Legislative tour shows statewide need for sufficient transportation funding
Oct. 18, 2024
For more information, contact Kevin Glenn, 503-910-5965.
SALEM – On Sept. 27, the Oregon legislature’s statewide Transportation Safety and Sustainability Outreach Tour held its final stop in Hillsboro. The 12-stop tour started June 4 in Portland before taking legislators along the roads, bridges, bus routes, and pedestrian paths of Oregon’s coast, the Willamette Valley, southern Oregon, eastern Oregon, central Oregon and back to the Portland metro area.
Legislators traveled across Oregon to hear from Oregonians about their transportation challenges, needs and priorities—and to see the state of our transportation system up close. This tour bolstered legislative efforts to address Oregon’s transportation budget challenges and develop a transportation funding package in the 2025 legislative session.
 Tour group poses for photo before Happy Valley tour on Sept. 26.
"Safety and efficiency have been central parts of each stop along this tour and will be key to identifying an equitable transportation system that gets Oregonians and goods to where they need to go," said Joint Committee on Transportation Chair Rep. Susan McLain in a Sept. 17 press release. "I’m grateful for each member of the public, local leaders, and transportation officials who engaged at each stop we’ve made. We’ve heard loud and clear from community leaders and from the public, both about their communities’ transportation needs, and, importantly, what funding solutions they would support to meet those needs."
Each of the tour stops had three components: a day-time bus tour of the local transportation system, a roundtable discussion with local leaders and a public hearing. All of the public hearing materials and videos can be viewed here: olis.oregonlegislature.gov.
Hillsboro and Happy Valley tours focused on safety and maintenance challenges in growing communities
At the Sept. 26 tour in Happy Valley, ODOT worked with Clackamas County and the city of Happy Valley to show lawmakers the area’s challenges with sustaining a safe and reliable transportation system alongside rapidly growing urban and suburban development. This growth and stagnating funding for maintenance and operations creates mounting challenges for state and local transportation agencies.
The tour group stopped at an ODOT maintenance station where electrical crews talked to lawmakers about the daily challenges they face maintaining essential safety features in the region like pedestrian crosswalk beacons, stoplights and lights over sidewalks. Lawmakers also heard about the importance of ODOT incident responders and the risks they face assisting motorists in need.
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At the roundtable and public hearing, members of the community voiced support for diversifying transportation revenue options, increasing public transportation funding and improving safety and access for all modes of transportation. You can stream the recording of the public hearing here: Oregon Legislative Video (oregonlegislature.gov).
In Hillsboro on Sept. 27, the tour focused on safety and accessibility along Tualatin Valley Highway, or TV Highway, that connects Washington County communities from Forest Grove to Beaverton. These communities are also growing rapidly, which has led to increased congestion and safety impacts for people walking, rolling, biking or taking transit. Insufficient funding for maintenance and operations impacts state and local transportation agencies’ ability to create a safer and more reliable transportation system for everyone.
Voices at the roundtable and the public hearing shared concerns about increasing costs of living, congestion, safety for pedestrians and accessibility for those who rely on public transportation. You can stream the recording of the public hearing here: Oregon Legislative Video (oregonlegislature.gov).
Sufficient, sustainable funding needed for the service Oregonians deserve
Oregonians can expect longer road closures, more trash and graffiti, worse winter driving conditions, more potholes, and slower DMV customer service because of the structural revenue issue the agency is facing.
ODOT has enough funding to keep state highway maintenance levels roughly stable until the middle of 2025. After that, in the absence of additional revenue or revenue reform, Oregonians will see a rapid decline in the safety, quality, and reliability of their transportation system.
We look forward to continuing to work with the legislature and Governor Kotek to working toward a comprehensive transportation modernization package in the 2025 legislative session.
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