The Rose State Highway project will continue, without the support of Portland leaders

The Oregon Department of Transportation lost much more than supporting a local nonprofit today when the Albina Vision Trust withdrew its support for the I-5 Rose Quarter project.

This earthquake really had major consequences. Portland Commissioner for Transportation Office Chloe Udalli and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also withdrew their support. This means ODOT has been left trying to complete a huge controversial project that is not supported by the same city in which it will be built.

And while we still appreciate the damage, ODOT says they will try to do better. “We have worked actively to address our partners’ concerns, ”Brendan Finn, ODOT Urban Movement Office Manager shared with us today. “Obviously there’s more work to be done, and we’ll be part of the solution going forward.”

Before we think about what happens next, let’s see how Commissioner Eudaly and Mayor Wheeler develop their new positions.

Mayor Wheeler tweeted earlier today:

Given the history of the transportation infrastructure that divides societies, it is important that entities such as Alpina Vision, which advocate for restorative justice, equity and future thinking – are on the table for this process. In each step, she asked ODOT to achieve specific goals on climate, society and economic development. These goals were not achieved. Therefore, I am withdrawing my support for the I-5 Rose Quarter project.

Wheeler’s statement is a good policy, but it makes him appear more skeptical of the project than he actually was. As we mentioned in 2017, he used to defend the project, even rejecting people who opposed it as “ridiculous.”

Here is the statement made by Commissioner Audale today:

“From the start, I made it clear that the Rose Quarter I-5 project did not match the priorities or values ​​of PBOT, Portland, or myself. While the exchange was poorly designed and could be reconfigured, it was difficult to justify such a huge investment in a project that wouldn’t be reduced Significant injuries and fatalities on our roads will result in modest and short-lived congestion. And carbon emissions. Almost half of Portland’s traffic deaths occur on ODOT properties, which make up only 12% of our roads. There are many more projects Urgent and valuable if you value human life.

The Rose Quarter I-5 Corridor is a memorial to the racial heritage of our transportation system. In 1962, ODOT dug a trench through Oregon’s largest black community, demolishing more than 300 homes and more, destabilizing society and destabilizing the environment. The only consolation for this project, in my opinion, was the promised investment in the surface streets, in particular hats, that were intended to help sew Lower Albina together and pave the way for development focused on racial equality and restorative justice.

I have fought every step of this process for the interests and demands of society – we have had some victories and losses. Portland City Council has made congestion pricing one of the project requirements through a corporate plan. She successfully defended ODOT to hold a public hearing, extend the comment period, and establish an executive steering committee. But despite the fact that public schools in the city, county, metro, and Portland – along with hundreds of community members – called for a full study of environmental impacts (EIS), the OTC determined that a less stringent environmental assessment would be sufficient. Then we focused on the results for the black community, and we worked closely with the Albina Vision Trust.

However, after the first executive steering committee, it became clear to me that ODOT was determined to proceed with the project as planned, that they would resist congestion pricing, and that the steering committee would be treated as an advisory body without a power ruling, that ODOT did not seem to have understood the concept of restorative justice, and it was We are unlikely to achieve the results we were seeking. I am so happy because so many of us came to the same conclusion. This is the wrong project for our city. I am stepping down from the steering committee. I don’t support the Rose Quarter I-5 Corridor project. I urge the country to prioritize safety, climate change and ethnic justice in all future transportation investments.

Eudaly repeats some of the frustration that Albina Vision Trust leaders have shared – that despite months of public messages and comments, ODOT doesn’t take community values ​​seriously enough.

It is unclear what all this means for the project. It is a major bodily blow, but the fight is not over.

What we do know is that PBOT and Portland city support has been used by ODOT from the start as a firewall against the opposition. ODOT has always known that Portland will be the most difficult place to expand a highway in the entire state. Portland is legendary for its transportation activity (she became stronger through collaborating with climate change activists) and ODOT is deeply hated in Portland for countless reasons (from their love of large highways to their deadly arteries). Many activists and bureaucrats see ODOT as the prime suspect in many crimes against safe and sustainable transport. The presence of PBOT on the team gives them a progressive interface to smooth those rough edges.

For their part, ODOT would like to claim that the Rose Quarter project has already been endorsed by Portland City Council and that the two agencies have a “unique collaborative partnership”. The truth is that Portland City Council only adopted the conceptual highway project in long-range planning documents, and did not vote specifically on the ODOT Expansion Project. This is why Portland Planning Commissioner (and Metro Board candidate) Chris Smith attempted to force this vote with some procedural maneuvers in 2017. The Smith maneuver did not work, so he took a different path and helped shape no more highways, a group that would become the project’s main adversary.

The truth is that if Portland city council voted on the I-5 Rose Quarter project today, it wouldn’t have enough votes to pass it.

But the truth is also that the I-5 expansion in Rose Quarter is part of several major approved plans like the transportation system plan and the regional metro transportation plan.

While there was a celebration deserving of transportation stakeholders today, this project is far from death. ODOT believes they have a mandate from the Oregon legislature who dedicated project funding to law in 2017. Obtaining ODOT and state lawmakers to reallocate funds already earmarked for the highway expansion for other uses requires another stronger earthquake.

When Brendan Fein, director of ODOT’s Urban Movement office, was asked to respond to big news today, he didn’t seem very worried.

Finn said: “We acknowledge that historic transportation investments have hurt the African American community of Albena.” “We are committed to doing business differently … As we move forward, we hope to engage our partners in further discussion to gain community trust – not through words but through actions. We have to improve it and meet community needs – we will continue to emerge to do exactly that.” . “

Will ODOT come back with the support of the elected teams and organizations in the Portland area? Can even a highway expansion project meet the goals of climate change and ethnic and social justice? How much time and money will ODOT spend trying to convince us that it is?

– Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, jonathan_maus on Twitter and [email protected] – Get our headlines to your inbox.

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