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March 10, 2014 The Columbia River Crossing I-5 project has finally died! When the Oregon Legislature adjourned on Friday without funding the project, ODOT announced that the CRC is shutting down. This victory is important. CLF spent nine years advocating for a better approach to the CRC because it didn’t reflect the type of innovative planning that would leave a positive legacy for the region. The Oregonian called the demise of the CRC “an enormous victory for environmental and urban planning groups.” We’re proud of our success, and thank the many community partners who spoke out, organized, testified, litigated, researched the issues, submitted comments, contacted elected officials, developed alternatives, donated so CLF could advocate, and did myriad other things that led to the CRC’s defeat. CLF worked to steer the CRC in a positive direction, and then ultimately opposed the project when the massive I-5 expansion became the chosen design. Public investments, especially ones of this scale, should build the region for prosperity. Major changes to I-5 should improve our quality of life, promote sustainable economic development, and counter sprawl. They should connect communities, and connect us to the Columbia River. Today we celebrate. It’s an exciting victory, though bittersweet because it came after nearly $200 million in public dollars spent, years of time and energy sunk into a fundamentally misguided plan, and relationships harmed by spending years in conflict. We’re also cognizant that the CRC was declared dead last year, only to be revived with an even riskier, Oregon-only scheme. So we will continue to follow CRC to make sure it’s really dead and litigation is no longer necessary. Imagine what could happen when we put that much energy into sustainable, innovative solutions that build toward people's aspirations. For 20 years, that’s what the Coalition for a Livable Future has been about. Thank you for being a part of our community.
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September 6, 2013 A coalition of eleven advocacy organizations told Oregon leaders today that a proposal for Oregon to pay the full cost of the Columbia River Crossing freeway project is too great a risk for taxpayers, livability, and the environment. “Now is not the time for Oregon to gamble alone on the risks of a freeway expansion and a big bridge,” said Jason Miner, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, which organized the effort with the Coalition for a Livable Future. “The end of the divisive CRC project created an opportunity for Oregonians to work together on transportation projects that unite us and address the needs of all Oregonians wherever they drive, walk, or ride.” “As the legislature considers a special session, we urge the Governor and legislative leaders to focus on transportation solutions to improve Oregon’s livability, rather than undermine it through a risky project,” said Mara Gross, Executive Director of the Coalition for a Livable Future. The eleven community leaders including Miner and Gross sent a letter to the Governor and legislative leaders today stressing the significant risks and burdens Oregon would undertake to finance the project by itself. Among the key points in the letter:
“The CRC as we’ve known it was rejected by Washington,” said Gross. “That gives us an opportunity—not to resurrect it, but to have a serious conversation about mobility solutions that serve the entire state and region.” “We can begin looking for those solutions today,” Miner said. “But first we must accept that the CRC proposal cannot proceed as-is, and especially not if only Oregon must build it alone.” Other than 1000 Friends of Oregon and the Coalition for a Livable Future, organizations signing the letter include Audubon Society of Portland, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, Oregon Chapter Sierra Club, Oregon Public Health Institute, Oregon Walks, and Upstream Public Health. Read the full letter online.
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July 10, 2013 After years of planning, lobbying, delays, and gross errors, Governors Kitzhaber and Inslee have pulled the plug on the deeply flawed and hugely expensive Columbia River Crossing mega-project. This is a huge win for the environment and economy of the Portland-Vancouver metro region. Coalition for a Livable Future has long opposed the mega-project, which was based on false premises and reflected a misguided and limited vision for the region. The Coalition is grateful to the many people who worked for years to stop this project in favor of better solutions for our region, and to the Governors of Oregon and Washington for deciding to move on rather than waste more public funds. While it’s tempting to ask what the next big project will be, it’s wiser to step back to consider how we think about infrastructure and plan our cities. The CRC was a missed opportunity for forward-thinking planning and innovative solutions this region is known for. The design focused on a major highway expansion in the middle of our cities, reflecting a disconnect between the region’s values and where we spend our public funds. The Departments of Transportation focused an enormous amount of the region’s capital on a single, multi-billion dollar project that wouldn’t have even fixed the problems on and around I-5. But the question shouldn’t just be about strategies for I-5, but rather what our regional priorities are . Despite the huge costs incurred for planning and selling the CRC, we averted a planning debacle and a waste of taxpayer dollars twenty times larger than what was already spent. The task now is to turn that success into better decisions, better planning, and a better region. The Coalition for a Livable Future looks forward to being a partner in that effort.
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June 12, 2013 The Coalition for a Livable Future released Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 today, a major research and education project for the four-county Portland metro region. The Equity Atlas promotes widespread opportunity by mapping and analyzing which neighborhoods and communities do - and do not – have the resources that make up a healthy community. The Equity Atlas is available at www.equityatlas.org. Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 demonstrates that many do not have access to the great opportunities the Portland region provides, such as public parks, affordable homes, walkable neighborhoods, family-wage jobs, air quality, and healthy food. It exposes deep disparities in access affecting people of color, low income populations, and youth. “Equity Atlas 2.0 is an important tool for addressing health disparities affecting African Americans and other communities of color in our region. The Equity Atlas will help the Urban League influence public policies to create real solutions for social change.” -- Midge Purcell, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, Urban League of Portland The original Regional Equity Atlas, published in 2007, received national attention for its groundbreaking analysis of disparities in access to the resources necessary for health and well-being. By illuminating the region’s geography of opportunity, the Atlas transformed local conversations around equity and provided concrete information that led to changes in planning and investment decisions. Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 is a major update and expansion of the original Equity Atlas. It features a dynamic online mapping tool with extensive regional data. It is designed to allow people to create their own maps and investigate the issues most compelling to their communities. “Metro and CLF partnered on this important tool because addressing equity is not only the right thing to do, but it helps build a more economically competitive region. We must ensure that all of our region’s people have the opportunity to participate in our economy and that we are providing opportunities for the workforce of tomorrow.” -- Tom Hughes, Metro Council President The Regional Equity Atlas 2.0 also maps health issues such as obesity and heart disease. It finds that many low income communities and people of color live in neighborhoods without good access to resources, and that these neighborhoods have higher rates of chronic disease. Hundreds of leaders of community organizations and government agencies across the region provided input into what to map. The resulting tool includes over 100 map layers showing various indicators of equity. These maps can be combined in thousands of ways and zoomed in to locations around the region. “The Equity Atlas helps communities and leaders gain a deeper understanding of community needs. With the Equity Atlas, we can better identify ways to improve access to opportunity. We hope people across the region will use the Equity Atlas to develop public policies and strategic investments for stronger, healthier communities.” -- Mara Gross, Interim Director, Coalition for a Livable Future
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July 2, 2012 Today, three groups – Coalition for a Livable Future, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center – are filing litigation challenging the Columbia River Crossing Mega-Project. The organizations are joining together to sue the federal agencies responsible for the CRC mega-project because they have not followed the environmental laws designed to ensure that development is safe for people and the environment. Their legal claims are based on concerns that the most expensive public works project in the region’s history has failed to consider even a basic analysis of key environmental issues. |
