Oregon Department of Transportation

Highway 520

Washington State to Decide on Transition From Gas Tax to Road Usage Charge

Having completed a pilot program last year, the Washington State Transportation Commission will hear a report in October and vote in December on phasing out its 49.4 cents per gallon gas tax, fourth highest in the nation but not indexed to inflation.

August 15, 2019 - Tacoma News Tribune

Freeway Underpass Encampment

Boulders to Replace Rose Bushes in ODOT Effort to Inconvenience the Homeless

The Oregon Department of Transportation anticipates spending about a million dollars to bring boulders to road embankments so that they are less hospitable to the homeless.

June 24, 2019 - KGW

Willamette River

Environmental Assessment for I-5 Improvement Project in Portland Promises Air, Traffic, Safety Benefits

The environmental assessment for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, released on February 15, 2019, promises to be controversial.

February 17, 2019 - The Oregonian

Two Brothers Walk to School

Safe Routes to School Have New Funding Opportunities in Oregon

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced the first round of funding for the Safe Routes to School Competitive Grant Program.

January 18, 2019 - Bike Portland

Portland Interchange

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.

December 9, 2018 - The Columbian

Portland Interchange

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.

August 20, 2018 - KOIN6

Marquam Bridge

Tolling of Portland Interstates Could Be Decided by Voters in 2020

Should plans to toll Interstates 5 and 205 in Portland get the go-ahead from the Oregon Transportation Commission and the Federal Highway Administration, they would still be subject to a state referendum.

July 26, 2018 - Portland Tribune

Portland Interchange

Advisory Committee Recommends Complete Tolling of Portland Interstates

A Portland regional value pricing committee recommended that the state transportation department operate two pilot programs to toll all the lanes on two interstate highways in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.

July 9, 2018 - KGW

Washington, Oregon Border

Priced Lane or Priced Roadway?

The Pacific Northwest's Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area is studying options to add congestion pricing to one or two interstates.

May 17, 2018 - The Oregonian

Willamette River

Study: Wider Highways Won't Reduce Congestion

Widening highways won't reduce congestion—that's the conclusion of a report paid for by the state agency proposing several highway widening projects in Oregon.

March 13, 2018 - The Portland Mercury

Amtrak Cascaded

Focus on Positive Train Control after Amtrak Train 501 Derails in Washington

Excessive speed is thought to be the cause of the deadly derailment on Dec. 18. Positive train control, which likely would have slowed down the train, was installed on the tracks and locomotive but was not yet operational.

December 22, 2017 - RailwayAge

Bay Bridge Toll

Analysis Debunks Equity Criticism of Congestion Pricing

Oregon's recently approved gas tax legislation also calls for tolling of I-205 and I-5 in the Portland metro area, with the application of value or congestion pricing so peak period tolls would be higher, which have raised equity concerns.

October 24, 2017 - City Observatory

Mt. Hood and Traffic

Op-Ed: What Oregon's DOT Gets Wrong on Roadway Safety

Faced with an uptick in roadway fatalities, Oregon is looking at how to increase safety. But it's concentrating on highways while arterials actually account for the region's most severe crashes.

September 8, 2017 - City Observatory

Willamette River

Widening Portland's Freeways

The state of Oregon is looking to use a gas tax increase to, among other things, fund a billion-dollars worth of highway-widening projects.

April 27, 2017 - City Observatory

Columbia River Gorge

Oregon DOT's Columbia River Gorge Bus Service a Smashing Success

The first season of a two-year pilot project for the Columbia Gorge Express has been a huge hit.

October 28, 2016 - Bike Portland

Pokémon Go

Sunday Pun-Day: 'Safety Is Nothing to Poké Fun At'

You might have guessed it from that scintillating headline, but a state department of transportation has introduced a Pokémon Go-themed back-to-school safety campaign.

September 11, 2016 - The Oregonian

Over $14 Million Awarded to Eight Projects to Find Alternatives to Gas Taxes

The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding ways to transition from the gas tax to other user-based revenue mechanisms to fund transportation infrastructure. The federal gas tax hasn't keep pace with transportation expenditures since 2008.

September 6, 2016 - U.S. D.O.T. Press Release

Toll Road Truck

Is Privacy Overrated as a Concern for Mileage Fees?

'Big Brother' has long been voiced as a criticism of charging motorists by the mile driven, but in the ongoing Oregon road usage charge program, more than 75 percent of volunteer enrollees opted for a recording technology with GPS.

August 19, 2016 - Planetizen

Sunrise Expressway

First New Portland-Area Highway in 34 Years Opens Today

The sun rises on the new Sunrise Expressway in Oregon.

July 1, 2016 - The Oregonian

Multnomah Falls

New Bus Service to Alleviate Congestion Between Portland and Multnomah Falls

Even natural attractions outside of urban areas have parking shortages and congestion problems.

May 28, 2016 - The Oregonian

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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