Transportation For Oregon’s Future Principles
Transportation investments should support healthy living, social equity, environmental stewardship, and a strong economy.
- Safe, healthy communities: Transportation investments and community design that support people’s ability to safely walk, bicycle or take transit lead to higher rates of physical activity and better health outcomes.
- Enhanced social equity: Transportation policies should support the ability of underserved communities to better access basic needs including jobs, health services, education and healthy food options. Where transportation policies or investments negatively impact a specific community, there should be comprehensive plans to mitigate those negative impacts.
- Increased Transparency and Accountability: Transportation investments should be made in ways that are transparent to community members, and there should be adequate opportunity to comment on and influence investment decisions. Communities that might be impacted by a transportation decision should always have a seat at the table in key decisions.
- Land conservation and environmental stewardship: Transportation policies should support the preservation of farm and forest lands, curb air pollution, protect waterways, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Strong economy: An increase in transportation funding will put Oregonians to work improving the transportation system in the short-term. Over the long-term, healthy, affordable transportation options will reduce transportation and healthcare costs to make our economy more productive, and enhance access to jobs, especially for underserved communities.
Transportation investments should be fiscally sound.
- Fix it first: With limited funding, we must first ensure that existing infrastructure is maintained. The longer maintenance is deferred, the more expensive it becomes to repair.
- More transportation options: Providing transportation options and otherwise managing demand for road space can be far less expensive than adding more road capacity.
- Return on investment: Rational, criteria-based prioritization of transportation infrastructure investments to maximize multiple benefits will win Oregonians the best returns.
Funding mechanisms should be sustainable, equitable and meet transportation needs.
- A focus on 21st century needs: We spent the latter half of the 20th century prioritizing the movement of cars; we must now turn our attention to the large and growing demand for frequent and reliable transit service, safe sidewalks and bikeways, and other transportation options, like modern on-demand ridesharing programs.
- Increased and sustained funding for transit operations: To meet rising demand, Oregon’s public transit agencies need stable funding to increase transit service. Once service starts and people come to rely on it, canceling service due to lack of funding harms the people served.
- Equitable and useful funding mechanisms: User fees can not only pay for the transportation system, but—by accurately capturing costs—they also result in travel behavior that helps the overall transportation system perform better. In addition, when fixed transportation costs (like registration fees) are “unbundled,” people have more control over transportation costs and can save money if they drive less. However, because transportation funding mechanisms have the potential to be regressive, any disparate, inequitable impacts must be mitigated.
Join Us This Summer at the Transportation Roadshow!
State legislators are hosting a 12-stop statewide listening tour this summer on major transportation issues. We need your voice! Our transportation system should be safer, greener, better maintained, and more affordable for all Oregonians. Your testimony during these public hearings will impact how legislators shape the future of our transportation infrastructure! Your participation will also help OEC deliver stronger climate-smart legislation
June 3, 2024, 12:42 pm
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Investing in a Better Transportation Future
Oregon is receiving more than a billion dollars from the federal government through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This money will be allocated to projects around the state by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), under the direction of the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). The OTC
February 4, 2022, 9:54 pm
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Building Bridges: Connections Between Communities, Climate, and Equitable Transportation
The Columbia River between Washington and Oregon has been significant for transportation around the region for thousands of years, with people moving along and across the river to meet their needs, make a living, and connect across communities. The I-5 bridge between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon, is currently at the center of a regional conversation about transportation, connectedness, and community needs.
August 10, 2021, 8:19 pm
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transforming transportation: working together to accelerate electrification
October 14, 2020, 6:33 pm
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Strengthening clean fuels and expanding transportation electrification in Oregon
August 6, 2020, 8:15 pm
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Transportation takes center lane at OEC’s 2020 business forum
Oregon Environmental Council has always believed that the business sector plays an important role in building a healthier and more sustainable transportation system. This connection will be highlighted this month during OEC’s our Forum for Business and the Environment speaker series.
For 24 years, our forum events have focused on cutting edge issues and opportunities important to business, environmental and government leaders. OEC is proud to provide this o
January 3, 2020, 4:12 pm
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Garlynn Woodsong
March 16, 2017 (9:44 pm)
All transportation investments should be ranked, with those that have the most potential to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions being ranked first for funding. Transportation projects that will lead to increased carbon emissions should not be funded. We must make climate change the first lens through which we view transportation funding; in doing so, we will find that it has co-benefits for Vision Zero, safer facilities, more resilient communities, and a more sustainable future.
DJSK
March 22, 2017 (8:16 pm)
I had to read this twice to make sure I wasn’t mistaken: All this work to build a coalition that is only asking for $161 million per year?? This number is shockingly low–SO far below what’s needed to adequately fund transit, bike, and pedestrian infrastructure in Oregon, as well as fix our existing roads. Voters in the Seattle metro area just passed a $56 BILLION property tax measure to fund a massive expansion of bus and light rail infrastructure over the next 20 years. The year before, city of Seattle voters approved $930 million to expand bus service alone. Los Angeles voters recently approved a $30 BILLION measure to expand light rail. What are you thinking? We need to demand MAJOR, game-changing funding increases to simply accomodate the increased population, traffic, and transportation needs in our area. Please stop thinking so small, folks!
admin
March 23, 2017 (4:46 pm)
We love your enthusiasm for “go big and go bold!” and hope you’ll say the same to state legislators. But there’s a difference between running a property tax measure in a progressive city like Seattle, and getting something through a state legislature. We looked at what the Washington State Legislature was able to achieve for pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure and services in its 2015 statewide transportation package compared to road spending. They asked for 1 billion out of 15 billion. We are asking for 161 million out of 300-500 million. So our ask is actually a larger ratio than what they achieved in Washington.