Oregon lawmakers are deeply immersed in significant transportation legislation that will shape the state’s transportation infrastructure for decades. The legislation is expected to allocate billions for road maintenance, road building, public transit, and walking/biking transportation projects. The key question: Will the legislature prioritize investments in sustainable, multimodal transportation, or will funding continue to favor the status quo that results in hundreds of deaths and thousands of serious injuries annually, disconnected and inaccessible communities, and massive pollution?
As part of the Move Oregon Forward campaign, Oregon Walks is advocating for additional funding for multimodal transportation like Safe Routes to School (builds safe and accessible bike/ped routes to schools), Great Streets investments (to invest in urban highways much like what is happening on 82nd Avenue), Oregon Community Paths (funding for trails), and robust transit funding. On the other hand, major projects like the interstate bridge replacement and freeway widening project between Vancouver and Portland, the Rose Quarter freeway widening and capping project, and adding lanes to I-205 will cost well over $12-14 billion dollars at a time when ODOT is facing a billion dollar deficit.
Making matters more complicated, federal funding uncertainty looms over these projects and others, like the Burnside Bridge replacement and the 82nd Avenue bus rapid transit project. There are many ideas on the table for how to fund our transportation system, including but not limited to: raising the gas tax and indexing it to inflation, adding delivery fees to packages from places like Amazon, increasing vehicle registration fees, increasing the fee when purchasing a vehicle, addition taxes on things like tires, and expanding the road usage charge (called OReGO where a person pays for each mile they drive). We are immersed in this work and advocating for pedestrians across the state!
This year’s choices will impact Oregon’s streets for decades to come. Stay tuned for ways to get involved!
By: Zachary Lauritzen