What City Observatory did this week CEVP: Non-existent cost controls for the $7.5 billion IBR project.  Oregon DOT has a history of enormous cost overruns, and just told the Oregon and Washington Legislatures that the cost of the I-5 Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) had ballooned 54 percent, to as much as $7.5 billion. To allay […]

Oregon DOT has a history of enormous cost overruns, and just told the Oregon and Washington Legislatures that the cost of the I-5 Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) had ballooned 54 percent, to as much as $7.5 billion. To allay fears of poor management and further cost overruns, IBR officials testified they had completed a “Cost

What City Observatory did this week Groundhog’s Day for Climate.  So you think you’re not Bill Murray in the classic “Groundhog’s Day?”  Oregonians, ask yourself:  are we anywhere closer to seriously addressing the climate crisis than we were a year ago?  Greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing, chiefly because we’re driving more, and our policies

Every year, the same story:  We profess to care about climate change, but we’re driving more and greenhouse gas emissions are rising rapidly. Oregon is stuck in an endless loop of lofty rhetoric, distant goals, and zero actual progress If it seems to you like you’ve read this before, you have:  We’re marking this year’s

What City Observatory did this week Driving stakes, selling bonds, overdosing on debt.  The Oregon Department of Transportation is following a well trodden path to push the state toward a massive highway expansion project. For example, Oregon DOT has kicked off the half billion dollar I-205 project with no permanent funding in place, instead relying

The Oregon Department of Transportation is launching a series of boondoggle freeways, with no idea of their ultimate cost, and issuing bonds that will obligate the public to pay for expensive and un-needed highways. Future generations will have to pay off the bonds AND suffer the climate consequences The classic Robert Moses scam:  Drive stakes,

What City Observatory did this week Dr. King: Socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor.  We’re reminded this year of Dr. Martin Luther King’s observation that our cities, and the public policies that shape them, are deeply enmeshed in our history of racism. Whenever the government provides opportunities in privileges

What City Observatory did this week A reporter’s guide to congestion cost studies.  For more than a decade, we and others have been taking a close, hard and critical look at congestion cost reports generated by groups like the Texas Transportation Institute, Tom-Tom, and Inrix.  The reports all follow a common pattern, generating seemingly alarming,