Rep. John Ley issues statement after recent Portland Metro memo regarding the use of light rail in the IBR project
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Rep. John Ley issues statement after recent Portland Metro memo regarding the use of light rail in the IBR project
A recent memo regarding the Interstate-5 Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) has shed new light on the current status of the project. The May 30 memo from Portland Metro provides multiple details on how the IBR addresses the five project goals of its 2023 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The project summary is being prepared for Metro to amend project spending and funding allocation recommendations, which will ultimately be presented to the Oregon Transportation Commission at the end of July.
The memo contains several revelations, including “neutral or no significant change” in travel mode share, meaning there won’t be an increase in people using transit, nor riding bikes or walking. The project also fails to reduce “daily metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions” in total, or on a per capita basis.
Rep. John Ley, R-Vancouver, issued the following statement regarding the IBR project.
“When it comes to spending transportation dollars, the biggest concerns for citizens are saving travel time and reducing traffic congestion. This means adding vehicle capacity either through new transportation corridors or expanding existing ones. Yet, Portland’s Metro was part of a broader effort to prohibit the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) – and the Rose Quarter project – from adding new through lanes on Interstate 5.
Even more important, it doesn’t improve on safety goals. In fact, the proposal could be viewed as a failure in most of the five RTP priorities for the project. Although progressive metrics for ‘green’ transportation were used to influence and control the IBR’s approved alternative, the current proposal fails to deliver on those metrics.
Not only does the current proposal fail to reduce traffic congestion and save people travel time, but it also falls short on green agenda items – reducing greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging more people to use ‘active transportation’ (bikes and pedestrians) and promoting mass transit. It even fails, according to the memo, to improve on safety metrics.
Why would we spend billions on a project that fails to deliver? Adding vehicle capacity, either via a new transportation corridor or adding lanes to the existing I-5 corridor, all the way through downtown Portland, would be the logical solution. In the post-pandemic world, fewer people are using mass transit, as demonstrated by declining C-TRAN cross-river ridership numbers.
IBR community surveys reported that 7 of 10 respondents want reduced traffic congestion as their top priority. Southwest Washington residents told the IBR team that 78 percent want congestion relief. People in both states want to save time in their travels, which the proposal fails to deliver. The current alternative makes things worse.
I’ve been advocating for common-sense, affordable solutions to the region’s traffic congestion problems for well over a decade. The $7.5 billion proposal is the largest public works project in the region’s history, with a likely total cost exceeding $10 billion. There is no need to spend $2 billion on a 1.8-mile light rail extension that nobody will ride.
An affordable proposal would repurpose the two existing bridges, saving $200 million. They would serve as an excellent local connection between Vancouver and Hayden Island.
Given that the current LPA does not improve traffic congestion, does not reduce GHG emissions, does not meet Metro safety goals, and does not increase mode share participation, it’s time to hit the pause button. Why spend billions of the people’s money on a project that doesn’t serve the people?”
Rep. Ley represents the 18th Legislative District.
