Legislative statewide transportation tour coming to Bend and The Dalles

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 09/06/2024 01:00 PM PDT

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Legislative statewide transportation tour coming to Bend and The Dalles

Sept. 6, 2024

For more information, contact Kevin Glenn, 503-910-5965.

Oregon legislators are coming to Bend on Thursday, Sept. 12 and The Dalles on Friday, Sept. 13 as part of their Statewide Transportation Safety and Sustainability Outreach Tour. Legislators are gathering feedback and input from the public to inform their efforts to develop sufficient and sustainable transportation funding during the 2025 legislative session. 

Public hearings will be held in each location and community members are encouraged to provide public comment. 

Thursday, Sept. 12 in Bend, the public hearing will be held at the OSU Cascades Campus from 5-7:00 p.m. More details can be found on the Joint Committee on Transportation agenda here. 

Friday, Sept. 13 in The Dalles, the public hearing will be held at The Dalles Middle School from 5-7:00 p.m. More details can be found on the Joint Committee on Transportation agenda here. 

There are many ways members of the public can participate in this conversation:  

  • Testify in person: Members of the public can register in person starting 30 minutes before the meeting begins.  
  • Testify remotely: The committee will also hear remote testimony if time permits, which the public can register for on the committee's webpage at olis.oregonlegislature.gov by 5 p.m. the day before the day of the meeting.  

Hearings will be available via livestream on olis.oregonlegislature.gov. 

Two members of the public sit at a table to provide public testimony at the Ontario legislative public hearing.

Public commenters provide testimony at the Aug. 28 Ontario public hearing.

In both cities, ODOT is partnering with local transit agencies, cities and counties to take legislators on a bus tour through the area during the day to see the condition of local transportation infrastructure.  

ODOT, along with transportation agencies across the state, is facing structural funding challenges from declining gas tax revenue, high inflation and legal restrictions on available funding. This has led to cutbacks in staff levels and maintenance spending—which have negative impacts on Oregon’s transportation system and those who rely on its roads, bridges, sidewalks and railways. Learn more about our state’s transportation funding challenges here. 

State lawmakers are looking for solutions, and ODOT looks forward to continuing to support this statewide tour as a key part of that effort. 

 

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