December 17, 2007
Transportation funding priorities debated
Bicycle advocates have challenged a transportation priority list drafted by officials in the greater Portland area that proposes to channel $50 million in federal funding into increasing highway capacity.
The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee, which helps funnel federal transportation funding to 15 municipalities in the greater Portland area, is trying to choose one to three projects from a list of 10 that will receive $50 million in federal funding in two years, according to the Portland Press Herald. PACTS was trying to narrow down the list without public input until the priority list recently was circulated among Portland's transportation activists.
Instead of widening I-295 in Portland, which is currently ranked fourth on the list, the League of Young Voters, the Portland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Portland Greens Streets are asking PACTS to instead consider extending rail service from Portland to Brunswick -- currently ranked eighth -- as a higher priority, the paper reported. Widening highways leads to more vehicles on the road, more greenhouse emissions and less safety for bicyclists, transportation activists told the newspaper.
The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee, which helps funnel federal transportation funding to 15 municipalities in the greater Portland area, is trying to choose one to three projects from a list of 10 that will receive $50 million in federal funding in two years, according to the Portland Press Herald. PACTS was trying to narrow down the list without public input until the priority list recently was circulated among Portland's transportation activists.
Instead of widening I-295 in Portland, which is currently ranked fourth on the list, the League of Young Voters, the Portland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Portland Greens Streets are asking PACTS to instead consider extending rail service from Portland to Brunswick -- currently ranked eighth -- as a higher priority, the paper reported. Widening highways leads to more vehicles on the road, more greenhouse emissions and less safety for bicyclists, transportation activists told the newspaper.
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