This afternoon Portland City Council unanimously adopted the Bicycle Plan for 2030. In a vote of 5 – 0, Mayor Sam Adams and all the City Commissioners praised the plan for its public health benefits and community-oriented approach.
The Mayor also pledged to kickstart the building of the plan with a one time allocation of $20 million; he will report back to Council in 30 days on what sources of funding will contribute. This is a great first step – in the draft of next year’s transportation capital budget recently released by the Bureau, there is only about $7 million (out of $129 million total) to build new bike routes and trails. Raising that by $20 million is one of the strongest leadership moves we’ve seen the Mayor take since he has been in office, and we are thrilled to see his commitment to making Portland such a safe and healthy city!
More than 70% of Portlanders have a bicycle in their garage, but many of them don’t feel safe using them to get exercise, to have fun, or to take short trips. The Portland Bicycle Plan, and this new $20 million in smart transportation investment, will give all Portlanders access to trails, quiet streets, clean air and water, and easy active transportation.
The Mayor also announced the creation of a finance task force to seek new funding sources. As the city allocates some local money now, it will help us prepare for federal funds later. Portland needs to be ready with engineering and planning to ensure the projects are shovel ready when federal funds become available (in the last round of stimulus funding, for example, most of the “shovel-ready” projects were paving).
Today was a big win for the future of Portland as a safe, healthy city; but it is just the beginning of our campaign to Build It! Stay tuned for new opportunities to get involved.
Although I’m NOT a Porlander I sometimes drive into the city with my bike and ride to where I’m going. My grandson rides his bike to middle school. He will expand his “range” by learning routes to downtown, Spring Water, and other bike routes. Thanks to ALL at BTA and others who do the good works.