More Detail on Commercial at Division, a Letter on Balky Rail: At the MPO

The Policy Committee for our Metropolitan Planning Organization meets on Tuesday the 26th, and there are several interesting items.

Though it is not the most important for them, most interesting here is more detail on the TIP amendment for the project on Commercial near the new UGM shelter and Police Station. (See previous notes from the technical committee earlier this month.)

Sidewalkification on Commercial St.

The sidewalkification is driven not by logical connections for people on bike, but by the wish to privilege car travel and car speed on this state highway segment. The "bike lane" is fit in awkwardly in leftover space and on the edges.

Traveling southbound, at D Street a person on bike is supposed to leave the bike lane and go up onto the multi-use path on the right. At Division this person is supposed to cross in the crosswalk in two phases to the left hand side to a new segment of multi-use path.

Rather than one consistent line of travel, there is swerving and weaving, and non-auto travel is clearly very secondary. And rather than inconvenience for those in cars, the sidewalkfication inconveniences those foot. If we are going to start hitting our climate goals, this is all backwards.

A little self-sabotage by Cherriots?

Another item that seems odd is the newly visible insistence by Cherriots, a kind of rebranding I guess, that the South Salem Transit Center is going to be a mobility hub that includes places for TNCs. I guess this like the mob code of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? The TNCs want to eat transit. TNCs also increase miles driven rather than decrease them. TNCs do not contribute to the goals of transit or to our climate goals, and it is hard to understand why Cherriots is heading into this embrace.

Good questions and a new critical spirit

But it is easy to like the questions new PC members are asking! The generational shift in the last couple of years with new members from the School District, from Cherriots, and now from the City sure seems like it's making a difference in tone, and may extend into substantive policy. That's a great thing to see.

Posting to youtube

The Committee also agreed to publish video of the meetings.

Fascinating letter from OMPOC on balky rail

Finally, at the end of the packet there was a fascinating letter from the state consortium of MPOs documenting difficulty in communicating, planning, and negotiating with rail firms.

We need more rail service, and we need to modernize the regulatory framework that still has too much 19th century and rail baron power in it.

This committee will also see some survey results, which we discussed earlier at the TAC.

Meeting information

The Policy Committee zooms at noon on Tuesday the 26th, and the meeting agenda and packet can be downloaded here.