The record · Transcript
Council Session — 2025-03-24
Transcript from the session's official auto-captions (17,008 words), shown in readable case and split into speaker turns. Speakers are not yet identified (colors just separate consecutive turns). Auto-captions can contain errors — check the recording for anything that matters.
Session summaryEditor-reviewed
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee met on Monday, March 24 (per the transcript, "March the 24th"), with roll call confirming attendance of committee members and a reading of the standard statement of conduct. Three agenda items were addressed. The first concerned a resolution on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project's Locally Preferred Alternative, including a presentation covering the Building a Better 82nd program, project funding figures, timeline, and conditions of approval; public testimony raised concerns about stop consolidation, sidewalk connectivity, displacement, and accessibility for disabled riders, and committee questions touched on cost-benefit analysis of stop reduction and community outreach methods. A vote occurred on moving the resolution to full council; the outcome is recorded in the vote ledger. The second item was a Vision Zero program update from PBOT staff, presenting crash data, high-crash network statistics, and safety strategies such as lane reconfiguration and speed management, followed by discussion of funding uncertainty tied to federal grants. The third item involved a resolution on a sidewalk improvement and paving program, with extensive discussion of amendments addressing equity, contractor partnerships, and financing mechanisms including potential use of Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars; public testimony supported the resolution, and further amendments and votes occurred, with outcomes recorded in the vote ledger. The meeting adjourned with a preview of the April 7 agenda.
AI-drafted from the session's auto-captions, reviewed by an editor — describes the discussion only; recorded votes live in the vote ledger. Captions contain errors.
0 Councilor Koyama, can you hear me?
1 Sure.
2 Yes I can. Good morning. Hi. Okay, great. Thanks so much. Thank you.
3 Joining.
4 Us.
5 Good morning everyone. Welcome. And it's spring. I'm really happy that the blossoms are blossoming. I am calling the meeting of the transportation infrastructure committee to order. It's Monday, March the 24th at 930. Now I gavel. Okay, there you go. Rebecca, can you please call the roll?
6 Smith.
7 Oh, it's not rebecca.
8 It's here.
9 Koyama Lane here.
10 Lynn.
11 Present.
12 Maria.
13 Here.
14 Clark.
15 Here.
16 All right. Claire, can you please read the statement of conduct?
17 Good morning, and welcome to the meeting of the transportation and infrastructure committee. To testify before this committee in person or virtually. You must sign up in advance on the committee agenda at Portland.gov/council agenda, slash transportation and infrastructure committee. Or by calling 311. Information on engaging with the committee can be found at this link. Registration for virtual testimony closes one hour prior to the meeting. In person. Testifiers must sign up before the agenda item is heard. If public testimony will be taken on an item, individuals may testify for three minutes unless the chair states otherwise, your microphone will be muted when your time is over. The chair preserves order disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others testimony or committee deliberations will not be allowed. If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given. Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting. Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass. Additionally, the committee may take a short recess and reconvene virtually. Your testimony should address the matter being considered. When testifying, please state your name for the record and address is not necessary. If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent. And finally, virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the clerk calls your name. Thank you.
18 Thank you claire. Today we have three items on our agenda and we have a very tight timeline. First, we're going to hear a resolution that's brought forward by PBOT on the 82nd avenue locally preferred alternative, otherwise known as the lpa, and the work being done there to improve transit and traffic safety. The second thing we're going to take up is the vision zero program. We're going to get a quick update on where that program is from, PBOT. And then we're going to conclude our meeting with a resolution from councilor Smith and Green and myself on a proposal for a sidewalk improvement project. And looking forward to that. But we have very little time. We have another committee following us immediately. We have to call the meeting, adjourn the meeting at noon. So with that, let's see. Keelan, can you please read the next item?
19 Item one adopt the locally preferred alternative for the 82nd avenue transit project and conditions for approval.
20 Thank you. So, dca director donna paul, would you like to kick this off?
21 Good morning.
22 Chair, clerk and councilors. I'm paul, deputy city administrator for public works, and today we'll be providing an update on the 82nd avenue in preparation for the council's consideration of the 82nd avenue transit project. Locally preferred alternative on may 7th. I am pleased to be joined by millicent williams, PBOT director, michael kaiser, TriMet project director for the 82nd avenue transit project, and April bertelsen, PBOT transit coordinator. Also with us online is kristen hull, PBOT planning and project delivery group director, along with PBOT, along with other chiefs present online to answer any questions along with our PBOT, TriMet and metro colleagues in the audience, we have metro's melissa ashby, senior transportation planner. Next slide please. On today's agenda, we'll walk you through several key components of our efforts along 82nd avenue. We will begin with a broader overview of our efforts on building a better 82nd program, and take a look at the ongoing projects and current improvements. We'll discuss how we are collaborating with TriMet community members and businesses to shape a future of transit along the corridor. And finally, we'll close with an update of the transit locally preferred alternative, the proposed transit investment strategy that reflects community input and technical analysis. And together, these initiatives aim to transform 82nd avenue into a safer, more accessible and vibrant corridor. Next slide please. So the key reason we're here today is to prepare for the may 7th city council meeting, where we will request formal adoption of the transit projects. Lpa, which defines the mode, alignment and station locations. Next slide please. So why are we doing an lpa? The locally preferred alternative establishes regional consensus on key project elements, and it enables us to advance the project design and environmental review and have regional alignment on funding properties and have stronger competitive competitiveness for federal grants. The city uses lpa adoption process to affirm policy priorities for design and delivery, and these are detailed under the conditions of approval exhibit that you also have in your packet. Next slide please. So this slide here shows you the lpa adoption process. So typically we whenever we have an lpa it is. Oops. Excuse me. It's therapy that we have today is selected transit mode alignment and treatment location. And when an lpa is developed project partners here in this case PBOT TriMet and metro and other stakeholders conduct technical analysis and public engagement. And it begins with the steering committee, which is comprised of local jurisdiction agencies and community representatives who endorse a preferred alternative and followed following, which local jurisdictions like PBOT, metro and other partner agencies review and adopt the lpa. The final lpa goes to metro council for regional approval, and today we are at the transportation infrastructure committee to present the lpa that will go to metro council eventually for approval and approval signals regional support, making the project more competitive for federal funding and implementation. And with that, I'll turn it over to director williams for further details.
23 Good morning, councilor Clark and members of the committee. My name is milicent williams. I am the director of the Portland bureau of transportation, and I'm excited about being here today to share this information. Work on the 82nd avenue has a long history. In 2022, the city of Portland took jurisdiction of the roadway from the state. The transfer came with $150 million in funding from the state, and was and is intended to address the condition of the roadway and safety deficiencies at the time of transfer. In addition to being a high crash corridor, 82nd avenue had major sidewalk gaps, including segments where sidewalks had fallen into disrepair, where they were very narrow or completely absent. Quickly, quickly after taking ownership, PBOT began construction of early maintenance and safety projects. In 2024, council took three significant actions with the approval of the building a better 82nd avenue plan and two separate allocations of PCEF funding. $55 million to support the transit project and related investments, and $5 million to build sidewalks and plant street trees. Next slide please. Pbot began work in 2023 on critical maintenance and safety projects, and the bureau will continue this work through 2029. If you're on 82nd avenue, you can see that many projects are underway today, and when complete, the corridor will have complete street lights, more frequent pedestrian crossings, new pavement, and have contiguous sidewalks. In some areas, we are completely rebuilding the frontage to include both sidewalks and street trees. All of the coordinated efforts are grounded in vision zero, a strategy focused on the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. To improve safety and access on what has been a high crash corridor, you'll hear more about vision zero and portland's efforts over the past decade in the conversation following this presentation. Next slide please. Turning to the 82nd avenue transit project, I will first describe the reason this project is so important to the city and then cover the details of the locally preferred alternative. Next slide. The 82nd avenue transit project has completed the planning phase and is currently in early design, with the expectation of beginning service in 2029 2030. Next slide. The project upgrades. The project upgrades the portion of the current TriMet bus line number 72, and I am moving very quickly through the slides so that we can make sure that we get to the opportunity to discuss and answer questions. Line 72. Next slide. Line 72 is the region's highest ridership bus line. It is also the line with the highest passenger travel delay of any within the TriMet system. Next slide. Population and employment in the corridor are high and growing. The line serves 68,000 people and 30,000 jobs, with densities that support bus rapid transit. Today, about 10,000 people ride the line 72 on a weekday, and our data demonstrates that the people who live in this corridor are also more likely to rely on transit than others in the region. Next slide please. The transit project is a shared effort championed by a steering committee with representatives from metro TriMet, the city of Portland, ODOT, both Multnomah and Clackamas counties, the port, and a state legislator. The committee also includes community representatives, including a small business owner, Oregon walks unite Oregon, and a Clackamas social service provider. The committee's work has concluded with their recommendation of the locally preferred alternative that is now coming to the city for approval. The project has also been informed by extensive public engagement, including a PBOT hosted community advisory committee, canvasing, and both online and in person meetings. Another related effort that is important to acknowledge is the community led, equitable, equitable development strategy. This work has been led by a community coalition comprised of community organizations and advocates, including Oregon walks, verde, apano, and unite Oregon. Some key priorities from the equitable equitable development strategy include workforce development, climate resiliency, childcare, business stabilization, equitable housing, and community development. Next slide please. Now I'll describe the proposed locally preferred alternative for the transit project. Next slide. In January of this year, the steering committee recommended a locally preferred alternative that defined mode as bus rapid transit or bus service, general station locations and alignment. The ten mile project would have a southern terminus at Clackamas town center, and a northern terminus near the intersection of cully and killingsworth. Next slide. The transit project will focus on improving the environment for using the x for, for using and accessing transit with shelters and seating, safe crossings, sidewalks, and curb stations. Excuse me? Sidewalks and curb ramps at every station. I'm going to read that again. The transit project will focus on improving the environment for using and accessing transit with shelters and seating, safe crossings, sidewalks and curb ramps at every station it is. It will also improve how busses move through the corridor with next generation transit signal priority, and include new zero emission busses. Next slide please. The transit project is currently expected to be around $340 million, with a $150 million federal transit administration contribution. This will continue to be refined as the funding plan is solidified. The city has already contributed $5 million toward project development, and committed $50 million in funding to the transit project. Pbot is also expecting to contribute an additional $18 million for the remaining jurisdictional transfer funding toward the transit project. Notably, our local contributions comprise local match for the federal project, leveraging local investments for that 100 $150 million of funds. With all of that in mind, the resolution before city council on may 7th will adopt non-binding city policy that endorses the locally preferred alternative, supports transit alignment and station locations, accepts conditions of approval and directs the transit project to leverage transit investments to achieve other community priorities like sidewalks and street trees. Next slide. The resolution also includes conditions of approval, which serve as a statement of city values and priorities that the project should achieve. These include expectations around community engagement and workforce development, as well as equity programs. It documents agreements for TriMet to provide ten minute headways for busses in this corridor, and identifies key design priority priorities like sidewalk investments. Elements of the cully terminus design, like the importance of maintaining on street parking, and considerations for determining where bus business exit, access, transit, or bat lanes should be included in the project. We will arrive at this important decision during the design phase. Next slide please. Adoption of the locally preferred alternative is a key step in the federal process to secure a small starts grant. The lpa must be endorsed by all of the partner jurisdictions before being voted on by the joint policy advisory committee on transportation, also known as jpac, and the metro council. As has been mentioned, we expect the lpa to be on the city council agenda in may, and this process to conclude in June. And with that, that concludes our presentation, and we are happy to answer any questions that you may have.
24 Thank you, director williams. Keelan do we have anybody signed up for public testimony?
25 We do. We have two people signed up for this item.
26 So we hear from them now.
27 Thank you. First up we have zachary laurenson.
28 Good morning. Councilors. Zachary lauritsen he him I'm at Oregon walks. It's nice to see everyone. I also serve as the manager of the 82nd avenue coalition, the self-described hype guy of 82nd avenue. There's so much to love about the corridor. There's so much potential, so many things that are amazing. I know everyone thinks about food because there is incredible food up and down 82nd avenue, but there's also so much culture, there's so much diversity. There's a brand new high school, there's pcc, there's things that are happening on 82nd that are fantastic. And it's also a nexus between three different districts. And so really exciting times for 82nd avenue. I served, as millicent mentioned, on the 82nd avenue transit project steering committee, and I wanted to highlight a couple of things that came out of that committee, especially from the community perspective. One was we are consolidating stops on on the line, and we know that because it's going to make the line more reliable and faster. But one of the things that really was talked about over and over was, unless people can get to those stops, the sidewalk connectivity is completed, then we are really lowering service for people on the corridor. And I really appreciate in the presentation that was being called out about the importance of sidewalk connectivity into this. And the second one is this idea of displacement. 82nd avenue really has an incredible draw for folks, and it's going to be the hotspot in the years to come. And so we want to see investment in keeping people whole along the corridor. We've talked about it, councilor Smith, around workforce development so people can make more money and stay in the corridor. It's around building housing. Those types of activities are outlined in the equitable development plan that we've talked about and really want to encourage the council to talk about in this space, but also as the whole council looking forward so much to working with all of you on 82nd avenue now and in years to come. And thank you for the chance to be here.
29 Thank you for coming.
30 Thank you zach.
31 Next up we have john jacoby.
32 Hello, councilors. My name is john jacoby. I'm a resident of the south tabor neighborhood in district three, and I've been trying to follow the 82nd avenue developments as best I can as an individual citizen. I'm the representative for my neighborhood association to southeast uplift for land use and transportation, and we had a presentation on Monday on or that is last Monday from a representative from TriMet describing the ongoing status of the project and a major concern that I and a lot of neighbors in the south tabor neighborhood and in the Montavilla neighborhood have is about stop consolidation. A lot of people are very concerned that by eliminating certain stops, we are going to prevent people from accessing the bus. And the biggest concern for me is our disabled neighbors, neighbors who are going to have far more difficulty reaching stops further away from their home. And when I asked the TriMet representative at the meeting at southeast uplift and I'm forgetting their name. So I'm sorry, someone I'm sure knows this. Hey, did you, like, do a study on what stops see the most use by disabled riders? Are there like certain stops that see a lot of people with mobility concerns using them that we should, you know, prioritize access to. They said no, this seems like a glaring oversight to me, and it's something that I would really like to see addressed and something that the community would really like to see investigated. While we're considering this locally preferred alternative, stop consolidates, the stop consolidation is necessary for federal funding. It must happen, and it's something I think we should do as smartly as possible. And it's something that we should have an effective budget estimate for the cost of as soon as possible. If we have to do massive sidewalk renovations in order to consolidate stops, we should be thinking about that very hard in the course of the project. Might be cheaper to keep a few stops than to try and upgrade the sidewalks in some sections of 82nd avenue, where they are totally decrepit and unusable. And I would like to see that considered when we're evaluating this lpa, given that we are in a budget crisis, and given that there's a lot of community concern about it, that so far does not feel adequately addressed, that's really all I have to say. Thank you so much for considering this. This project will be a great boon to 82nd avenue. I'm not speaking out against this lpa in any way. I just really want to flag that because that is a major concern for a lot of my neighbors. Thank you.
33 Thank you for coming to testify. Can I ask director williams maybe to clarify that we're still in the design process? It's going to go through April at the very least. That's correct. And so we'll have an opportunity to address the gentleman's concerns.
34 Yes. And I see that kristen hall, who is the group director for planning for PBOT, has jumped on. She's very closely connected to this project and can provide additional details about that. But yes, we are in early design at this point.
35 So with there are no further witnesses. Oh no. That completes testimony.
36 Okay. Thank you. Keelan. So committee members, do we have comments, concerns, questions to ask as we have all the experts at the dais?
37 Madam.
38 President.
39 Yes.
40 I wanted to see what kristen had to say, that just she just jumped on the line.
41 I'm just making myself available for questions. And if we want to follow up on stop consolidation, michael kaiser, who is there, can speak to that specifically.
42 Okay, perfect. I just wanted someone to give us some background so that if there are community members who want to put additional input in about the sidewalks and, and the consolidation that they have, that opportunity.
43 Well, do you want to address that?
44 Yeah, I. Michael kaiser, I'm the project director for a second avenue for TriMet. We have many opportunities for public input and how that informs the design. We have an open houses coming up in April, both in person and online. April also marks a point where we are more heavily out in the community, working with businesses and residents to get their specific input on a location by location basis. That work will continue through design. We are about to enter into 30% design and will continue all the way through spring of 2027 until we wrap up the complete design package and intend to move into construction at that point. So this is merely the beginning.
45 Thank you.
46 Councilor Morillo.
47 Thank you, madam chair. Yeah, I would just want to ask a follow up question. Some of those things come up in my district, and it sounds like representatives from my district had some concerns. But I'm curious if we don't have the answer now, it's fine. But later I'd love to see if there's a cost benefit analysis of reducing the transit stops in order to make the rapid transit more efficient versus access for folks with disabilities. And just for anyone, really, it makes it more easy for me as a bus rider when there's a lot of stops to onboard to. But also I want to get some more quickly. So I would just love to see that cost benefit analysis at some point as well. Thank you.
48 Councilor Koyama Lane. Hello.
49 Good morning. Thank you, madam chair. I was interested in hearing about the canvasing as part of the community engagement, and was wondering if I could hear a bit more about what that actually looks like. Is that door to door for residents? For businesses? Both.
50 Yeah. So TriMet has a long history of public outreach on any of our major projects. We have three community affairs representatives representing each of the three segments on the line. As part of design. We are out there canvasing on a regular basis, especially around the stop areas, to understand what are we missing in design? How can we improve the outcomes of the design and optimize benefit for the community, but also for the transit infrastructure as well? We are also have assembled a community advisory committee, which provides representation in the community and provides a regular input on a monthly basis related to design work and input from the community. We also have email fliers that go out just to keep the community itself informed on progress in design.
51 If I may provide additional information. So the project that's underway now, the safety work that's being done, the maintenance work that's being done, there has been a great deal of outreach that has already occurred. And so what we look forward to is seeing how those two conversations, sets of conversations really come together in ways that support the outcomes that we are all seeking. An example of shared outreach is the division transit project. It started as the outer division multimodal safety project, and then it became also then the division transit project. And so there were constant conversations going on with community, having the conversations about the trade offs, the opportunities for improvements along the way, and those conversations. Conversations still continue as we are getting ready to do additional work on division. So it's a shared opportunity, a shared conversation, and a really closely coordinated. So I'm looking forward to supporting our partner as they are working to support community. I'll share that as we were doing the outreach on the current work, there were no less than 200 individual touches. Yes, much of that was door to door. There were several convenings of small groups. We were able to make adjustments to design based on the feedback, feedback that we received and the interest that people had in making sure that the project served their needs well. So I saw that christine's hand was raised. I'm not sure if she was going to say kind of the same thing that I just mentioned, but I do think it is valuable that there has been a lot of connection to community, making sure that we're not just using traditional ways to outreach to connect, but really looking beyond the standard and basic to ensure that we're having that deep community engagement and connection to understand the needs.
52 Thank you so much.
53 Thank you for the question.
54 Thank you. Thank you so much for being here today. I have a quick question. Since you opened the door, director millicent williams to the division. I'm just wondering, are there any specific lessons that we've learned from the brt on division that we're transferring to 82nd street?
55 Yes. It's change is hard, and having crucial conversations about what that change will mean and how it's going to, in our view, especially, create a safer, more viable community is something that we've worked to dial in more tightly. It was a very challenging project to implement and opened a lot of emotions around what it means to have improvements made in your community. I've said it before in several other settings. Many times people feel like the projects that we're doing, especially if they're being introduced in previously underserved neighborhoods, that they're being done to them versus them being done for them. And so we hope to change the dialog on what it means to have improvements in your community and really reflect that we are listening, that we do hear, and that we are making adjustments to ensure that we have a positive experience. As positive experience as we can. We also know that there will always be two sides to every coin, and perspectives that may misalign with the intended outcomes and the ability to see the benefits. So that's a that's a tough it's hard. And we've learned that it's going to continue to be. And so that informs our strategy though very heavily informed the strategy on 82nd because we did not want to see some of the same challenges resurface that we had when we worked on division.
56 Thank you.
57 Director williams. May I add.
58 Just one other, more technical thing we really learned from division that we're applying here, which is the benefit of transit signal priority. One of the things on division that really became apparent through some, both pre and post testing and the modeling that was done to support the project, is that much of the transit travel time cost savings is coming from signal priority treatments that we will be applying on 82nd as well. So we're very excited about being able to expand that use of technology to improve the throughput and the speed and reliability for transit riders. So both community lessons and many technical lessons about the design and operations of the project.
59 Thank you kristen. I will look to councilor Morillo to give us a motion to move the 82nd street lpa forward.
60 Yeah. Madam chair, I move resolution to document number 2025093 be sent to the full council with recommendation. The resolution be adopted.
61 Second.
62 Great councilor Morillo moves the resolution document number 2025. Dash 093 to full council with a recommendation. Recommendation to be adopted and councilor Greene has seconded that it's moved in second. So is there any any further discussion of this? Will the clerk please call the roll?
63 Smith.
64 Thank you. I think this is going to be a great project that if we approve our cip, that we'll have some sidewalk connectivity with and to be able to concurrently do all things in underrepresented and in areas that we have under invested. So I say yes to this.
65 Koyama Lane.
66 I'm so excited to say yes to this. I know when I take the bus down division that it has made a huge difference, and I'm so excited to see this on 82nd I vote I.
67 Green.
68 I am also excited about this. Creating a more viable and efficient transit system is one of my top priorities, and I really appreciate the comment from john of sabin or southeast uplift. I'm sorry about making sure that we are engaged on mobility and access concerns. I vote I.
69 Maria.
70 I'm really grateful for all the work that's been put into this, and I'm excited to see how community engagement takes it to the next level. And for all the community engagement that's already happened. So very grateful for this and very excited for it as well. I vote I.
71 Like these kinds of investments are really transformational, and having worked on some in the past on light rail, I'm very confident about the outreach that both TriMet and PBOT will do with the community. Looking forward to hearing how we resolve some of the issues in the future around that. But I also vote, I thank you.
72 The resolution is passed the full council with a vote of five yeses.
73 Terrific. Thank you so much for being here today. And I know that this is going to be coming to the full council, I believe, in may, and we'll hear a lot more about public input, I'm sure, before then. Thank you so much.
74 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
75 The next item.
76 Item item two vision zero. Program overview.
77 Mr. Preface I'd like to make a remark that our committee, since the very beginning, when we first met in January, we really expressed very strong support for safety, for pedestrian safety, bike safety, all kinds of safety. And we've asked for a short update today on vision zero for asking PBOT to clue us in as where where we're at on that project now. So should we turn to dca dana paul, to begin the conversation. Thank you.
78 Good morning, chair and councilors. I'm priya paul dca for public works and I'll I'll keep my remarks short in the interest of time. That was a good discussion on 82nd avenue. It's a critical example of work needed to reduce crashes and save lives. We will now we will now shift the focus to pbot's vision zero efforts aimed at eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland. We are joined today by PBOT director melissa williams and wendy cully, PBOT deputy director and city engineer, sorry, city's traffic engineer, and we have dana dickman, safety system section manager, who is online, and we were going to cover the leading causes of portland's most severe crashes. And we will highlight data driven safety strategies and also discuss key investment opportunities within the budget constraints. And with that, I will turn it over to wendy for presentation.
79 Thank you. Dana. Paul, I'm wendy colley, as you mentioned, I'm the deputy director of transportation operations at PBOT. And I'm also the city traffic engineer. I can advance. Great. So at PBOT, our goal is zero deaths on our roadways, and that can be the only goal. Each life lost on our streets is a tragedy with immeasurable impact across the community. For PBOT, getting people where they want to go safely is the core of our work. Our transportation system is part of everyone's lives every day. The safety of our system affects the decisions community members make for their families and themselves. Having safe mobility for our residents and visitors is critical for a vibrant community. Safety has always been embedded in pbot's work. In 2012, we formally created a high crash corridor program, a precursor to Portland city council, passing a resolution in 2015 committing Portland to vision zero. In 2016, Portland city council adopted the vision zero action plan, which was developed by 26 agency and community partners. Since then, we have done two subsequent updates of the action plan to focus the work and share publicly what we are doing to eliminate deaths and serious injury crashes, the action plan and our annual deadly crash reports provide data that grounds our vision zero work. If you want to dig deeper. Zero lives lost while traveling in Portland is our north star. The safe systems approach is how we get there. The safe system framework has some guiding principles. First is that humans make mistakes, and our goal is to reduce risk and energy in the system so that those mistakes are not deadly. Humans are fragile and can only withstand limited impact forces. Safe transportation is a shared responsibility between those who plan for, design and operate the system, and those who use the system. Redundancy in the system is crucial to save lives. As this graphic illustrates, a safe system is a layered system. If one layer fails, the others help either help avoid a crash altogether, or at least prevent life altering injuries or death. While all layers of the system are important, you'll hear me talk a lot about the importance of reducing speeds. Slower speeds on city streets are critical for safety. This graphic illustrates that slower speeds reduce the risk of collisions, because people have more time to react, and slower speeds also reduce the impact of a crash. If it does happen in a vibrant urban area like Portland, where people use all modes of transportation, one of the best ways we can increase safety on our streets is by reducing the kinetic energy in the system, and we do this by slowing vehicle speeds. In 2016, we established our high crash network. The map on this slide shows 30 streets in orange that represent our highest crash corridors for vehicles, pedestrians and people biking. The orange circles on the map are the 30 highest crash intersections in the city. The high crash network represents 8% of our city streets, 60 to 70% of fatal crashes occur on this 8% of our streets. In 2024, 71% of fatal crashes happened on these streets. We focus our work here due to the risk, but I also want to recognize that crashes are happening on all types of streets, which is why we continue work on the broader system, working to slow speeds and provide infrastructure on all types of streets. 60% of traffic deaths in Portland happen on streets with four or more travel lanes. This is about 4% of their streets in Portland. These are streets like northeast columbia, powell and outer stark. 80% of traffic deaths are on streets with posted speeds of 30mph or higher. Higher travel speeds often coincide with wider streets, which is where we see more serious and fatal crashes. And in the last five years, 72% of traffic deaths occurred in districts one and two. This directly aligns with the presence of wide, fast streets for the last five years, 2020 through 2024, we have seen some ongoing trends in crash data, even with changes in travel behavior due to the pandemic. These trends are persistent. 39% of traffic deaths were pedestrian, and as I mentioned before, the human body is fragile. People outside of vehicles are more vulnerable in crashes. 53% of fatal crashes involve alcohol or drug impairment, and this number may actually increase when full data is available for 2024, more than 44% of traffic deaths involve speeding. We know that vehicle speeds impact the severity of the crash, and that speed likely contributes to more than 44% of fatal crashes. And finally, 7,474% of all traffic deaths and 86% of pedestrian deaths occurred at night between sunset and sunrise. We use crash and equity data to inform where we can have the most impact by making system changes. Protecting portlanders lives require that we design complete streets that slow drivers down and separate cars from people walking and riding bicycles. You see in this large, you see this in large projects like corridor redesigns and in smaller interventions like adding street lighting and prohibiting turns on red due to their unique vulnerability and high proportion of traffic deaths. Pbot focuses work on pedestrian safety by improving crossings, adding sidewalks, and separating movements from vehicles. At traffic signals. We reduce speeds through a set of strategies and build a culture of shared responsibility through work with community and education, through programs such as our safe routes to school, high school, transportation academy. Where we invest, we are seeing success. This slide shares a few examples where we have reconfigured roadways to support safety. When we reduce the number of auto lanes, we see a significant reduction in top end speeding. This graph shows that there's actually a 72% reduction in top end speeds where vehicles are traveling, or these are the speeds where vehicles are traveling more than ten miles an hour over the posted speed. Through these evaluations, we evaluate what's working and complete evaluations on projects on the high crash network. This shows how investments and changes on our streets are improving safety. The next several slides show the most promising practices for addressing serious and fatal injury crashes in Portland. One of the most effective things we can do is reduce the number of lanes on high crash. High crash streets, which were designed in the 20th century to move traffic without consideration for future communities that would develop along these roadways. Lane reconfigurations repurpose existing road space, often reducing vehicle travel lanes to achieve safety benefits. National studies in our own Portland experience show that converting four Lane roadways to three Lane roadways reduces all crashes by 29%. They also result in slower speeds, shorter crossing distances, and reduced exposure for people. Bicycling and walking reduced costs for crossing infrastructure. For example, four Lane roadways or five Lane roadways will typically need a traffic signal to get pedestrians across, whereas 2 or 3 Lane roadways safe crossings can be created with pedestrian refuge. Islands. Road reorganization projects often have little to no impact on transit and vehicle travel times. While these projects have a big safety impact, they also change the character of the street and movements. For people. These changes can be difficult for neighbors and people who have used the corridor for many years. Lane reconfiguration is truly one of our best safety tools. It's also one that requires time and resources to ensure the community is part of the process. These projects need not only financial support, but political support and leadership support as well. The bureau has a comprehensive strategy to slow speeds across the city, because slowing speeds is such an effective tool in reducing crashes. Since 2017, we've reduced posted speeds on hundreds of miles of streets, and 91% of our streets are now posted at 30mph or less. All local residential streets are 20 or 25mph. However, we're most successful in reducing speeds when we're able to pair several speed management techniques together, such as reducing posted speeds and installing speed safety cameras. Where we've installed cameras, we're seeing an 86% reduction in top end speeding, installing speed feedback signs, left turn calming, speed bumps, raised crosswalks and other traffic calming also have significant impacts. And of course, as mentioned before, Lane reductions and road reorganizations are also effective. The charts on this slide show travel speeds for the last ten years on southwest beaverton-hillsdale highway, and how a multi-pronged speed management approach has successfully slowed speeds. In 2016, speed safety cameras were added and in 2020 we added vertical posts to the bike Lane and lowered the posted speed from 40mph to 35mph. And as you can see, using this, these multiple strategies has been successful in lowering speeds. In 2016, speeds ranged from 46 to 48 miles an hour on beaverton-hillsdale highway, and now they're more in the range of 36 to 37mph. The final practice I'll highlight is creating separation between users. We look for ways we can build levels of separation into the system to reduce the potential for conflict, and increase comfort for all users of the system. We create separation between users both in time and in space. Signals are a great example of separating system users in time. We separate left turning drivers by giving them their own signal so they aren't turning across crosswalks while pedestrians are walking. Bike lanes and sidewalks are examples of separating people in space. People walking and bicycling from cars. Some of these designs can be fairly low cost, such as changing signal timing to allow pedestrians to start crossing before vehicles start moving. This is called a pedestrian head start, while others, like sidewalks or new signals, are very costly. Several of you have expressed interest in understanding costs and priorities for safety improvements. These can vary widely in both cost and impact. The major road design efforts that reduce speeds and protect pedestrians and others are very expensive, and we typically only can implement these when we get grant funding. Things such as changing posted speeds and making signal timing changes to give pedestrians head starts are less expensive, so it's difficult to prioritize and say which measure is the most important. We need to continue to work on multiple strategies, but with relatively small amounts of money, we can focus on the most cost effective strategies while also working to identify funding for more significant capital improvements to continue safety gains. It's important that we have funds to be proactive with both low cost tools and longer term investments. So to wrap up, I just want to reiterate that zero deaths is our goal. Safe system work should continue and be delivered system wide. To achieve this goal, we need financial and political support to make the hard choices and complete Lane reconfigurations on the high crash network. We need to continue to slow speeds through speed, safety cameras, street design changes and traffic calming on both major streets and local streets. And we need large scale investment to remove disparities in basic safety infrastructure and to support a culture of safety across the city. Thank you so much for your time. I can answer questions, and I believe dana dickman is also online to answer questions.
80 Thank you wendy. Great report. I can attest to the effectiveness of the cameras on beaverton-hillsdale highway, which I drive frequently. Very, very aware. I think councilor Green has his hand up.
81 Thank you, madam chair, and thank you for the presentation. It's urgent and timely. You know, just last week, I believe it was members of the south tabor neighborhood association testified to sort of renewing the call for urgency for pedestrian safety on southeast powell. And it's unacceptable, really, when we when we lose people in our community because we're not making the investments that we need to make to slow cars down. So I really appreciate the presentation today. And I just want to kind of reiterate what stood out, stood out to me the most on the presentation was that the high proportion of deaths associated with four Lane roads through our city. And I just think that and I have made comments in a similar previous committee meeting to this effect that, you know, getting lowering the Lane mileage in our city is just a really high priority for me. I would also advocate, as we're looking at this planning, you know, the need to add more diverters to our greenways to keep those clear cars as well, because I've heard from the community and the bicycling community in particular that, you know, speed bumps aren't cutting it, you know, a more kind of aggressive infrastructure there to kind of keep a separation of the types of modes, I think will do do a lot to improve the safety in our communities. Other than that, I think I've I've got no other questions or comments.
82 Thank you, councilor Morillo.
83 Thank you, madam chair. And I have a statement. And then sort of a question to follow up. Just last week on 82nd avenue or on sorry, on powell boulevard, roger lee, who is 86, was killed by in a motorcycle accident. He was crossing the five Lane state highway that is powell boulevard, and he was on his way home from a blazers game. And just a few years back in 2022, local chef sarah palmer was killed by a semi truck trying to cross that same area. It's very obvious that we have to do something about this, and I've also found at times, having worked in government before, that it's not politically popular to make the changes that we need to. I worked for commissioner Jo ann hardesty when there were the changes made to division and the amount of negative public pushback that we faced for making changes that are going to save people's lives in the long run, even if it adds 10s to your commute because you have to reroute is something that I think as elected officials, we have to be willing to take on whatever political cost it takes to save people's lives. And I'm very grateful for this presentation. I feel like it gave me a really great insights into the things that we can do better, and where we need to invest our dollars and our political capital. I'm also aware that powell boulevard, it's in my district and it's a state highway. And so it's my understanding that part of that money comes from federal grants. Is there any concern that those federal grants are going to go away, given the current administration and the impacts that that would have on our work long term?
84 Well, there there are a couple of things about what you've raised. So, yes, powell boulevard is a state highway. So it is under ODOT jurisdiction. We do work very closely with them, especially at each of the intersections, because we manage the signals at those intersections. But they they are responsible for improving the system to ensure that it is safer. And you'll be pleased to know that I have had very recent conversations with ODOT just last week on Friday afternoon, about the work that they are preparing to begin on the outer powell safety project that they're going to be working on. So that is good news. That is probably a little bit late in the game in terms of addressing the fact that powell avenue does have the greatest number of traffic crashes and resultant deaths of any of the streets in the, in the city or roadways in the city. Regarding federal grants, we are continuing to assess what's happening and pay attention to the news that's coming out of Washington, d.c. We currently have a number of grants that are on hold waiting to be released for us to be able to do the work that we do on the streets that are our responsibility. And ODOT is experiencing the same pause until we have further clarification about the opportunities to continue the work. Some of that work will, yes, be on hold.
85 Thank you. Director williams.
86 And April bertelsen, our transit coordinator, would like to add a little bit of nuance to what I just said.
87 Thank you very much. A pleasure to address you. A couple of clarifications to in terms of the funding for outer powell, a majority of that is state funds, including funds from the Oregon state legislature. In addition, TriMet is leading a project for some improvements, pedestrian safety and access, in particular along parts of powell boulevard and division. And they have also received their approvals from both PBOT and ODOT. And that is also with some state funding and other sources, local sources. And that should be proceeding this spring with breaking ground.
88 Thank you, thank you.
89 Thank you for that. Councilor Koyama Lane.
90 Thank you, madam chair. Something that stuck out to me that I want to just say again on the record is the fact that we don't have someone from district two on this committee really hits hard, especially as I see the slide about how big of an issue this is and how much it impacts district two. Thank you for this presentation. I think you explained well the work that you're doing and also the budget challenges that are holding things back. And then just also want to highlight that you have a lot of counselors on this committee here and council wide that care so much about this issue, even if it's takes a lot of political courage. So just want to encourage you to lean on us and be assured that we're there are many of us that want to take bold change and make bold change and put ourselves out there, even if it is scary to really do what we need to do to lessen the number of traffic deaths on our streets.
91 Thank you.
92 Ditto to that, councilor Smith, did you want to make a comment?
93 Yes. Thank you, madam president. Just curious in terms of I saw some good news that and it's not actually good news because people still died in crashes. Do you have the data for the last five years in terms of where we were, we started this ten years ago. Vision zero, are we where we want to be at this point?
94 We are not where we'd like to be. The goal, of course, is zero, but we are finding that we have had reductions just this past year. The number of deaths went down significantly.
95 From the 2013.
96 Yeah.
97 It was.
98 63% from 2324 to 2425. Right. And so far this year we are trending significantly lower than we were at this time last year. So far, we have only seen seven deaths on the roadways, whereas last year this time we were at about 14 or 15.
99 Thank you, thank you. Thank you.
100 Can I add quickly to that? I want to use this opportunity to mention that eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland is possible, but it is PBOT can't do it alone. We need, you know, this requires leadership and investment and commitment from partners. Beyond PBOT, vision zero is bigger than transportation, so we need action by police, public health, emergency responders and behavioral health partners as well. So we are grateful for council's interest in this particular topic and support. So just wanted to mention that. Thank you. Just a couple of comments. I really appreciate your being here today. Learning more. I had a question I think it might have been slide nine about the crash, and I just wonder what the time frame was. And you don't have to go through that today. You could send that to me. But I think it was slide nine.
101 Yes. So there were was it the overall crash reduction or speed speed reduction.
102 It was by by area. But it was show the reduction. I just wonder what the overall time frame.
103 We invest. We see safety. And yes.
104 Yeah. So there's a few projects highlighted there. The average the graph that showed the average reduction in speeding where we do Lane reconfigurations. Those are various timelines. But we typically look five years before a project and five years after a project. When we're looking at at the project, Hawthorne street was completed. We don't have five years of after data yet, but preliminary data is used for that one division. We have a lot of data I think we're getting we have ten years of after data for that, and we're still seeing significant crash reductions. So it varies. But our general practice is to look at least five years before and five years after, before we kind of determine the full safety benefits.
105 Thank you. Wendy, I think I think that's important to just document what the trend is, how long it takes. In addition to you were referring earlier to trying to prioritize which treatments are most effective. I know I had another question. I didn't write it down. In any event. Are there any other concerns or questions? No. Well, great. Thank you so much for being here today and sharing that with us. It's absolutely germane to everything that we want to do on this committee. So we appreciate it. Thank you.
106 Very much. Thank you.
107 So keelan let's see. Can you please read the next item.
108 Item three director, bureau of transportation, to construct and maintain sidewalks while addressing pavement maintenance deficiencies throughout Portland, improving safety and accessibility for all residents through the sidewalk improvement and paving program.
109 Thank you. So before you today, before us and the audience is the first really of a package of resolutions regarding sidewalk and street improvements, the paving program we've learned, as I mentioned earlier, through this whole process, about the stark needs for sidewalks, particularly in district one and four. And now we know it's also a part of a safety strategy. So what I would like to do to proceed today is to ask councilor Smith to begin discussion of her resolution, and then we'll turn to councilor Green to add on to that.
110 Thank you, madam councilor Chairwoman Clark. And in my colleagues, I really appreciate you all supporting this amendment. Councilor Clark, councilor Green and councilor Eric Zimmerman from district four for bringing this opportunity forward. The sidewalk improvement pavement project is something that I think this was a perfect committee day to come. And I would like to say that I did this by design, but we didn't. And I'm coming after vision zero that that is perfect, because what we're trying to do is make sure that that we have sidewalks and paving and improving potholes in district one and district four. And we've we've offered this because we think that demonstrating that councilors who have come together in a coalition to make sure that our vulnerable residents in the entire city, that they are actually being served, our staffs are supporting the work, and we want to use cip as a demonstration of how our new council can engage in council wide efforts that impact all of us and system wide thinking, to tackle very important issues around safety and around safety. And we're not here just to serve people individually, but we're here to serve people across the city. I ran for this office for a number of reasons, but the main reason is to help people who are underserved in Portland solve some of the most biggest problems that we have. And cip is the first example of that approach. Our streets and sidewalks are the feet of the city, and if our feet don't work, then of course we're not working. A lot of us suffer problems with our feet. We can move around easily or effectively if we're suffering pain, whether that be through arthritis, mobility issues. These are things that are reasons why we need active transportation. Same with our cities. If our streets and sidewalks aren't in good condition, we cannot move around easily. Regardless of who we are, we can't get to work easily. We can't get our kids to school in safe routes, nor can we enjoy what our city of Portland has to offer. My colleague from district one, Jamie Dunphy, he often talks about promoting a cultural renaissance in Portland, getting people back to concerts and nightlife or cultural events around the city. I like that thought and I like that effort. I think we do need a renaissance in our city on so many levels. We need to make sure that that renaissance includes active transportation. But I am a pragmatist. First, if we don't have good streets and roads, we're not going to get people to cultural events or any other place. If folks cannot easily walk, roll, ride or stroll around our city easily, we can't easily share the fruits of any sort of renaissance like our neighborhood parks. And that is why I'm pushing for cip. We have to focus on the basic problems of our city, and then come up with ideas and solutions. And right now, a lack of transportation, infrastructure, funding and infrastructure that is still fraying around the edges is one of our most important problems we are facing in this city. I urge all of you to vote in favor of this agenda item, and I'd be happy to answer any questions, but I just wanted to make sure that we are very clear that we have underinvested in district one for so many years, there was a plan, I guess, when we actually were annexed into the city of Portland, that there would be sidewalks done for Multnomah county. At any rate, that has not happened, and I don't think that I could sit here for four years knowing that the infrastructure in district one or any part of the city has been neglected. And I think that that has happened, and I think we have a good group of 12 councilors who understand what underserved means and who the underserved are in our city, and to make sure that those underserved folks get the same type of infrastructure that is in district two and in district three. Madam chair, I'll give it back to you, to councilor Green.
111 Councilor Green, would you like to add on?
112 Thank you, madam chair. I would like to add on. I'm just going to I'll keep my comments brief because I understand we have we have some amendments and we'll have to have a discussion around this. But I want to just thank councilor Smith for her leadership on this issue. You know, when I was running and when we were all running, I think a question that folks who were trying to understand this new form of government ask quite often was, how are you going to work together? How are you going to get anything done? How are 12 city council members going to come up with priorities and get anything done? And I would always say, you find your allies where you have overlapping interests. And for me, accelerating the rate at which we produce sidewalks and other active transportation infrastructure in district four is one of my highest priorities. And, you know, district one, district four share that deficit of infrastructure. And I will note that the people who use busses, the people who sort of walk around in my district, are often some of the poorest people in my district and are, you know, members of the immigrant community and are exposed and vulnerable to traffic violence. And we have people at all income levels in district four who are really simply trying to find an opportunity to leave their car behind, to take one fewer trip with their car so they can contribute to doing their part to mitigate climate change. This is the most urgent action we must take at city council is finding ways to invest to make it possible for people to live a low carbon footprint life. I think that if we do this sort of investment, we accelerate in time our plans to do these investments. Then we can say our city is more livable now. You don't have to leave. You can enjoy your park or your school and maybe take that bike ride with your kid on the way to school instead of drive them and participate in the pickup drop off line fiasco. And so I really I have some amendments to make as councilor Smith does as well. But I but I really urge this committee to advance this this resolution out of committee.
113 Thank you, councilor Green. And did all of that. Keelan do we have people signed up for public testimony?
114 Yes, we have five people signed up.
115 Should we begin?
116 First up, we have marianne fitzgerald.
117 Good morning. Councilors marianne fitzgerald. I'm here on my own behalf this morning, but I've been working on trying to get sidewalks infilled in district four for almost 20 years. So I understand the complexities of trying to accomplish what are really good goals in the resolution. My testimony a month ago emphasized the need to leverage infrastructure improvements because in southwest Portland, it's so expensive to build sidewalks. We need to do it through that. Something like the citywide asset management group, so that we can work together and not just rely on the PBOT budget to build the sidewalks. I support the resolution before you today, but the devil is always in the details. And so I just want to make a few comments. First off, particularly in southwest Portland, we have to consider bicycle facilities at the same time as sidewalks. We need both. And if they're not considered in the initial design, it's really expensive to retrofit them in the future. And commissioner Councilor Green southwest hubert is an example where we built sidewalks in in 2010, and there's no room now for bicycles, so we have to do them both at the same time. On the other hand, what we're seeing from PBOT today are a lot of multi-use paths and southwest 26 off of taylor's ferry. Also in your neighborhood is an example of a multi-use path on a very busy street. The shattuck alpenrose raleigh crest development is only going to have a multi-use path, and while they're better than what we have today, if you can try to imagine a senior citizen with a walker, a first grader on a bicycle, and three teenagers with earbuds in their ears all at the same time, it can be dangerous. So I have not seen any data on designs to know which are the most safe designs, because the safe designs are what will actually get people out of their cars, and walking and biking and taking transit. So when we prioritize where to put them, particularly in district four, they need to be on the busy streets. Ironically, the sidewalks in my neighborhood are all on the local streets and zero on the busy streets and the ones on the local streets do no good if you can't get out to access transit and access the shops and services. So finally, I just wanted to remind you that stormwater is a benefit, not necessarily a cost. And let's see how we can work with the people in the community, the various bureaus, and do a great job in making this happen. Thank you.
118 Thank you marianne. Appreciate it.
119 Next up we have zachary lauritsen.
120 Good morning again, zachary lauritsen. Oregon walks. You know, there's a lot of things that are going to come in front of you in the next few years of your time on council, right. They'll be ribbon cuttings and emergencies and budgets etc. This is generational. This is generational. We've been talking about doing this for decades since annexation. And finally we have a couple leaders saying we're going to do this. And I am so moved by that, so excited about that and just want to champion and say thank you for being willing to do that. A couple thoughts and then a couple asks. One is lean on the work that's already been done. There's pedestrian plans. There's all kinds of ideas that are already out there. There's a ton of expertise at PBOT. Let's lean into that work and not reinvent the wheel. Saves money. Saves time. Saves expenses. That's number one. Number two is be creative. Often talk about how we have many tools in the toolbox of pedestrian connectivity and networks. Let's use those tools, alternative pathways. Let's lean into creative partnerships with public private groups. And we can do that and really stretch our dollars. So those are the kind of the two things I want to put on the table. Oregon walkers would be happy to be part of those conversations about how to be creative. And I have three asks. One is something that I brought to you all about a month ago, which is to reaffirm our marriage to vision zero. The council is all brand new except for mr. Novick, and I am asking you all to, as a council, as this infrastructure committee and as a full council to say, yes, we are a vision zero community. I think there's a political power to doing that. Number two, apply that vision zero lens to 82nd avenue. We heard from miss cully that Lane reallocation, Lane reduction is a surefire way to make our roadways safer. And here is a chance on 82nd avenue to not do a Lane reallocation, but a do a transit reallocation where we are making the transit line the best transit line in the entire region. And number three is pass the cip. That's that's that's the yes, this is truly something that is forward thinking. There will always be challenges about money. We know that they've been that way for decades, and there will be that way for decades. But until you take the policy move and then start moving to go find those dollars, it just won't happen. And our kids will wake up in 20, 30, 40 years and go, same problem. Why didn't they do something about it back then? And I think you all are in a position to do something about it right now. So thank you.
121 Thank you zach.
122 Next up is mackenzie springer.
123 Welcome.
124 Good morning, chair Clark and members of the committee. My name is mackenzie springer and I am the transportation advocacy manager with neighbors for clean air, a statewide organization that works to ensure that every Oregonian has clean and healthy air to breathe. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. In support of prioritizing the construction and maintenance of sidewalks and pedestrian paths across Portland. While the need for sidewalks is often understandably framed in terms of pedestrian safety, access and equity, I urge the committee to also consider the significant benefit sidewalks bring to our city's air quality and public health. Sidewalks create an infrastructure that encourages walking, reducing reliance on cars. Unsurprisingly, those without a sidewalk in their communities are less likely to take trips by walking. Roads that lack a sidewalk make walking unsafe, and a disconnected street network can discourage walking. The transportation sector is a leading source of air pollution in Portland, particularly in the form of emissions of nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. The health effects of these emissions include respiratory and cardiovascular disease, as well as increased risk of cancer by enabling and encouraging people to walk instead of drive. Sidewalks help reduce the number of vehicles on the road, directly improving air quality and therefore public health. And there are there are a significant number of trips that could be replaced by walking, as studies show that a significant portion of vehicle trips are relatively short in distance. For instance, the 2011 Oregon household activity survey reported that the average trip length for cars in Portland in the Portland region was 4.4 miles. National data indicates that shorter trips constitute a substantial share of daily travel, as approximately 28% of all car trips across the u.s. Are less than one mile in length. Given portland's density compared to the u.s. As a whole, it's reasonable to infer that the percentage of short car trips would be would likely be comparable or even higher. Robust pedestrian infrastructure allows more residents to replace some of these short trips with walking instead of driving. Studies have shown that reducing car traffic by even small amounts can have a meaningful impact on localized air pollution levels, leading to cleaner air and healthier communities. Robust walking infrastructure also supports transit systems, as it allows people to walk safely to and from bus and light rail stops. Additionally, by prioritizing walking infrastructure, we are living up to the promises our city has made to its residents in the 2035 Portland comprehensive plan. Policy 9.6 states that the city will, quote, implement a prioritization of modes for people movement by making transportation system decisions according to the following ordered list number one walking, unquote. The construction of sidewalks is not only a matter of pedestrian safety, it is essential investment in portland's air quality and public health. By prioritizing sidewalk infrastructure, we can help reduce traffic emissions, improve the health and well-being of our residents, and make strides towards a more sustainable, climate resilient city. Thank you for your time and for your advocacy on this important issue.
125 Thank you mckenzie. Appreciate it.
126 The next person signed up is john isaacs from Portland metro chamber. He asked us to let you know that he is not available to provide testimony right now, but he'll be submitting written testimony on behalf of the chamber. The next person is brett johnston.
127 Welcome.
128 Thank you. My name is brett johnston, and thank you or thank thank you, council, for allowing me your time to give testimony in support of this. I live in the hazelwood district off of northeast 1/46 avenue and I am. I walk my neighborhood. I am intimately familiar with the lack of investment in this area by the city of Portland. It's safe to say that the vast majority of streets in my neighborhood lack both well, lack sidewalks and in some instances, adequately paved roads. All the information that I'm providing here comes courtesy of the nhtsa, which is the department of the department of transportation. From. This was published in last year, 2024 from data. In 2022. On average, a pedestrian is killed every 70 minutes and injured every eight minutes in traffic crashes. Pedestrian deaths account for 18% of all traffic fatalities. Let's see here. More, more pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas 85% versus rural. 75% occur at locations other than intersection intersections. So. Again this this is just a. Well, excuse me. This is just a I mean, this it's obvious that this area would decrease, you know, the traffic fatalities in my neighborhood. So again, thank you for your time.
129 Thank you for coming today, mr. Johnson. We appreciate it.
130 That completes testimony.
131 Thank you. Keelan. Now I think we can turn to the counsel for our committee discussion. I'm not sure how we should proceed in with the resolutions.
132 With amendments.
133 I'm sorry.
134 With the amendments to the.
135 Yes. Okay. Would you like to start with those?
136 I think I have some oh, I'm.
137 Sorry, I'm sorry. Okay. Councilor Morillo.
138 Thank you for bringing this forward today. And thank you to the people who showed up today to testify. I think this is really important. I think. Well, I want to start off by saying that I'm a pedestrian and transit user. I think I might be the only person on council that doesn't have my license yet, which only makes me cool to a very specific subset of people. With everyone else, it's a little bit embarrassing. But you know what? My mom didn't know how to drive, and we always rode the bus and walked and biked. So here we are today. I definitely value and not only value, but actually need sidewalks and transit for everything that I do to get around the city. And I also want to say that as the co-chair of the climate committee, I have some concerns about the funding portions of this, and I want to be clear, I'm not a hard no or yes on this. I think I need to be convinced a little bit more and just let all of this sink in, because a large part of the discussion and I think something that is going to shape this budget discussion very largely is the use of the Portland clean energy fund to do a lot of maintenance projects and a lot of infrastructure projects. And I want to ensure that if those dollars are going to be touched, that they are going to actually be used in a way that reduces carbon emissions and actually address the climate, I think we have a duty to voters to ensure that if they voted in a ballot measure about funding climate resilience, that we are actually using those dollars in that way. I understand the logic here as far as putting down cement to build sidewalks that will reduce carbon emissions, but I actually think we need some data on that, because putting down cement tends to have a lot of carbon emissions. And I'm just curious if there's any information about how many trees would be planted, how much those carbon emissions would actually be offset. I think those are questions that are kind of swirling for me as I'm as I'm looking into this and I have a few questions about the resolution as well. I think that there are a lot of values that I see here that I think, you know, I'm highly in support of, like making sure that we're working with companies that are led by bipoc people, especially since district one is going to be largely affected by this and should be prioritized, in my opinion. And I'm curious if these organizations are unionized and if the majority of their workers are also black and indigenous and people of color, or if it's the people at the top that hold those identities, because I think having a unionized workforce is a value of mine, and also ensuring that the actual workers who are doing these projects are the ones who who I would like to prioritize. So those are just some questions and thoughts that I've been having as we're we're engaging in this discussion. And I also, man, I have so many questions but broader discussion as well about if these discussions around things that will inevitably use PCEF dollars. I know we have amendments here that are are making it more general, but the discussions that I'm hearing behind the scenes and in public is that we are going to try to touch PCEF dollars for this. And I don't think that changing the language here actually changes the intent. So I'm curious if these discussions will also be held in the climate committee, because I think we should be the ones to have some ownership over the PCEF dollar discussion. And with that, I will stop talking.
139 Thank you. Councilor Morillo councilor Smith, would you mind letting councilor Greene address the first part of this? And then you go to the second part. Councilor, would you address the financing side of this?
140 Thank you, madam chair. It's a great question. I've struggled with that. Whereas clause that speaks about the different general funding mechanisms and I've, you know, offered an amendment that takes it out and I offered an amendment to put it back in. So where I'm at on that, just to give you a clear picture of, I think where this resolution is going to go is, you know, just backing up to a high level. I'm a firm supporter of the Portland clean energy fund being used as voters intended, which is to, you know, go through a sort of community driven prioritization process that the city council ratifies that actually makes a meaningful impact on both carbon reduction, but also, you know, climate resiliency. So that doesn't change for me. And I think when we go forward with this, there's a stack of different funding options. And the one that I'm sort of thinking that we well, we're going to we're going to take a resolution to the finance committee to explore the specific funding pieces. I'll just put on the record right now, I'm I'm sort of advocating for general tax, limited tax revenue, bond issuance to pay for the lion's share of this, because that is a this is a as I think I think it was zachary that said, this is a generational investment. And because it's a generational investment, there's a sort of idea that we've created benefits that will flow into future generations. And so it's fair to say future generations should pay the cost of that as well. And that's what cities do. They build infrastructure and issue debt to build that infrastructure. So I think, you know, as it's written here, the last piece says Portland clean energy fund as appropriate. And it's that as appropriate piece that I think will be really important. But I think that doesn't to your point, councilor, that doesn't absolve us from talking very specifically about how this engages with climate, our policy area on that. And, you know, the devil is in the details. So there is more to come on the financing piece. I, I'm not proposing that we pay out a current expenditures from the clean energy fund to fund this project, but rather pursue a kind of a holistic debt ocean strategy. And that's all I'll say on that.
141 Thank you, councilor Green. And before we go to councilor Smith, just to clarify, I started this conversation by saying there are three resolutions. So three different ones. We're just dealing with one today. There's another that's going to finance and one that's going to the workforce committee as well. So councilor Smith would you like to address.
142 Thank you. I would thank you so much. And those are good questions. Councilor Morillo, the first one, I think councilor Green addressed it. We have two separate policies that we're bringing forward. And we had it in the we had one big one with all the money piece in it. But we understand that there are some issues around how we actually do the funding, whether it comes from the federal ss, ss for a program, it comes from ODOT, if it comes from other sources in PBOT through the gas tax. So we separated the policy direction from the financing piece. And I think your the bulk of your comments have to deal with the financing. So we didn't want to lose the spirit of what we're trying to do in the direction that we're trying to give to PBOT to create a four year plan that would evaluate a full suite of options available to effectively deliver a program with objectives ensuring flexibility to accommodate varying community characteristics across prioritized geographies and active transportation corridors. And so we want to make sure that we have community engagement. And that's a part of this piece that we will have to speak with the community. We can't develop a plan until we talk to folks in the district and citywide. The issue around the minority contractors nimac, the national association of minority contractors, we can actually bring them in through the workforce committee, and they can have a really rigorous conversation about who who their membership is and who they're not. I'm familiar with them, so I know that they have members that look like me and others than you. So for me, I don't have a problem with them. That's why I added them to the amendment. That said, we will partner with small businesses, with contractors, whether they be labor or not. Labor and the national association of minority contractors, and also which I think is very important, we need to work with those small businesses that are cobid certified, and that's important, particularly on transportation projects like this. I would love to have your support on the policy piece, to be able to give PBOT the direction that they need, so that we can go forward and look forward to talking to you and giving you all the information about the different modes of financing that we're thinking about. So if you would, you know, consider that and to and to understand that we're taking this in two phases. The first phase we need to do to be able to give PBOT the direction in policy to go forward. And then we can have those other conversations in the finance committee and the workforce development committee that I chair. And if you think that we need to bring it to the climate committee, we can also do that as well.
143 Thank you so much. I really appreciate those answers. I feel like that addressed a lot of my concerns from both of you. So thank you.
144 Thank you. So I just want to make sure we're all on the same page that we have the right document, that we're going to start with your resolution, which you've amended. I think we all have a copy of the amended version and I will turn to councilor Green. Do you want to speak to how we're going to add your pieces into this one amendment or the one resolution? Excuse me.
145 Thank you, madam chair. I would propose we hear it like this. We first hear councilor Smith's amendment, and then I will make an amendment to that amendment.
146 Good.
147 Thank you, madam chair. The first amendment and I think the clerk has a copy of this. It adds that be it further resolved, that the program objectives shall include constructing and maintaining sidewalks while addressing pavement maintenance deficiencies throughout Portland, improving safety and accessibility for all residents. Number two prioritizing construction and maintenance projects in historically underserved areas of Portland, or those areas in most need like district one and four, and that are most likely to provide some or all of the intended benefits of cip recited above. The second change is further down, and we changed the language to say that be it further resolved, that PBOT will partner with small businesses, contractors, the national association of minority contractors, namak and cobid certified businesses, and that was included in my amendment. And that is it. And, councilor Green, can you talk about your amendments? I don't know if we have to vote on amendments separately.
148 Well, I would move to offer an amendment. I don't know if I have to move that, but I think that's our rules of procedure. Allow an amendment to be brought to right.
149 Second, second, second from councilor Smith. We're going to amend councilor Smith's resolution now with councilor Green's amendments. And you're you want to share your amendments?
150 Yeah, I'll share those. And I'll just say I support everything in the original amendment, and I will add I'll wait for the clerk to. I think they're conferring.
151 On which amendment to which resolution.
152 I feel like you have to adopt councilor Smith's amendment, and then you amend the amendment.
153 Robert's rule says you can amend.
154 Before doing that.
155 So just to clarify, do you want to combine the two amendments and then take them up as a single vote?
156 Yes.
157 I think that's what we're trying to do.
158 Okay. And then are are we sure that there's no conflicting language with the two amendments?
159 No.
160 I mean.
161 Maybe we should take them up separate.
162 Okay.
163 Is that okay?
164 That's fine. We can do that.
165 And let's start with councilor Smith's resolution. Do we need a motion to approve her resolution.
166 Or the amendment. Or do we approve the amendment first.
167 To her resolution?
168 Amendment to the resolution, and then.
169 Motion to approve the amendment? So moved. So moved. I need a second. Second. Okay. No discussion.
170 Okay. Ready for the vote?
171 Yes.
172 Okay. Smith. I Koyama Lane. I Green.
173 Hi, Morillo.
174 Hi, Clark.
175 Hi.
176 The amendment is approved with five yes votes. Great.
177 Okay, now we can move on to councilor Green's amendments to this resolution.
178 Thank you, madam chair. So, my the most current version of this, which I do believe is on the website, but I will just read the changes that are relative to the amendment we just passed. So after the first four whereas clauses in the resolution, I'm adding a fifth which reads whereas the lack of active transportation investments presents a barrier for portlanders to safely choose environmentally friendly modes of transportation, undermining the climate objectives of this city. So that's responsive to some of the other comments. I heard that this is not just about sidewalks. It's also about climate investments. And it's broader. It's about active transportation, not just sidewalks. I'm also the second piece is I'm adding a be it further resolved at the end that says, be it further resolved, that a follow up resolution is required to evaluate fiscal options for financing cip in consultation with the city budget office, and will be considered through the finance committee. So that just makes it explicit that there's that second step and where it will go. And then the last amendment that I offer is in the impact statement under the 100% renewable goal. I'm, I'm sort of replacing that with cip will accelerate the rate of active transportation infrastructure investments, which enables an increased rate of mode switch to lower or zero emissions transportation. So that's that's the sort of 100% renewable goal.
179 Do we need to clarify that you're also striking that first.
180 I am striking it.
181 Thank you.
182 So that's those are my amendments.
183 Do we need to I'm sorry. Do you have an amendment also. Maybe I need a clarification. Do we need a motion to adopt these amendments?
184 So it sounds like councilor Green motioned. And then did we have a second for councilor Green?
185 I have a question about one of these.
186 Don't we have to get it on the floor before we discuss it? Yeah. Can you. Second, second. Thank you.
187 I moved it so I didn't want to second it to.
188 Okay. Councilor Morillo. Now we can have a discussion about councilor Green's amendment to the resolution.
189 Sorry. All the bureaucracy. So my only question is on councilor Green's. Be it further resolved that a follow up resolution is required to evaluate fiscal options for financing cip in consultation with the city budget office and will be considered through the finance committee. I'm wondering if we could add a language that says that if a PCEF dollars end up being a large portion of the consideration, that it will go through the climate committee.
190 Are you saying after determination on the part of the finance committee, correct. Is that a friendly amendment?
191 Councilor I'm happy to receive that as a friendly amendment.
192 Can you repeat that? Councilor Morillo so we can get it down?
193 Yes. I did not write this out in formal language. So keelan, maybe you can make it prettier for us, but just say that if that if there is consideration of PCEF dollars, that that part will go through the climate committee. I don't know how to make that sound nicer right now.
194 Madam chair.
195 Yes. Councilor Smith.
196 So while we have recognized that we have a couple different avenues in terms of which levers to pull, I don't know that I totally feel comfortable with adding that piece onto this because it has to go through the finance committee, and I'm not on the finance committee, so I don't have the ability to have any influence one way or the other. But we have already said, I said that we're going to come to the to the climate committee, so we don't have to add a specific amendment to the how we actually fund it, because this is actually going to go up to it's going to go from the finance committee. It is going to go up to the big committee if passed.
197 You're speaking of going to the full council. Yeah. Are you. Yes, please.
198 I think yeah. So it would go through the finance committee to full council. I guess what I'm saying is if there are major considerations for PCEF dollars, once it's gone through the finance committee, I would like that to be reviewed by the climate committee. And while, firstly, I don't think that you have no influence just because you're not on a committee, we're all negotiating with each other all the time. And I also think that. It's in the impact statement. It says that there is a very good chance that the finance committee is going to look at the Portland clean energy fund as a major source of revenue for this.
199 A major source.
200 Well, zimmerman's been talking about it in the public. So have you. And it's in the impact statement. So sorry if I didn't.
201 Get to go on record to let me go on the record so that you're clear about me. I am in the camp of councilor Green, that a lot of this is going to go through bonds. We have a ceiling of 1.5 billion, and we may be asking for 3 or 400 million. And so the bulk of this is going to go through possibly through through those, those bonding apparatus. So it. Pcef will probably be also used as well. But we're not planning and I don't know because I don't know what the finance committee is planning to do. So it is really tough for me to say that it has to go through there. I mean, I I've already been on record. We're going to we're going to get on the climate committee's agenda. And you can you can talk about this further. But for my for today's purposes, I don't have anything to do with the finance piece. So it's hard for me to put something in my original resolution about finance when I don't have any control over that.
202 Okay. Thank you, councilor Smith. I want to offer an idea to see if you would councilor Morillo would be amenable to this. If we get some statement from councilor Green, who is a member of the finance committee, that when they bring this up, that he would address that very issue on your behalf and not have to put the language in here, it's a little awkward.
203 Why is it awkward?
204 I just think the wording that if a major if.
205 I mean, it's saying which committee it's going to go to. So I'm just saying that if it's PCEF dollars, it will go through the climate committee. I think that's pretty simple.
206 Well, because this committee is only policy only, it's not dealing with financing. And to put a financing tag on it on something, that's why I did this is the this is the, the reason why I separated it from, from one big bill with financing and policy that I just wanted to deal totally with the policy piece. There is no revenue. There's no revenue coming out of this bill. So to put a revenue tag on it is not that is awkward that you're making me do something that I don't have any control over. And this is not a finance resolution. It is just a policy.
207 Thank you, councilor Smith. Councilor Green, can I ask you to address this and how comfortable you are with dealing this with this in the finance committee, maybe adding something to the resolution at that point if they decide to pursue peacea.
208 Yeah, I'd like to speak to this. I'm actually supportive of this friendly amendment because, you know, this last be it further resolve is just an explicit statement to say, yes, this is a policy resolution. But but we have to figure out a way to pay for it. And we are saying that that next step will go to finance. If we let me finish. And if we pass this out of committee, it will go to the full council. And then the council president can refer it to whatever other committee it needs to be referred to along the way. And so I think it's actually completely fair and appropriate to say when there is Portland clean energy fund dollars as part of the study, that the finance committee then resolves that it explicitly is also linked to the climate committee as well. So and I think that assuages the concerns of seeing PCEF mentioned in the impact statement and that there is no lingering, you know, gap there. So I so I'm, I am going to be supportive of the friendly amendment.
209 Thank you. Councilor Green. We haven't heard from councilor Koyama Lane yet. Would you like to say something?
210 Hi everyone. I am excited to be having this conversation, something that I know that I've I've heard in conversations with council president. I don't know if this connects here. Hopefully it does. But is that in this next budget cycle, looking to make sure we set aside a certain amount of money for when we have resolutions, ordinances that do have a dollar amount attached to them. So in the future we're able to have maybe this run a little bit more smoothly. So there's money set aside for that I don't know. Yeah, hopefully, hopefully that is relevant. I also am wanting to share that I'm supportive of this friendly amendment in terms of this idea that we're trying to keep a bulk of the work in committees and trying to get as much done before we send something to the full council. So if there's going to be a ton of discussion in the full council about using the PCEF dollars that I can, it makes sense to me that we have that conversation in a committee. First. Thank you.
211 Thank you, councilor, councilor Smith. So.
212 You know, I can I can go for this, but I think it's unnecessary and it is putting the onus on this piece of policy that is not dealing with the finance committee. But if it makes people feel more comfortable, I can support it, because I need folks to understand that this is I don't want to get caught up in semantics or who we go in front of, because I think good policy is good policy, and it will stand up in any committee. And so for me, I can see myself supporting this, but I want folks to know that this is not an effort to clog up the work that we do for underserved folks. And oftentimes that's what we see when we're getting ready to spend a lot of money to help people of color and use contractors of color. We have so much conversation about technical things that don't have anything to do with the policy piece. And so I want to make sure that I'm very clear I will do this if it makes you feel comfortable, but I don't think that is necessary.
213 Thank you, councilor Smith. Any other comments? Councilor Morillo. Yes.
214 Yeah, I appreciate that. And I'm certainly not trying to bog this down in bureaucratic process. Like I said, I think that these things are necessary and important, and I feel specifically that district one needs to be prioritized in this. For all of the reasons that you stated, I will point out that the Portland clean energy fund is also specifically to assist communities of color, and that when we don't address climate change issues with the ferocity that is needed, district one is the one that has the highest heat islands. District one has a lot of people who are passing away because of both heat and cold. Now, as we face more extreme weather. So I think that we have a responsibility to do this right. And I think my concerns aren't just about, you know, there's what's written here. And then I'm also reading the room. As far as the politics outside of this, what I'm hearing in the halls about people talking about gutting PCEF, what I'm seeing in the media about people gutting PCEF. I think that we are in a panic mode with the budget and people. I want to make sure that we're really careful and thoughtful, because if we don't address climate change, also, the first people that are impacted are usually black and latino. And so I think we have a shared and joint fight in this. And I want and I am very dedicated to ensuring that district one gets the infrastructure that it deserves. So I hope that you'll take it with the intention that it was, you know, my true intentions, which is just to make sure that we get that right, not to slow it down or bog it down in process. But I appreciate those comments.
215 Thank you. Thank you, councilwoman Morillo. And I just wanted to say this. So when this whole thing came out on the ballot measure, it was billed as a Green jobs ballot measure. And I got a I got a report, a presentation from PCEF last month, and they showed me where all the money was spent at and under workforce. It was like less than 5% of the money that has been spent to date and allocated for the future to workforce, and this will actually give us those workforce jobs, those Green jobs that we're talking about. It will also pay for pre-apprenticeship programs and summer job programs, which is going to go through my work, my labor and workforce development committee. And so I will also to bring that to you. But I just want you to know that it is not PCEF is not just climate conscious, it is workforce development, Green jobs conscious as well. And that's how it was built. So we need to make sure that we're touching all these things. And he actually sam gave the report and he gave us the money. District one has been allocated the lowest amount of resources from PCEF over this whole time. And so for us to really kind of nitpick this on if it's climate friendly, we also need to make sure that it's workforce friendly too. And we need to bring some of those jobs back into the community, because personally, I think we're going to go into a recession with the current administration on the federal side. But that's a whole nother story. I'm not going there.
216 Thank you. Thank you, councilor Smith.
217 Thank you. Thank you, madam chair. And I will support this. Thank you.
218 Thank you. This has been a great conversation. This is exactly what's supposed to happen in our policy committees, is that we have an opportunity to go back and forth and discuss, and not we can't do it outside the office. So we do it here. And I really appreciate that. I think if there aren't any further comments, I don't see any more hands up that we can actually take a vote on this resolution.
219 So we have the amendment on the table from councilor Green right now. It was seconded by councilor Smith with the proposed change by councilor.
220 So we need a vote on the amendment first.
221 Right. But I want to make sure we're all clear on what we're voting on.
222 So do we vote on all three at once or do we go section by section?
223 We've already voted on the first one and it was approved the second one from councilor Green. If you're fine with the proposed change by councilor Morillo, then we can incorporate that into the second motion. I'm fine. You're fine with that? Okay. And then if you don't mind, I will just read that resolve statement so that everybody is clear.
224 Thank you.
225 Okay. Be it further resolved that a follow up resolution is required to evaluate fiscal options for financing cip in consultation with the city budget office and will be considered through the finance committee. The added section is the climate resilience and land use committee will review funding options related to the Portland clean energy community benefits fund.
226 Thank you.
227 Okay. And then I think if you're ready, we can call the roll. Okay. Smith.
228 Yes.
229 Koyama Lane.
230 Hi, Green.
231 Hi, Morillo.
232 Hi, Clark. Hi.
233 The amendment is approved with five yes votes.
234 Great.
235 Are there any other comments? Questions? Can we proceed with the resolution now? Great. Terrific. Keelan, will you call for the vote?
236 And then this resolution is being recommended to the full council. Yes. Yes. Okay. I believe there may be motion language for that.
237 Oh.
238 Do I move that we move the amended resolution for referral to the full council.
239 Second.
240 Great. It's been moved and seconded. Thank you.
241 Smith I.
242 Koyama Lane I.
243 Green. Hi maria.
244 Thank you for bringing this forward and focusing on areas that need all of this infrastructure to vote.
245 I Clark.
246 I want to thank my colleagues. Thank you, councilor Smith and Green, for allowing councilor Zimmerman and I to have input onto this and have our names on it. I appreciate it. I'm very excited about this. I think this is a super, super duper idea, and I'm really glad that we're also going to be looking at a portion of district four that has been sorely neglected as well. And for all the reasons that councilor Green laid out, I'm I'm voting yes. Thank you.
247 The resolution is passed to the full council for consideration with five yes votes.
248 Terrific. Thank you. And thanks to all the people that came today to testify in support of this. Thank you to PBOT TriMet, everyone who was here today to educate us. We really appreciate it. Just looking forward into the future. I think our next meeting, April 7th, we most likely will be discussing the bs and water rates, utility rates that's coming up, and we'll probably also focus on our April meeting on proposed budget recommendations in all of the bureaus that are within our purview, and more to come. We look forward to seeing you again, April the 7th. So thank you very much. And with that, we're adjourned.
249 Thank you.