Interesting Cluster of Earthquakes you got There...

More random clustering of unequally distributed events? Or something less random?

Five decent-sized earthquakes on the faultline today
via USGS

Reminder of how terribly vulnerable we all are?

Reminder that we need to fix and maintain before we build big shiny new things?

None of Salem's bridges are expected to stand

The Council Streets and Bridges Bond Committee met today at noon, and there wasn't anything new that seemed important to mention on the agenda. But maybe there was earthquake talk. We can hope, anyway.

(For more on our lack of preparedness, see notes tagged earthquake.)

Legislative Update, Week 16 - Second Winnowing, OTC, Capitol

Still middling weather at the
Legislature

A week ago Friday was another deadline, so we'll have a pile of bills that failed to move forward.

But first, Laws!

• SB 533 making it legal for two-wheelers to go on red when you've waited one complete cycle and the light or controller is broken. Signed.
• SB 120 as introduced expanded the definition of ways to meet "mobility standards" and included "reducing congestion in other modes of travel" - which seems ambiguous, but could as the language was adjusted have meant something like "reduce auto congestion by means of improvements in bike lanes and transit (etc)." The relevant language has been deleted in the first round of amendments, and now it looks like it maintains the usual "highway mobility targets established for a highway corridor by the Department of Transportation’s Oregon Highway Plan" and calls for a new study and to "adopt or amend rules relating to transportation improvements." Passed both houses and seems almost certain to be signed.

Gail Achterman Room, where the OTC usually meets

Also, BikePortland has news on the appointment to replace Catherine Mater on the Oregon Transportation Commission. Since Kitzhaber fired Mater earlier this year, the Commission had been functioning with four members only. Sean O’Hollaren will be the fifth Commissioner.

One interesting thing? BikePortland writes:

The OTC is the most powerful transportation body in the state. They approve funding, set ODOT policy, and “guide the planning development, and management” of our transportation network. There are five members, each representing a different region of the state.

But Mater was fired precisely because she wanted to approve and set policy! On the contrary,

In a statement, Kitzhaber spokeswoman Melissa Navas indicated that contrary to Mater's view, the governor's concern was about the process, not the coal project. Normally, the Oregon Transportation Commission approves without question the list of projects assembled by ODOT stakeholders, regional officials and staff. [italics added]

"Approves without question" is not an attribute of a group that sets and guides policy. And I wonder, then, if we overestimate and overvalue the contributions of the OTC. On the other hand, a strong chair of the OTC could negotiate a different balance of power with a different governor. (Was the OTC under Gail Achterman, for example, more assertive in actually setting policy?)

Back to the Legislature...Dead bills or bills that are no longer interesting:

• HB 2552 fees for studded tires (public hearing held, but no work session) 
• HB 2620 would require ODOT to inventory ODOT land and determine if it is really needed transportation (public hearing held, but no work session)
• HB 2819 to require drivers over the age of 75 to take annual license exams (public hearing held, but no work session)
• HB 2282 - Former speed bump bill. Gutted and stuffed on electronic signatures and e-filing on DMV stuff. (No longer of interest.)
• SJR 16 broadens the list of projects eligible for the gas tax, "for infrastructure that reduces traffic burden of, or pollution from, motor vehicles on public roads." Looking dead. (Hearing held, but no work session.)
• HB 3250: Requires Environmental Quality Commission to adopt carbon cap-and-dividend program. (Hearing held, but no work session.)
• HB 3252: Imposes tax on each fuel supplier and utility based on amount of carbon in carbon-based fuel that is sold by fuel supplier to consumers in this state or that is used to produce carbon-generated electricity supplied by utility to consumers in this state. (Hearing held, but no work session.)

Live bills after the jump. New milestones and movements are highlighted in green. (As usual, see more relevant bills or movement? Drop a note in the comments.)

Difficult Crossings near Safeway, Fred Meyer, Hospital Head List for State Funding

It might just be the random clustering of unequally distributed events, but I have a bit of that sinking, queasy feeling about this summer and safety. Another person on foot was killed here in Salem a few days ago, and Portland is having a rash of people on bike killed or seriously hurt. 

So it's a good time to contemplate improvements for safety.

This is old news, but back on March 23rd, Council and Staff advanced concepts for a suite of projects funded by ODOT's All Roads Transportation Safety Program. Prior to the meeting the proposed project list wasn't available, but here it is (the order has been altered slightly, the text is very lightly edited, and the photos are added).

You may recognize some projects from the Commercial-Vista Corridor Study. Other projects have been discussed in Bike and Walk Salem, the Sustainable Cities Initiative, and neighborhood association meetings. The projects are nearly all adjacent to important destinations - shopping, parks, the hospital, and schools. At least as far as the bike/ped stuff goes, it's a small but solid list.

The early word was that there would be about $1 million for ODOT Region 2 in bike/ped projects, and that would fund about 20 pedestrian medians. There are 10 counties and their cities in Region 2, and so it is hard to say how many of Salem's candidates are likely to be funded. The time-line calls for a 300% long list at this moment, so it could mean that Salemites should expect only 1/3 of these to get funded.

The relevant funding cycle would commence in 2017, it looks like, and construction wouldn't be likely to start any sooner. Most projects would formally be in the 2018-2021 STIP. Field evaluation is going on now and the final, funded project lists will be announced in March 2016. Then this final list of projects gets folded into the STIP process.

Staff is preparing applications to fund selected safety countermeasures at the locations listed below.

Marion and Center Streets NE (12th to 17th Streets NE)

• Install Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon at intersection of 13th and Marion Streets NE [at Safeway, discussed at NEN]
• Install pedestrian crossing median and crosswalk west of 17th Street NE, just westerly of Wyatt Court NE [serves bus stops near the Wilson House]

A flashing beacon and crosswalk right here
Fred Meyers on South Commercial at bus stops

Commercial Street SE (Oxford Street SE to Winding Way SE) [Commercial Vista Study]

• Install pedestrian crossing medians with crosswalks and Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons in two locations:

• Opposite Fred Meyers, near transit stops
• Near intersection with Waldo Street SE

• Infill street lighting and enhance lighting at pedestrian crossings
• Narrow travel lanes to 11 feet (City standard) and add 1-2 foot “buffer” for bike lanes

School Safety Improvements

• Install pedestrian crossing median on Sunnyview NE east of Lancaster Drive NE for improved pedestrian access to McKay High School
• Extend curbs on Jones Road SE to enhance student safety at Judson Middle School

Mission Street SE at Winter Street SE [SCI and many other times!]

• Modify approach to Bush Park to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles
• Install bike signal for northbound bicyclists

Wisconsin Ruling: Salem River Crossing's Traffic Projections also in Jeopardy? - Updated

A very interesting Federal case in Wisconsin has been making the rounds. A reader commented on the FHWA note yesterday and others have sent the news by email.

1000 Friends of Wisconsin filed a suit over outlandish traffic projections, and a Federal Judge agreed!

1000 Friends of Wisconsin v. USDOT et. al.

Vacate that approval!

From the Judge:

As noted, the plaintiff is skeptical that traffic volumes on Highway 23 will increase by as much as WisDOT has projected during the next 20 years. The plaintiff points out that traffic volumes peaked in about 2005 and have been declining ever since. The plaintiff contends that there are reasons to believe that this trend in declining traffic volumes will continue well into the future....

The plaintiff [also] contends that the defendants did not account for or address the environmental impacts of “induced travel.”....

[In conclusion] I identified two deficiencies in the defendants’ consideration of reasonable alternatives: (1) the defendants have not sufficiently disclosed how they applied their traffic-forecasting methodology to arrive at the traffic projections that they used in the impact statement, and thus neither the court nor members of the public are able to intelligently assess whether those projections are flawed; and (2) the defendants have not shown that they made a reasoned decision as to whether the updated population data from the Department of Administration required reconsideration of the traffic projections. These are significant deficiencies....

If it is true that the defendants’ projection of traffic volumes is flawed, then one of the key rationales for expanding the highway to four lanes will be undermined. If accurate projections are used, it may turn out that an alternative to full-blown expansion, such as installing passing lanes in certain areas and making other targeted improvements, would satisfy enough of the project’s purpose and need to be feasible. And because such an alternative would have fewer adverse environmental impacts than full-blown expansion, NEPA requires that it be fully explored before the defendants irrevocably commit themselves to expanding Highway 23 to four lanes.

It is not difficult to see how this might be relevant here.

Update, May 2nd, 2016

From the decision, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin v. USDOT:

I cannot find that WisDOT, when deciding whether to update its traffic forecasts in light of the updated population data, “conducted a reasoned evaluation of the relevant information and reached a decision that, although perhaps disputable, was not ‘arbitrary or capricious.’” Marsh , 490 U.S. at 385.

III. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated, IT IS ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to reinstate the record of decision and enter judgment in their favor is DENIED . IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to strike is DENIED .

More at 1000 Friends:

Federal District Court Judge Lynn Adelman has rejected the Wisconsin DOT arguments that its traffic projections for increased traffic on Highway 23 are accurate. This means the project is not eligible for federal funding – effectively killing the project.

Cherriots Board Meets Thursday

The Cherriots Board meets Thursday the 28th, and there are several things of interest on the agenda.

Chamber's opposition to payroll tax

Probably at the top of the list are the responses to outreach, surveys, and other questions about how best to fund weekend and evening service.

In the packet is the January recommendation from the Chamber:

[I]t is clear that the Salem Chamber is strongly opposed to any payroll tax presented to voters as a revenue option to accomplish Phase 2 planning. The Chamber would most likely lead formal opposition to any payroll tax campaign presented to voters as we feel the costs of expanded service should be shared more broadly across the community as a whole.

In regards to the other funding option for Phase 2 planning, the Salem Chamber would not oppose a 5 year operating levy placed on the ballot for voter consideration. An expansion of evening and weekend service would benefit many in the community and we feel a strong campaign led by the Transit Board of Directors could result in success for your organizational goals. [italics added]

It is interesting that the Chamber does not see transit as a worthy investment for business and employee recruiting and retention.

No position appears to be taken, and the report is for information only and staff look to come back with a recommendation later.

There is also a relatively large quarterly report from Rideshare.

Drunk Driver Kills Person Walking Across Salem Parkway

The weekend did not start off well at all. One more person on foot was killed by a driver.

Friday night (technically very early Saturday) Travis Lane was killed while walking and attempting to cross the Salem Parkway at Cherry.

The initial story about Travis Lane didn't have much detail.

Pedestrian killed in hit and run on Salem Parkway http://t.co/B2ayXSuwPC

— Statesman Journal (@Salem_Statesman) May 23, 2015

But the next day's story (clip above) has utterly desolating detail:

At 12:25 a.m., the Salem Police Department received a report that a pedestrian was hit on Salem Parkway at Cherry Avenue NE. Lane was found dead when officers arrived.

The initial investigation did not determine where Lane was when he was struck, but Tim Hammond said Lane wasn’t the kind of guy to jaywalk.

While Lane was hanging out at Stefanie Hammond’s, his two best friends — Chris Hammond and Travis Malm — were hanging out at his home.

At 3 a.m., police officers knocked on Chris Hammond’s home, saying Lane had been hit by a car.

Several hours after the crash, Malm’s sister, Kimberly Malm, was arrested in connection to the crash on charges of second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and failure to perform the duties of a driver. [italics added]

The hit-and-run compounds the error, but crossing the Parkway at night, even in a marked crosswalk, and even with sober drivers, is treacherous: There's no room for error.

For drivers at highway speeds, reaction time + stopping distance makes it nearly impossible to avoid other objects in the road. Add impairment to reaction time and there may have been no correction whatsoever.

When we choose urban street design speed, we choose how many peds it's OK to kill in a crash http://t.co/lletYPL1Oi pic.twitter.com/LDdcQUt8tO

— Jeffrey Tumlin (@jeffreytumlin) April 7, 2015

For people on foot, highway speeds are certain to crush and kill you. (Remember, even at 40mph, a car is nearly certain kill a person on foot.)

They knew better
 in 1937

If an urban highway like the Parkway is engineered with gentle curves and some forgiveness for drivers who make steering or speeding or stopping errors, they have no engineered forgiveness at all for other users of the road.

That the driver was almost certainly not a stranger, and would likely know of Lane's walking habits, is a cruel, cruel irony.

But it underscores the dangers of speed and autoism. Cars kill. Full Stop. Traffic speeds in urban areas should not be highway speeds.

I think this is the fourth walking death this year. Drivers killed The Crosslands and David McGregor while they were out walking in January.

(Jeffrey Tumlin gave a talk in Salem two years ago, you may recall.)

Bad Crash near McNary

Additionally, McNary students apparently leaving school for the weekend crashed on Lockhaven. From the magnitude of the crash and resulting injuries, it seems difficult to conclude the kids were observing safe neighborhood speeds.

Crash in Keizer injures 3 high school students http://t.co/Z01iLsKwyX

— Statesman Journal (@Salem_Statesman) May 23, 2015

Our local MPO to hold Public Hearing on 20 year Regional Transportation System Plan

Our local Metropolitan Planning Organization, SKATS, will hold a Public Hearing on the draft Regional Transportation Systems Plan for 2015-2035 on Tuesday the 26th at noon.

Carbon is a huge void at the center of the plan
Draft RTSP, with chart from CO2Now

There's a pleasant ferment and amount of discussion going on with related matters, and if you would like to attend and offer comment, here are some themes to consider in your comments!

In an earlier note, we highlighted three things:

• We need more attention to carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
• The Third Bridge remains an enormous folly - that's one project it's totally worth criticizing.
• More and more cities are embracing "vision zero." We tolerate a lot of death and serious injury as acceptable "costs" of using the roads and of road-widening to reduce congestion. If we actually wanted to, we could do a lot more with reducing speeds and better engineering roads for safety.

These remain true.

Here are some additional things to consider:

• The FHWA is now assuming 1.04% annual growth in yearly miles traveled. This still seems too large from here - but if you aren't necessarily persuaded by the larger criticism here, and instead wanted to make a very conservative criticism of our travel modeling, asking SKATS to align projections with this new FHWA figure seems like low-hanging fruit and a very sober request. (The latest that I see - it's hard to find the assumptions in modeling! - is from the Nov 12th memo on tolling: "Traffic is assumed to grow at a constant rate of 1.97% between 2015 and 2035." So what does demand look like when you assume 1.04% annual growth?)
• Salem Sunday Streets has observed that cities are asking the Portland MPO, Metro, to fund Safe Routes to School. A representative from Safe Routes talked to the Technical Advisory Committee earlier this year, and asking our MPO for more focus on sidewalks and safe crossing is a fine thing to echo (though Portland's funding mechanism is different in this case).
• N3B has collated some additional comment on the Salem River Crossing components in the RTSP and they cite great points, which are also appropriate to echo.

Look for the historic sign
next to the entry

The Public Hearing is Tuesday the 26th at noon. SKATS is at 100 High St. SE, Suite 200, above Bar Andaluz and Table Five 08.

And here's more history trivia for the weekend. What was on the corner before the current building, known as the new Bligh Building or Pacific Building, home of SKATS?

Cook's Hotel!

Cook's Hotel the Table Five08 Corner of State and High
Oregon State Library

And here's the corner and its immediate neighborhood from above, probably taken from the tower, now lost, of the Grand Theatre. Cook's was demolished in 1925 or perhaps 1926, prior to construction of the new Bligh Building.

Cook's Hotel on the corner of State and High
The big lawn belongs to the old County Courthouse
Oregon State Library