Portland Metro

After two years of study and collaboration with community partners, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is ready to showcase PedPDX, Portland’s citywide pedestrian plan. It prioritizes sidewalk and crossing improvements and other investments to make walking safer and more comfortable across the city. The plan identifies the key strategies and tools we will use to make Portland a great walking city for everyone. 

The Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) is a new dedicated source of funding for expanding public transportation service in Oregon. (Read our earlier coverage of STIF & activity in the Salem-area). Eighteen of the forty-two eligible transit providers in Oregon have submitted applications for the first STIF review cycle, which started in November 2018.

Following a competitive call for projects, last week the Oregon Transportation Commission approved a list of 24 recommended Safe Routes to School (SRTS) infrastructure grants. These projects will invest more than $15 million across the state to create safer ways for students to get to and from schools via walking and rolling.

As cities across the country take steps to address equity, traffic congestion, and reduce climate emissions, many are looking to bike and scooter share programs for possible solutions. New mobility programs seem to make headlines each week, with announcements of new transportation technologies hitting our streets. Last year, Portland held a fourth-month pilot program to test out e-scooter share programs in the City. And in recent weeks, the City of Salem has been gearing up for a new bike share and contemplating its own e-scooter deployment.