Take Action for Climate-Friendly Transportation

How do you get around now? How would you like to get around? Can you afford to live near where you work, go to school, or shop? Can you safely walk, bike, or take a bus from near your home to where you want to go? Does Oregon have the most climate-smart or equitable transportation system it needs as we look to the next decade of investments?

Unfortunately, our transportation plans and investments are taking Oregonians in the wrong direction on climate change. Integrating land use and transportation to reduce the need to drive or to drive as far, especially in Oregon’s towns and cities, must be part of the climate solution.

The Department of Land Conservation & Development (DLCD) has scheduled “community conversations” to take input on their Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities Rulemaking as part of the Climate Executive Order (20-04) that Governor Brown issued a year ago.

This is an important opportunity to tell them you value a climate-smart transportation system that supports everyone’s needs.

Here are the dates, times and registration links for upcoming community conversations. More information is also available from DLCD’s announcement.

April 13, 6:30 pm 8:30 pm	Southern Oregon (register here)
May 11, Noon – 1:30 pm	Bend (register here)
May 19, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm	Eugene-Springfield (register here)
May 25, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm	Salem-Keizer (register here)

What should the agency be doing? These rules should establish clear, measurable standards and require cities to meet them through revised transportation and land use plans and funding. Here are some talking points you can use to urge the agencies to do what’s right for Oregon:

Locate most new housing and jobs in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and where transit is provided.
Invest in a network of connected, safe, and accessible sidewalk, paths, and bicycles ways, with the goal of increasing walking and bicycling trips to at least 25% of all trips.
Increase housing options, density and affordability close to frequent transit stops so more people can have access to affordable transit, and to increase transit ridership.
Reduce or eliminate off-street parking mandatory requirements.
Improve transit reliability and frequency for people, through investments in transit signal priority, transit priority lanes, safe street crossings, better lighting at stops, etc.
Do not increase roadway expansion projects in any region until that region is making satisfactory progress on implementing plans to reduce climate pollution. (Roadway expansion is proven to increase climate pollution, while investments in transit, biking, walking, and good land use planning reduce pollution.)
Public dollars from ODOT and DLCD should prioritize carrying out these climate-smart actions – no more pennies for pedestrians and billions for roads.

Attending these community conversations is a critical opportunity to turn out voices from around the state with a few clear messages:

The time to act is now: Climate change is accelerating and adversely impacting the health and livelihoods of Oregonians, communities, businesses, and the environment. The impacts fall disproportionately on Black and Indigenous people, communities of color, and lower-income Oregonians.
The stated rulemaking outcomes are the right ones, but the proposals thus far from DLCD and its sister agency, ODOT, will not get us there. We should not keep doing what is not working.

Please register for the community conversation nearest you. Share what you want to see where you live for a transportation system and land use pattern that truly serves people!

Thanks to 1000 Friends of Oregon for this action alert! We’re proud to partner with them on critical transportation and land use actions.

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