact, tolling will be decided in the state capitols, by the Washington Legislature and the Oregon Transportation Commission.
In fact, although the article does not go into [...]
Streetsblog NY does a great job of documenting the fact that the Federal Government's investment in electric vehicles in six months is greater than the entire annual budget of the Federal Transit Administration.
And we won't even go near the GM bailout.
' [...]
Above are two photos of the little signage frames that TriMet puts on bus stop poles when there is no shelter or other opportunity for larger signage.
In the first case, the frame is empty, although someone has helpfully scratched the Transit Tracker [...]
Unfortunately it does not appear to be online, but yesterday the O reported that Wilsonville and Clackamas County are insisting on a study for what the connector would do to capacity on I-5, while Washington County wants to move the process forward without such a study.
Do we need to try again on Metro's Regional Transportation Plan?
Last week we discussed the lukewarm response from progressive transportation advocates, now we have more specifics:
Mayor Adams has tweeted that the plan fails to meet the goals of the Portland/Multnomah County Climate Action Plan. Members of the Sustainability Commission have expressed [...]The folks behind the Walk Score web tool are on the Smart City radio program this week and explain the origins and growth of the tool (real estate sites like Zillow are providing millions of hits).
[...]The word on the street is that advocates for major bikes trails (Sullivans Gulch Trail, North Portland Greenway) are going to argue for a higher priority in the funding sequence for the Bicycle Master Plan.
The Sullivans Gulch folks have refreshed their web site as they gear up to testify [...]
From the Master Plan team at PBOT:
The Portland Planning Commission will take public testimony regarding the draft Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 at a hearing on Tuesday, October 27, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in Room 2500A at 1900 SW 4th Avenue in Portland. Members [...]
Dear Friends,
This morning, I joined Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff to sign the construction grant agreement and finalize the Portland Streetcar expansion, unleashing $75 million in federal funds to extend Portland's existing downtown streetcar line across the Willamette River and into the East side of the city.
This [...]
What's magic about 350? That's the upper limit (in parts per million) of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere to keep climate change to a manageable level.
The problem is, we're already at 390ppm and increasing.
A series of rallies around the world are scheduled for October 24th, including one here in' [...]
THE CITY OF PORTLAND
AND THE EMBASSY OF DENMARK, WASHINGTON DC
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO A RECEPTION FOR
Dreams on Wheels
Danish Cycling Culture for Urban Sustainability
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH 6:30 PM TO 10:00 PM
Copenhagen saves $1 in healthcare costs for every 2.5 miles [...]
Metro has concluded the public hearings on the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan and let's just say that the progressives aren't turning hand-stands.
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance likes the bike projects but isn't happy about the balance of auto projects in the mix.
There are also many strong elements to the RTP, [...]Yes, I've been consorting with another blog...
But our relationship is still important to me, and I think this could be healthy for us...
OK, so I've launched PDXPlanningCommissioner.com as an outlet for my newest responsibility on Portland's Planning Commission.
The focus is very different. Here on Portland Transport I'll continue to' [...]
Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2009 Transportation Seminar Series
Speaker: Joe Cortright, Vice President/Economist, Impresa, Inc.
Topic: Economic Value of Walkability
When: Friday, Oct 23, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204
A "personal statement" from Metro President David Bragdon about the current state of Columbia River Crossing discussions popped up on Metro's web site today.
Included in the statement:
We can't afford that version, and it wouldn't work anyway: the jumbo proposal has no realistic financing, loses public support the more people [...]In an interview with the Trib, Peter DeFazio has again insisted that the Columbia RIver Crossing get smaller and less expensive.
Meanwhile Coalition for a Livable Future has issued an action alert asking folks to comment on the Regional Transportation Plan, asking Metro to balance the plan more strongly [...]
If you haven't heard of it, the Innovation Quadrant is the latest name for the area covering PSU, OHSU and OMSI.
More to the point, it includes three projects that will help 'close' the Streetcar Loop after the new bridge is completed:
Create a new double-track connection through the re-developed Jasmine' [...]The Environmental Impact Statement process for the Willamette Shoreline corridor is ramping up and a set of of community events have been scheduled ... at markets:
2:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9
Lake Oswego Albertsons, 11 S. State St.
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 Lake Oswego Farmers'' [...]
The Multnomah County Commission is getting read to add $19 to your auto registration fee and apparently Clackamas County will follow with $5.
Coupled with the City of Portland diverting some of the increase in gas tax revenue it will see from the Legislature's transportation package, will this be enough [...]
Metro's new RSS Feed reports that a couple of Councilors recently met with TriMet and local electeds to tour the potential Light Rail alignment.
Metro was quick to point out that no priority corridor had yet been selected from the top three corridors in the recently adopted High Capacity Transit [...]
Columbia River Crossing project sponsors have pretty much admitted that the current project scope is unfundable, but that hasn't stopped a stakeholder committee from agreeing on an interchange design for Marine Drive.
Interchanges represent one of the major cost components for the project.
The public comment draft of the new, improved Bicycle Master Plan is on the streets.
If you don't want to print the full majesty of the document, you can find a hard copy at your local library.
You can provide comment until November 8th.
Or you can come to Planning Commission on' [...]
Hosted by the League of Women Voters...
And they'll spend an afternoon touring our transit system on October 12th:
Russian Leaders Head For Portland On A Mission
League of Women Voters of Portland To Guide Them
From October 10 through 18, the League of Women Voters of Portland will be hosting five' [...]
Listen to the show (mp3, 27.8MB)
Authors Mia Birk and Jeff Mapes discuss the components of cycling cities.
[This show was broadcast on September 30, a week ahead of the regular schedule - we apologize for the delay in posting the podcast.]
[...]With my Zipcar iPhone App.
Who knew you could beep the horn across the Internet!
Seriously, this looks really useful - nice job folks.
[...]That's Robert Moses, not the biblical prophet.
Following up on their "Dead Freeways" piece, the folks at the Merc have managed to find an online copy of Robert Moses original "Portland Improvement" plan from 1943. I've only had a chance to skim, but even at a cursory level, it's fascinating.
Get your geek on. The public radio program "Studio 360" has a nice segment (mp3, 3.1M) on how the ClearView typeface for highway signs got created. It's actually a big advancement in safety.
Taught by the inestimable Mia Birk:
"Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning" Tuesdays 1-4
3 units, the nuts and bolts of how to plan and engineer a city for bicycles and pedestrians. Portland is the best place to learn this in the US. Guest lecturers from across the city and other government [...]
Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2009 Transportation Seminar Series
Speaker: Niels Jensen, City of Copenhagen Traffic and Road Department
Topic: Creating a City of Cyclists: What We Can Learn from Copenhagen
When: Friday, Oct 2, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW [...]
Don't miss your opportunity to comment on the Regional Transportation Plan:
Thursday, Oct. 1
4 p.m. (open house) | 5:15 p.m. (hearing)
Gresham Conference Center, 1333 NW Eastman Parkway, Gresham
Spanish translation provided
Thursday, Oct. 8
4 p.m. (open house) | 5:15 p.m. (hearing)
Happy Valley City Hall, 16000 SE Misty Dr.,' [...]
The Portland Mercury has a nice piece on "Dead Freeways", planned freeways for Portland that were never built.
[...]Portland's own "Bike Realtor", Kirsten Kaufman, is the featured guest on this week's Smart City radio program.
Go Kirsten!
[...]Streetsblog in New York is decrying the state of available online transit info from the MTA and holding up Portland as the shining example.
[...]Thanks to the correspondent who writes that you can get from Portland to Astoria via TriMet, the Tillamook County Transportation District and the Sunset Empire Transportation District purely on scheduled transit.
But the real news is that you can plan the entire trip on Google Transit. That's the value of [...]
Metro is recruiting for citizen representatives to serve on TPAC. To be sure, it's heavily technocratic, but the several years I spent on TPAC were a tremendous learning experience, and you do get to nudge a little bit on the direction of policy:
September 18, 2009
Dear TPAC Interested Parties:
The Transportation Policy [...]
Funny how all the aspirations for the Columbia River Crossing keep shrinking, except of course moving lots of cars...
[...]As Metro celebrates the "Intertwine":
"The Intertwine" launches on streets across the Portland-Vancouver region
Metered parking spaces will become mini-parks,
complete with grass, trees, native wildlife and fun activities,
to celebrate the launch of The Intertwine (map attached)
Media note: The Intertwine will kick off its festivities at 10 [...]
Update: here's the full text of Sam's statement.
The Oregonian is reporting that Portland Mayor Sam Adams will release a statement today withdrawing his support for a 12-lane Columbia River Crossing configuration.
Meanwhile, members of the local project sponsors council are making clear that the cost of the project must [...]
First off, the title of this post could "our" rather than "my" -- so many [...]
Planetizen covers a report from the Center for Public Integrity on the lobbyists lining up to advocate for every possible angle on the transportation reauthorization.
Many of the lobbyists will be former congressional staff members...
[...]And walk on over to the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne on Thursday September 24th for the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition's annual meeting.
Date: Sept. 24, 2009
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Location: Lucky Lab SE
915 SE Hawthorne
Meet fellow pedestrians and hear about WPC accomplishments and plans.
We will recognize outstanding' [...]
Metro Chief Operating Officer Michael Jordan released his recommendations for Metro's Greatest Place plan (a combination land use and transportation planning effort). This is a formality, the COO recommendation is in fact the synthesis of work done by staff and approved by advisory committees of elected officials (JPACT and [...]
One of the highlights of the Oregon Transportation Summit on Friday was the keynote presentation on the new Moving Cooler report, given by the project manager for the study, Joanne Potter.
The report was funded by a consortium as diverse as the Shell Oil and APTA (the American [...]
The BTA is hiring:
Position Title: Statewide Project Advocate
Status: Full time, exempt, grant dependent, limited duration (through 9/2011)
Salary: Dependent on experience
Benefits: Health, Dental and Vision insurance as well as generous paid time off and holiday benefits
Reports To: Operations Director
Posted: September, 2009
Application Deadline: Applications will be [...]
These folks attending the PSU Farmer's Market on Saturday apparently couldn't discern the purpose of the cycle track striping.
Interestingly, it only occurred on one block, and they were all gone 45 minutes later, but not before getting ticketed.
[...]
Dignitaries arriving from Clackamas County on the inaugural Green Line ride were greeted at PSU by Mayor Sam Adams, a (very loud) drum corps and the Viking cheerleaders.
The predictable round of speechmaking ensued, but a notable distinction from recent rail line openings [...]
From City Hall:
Mayor Sam Adams, Portland's commissioner in charge of transportation, seeks a Transportation Policy Advisor. The advisor will help us develop innovative and cost-effective programs and projects in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation; other transportation jurisdictions like TriMet, Metro, the four Greater Portland counties, and the Oregon [...]
