Climate Action Plan Committee and City Should Consider Get There Challenge

Council meets on Monday, but I don't think there's anything here to say. Salem Reporter's already published a preview, so check that out.

Get There Challenge

The Climate Action Plan Committee also meets on Monday, and there are a couple of items to note.

The 2023 work plan on transportation and land use

On the agenda is a review of the 2023 work plan and a status update on each item.

For transportation and land use, there is progress, and one full completion, but also questions.

• The TSP update is in progress, encompassing scenario planning, as well as compliance with new DLCD climate and land use rules, including designation of Climate Friendly Areas. Here, the CFA process has seemed rather compromised and designed to be more on paper and theoretical than actual. (Recently see "Real Outcomes, not Potential on Paper, is Goal for Climate Friendly Areas" and "Our Land Use Policy and Zoning is often too Theoretical: On CFAs and Overlay Zones.")
  
• Developing a commute trip reduction program is on hold while DEQ continues to work on the rules. In the meantime, there is in October the Get There Challenge, and the City has historically not embraced these commute challenge programs with any gusto or formal institutional support. Without waiting for the DEQ requirements, the City should aggressively promote the Get There Challenge right now. (See, for example, "City Seems to Ignore Get There Oregon Challenge" and "Bike More Challenge at Mid-Month: Could use more Institutional Support.")
  
• Right-priced downtown parking is in progress!
• Parking minimums have been eliminated!✔

The Committee will also hear updates on:

• Cherriots Sustainability, presumably their new Carbon Management Plan, which did not seem to place enough emphasis on increasing ridership.
  
• The Goal 5 Riparian Inventory, which has not published any materials and is very under the radar.
  
• And Commissioner Slater will talk about heat pumps. This follows on his idea for a large solar installation at the airport, which seems like a terrific idea. Last month the paper's supplement had a small feature on a solar installation going in at Dulles.
  

Last month in the SJ supplement

Update, September 24th

And here's some social media, outward facing to the public. It's nice to see a genuine Salem bike lane and someone who is not all kitted up and helmeted. Hopefully there's also a push internally to City of Salem staff.

via FB