Help is on the way for Oregon's roads, transit and streets – and the people who depend on them to get to work, school and home to family and friends. This summer, the Oregon Legislature passed a historic $5.3 billion transportation measure that will invest in faster, more reliable and safer transportation throughout the state.
More about the package
Learn more about what's in the transportation package in this infographic from the Oregon Department of Transportation:
Full details about the bill are available on ODOT's website. Go
This week, in a two-day, five-city tour, Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill, called HB 2017, into law. Her final stop came at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus on Tuesday, where Brown emphasized the importance of transportation options to help people access opportunities.
Now elected and community leaders from across greater Portland are expressing gratitude and determination to continue moving forward to make getting around faster, more reliable and safer for everyone.
The leaders' shared statement was published in The Oregonian on Aug. 30.
Text of the statement
Summer vacation offered little break from the Portland region’s transportation troubles. We still steamed through heavy traffic on freeways. Many of us faced long, hot waits for transit. We witnessed grim crashes and endured jolting potholes throughout our communities.
It is time to get out of this jam. Thanks to state lawmakers, we’re getting on our way.
The state transportation bill – passed by the Legislature in July and signed by Gov. Kate Brown this week – is a critical first step to untangle traffic, improve transit, fix roads and make streets safer in this region and across Oregon.
We say with one voice to our lawmakers in Salem: Thank you for the effort, leadership and courage it took to pass this bill, the biggest investment in transportation in Oregon history.
This bill will begin to relieve traffic bottlenecks, keeping the state’s economy moving and helping workers get home to their families. Oregonians will enjoy smoother and safer streets in their neighborhoods, especially around schools. Bus service will be more frequent and reliable thanks to new funds for transit operations. Freight will get a major boost to reach ports and businesses on time.
Oregonians will invest together – and move forward together.
More than a year of hard work and the input of Oregonians across the state made this success possible. It deserves to be celebrated.
But let’s be clear: This bill leaves more work to do for our communities. And we will need to look beyond the State Capitol to get us all the way.
Too many people are still stuck in traffic. Too many people still await more frequent transit, or safer streets in their neighborhood.
We must work together to build on this bill’s momentum – as leaders, residents, businesses and advocates. Until we do, many important projects will remain stalled, especially in some parts of the region – such as communities along Interstate 205 and in the Southwest Corridor. We must go further to find solutions that fight congestion, improve safety and provide more options and opportunities throughout the region’s roads, streets and transit.
We have the green light. Let’s keep our wheels rolling in the right direction for our communities.
This is a shared statement by 30 Portland-area elected and community leaders, including:
Metro Council President Tom Hughes
Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson
Washington County Chair Andy Duyck
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Saltzman
Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway
Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle
Tigard Mayor John Cook
Lake Oswego Mayor Kent Studebaker
Oregon City Mayor Dan Holladay
Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden
West Linn Mayor Russ Axelrod
Forest Grove Mayor Pete Truax
Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp
Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba
Cornelius Mayor Jef Dalin
Wood Village Mayor Timothy Clark
King City Mayor Ken Gibson
Durham Mayor Gery Schirado
Maywood Park Mayor Mark Hardie
Rivergrove Mayor Heather Kibbey
TriMet Executive Director Neil McFarlane
Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold
The Street Trust Executive Director Jillian Detweiler
Rosewood Initiative Executive Director Jenny Glass
Business for a Better Portland Chief Collaboration Officer Ashley Henry
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon Associate Director Duncan Hwang
Hillsboro Area Chamber of Commerce President Deanna Palm
Westside Transportation Alliance Executive Director Jeff Pazdalski
Safe Routes to School National Partnership Regional Policy Manager Karianne Schlosshauer
Westside Economic Alliance Executive Director Pam Treece