Urge Metro to Prioritize the Environment in the 2018 Regional Transportation Plan

The draft has many positive aspects, including a much stronger focus on equity and climate change than prior plans. However, there are significant deficiencies and problems with the plan, which include the following:

• Inclusion of more than $13 million in transportation infrastructure on West Hayden Island Natural Area to support the development of a new marine terminal which will destroy this amazing habitat. This has faced strong public opposition for more than two decades and the City of Portland has recognized it is not economically needed.
• Inclusion of more than $375 million to expand I-5 near the Rose Quarter. This project is the ultimate boondoggle and runs contrary to Metro’s stated goal of promoting equity and addressing climate change. It will do nothing to improve congestion and it will cost more than a third of a billion dollars and perpetuate an era of mega-freeway projects at the expense of other projects to improve the health, safety and accessibility of our communities.
• Failure to meaningfully integrate green infrastructure into the transportation grid. Our transportation system is one of the most significant sources of pollution and environmental degradation. The plan should include measurable goals, objectives and strategies to ensure that green infrastructure such as trees and bioswales are integrated into our street plans
• Inadequate addressing of the potential impacts on natural areas. Metro estimates that transportation infrastructure in this plan could negatively impact up to 9% of the high value habitat areas in the region and up to 13% of the high value habitat in marginalized and underserved communities. Metro’s plan should include meaningful goals, strategies, and objectives to ensure that habitat impacts are avoided wherever possible and fully mitigated when avoidance is not possible.