One of the nation's most prominent projects that would have tolled all lanes on two urban interstate highways may have come to an abrupt end on March 11 after Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek pulled her support for the controversial Portland area projects.
“Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday announced her intention to halt plans to toll Portland-area freeways, citing uncertainty about the costs of planned freeway projects and the revenue tolling would bring in,” reported Jayati Ramakrishnan for The Oregonian on March 11.
In a letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission, which sets state transportation policy, Kotek said she believed it was time to end the work on the Regional Mobility Pricing Project, the state transportation department’s plan to impose per-mile tolls on interstates 5 and 205 from Wilsonville to Portland’s northern border.
The ambitious road tolling projects were included in landmark transportation funding legislation, HB 2017, signed into law by then-Gov. Kate Brown. See Planetizen: Interstate Highway Tolling Takes Major Step Forward in Pacific Northwest, December 9, 2018:
The state that implemented the first gas tax and the first bike tax took a huge step on [Dec. 6, 2018] toward becoming the first, since 1956, to toll all lanes on an interstate highway by approving an application to the Federal Highway Administration.
Ramakrishnan continues in The Oregonian:
The state’s path toward implementing tolling is uncertain at best,” Kotek wrote in her letter to commissioners. “After years of work, the challenges of implementing the Regional Mobility Pricing Plan (RMPP) have grown larger than the anticipated benefits.”
...
The plan has been met with fierce opposition from most sides, including residents in communities along I-205 that would likely see increased traffic from drivers trying to avoid tolls, and from environmental advocates who feel that proposed tolling costs are unnecessarily high and would fund freeway-widening projects.
However, the Oregon Department of Transportation's webpage on the Regional Mobility Pricing Project as of March 19 has yet to reflect the governor's announcement:
Project Status
The Regional Mobility Pricing Project would toll I-5 and I-205 in the Portland metropolitan region. Tolling is part of ODOT's long-term strategy to help pay for transportation improvements and provide faster, more efficient trips through the Portland metro region.
The Oregon Department of Transportation did not respond to this correspondent's inquiries as of publication time.
For additional past Planetizen coverage, see tags Oregon Transportation Commission and Regional Mobility Pricing Project.
FULL STORY: Gov. Tina Kotek shelves plans for I-5, I-205 tolls in Portland area
Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.
Interstate Highway Tolling Takes Major Step Forward in Pacific Northwest
The state that implemented the first gas tax and the first bike tax took a huge step on Thursday toward becoming the first, since 1956, to toll all lanes on an interstate highway by approving an application to the Federal Highway Administration.
Portland's Regional Congestion Pricing Program Widens and Advances
It might be the nation's most significant but least known congestion pricing plan. The plan originally recommended tolling all lanes on segments of two interstates. Four more roads were just added to broaden the plan.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions