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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

City Hall / News / Portland Adams: 12 Lanes! And a committee!

Posted by Matt Davis on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:22 AM

Mayor Sam Adams plans to recommend 12 lanes for the Columbia River Crossing this afternoon, hoping to salvage his "green" reputation by convening a cross-river committee to monitor all the concrete, once it's been built.

Adams has revealed his choice in an opinion article in the Oregonian this morning, co-written with Vancouver mayor, Royce Pollard. The op-ed is accompanied by a front page piece by Dylan Rivera, detailing the decision to create a committee as a "bold new step" and a "potentially game-changing move."

It's amazing what some editors will do for an exclusive...

The proposed panel could recommend higher or lower toll charges, light-rail farres and bridge lanes over the years, just as a homeowner adjusts a thermostat to respond to changing environmental conditions.

A new Bridge, the mayors write, "is about more than the number of lanes or new transit service or tolls." And their column doesn't mention the words "12 lanes," once. Instead, the crossing is referred to as being "built to accommodate up to three add/drop lanes and three through lanes."

If you've been following, Adams has previously said he thought 8 or 10 lanes would be enough for the Bridge. But following the Breedlove scandal, he's faced pressure on council to choose 12 lanes or face a fierce fight with former ally, Randy Leonard.

It appears that both the mayor and the Oregonian are now happy to present Adams' change of heart as a win-win for everyone, even though the O has been pushing for 12 lanes, from the start:

What's not in doubt is that Adams has gone about setting high aspirations for the massive project, just a month after a sex scandal threatened to dislodge him from office. [Metro Regional Council President David] Bragdon in recent weeks expressed fear that a weakened Adams might not be able to stop his City Council colleagues and highway planner from approving a 12-lane plan for the bridge.

Yet, while that's exactly what's happened, it somehow, you know, isn't.

The CRC's project sponsor's council is set to hammer out the precise function of the committee over the coming months. Meanwhile, a move to rename the bridge after Breedlove is yet to be formally suggested.

 

Comments (9) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
I was kinda hoping the headline was referring to a new bowling alley.
Posted by tk. on February 25, 2009 at 9:29 AM · Report
2
Is there any leaders willing to stand up for a small bridge solution??
Not on council,
Any on Metro?
Posted by barae on February 25, 2009 at 10:13 AM · Report
3
Heck, let's give them 16 lanes, but require they institute a UGB like responsible adults.
Posted by arthabaska on February 25, 2009 at 10:45 AM · Report
4
The bridge will be managed like a thermostat? I sure hope not the way thermostats are managed in most homes and offices.

Portland will be the dad who keeps the temperature at 62 degrees all winter and Vancouver will be the teen daughter who wants to sit around the house in a t-shirt. So she waits until Portland goes to sleep, sneaks down to jack the heat, and screws up the automatic settings. So Portland locks the thermostat at 62 with a secret code etc. etc.
Posted by Hee hee on February 25, 2009 at 10:46 AM · Report
5
Don't forget that "12 lanes" is really wide enough for 18, if those lanes were striped the way the current bridges are striped.

If we build an 8-lane bridge, and future generations want to squeeze 10 or 12 out of it, they can.

12 lanes == the potential for 18 lanes.
Posted by Bob R. on February 25, 2009 at 11:25 AM · Report
6
Maybe I was wrong to ever be concerned about Adams. Thus far, he hasn't been much of a force.

arthabaska, Washington has a UGB system that applies to Vancouver. It's just that unlike us, they actually expand it.
Posted by Blabby on February 25, 2009 at 11:27 AM · Report
7
"It's just that unlike us, they actually expand it."

Oh?

See:
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by…

From that overiew:

In 1998, about 3,500 acres were added to make room for approximately 23,000 housing units and 14,000 jobs. Acreage included areas around the Dammasch state hospital site near Wilsonville, the Pleasant Valley area in east Multnomah, the Sunnyside Road area in Clackamas County, and a parcel of land south of Tualatin.

In 1999, another 380 acres were added based on the concept of "subregional need." An example of "subregional need" would occur when a community needed land to balance the number of homes with the number of jobs available in that area.

In 2002, an unprecedented 18,867 acres were added to the urban growth boundary to provide 38,657 housing units and 2,671 acres for additional jobs. This action also created important regional policies to support neighborhoods, protect industrial areas and enhance regional and town centers. These expansions represented an increase of only about 9 percent, even though our population has increased by about 17 percent since 1990.

In 2004, 1,956 acres were added to the boundary to address the need for industrial lands identified as part of the 2002 planning process.

In 2005, the Metro Council added an additional 345 acres of land for industrial purposes which will complete the 2002 planning process.
Posted by Bob R. on February 25, 2009 at 11:39 AM · Report
8
Bob, I was being facetious.
Posted by Blabby on February 25, 2009 at 12:00 PM · Report
9
a "fierce fight"? SINGLE COMBAT!?
Posted by Will Radik on February 25, 2009 at 1:40 PM · Report

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