"this is to protect our integrity and maintain trust with our partners" is some orwellian stuff from ODOT/IBR
10.03.2026 17:53
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"this is to protect our integrity and maintain trust with our partners" is some orwellian stuff from ODOT/IBR
Portland’s light rail system hasn’t expanded in ten years, has no plans to do so in the future btw
But don’t worry we’ve got billions lined up to spend on continued freeway expansions!
truly exceptional timing for the oregon legislature to abandon the effort to properly fund transit.
can't afford the price of gas? want to drive less? too bad, we're cutting transit service statewide! #orleg
mic drop from @indinmkng.bsky.social
Just learned that the latest Pixar movie that comes out today is a story about a bunch of animals staging a freeway revolt to protect their local forest glade (!) in a town named Beaverton (!!!!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppers...
"AVs almost by definition lower the friction and costs associated with driving ... And we already know, from the last century-plus of experience in the US, what happens when we make driving easier: We will get more of it. And more concrete and asphalt infrastructure to accommodate it."
When you look at literally any planned freeway that *did not* get built, it becomes clear what a disaster it would have been, and we can see what we would now be missing.
Looking at the freeways that did get built, it's much harder to know what we lost.
A major victory for freeway fighters: NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill eliminates the capacity expansion on the Newark Bay Bridge, saving billions. Rehab and safety improvements, but no widening! www.nj.com/news/2026/03...
Can you imagine if @tinakotek.bsky.social and @governorferguson.bsky.social got together and put out a similar press release, promising to rebuild the IBR at it's current size and avoiding this absolutely preposterous $15 billion IBR boondoggle?
www.nj.com/news/2026/03...
all eyes on the 2027 package. we need as many portland legislators as possible to be exhausted by how loud and annoying the voices for transit funding in their district to make sure it's a priority for next year's legislative session.
CityNerd identifies Eastbank I-5 as one of the top 10 candidates nationwide for a freeway teardown! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiNp...
surely doubling the width of i-5 and spending fifteen billion dollars on a new bridge for suburban Vancouverites is exactly what Portland needs to escape our doom loop
Today the Oregon legislature voted to raid a puny pot of money the state uses as matching funds to apply for federal grants for modest rail improvements, directing $ instead for backlogged road maintenance
Of course leg didn’t touch the $160m of bonding money queued for a doomed $2b freeway project
yes there were $850m in highway revenue bonds authorized in the 2025 session for the 2025-27 biennium - a number that would have been proportionate to the $ in HB 2025 for project debt service… if it had passed 💀 we are about $250m into that $850m allowance as of January ‘26
Wait, you can just replace an old bridge with one that doesn’t add lanes? And that saves money?!?
Hey @marylanddot.bsky.social, @wsdot.wa.gov, and @oregondot.bsky.social, have I got some GREAT news for you!!!
It just makes me sick, man
I read this as "Sorry kids, no safe routes to school for you, because we have to pay for all the damage to roads by everyone driving tanks." Great job everyone.
The bill also doesn’t touch the millions of dollars ODOT intends to use for bonding to pay for another $160 million allocation towards the doomed, $2 billion Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion.
These cuts to Safe Routes were a deliberate political choice.
"I'm testifying remotely because I couldn't get work off on such short notice. I didn't expect you to defund Amtrak and Safe Routes to School on a Tuesday morning with hours of notice." - Jordan Lewis in testimony at OR Leg just now
ODOT's budget is fucked, and they could cut funding for their proposed multibillion dollar, litigation-challenged, oversized, polluting freeway expansions or cut 60% of a successful Safe Routes to School program
guess which oregon's democrats chose! #orleg
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/01/t...
Imfographic with image of gas pump. KGW news at Sunrise at 6. Gas prices. National: 2.99 a gallon, Oregon 2.92 a gallon, Washington 4.37 a gallon. Oil tanker se on fire in strait of Hormuz.
Screen grab of news story with Trimet bus in background "Trimet service reductions go into effect"
The morning headlines; gas prices going up, public transit lines going down. 🫠
Reminder, the final Transportation Open House in District 2 is happening next Tuesday, March 3! Join us at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Gym from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. to weigh in on the conversation.
Can't join in-person? Our online open house and survey is still open:
All indications are that there's been a transportation funding deal for weeks. Lawmakers are just opting not to tell anyone what it is. #orleg
🚍 ACTION ALERT! 🚍
82nd Avenue is East Portland's Main Street, and our community deserves frequent and reliable transit.
Join me and Representative Thuy Tran in asking the legislature to fund full Business Access and Transit Lanes on 82nd Avenue: #orleg #orpol
actionnetwork.org/letters/fund...
Construction on the Interstate Bridge Project take until at least 2045
Construction will likely take even longer as packages are “sequenced” and delayed because adequate funding for the full $17.7B cost hasn’t been identified
- @cityobservatory.bsky.social
cityobservatory.org/interstate-b...
“ODOT says the Safe Routes account currently has $27 million of unobligated funds that could be redirected.”
Having this much unobligated in such a small program shows ODOT’s lack of commitment to the basic safety needs of kids. @wesmars.bsky.social @norton.bsky.social @tinakotek.bsky.social
Take Action: It's time to pause the Rethinking I-94 project.
www.ourstreetsmn.org/2026/02/12/p...
Look at all the beloved programs that are on the chopping block while the Oregon Legislature continues to barrel forward with a plan to execute further bonding to pay for another $160 million towards the proposed Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion.
#orleg #orpol
bikeportland.org/2026/02/12/s...
The new Airo trains will be coming to the Amtrak Cascades line in 2026.
Rep Boshart-Davis: Can you speak to the impacts of Project Labor Agreements making freeways more expensive to build?
National Expert: Eh, they do not.
Rep Susan McLain: Can you speak to whether extra freeway lanes make us safer?
National Expert: Eh, they do not.