Portland Transport

Author: Chris Smith

  • Toll Roads Back in the News

    Yesterday’s Oregonian included an article by James Mayer (unfortunately it does not appear to be online) indicating that ODOT has selected an Australian company as a preferred partner for toll roads, possibly including the Newberg-Dundee bypass and an added lane on the southern end of I-205. Today the Oregonian’s “question of the week” is also…

  • On Being a Transit-Assisted Pedestrian

    I don’t think of myself as a transit rider, although I certainly ride transit frequently. I don’t even think of myself primarily as a bicycle rider, although when I go to the office, it’s most often on my bike. My primary identification is as a pedestrian. Most of my travel around the city is on…

  • Social Justice and Transportation

    Last week I received an announcement for the Cascade Policy Institute’s Wheels to Wealth conference, subtitled “the role of auto ownership in reducing poverty”. My immediate reaction was that owning a car might be more of a financial burden than a benefit for a low income person, but I also thought about my own situation.…

  • Centers and Corridors

    Strip malls are a dying breed. That was the starting point for a discussion of corridor planning at yesterday’s Metro “Get Centered” brown-bag event. The market for retail is now reorganizing to favor interchanges and crossroads. Long corridors of strip malls are out. The prototypical example held out from our region is Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. The…

  • KBOO Bike Show: BTA Director Evan Manvel and the Ghost Bike Project

    Listen to the show (mp3, 11.6M) BTA Executive Director Evan Manvel discusses bicycle advocacy, safety and “sharrows”. Forrest Burris talks about the Ghost Bike project, memorializing cyclists killed by autos by erecting white bicycles at the crash sites. The Walk + Bike to School program is also discussed.