Portland Transport

Author: Chris Smith

  • Be Safe Out There

    Today’s Portland Tribune features an article titled Walk, ride at your peril reporting about the nine pedestrian and cyclist fatalities this year so far. So today’s question is: are these just a statistical blip, or are there systematic issues going on involving the transportation system, or behavioral changes by drivers, pedestrians or cyclists?

  • Trend is Not Destiny

    Today I attended a joint meeting of MTAC (Metro Technical Advisory Committee) and TPAC (Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee – on which I am a citizen representative). The purpose of the meeting was to review the 2030 population forecasts, which will help drive the next update the Regional Transportation Plan and the next UGB (Urban Growth…

  • With Great Reluctance

    Rule # 4 has just been added to the site: This site HAS a point of view, generally supportive of transit and compact development, and efforts to reduce VMT (vehicles miles travelled) per capita. This is intended to be the general center of the conversation here. While opposing views are welcome, participation that is of…

  • Portland Transport Audio – Complex Systems and Lifecycles

    No, we’re not starting a podcast (at least not yet). But we will from time to time point our readers to interesting content we come across in audio form. This week’s Tech Nation radio program features a fascinating discussion (MP3, about 10MB) with John Thackara on the design of complex systems. Included is a discussion…