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Transportation
Posted inNews

TriMet’s Present Crisis, and Uncertain Future

Portland’s public transit agency’s budget crunch is forcing major cuts to bus and MAX service. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

This story has been updated to clarify the sources of payroll tax revenue TriMet receives.  TriMet is facing a $300 million budget gap, and it’s unclear when—or if—the public transit agency can expect any new funding to help fill the void. As a result, the agency is planning to make some major cuts, set to […]

Posted inNews

“We Want the Same Protections”: TriMet Safety Staff Announce Union Effort

They work to keep passengers safe, but say they are not afforded the rights of regular TriMet employees.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Alison Segler has worked as a TriMet Safety Response Team staffer for the better part of the last five years. She is passionate about her job, which allows her to connect with people riding Portland’s public transit system, and provide resources to those in need.  “I would like to express that it is my honor […]

Posted inNews

Portlanders Gather to Mourn and Demand Action on Day of Remembrance for Traffic Crash Victims

People who lost loved ones to traffic violence gathered Sunday at an annual event to honor the lives lost, and encourage others to take action to save lives.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Joe Stone was 25 when he was hit by a driver while trying to cross the street near his home in 2013. Danielle Sale died in 2010, at the age of 22. Henry Zietlow was 18 when he was killed in a traffic crash in 2019. Seamus DuBarry was just 22 months old when he […]

Posted inNews

Transportation Funding Bill Opponents Launch Last-Ditch Effort to Halt Tax Increases

Governor Tina Kotek signed a transportation package into law Monday. The same day, a group of opponents filed a petition to refer the bill’s tax increases back to Oregon voters, hoping they’ll reject them. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Governor Tina Kotek signed a new state transportation funding package into law on Monday, more than a month after the Oregon Legislature passed the bill during a dramatic, extended special session. Later that day, two state legislators and an anti-tax advocate filed a petition with the state in hopes of sending a referendum on the […]

Posted inNews

“Not a Rubber Stamp”: Portland City Council Questions Settlement in Bike Bill Lawsuit

The plaintiffs and city attorney expected quick agreement over a $6 million settlement. It appears City Council had other ideas.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

In a move lawyers called “highly unusual,” Portland City Council declined to accept the terms of a legal settlement over the city’s adherence to the Oregon Bike Bill, which had been negotiated by the city attorney. Now, the $6 million settlement—which would be used for bike infrastructure projects around the city—is in jeopardy.  News of […]

Posted inNews

It’s Been 10 Years Since Portland Adopted Vision Zero. What’s Changed?

Portland has struggled to address the rising traffic fatalities on city streets. Leaders are now hoping for a Vision Zero renaissance. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Portland first adopted the Vision Zero approach to ending traffic fatalities and serious injuries on city streets in 2015. In the decade since, hundreds of people have died in traffic crashes in Portland, and many more have been gravely hurt.  But Portland isn’t giving up on Vision Zero. At least, that’s what City Council indicated […]

Posted inStreet View

Street View: Sundays Are For Open Streets

Inspired by similar events in Latin America, Portland hosted its first Sunday Parkways event in 2008. Nearly 20 years later, the city has yet to fully commit to the open streets concept. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

In the early 1970s, bike activists in Bogotá, Colombia convinced their city leaders to close two major thoroughfares to car traffic, giving the space to people riding bikes and walking for one day. Thus began the tradition of Bogotá’s world-renowned Ciclovía (cycleway) events, which now occur every Sunday and on most holidays, transforming more than […]

Posted inStreet View

Street View: The Band-Aid Bill

Nobody really likes the Democrats’ transportation funding package. But Republicans are wrong when they say it’s not a compromise.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Oregon House of Representatives managed to squeak through the latest version of a long-awaited transportation funding package earlier this week. But nobody’s popping champagne yet—and they probably won’t be anytime soon. That’s partially because momentum on the transportation bill, which Governor Tina Kotek and Democratic leaders introduced ahead of the special legislative session, is once […]

Posted inNews

Update: Oregon Lawmakers Make Another Go at a Transportation Funding Package

The bill, expected to raise roughly $4.5 billion over the next 10 years, was approved by the Oregon House and will now move onto the Senate—after a hiatus. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Update 9/3, 8 am: With one Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, Chris Gorsek, out for health reasons, the special session is effectively on hold. Democrats can’t afford to lose a vote, so they’ll need to wait until Gorsek is healthy enough to return to Salem and vote “aye” on the bill. The current plan is […]

Posted inNews

Despite State Transportation Funding Crisis, Construction Begins on I-5 Rose Quarter Project

As legislators prepare to duke it out over transportation funding in a special session this week, ODOT has quietly broken ground on the first phase of the $2.1 billion freeway project.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) broke ground on the first phase of the I-5 Rose Quarter project this week—an event nearly a decade in the making. But the occasion commenced without fanfare. Even after years of buildup for the project, ODOT didn’t hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark its official start, nor did the […]

Posted inNews

Portland’s Most Effective Channel For Addressing Community Concerns is a Back Door

The city’s Public Environment Management Office runs frequent community meetings and gets quick results. You just might not know about it. 
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Portland’s new form of government, which went into effect this year, was designed to make it more accessible for all residents to participate in city policy discussions. Still, most Portlanders struggle to figure out how to cut through layers of local bureaucracy to make their voices heard, with limited time and opportunities available to speak […]

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