ODOT wants to know what we think about their proposal for Freeway Expansion.
Let’s tell them!
The Oregon Department of Transportation is asking the community to weigh in on their proposal to spend nearly half a billion dollars to expand the Rose Quarter Freeway. We know that this freeway expansion won’t solve traffic congestion, will be terrible for nearby air quality, is opposed by local neighborhoods, and won’t address the actually-dangerous traffic conditions in low income communities in East Portland.
So let’s tell ODOT how we really feel!
The public comment period for this round of community engagement closes this Friday, October 6th at 5:00pm. Can we count on you to spend thirty seconds today emailing ODOT and officially filing your concerns with the project? Click the button above to queue up an email to the Freeway Expansion Project Team. You can also fill out their online card.
Wondering what to write? Speak from the heart, and feel free to mention how this freeway project is antithetical to our carbon emissions goals, our air quality initiatives, won’t solve congestion, isn’t a Vision Zero safety priority, and shouldn’t be undertaken until congestion pricing has been studied and implemented to determine if there is truly a need for a half-billion dollar freeway expansion.
NO MORE FREEWAYS, IN THE NEWS
City Observatory crunched the numbers; Portlanders who commute to work with an automobile (especially during peak hour congestion) have a much higher median income than those who take transit.- The Audubon Society, Neighbors for Clean Air, and 350PDX cosigned an editorial in the Oregonian that breaks down how this project fails our region. We’ve also had a few letters to the editor published.
- CityLab, a national urban issues magazine, called our work “The Freeway Fight of the Century.“
- Mayor Ted Wheeler made quite a few unusual claims about the freeway expansion project on Think Out Loud. The Portland Mercury and BikePortland fact-checked him, and the results weren’t pretty.
- ODOT’s town halls about the freeway expansion have been met with plenty of opposition from community members.
- The Southwest Examiner also expressed concern about our project as well.
- Finally, we have an updated FAQ page!
NEXT NOMOREFREEWAYSPDX MEETING:
THURSDAY, OCT 5
Our group of engaged citizens, advocates, and rabblerousers meet roughly twice a month; if you’d like to get more involved, we’d love to have you join us. We’ll be meeting TOMORROW Thursday, October 5th at 6:00pm at the AORTA office in Union Station (800 NW 6th Ave).
Drop us a line at nomorefreewayspdx@gmail.com if you’d like to attend and help us stop a freeway.