Four more congestion pricing open houses set

April 5, 2018

Contacts:

Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452

Kimberly Dinwiddie, 503-539-8454

ODOT plans new round of public conversations

on congestion pricing for I-5 and I-205

The Oregon Department of Transportation will hold four public open houses in April to discuss the use of congestion pricing to help improve travel times and reliability on Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 in the Portland area.

In addition, a new online open house will be available April 5 through April 19 at http://openhouse.oregondot.org/congestion

The public may share experiences with congestion and express their views on congestion pricing either online or at the upcoming open houses in Oregon City, Tigard, Southeast Portland and Northeast Portland near Portland International Airport..

Here is the open house schedule:

• Thursday, April 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Museum of Oregon Territory, 211 Tumwater Drive, Oregon City.
• Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m. to noon, Ron Russell Middle School, 3955 S.E. 112^th, Portland.
• Wednesday April 18, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tigard Public Works Auditorium, 8777 S.W. Burnham St., Tigard.
• Saturday April 21, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Embassy Suites Airport, Pine Room, 7900 N.E. 82^nd, Portland.

Congestion pricing, also known as value pricing, refers to tolling options that are specifically designed to improve traffic flow. Congestion pricing systems charge higher prices for driving on a road when demand is greater, in the morning and evening rush hours, for example.

Some drivers choose to travel on other routes, at different times of the day or on other modes of transportation. Communities across the US have found these tools effective in improving traffic conditions and enhancing travel time reliability.

The open houses will be informal, drop-in events with ODOT project team members stationed throughout the room to provide materials, discuss the options and answer questions.

During the open houses, the public will get a chance to:

• Learn about congestion pricing and five concepts that are now being considered
• Provide input on strategies or policies that should be considered to make congestion pricing work in the Portland-Vancouver metro area.

ODOT’s community conversations will help to inform the Policy Advisory Committee in its work to prepare a recommendation to forward this summer to the Oregon Transportation Commission.

On April 11, the Policy Advisory Committee will hold the fourth of six planned meetings  The meeting will be Wednesday April 11, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the ODOT Region 1 offices at 123 N.W. Flanders St., Portland. The project team will present feedback received via the website, surveys and in-person community conversations to help inform the consideration of congestion pricing concepts for further analysis.

Background

The Oregon Legislature last year approved HB 2017, Keep Oregon Moving, which committed $5.3 billion to a wide range of transportation investments. The bill directed the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) to pursue federal approval for congestion pricing on all or parts of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 from the Columbia River in the north to where the two roads meet south of Tualatin.

The OTC established the Policy Advisory Committee to help inform their feasibility study of congestion pricing. The Committee includes representatives of local governments in Oregon and Washington, the business community, highway users, equity and environmental justice interests, and public transportation and environmental advocates.

It is scheduled to deliver a recommendation to the OTC this summer and by Dec. 31, 2018, the OTC will submit its congestion pricing proposal to the Federal Highway Administration.

Meeting Accommodations

Accommodations will be provided at the meetings to allow people with disabilities to participate. To request a meeting accommodation, please call April DeLeon at 503-731-3117 or call statewide relay at 7-1-1 at least 48 hours prior to each meeting.

Find out more and sign up for email updates by visiting the website: ODOTvaluepricing.org.