City Council, November 5th - Salem River Crossing Hearing - Updated

Whether it's Governor Christie for the Republicans, Governor Cuomo for the Democrats, or Mayor Bloomberg for the Independents, there seems to be a consensus:

It's global warming, stupid.

You may recall a couple of years ago a note about the Nixon White House.

In a 1969 memo Daniel Moynihan, a Democrat working in the Republican administration of Richard Nixon, wrote about the "carbon dioxide problem" and urges the creation of a "world wide monitoring system." He warns that increasing CO2 could "raise the level of the sea by 10 feet. Goodbye New York. Goodbye Washington, for that matter."


Climate change should be bi-partisan, and there was a time in Oregon it would have been.

Republican Governor Tom McCall signs the Bike Bill in 1971

So that's a big wind-up to City Council on Monday night.

The big public hearing on the bridge takes place on Monday, and the issue doesn't seem much to be on the horizon of the public.

This afternoon critics of the bridge will talk. Hopefully lots of people turn out.

If you can't come to Council, email Citycouncil@cityofsalem.net!

Here's talking points:

Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Proposed 3rd Bridge
1. The 3rd Bridge should not be approved by the City Council until there is a plan to pay for it.
2. The 3rd Bridge is unlikely to be paid primarily with federal or state dollars – the cost will be on us.
3. The 3rd Bridge proposal is based on outdated traffic counts and projections of growth.
4. The 3rd Bridge’s 75 acres of new right-of-way will dislocate over 160 homes and businesses.
5. The 3rd Bridge turns Pine and Hickory Streets in North Salem into major arterials.
6. The 3rd Bridge is $5.5 million over its original $2 million planning budget.
7. The 3rd Bridge will destroy the peace and tranquility of Wallace Marine Park.
8. The 3rd Bridge plan ignores solutions involving better transit and better bike lanes.
9. The 3rd Bridge creates visual and noise pollution for neighborhoods in Highland and West Salem that will find themselves under an elevated freeway.
10. The 3rd Bridge does not have support from a majority of the Task Force that worked for six years to research the options.

For more on the River Crossing see a summary critique and all breakfast blog notes tagged River Crossing.

Other Stuff

Minto Bridge and Path.  As feared, the City is not applying for ODOT bike/ped funds except for about $2 million for the bridge:

In order to increase the competitiveness of the "Enhance It" application for the Bridge, staff recommends this be the only 2012 "Enhance It" application the City and Agency apply for.

However, instructions from ODOT were clear:

The new "Enhance It" project selection process will determine the ODOT capital program (called the STIP) for federal fiscal years 2015 thru 2018....Don't limit yourself - this solicitation will set the ODOT capital program for 4 years. Submit as many projects as allowed.

As it stands, the City is delaying and bailing on the projects in Bike and Walk Salem. (But even the NY Times has observed the huge advantages of bikes in post-disaster mobility.)

Urban Renewal Funding Shuffle. In part because urban renewal funds were shifted to the Minto Bridge and Path, now the Building Rehabilitation and Restoration "Toolbox" Grant Program, from which the funds for Minto were taken, needs more funding.

Update, Monday Morning

And there's a very fine op-ed in the paper today, courtesy of the No 3rd Bridge folks!