Columbia Crossing
June 22, 2009
Keep up the CRC Pressure
While the Columbia River Crossing project is under pressure from any number of angles, we can't let up. Please be an active voice in several upcoming open houses:
June Open Houses:
- Tuesday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, Community Room (across from food court), 1405 N. Jantzen Beach Center, Portland
- Wednesday, June 24, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay, River Rooms, 100 Columbia Street, Vancouver
Listening Sessions on Tolling:
- Tuesday, June 30, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: WSDOT, 11018 NE 51st Circle, Room 102, Vancover
- Wednesday, July 1, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.: Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, Community Room (across from food court), 1405 N. Jantzen Beach Center, Portland
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:22 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink
June 14, 2009
"NO CRC" Ride Pedals Through N/NE Portland
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To chants of "12 Lanes - Insane!" I rode with 60 or so other cyclists today on a "No CRC" (Columbia River Crossing) ride as part of Pedalpalooza, the annual bike festival.
The ride was a co-production of local cyclists and Rising Tide, a national climate change activism group.
Full set of photos after the jump...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 8:12 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
June 8, 2009
Business Journal: Lack of Federal Enthusiam for the CRC
The Congressional delegation is so lukewarm that they may only come up with half of the requested $400M in highway funds for the Columbia River Crossing.
$0.2B down, $4B to go...
[OK, I know that $800M for the transit piece is an easier ask, but I couldn't resist.]
Posted by Chris Smith at 7:18 AM | Comments (40) | Permalink
June 4, 2009
Tolling on the CRC Agenda
Tolls and financing are on the agenda when the Columbia River Crossing Sponsors Council meets on Friday:
VANCOUVER - The Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council will discuss project financing and tolling, and the number of structures for the replacement I-5 bridge when it meets Friday, June 5.
The agenda includes an update on project funding, public outreach efforts for a tolling study, considerations for a two-structure I-5 bridge, and a recommendation for the individuals to serve on a committee developing performance measures for the Columbia River Crossing project.
The public meeting will be held 10 a.m. to noon at the Region 1 Headquarters of the Oregon Department of Transportation, 123 NW Flanders Street in Portland. Meeting materials are available at: www.columbiarivercrossing.org/ProjectPartners/ProjectSponsorsCouncil.aspx .
The governors of Oregon and Washington charged the Project Sponsors Council with advising the project on completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, project design, project timeline, sustainable construction methods, consistency with greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and the financial plan. The council is composed of representatives from the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation, cities of Portland and Vancouver, Metro, Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, TriMet, and C-TRAN, as well as two citizens who serve as co-chairs for the group.
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:31 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
May 19, 2009
CRC Reality Setting In?
Via the Mercury Blogtown.
Are 12-lane Columbia River Crossing supporters finally admitting that their ambitions are unrealistic? An interview in the Columbian with Don Wagner may be the first signal:
"Just like most of us in the real world, we dream about the car we want," Wagner said in a wide-ranging interview last week. "And at some point, stark reality says, 'Huh. I dream about it, but I don't have quite enough money to get it all today. Maybe I need to take off a few of the options off of this car.' And we are starting those conversations right now."
I'm not popping any champagne corks yet, but...
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:04 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink
May 13, 2009
CRC Opposition Moves to Google Earth
If we can't stop 'em in the real world, we'll out flank them in the virtual world!
A self-described "animator turned-urban-planning grad student" has created a nice description of induced demand illustrated in Google Earth (you'll need version 5.0):
http://www.bikefuel.com/CRCTour/ColumbiaRiverCrossing.kmz
Anyone up for an anti-CRC rally in Second Life?
Posted by Chris Smith at 6:49 AM | Comments (10) | Permalink
May 5, 2009
An Alternate CRC Vision
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Regular commenter Ron Swaren sends along this alternate concept for the Columbia River Crossing:
The concept of a new Interstate Bridge in the Burlington Northern/AMTRAK corridor has been widely discussed both in Vancouver, WA political circles and in Portland, as an alternative to the Columbia River Crossing project. The idea was discussed, briefly, as the RC 14 alternative in the CRC's list of potential river crossings.
It would be about .8 miles downstream from the existing Interstate bridges, would eventually replace the existing rail bridge which has a large number of concrete piers and low clearance with a design with one large pier midstream with a recreational level accessible from bicycle and pedestrian pathways. The eventual removal of the railroad bridge would improve navigability in the dredged Columbia channel, which is located on the Washington side of the Columbia. It would allow commercial river traffic to easily line up with either the elevated portion of the remaining Interstate Bridges, or with the lift span when the need arises.
It would eliminate the s-turn presently required for much upstream barge traffic.
Rail traffic, including freight, commuter and interstate passenger, would be located on the lower level. Either four or six lanes for interstate traffic could be located on the upper level plus wide sidewalks for bicycles and pedestrians. The center pier would be accessed by stairways from the upper deck and would have sizable platforms both near the water and on the upper level. The double through arch design is reputed for seismic safety and can also have pendulum isolation bearings and/or lead-rubber bushings between the piers and the metal structure to further reduce any damage from earthquake.
It would be part of a route that in Washington State could connect to I-5 via Mill Plain Blvd, 78th street or a new connnection further north. It could also connect to Fruit Valley Highway. It would have an elevated crossing over Hayden Island in Oregon with on and off ramps to Tomahawk Island Drive and a span supported by an arch over the Portland Harbor. On the mainland it would follow North Portland Rd. to Columbia Boulevard. The rail portion would then continue southward to the existing rail crossing of the Willamette River. A highway route to NW Portland would follow west on Columbia Boulevard, cross the Willamette just south of Sauvies Island via a large, arch supported roadway and connect to Hwy 30 with on and off ramps. The route would continue south via Newberry Rd, to Skyline Rd, to NW Kaiser Rd and finally to Cornelius Pass Rd. Cornelius Pass Rd crosses US 26 several miles further south and enters the industrial area between Beaverton, OR and Hillsboro, OR called the Silicon Forest.
A commuter from downtown Vancouver to the interchange of US 26 and Cornelius Pass Rd would reduce his travel by five miles over a present route using I-5 and US 26 from downtown Portland. In Oregon the needed roadways are 95 percent in place already, but would require some straightening and widening. This does not need to be part of the US Interstate Highway system per se, but would connect several routes that now typically feed in to Interstate 5 in North Portland.
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:25 AM | Comments (26) | Permalink
May 4, 2009
Toasting the CRC on Thursday
Hey, I'm participating in a Bus Project/1000 Friends event on Thursday, highlighting better things we could do for the same price as the Columbia River Crossing. I hope I'll see some friendly Portland Transport faces there!
Brewhaha and CRC Letter-Writing at Roots on May 7
Brewhaha! Let's Make a Deal, Portland!
Roots Organic Brewery, 1520 SE 7th Ave., Portland
Thursday, May 7th
6:30pm - drinks and networking, 7pm - program beginsAt 4 billion dollars the Columbia River Crossing's fantastic price tag sends a signal that anything is possible in Portland. Join us for a night of dialogue, democracy and drinks to debate our region's transportation future.
1000 Friends is organizing this evening game show style event, hosted by 1000 Friends Executive Director Bob Stacey, in association with The Bus Project, Transportation for America's town halls, and The Portland Mercury. We'll hear some about transportation funding and projects, have some fun, and spend an imaginary $4 billion in "Transpo-bucks". Speakers include CLF's very own Policy Director, Mara Gross, Chris Smith of portlandtransport.com, Jonathan Maus of bikeportland.org, and Representative Nick Kahl.
Columbia River Crossing letter-writing session
Then, directly right after the Brewhaha program (around 8:00pm), CLF will be leading a Columbia River Crossing letter-writing session for those interested. We will be writing letters to our state legislators about Oregon's transportation priorities, including the need for a Climate Smart CRC that directly addresses our climate change goals, fiscal responsibility, and the livability of the communities around the 1-5 bridge corridor. The session is tentatively entitled, "Bigger is Not Better" or "Yo Leg, 12 Lanes is Wack."
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:30 AM | Comments (17) | Permalink
April 30, 2009
CRC Sponsors Council to Take Up Tolling
From the press release:
Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council meets May 4
VANCOUVER - The Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council will begin a discussion of tolling at its next meeting on Monday, May 4.
The agenda includes an update on recent tolling legislation, a background presentation and discussion of lessons learned from tolling outreach on other northwest highways, and a beginning discussion on how to study and engage the public on tolling for the Columbia River Crossing project.
Multiple sources will be necessary to fund construction of the Columbia River Crossing project, including federal, state, regional and local sources, and tolls. Specific toll collection strategies have not been identified, but tolls would be collected electronically to avoid the need for toll booths.
The Project Sponsors Council also will begin discussing the concept of "performance measures" for ensuring optimal long-term performance of the Columbia River crossing. The need for such measures was identified during the March Project Sponsors Council meeting. A performance measurement technical group will be formed in June to develop performance measurements for consideration later this year.
The public meeting will be held 1:30 - 3 p.m. at the Clark County Public Services Center, sixth floor hearing room, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver. Meeting materials are available at: http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/ProjectPartners/PSCMeetingMaterials.aspx.
Posted by Chris Smith at 1:14 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink
April 29, 2009
Could it be? Someone Finally Ready to Say NO to CRC
The Portland Mercury is blogging that the the $30M in the Governor's Transportation Package for continued Columbia River Crossing planning is under attachattack in the Legislature.
Be still my heart...
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:21 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink
