What City Observatory did this week A note to City Observatory readers: We’re deep in the thick of Portland’s debate about whether to spend a half billion dollars to widen a mile-long stretch of freeway near the city’s downtown. Based on all we’ve learned in our research at City Observatory, and our analysis of the […]
The Week Observed, March 15, 2019 Read More »
The proposed I-5 Rose Quarter freeway widening project creates a bike- and pedestrian-hostile environment The Oregon Department of Transportation has crafted distorted images that exaggerate pedestrian use by a factor of 200 As part of its effort to sell its $500 million dollar project to widen Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter, the Oregon Department
Distorted images: Freeway widening is bad for pedestrians Read More »
ODOT is really building an 8-lane mega-freeway at the Rose Quarter You can tell from the tortured rhetoric about “auxiliary” lanes that the Oregon Department of Transportation is falling all over itself to make the freeway widening project it has proposed for the I-5 Rose Quarter area seem absolutely as small as possible. They maintain
The Hidden Rose Quarter MegaFreeway Read More »
`State DOT officials have crafted an Environmental Assessment that conceals more than it reveals In theory, the National Environmental Policy Act is all about disclosing facts. But in practice, that isn’t always how it works out. The structure and content of the environmental review is in the hands of the agency proposing the project, in
The black box: Hiding the facts about freeway widening Read More »
There’s no evidence that widening the I-5 freeway at the Rose Quarter will reduce crashes. ODOT used a model that doesn’t work for freeways with ramp-meters When ODOT widened I-5 lanes and shoulders near Victory Boulevard in 2010, crash rates did not decline Research shows interstate freeway shoulder widths aren’t correlated with crash rates The
The Rose Quarter: ODOT’s Phony safety claims Read More »
Why Portland’s freeway fight is so important to the future of cities everywhere The plan to widen the I-5 Rose Quarter Freeway in Portland, at a cost of $500 million, is a tragic error for one city, and an object lesson to others. A wider freeway will induce more traffic and pollution (and ironically, worsen
Why Portland shouldn’t be widening freeways Read More »
What City Observatory did this week 1. Widening freeways increases car travel and carbon emissions. Induced demand from additional freeway capacity is now so well proven that it’s referred to “The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion.” Based on the scientific literature showing how more road capacity produces more driving, the University of California Davis has
The Week Observed, March 8, 2019 Read More »
The fundamental injustice of pollution from urban freeways Item: In the past two years, Portland Public Schools has spent nearly $12.5 million of its scarce funds to clean up the air at Harriet Tubman Middle School. This money will buy an expensive state-of-the-art air filtration system that will make the air inside the school safe
Why do poor school kids have to clean up rich commuter’s pollution? Read More »
There’s a huge demographic divide between those who use freeways and neighbors who bear their costs When it comes time to evaluate the equity of freeway widening investments, it’s important to understand that there are big differences between those who travel on freeways and those who bear the social and costs in the neighborhoods the
Freeway widening for whomst? Read More »
What pretends to be an environmental assessment is actually a thinly-veiled marketing brochure In theory, an environmental impact statement is supposed to be a disclosure document. The idea behind the National Environmental Policy Act was to force thoughtful consideration of potentially environmentally harmful projects and policies, and by providing the public and decision-makers with clear
Orwellian freeway-widening Read More »
