Good news! The Rose City has irked the Federal Highway Administration.
Why?
Because it’s, um, centering its new transportation plan around people instead of roads.
Metro is trying something different with the current plan update—giving the highest priority to projects that support the region’s goals for coping with growth, whether that means more roads, more transit or more bicycle lanes.
The response from the FHA:
The highway agency scolded Metro for not focusing more on highways, cars and parking. “The plan should acknowledge that automobiles are the preferred mode of transport by the citizens of Portland,” the agency said. “They vote with their cars every day.”
We wonder. If you lived close enough to your work to walk—or bicycle safely, or heck, take the tram–your preferred mode of transport might change.
That’s the way Portland is planning.
P.S.—New York City, on the other hand, may be losing its Ecotopian pedestrian edge (tip to Tidepool for both stories).
Dan
Here is, Elisa, the summary of Larry Frank’s latest about density and vehicle trips, in Atlanta. I’m sure you’ll spread the word after you read it. Atlanta Journal-Constitution article says: a broad study of the travel habits and neighborhood choices of more than 18,000 Atlanta residents has found that a third of the people living in suburbs would have preferred a more walkable neighborhood…