Bike plan approved; funding still up in the air

PORTLAND, Ore. - Late Thursday afternoon the Portland City Council approved a $600 million bike plan that would dramatically expand bike paths in the city in coming years.

City Commissioners voted unanimously for the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 that aims to have a quarter of all trips in the city to be made on bicycles in 20 years.

Commissioners said the plan will be the cornerstone of Portland’s sustainable transportation system.

The hope is it will attract people who are not yet riding by creating low-stress bikeways with boulevards and trails that reduce conflicts between bikes and cars.

It will also provide more parking for bicycles.

“We want safe streets in our neighborhood and that to me is what this plan is all about,” said City Commissioner Amanda Fritz.

“This plan which has rightly been called one of the best in the country will help us remain the country’s leader in biking,” said City Commissioner Nick Fish.

Now, the question is, how will the city fund it?

A financing task force will be created that will be made up of business and community leaders who will come back to the City Council in nine months with a funding plan.

Even though not every funding source has been nailed down just yet, Mayor Sam Adams said the city still needs to move forward with the plan and said he has another, more immediate, plan to kick-start it:  He said administrative savings from the Bureau of Environmental Services could help.

But securing that money isn’t guaranteed.

He said he will return to Commissioners within 30 days with a way to come up with some of the money.

“The wind down savings from the Big Pipe, I’ll will be coming back with a kick-start, one time, but $20 million to help get this plan going,” said Adams.

The goal is that money will get the plan rolling over the next 24 months.