Part of the omnibus "Jobs and Transportation Act," HB 2001 passed by the 2009 Legislature, is a section on improving the way projects take into consideration environmental factors. There will be a public workshop in Salem on Tuesday, February 22, at ODOT Technical Services, 4040 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE, from 4 to 7pm.
The meetings are informal workshops with presentations at 4:30 and 6pm, and are intended for interested citizens.
The process will likely cut both ways: On the one hand, it will seek to make projects greener, and hopefully this will include a framework that recognizes the way roads induce additional demand and add carbon emissions. This could lead to a wider embrace and funding for other mobility solutions - like bicycling! On the other hand, the process may also look to eliminate "roadblocks" constituted by various kinds of environmental review.
It will be interesting to watch.
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