6 results for tag: ODOT
Tolling in Oregon: What’s The Deal?
What is tolling?
It seems like a simple question, but a “toll” can be understood in many different ways. Most simply, a toll is a charge for driving a vehicle on a specific piece of roadway.
Looking beyond that, though, there are a lot of really interesting questions worth considering. For example, how much should a toll cost? What is the toll really paying for? Should every vehicle be charged the same amount, regardless of factors like the time of day or the number of passengers? The answers to these questions are more important than you might think. The price of a toll, much like the price of a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas, can ripple ...
What could we do with a billion dollars?
Now that Congress has passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, more than a billion dollars will be coming to Oregon for transportation.
That’s great news and it presents us with a big opportunity to think about how we can spend that money wisely. Some of the money is committed to specific projects already underway. But, we’ll have choices with the rest and we should demand that it be invested in things that we know we need in the future. Things that will give people more freedom, access, and choices about how they get around, and which also make our communities safer, healthier, and more resilient.
What kinds of things could this ...
ODOT Mega-projects in the Portland area
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has a mega-project wishlist. The top projects on this list are the Abernethy Bridge on I-205, and the Boone Bridge, the Rose Quarter, and the Columbia River Crossing on I-5. These projects have been waiting for funding for years or even decades. A total price tag for Oregon of at least four billion dollars seems likely, and for that, we’ll receive a few short segments of highways with more lanes.
ODOT says these projects will increase safety and reduce traffic congestion in the Portland region. However, they will not meaningfully achieve these goals. If we really wanted to address safety and ...
Why Does Congestion Pricing Matter?
As ODOT considers transportation pricing in the Portland region, we explain why “congestion pricing” is the most effective long-term way to address our traffic woes.
Advocates hold commissioners’ feet to the fire
Oregon Transportation Commission decision advances climate-friendly projects but fails to meet the urgency of the climate crisis
Clean Air and Good Roads at Odds No More
Transportation Should be Considered On Its Own Merits
Portland, OR – June 25, 2015: Today, Oregon’s Governor confirmed what had become clear to many over the last week: Oregonians don’t have to choose between good roads and clean air. Representatives of groups as disparate as Oregon’s schools and utility ratepayers objected to a proposed “replacement” for clean air legislation that had been tacked on to a transportation bill. Legislators rejected the package and decided much needed transportation funding should be considered on its own merits.
“Oregonians deserve clean air and safe roads. To pit one against the other is a false ...