Today was the big Oregon Business Plan Summit. Besides a fun session in which Harvard’s Michael Porter analyzed the plan (more on his presentation in another post), of course I immediately went to the transportation section of the plan. Beyond the predictable priorities like the Columbia Crossing, there were some encouragingly progressive ideas:

Yesterday was the big Oregon Business Plan Summit. Besides a fun session in which Harvard’s Michael Porter analyzed the plan (more on his presentation in another post), of course I immediately went to the transportation section of the plan. Beyond the predictable priorities like the Columbia Crossing, there were some encouragingly progressive ideas:

• Celebration of the “Connect Oregon” package of non-road multi-modal projects passed by the last legislative session.
• A call for accelerated implementation of congestion management tools, including ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) tools.
• A call for examination of a combination of mileage taxes and congestion pricing as an alternative revenue system:
  

  “Oregon was the first state to adopt the gas tax. We should set a goal to be the first state to replace it with a modern system for revenue collection.”

I like the attitude!

Thoughts on the Regional Business Plan, released at the summit, tomorrow.