A fledgling nonprofit with an outlandish name that launched in Portland six years ago, now sees itself alongside 17 other organizations statewide who have come to the same conclusion: “Highway expansions are pulling our country into an environmental, budgetary, and public health crisis and it’s time to end this destructive, unsustainable practice and set a responsible course toward a cleaner and more equitable future.”
No More Freeways formed to fight the I-5 Rose Quarter project in 2017 and has been stalwart in its mission ever since. Today they are one of 195 organizations who signed onto a letter that pressures elected officials to put a moratorium on highway expansions. That line above is just the opening salvo in a call-to-action that not only demands no more freeways, but also offers a prescription to repair our ailing transportation infrastructure machine.
The organizations, led by national nonprofit America Walks, are marshaling their respective troops to contact lawmakers and urge them to pause all existing highway projects until climate, equity, and maintenance goals are met. This demand is similar to what Portland-based activists have been asking the Oregon Department of Transportation to do on the I-5 Rose Quarter project for years now: Complete a full and transparent environmental impact statement before investing more money and time into the wrong kind of project.
In today’s statement, the signees call for “community-first infrastructure” which they define as, “increasing frequent, reliable, and accessible public transportation; policies that build homes close to jobs and amenities; and making neighborhoods healthier, quieter, and safer.”
Instead of continuing to spend billions to make driving on freeways even easier and more convenient, here’s what this new coalition wants DOTs to spend money on:
1. Fix It First: maintain existing roads and bridges before building new, larger ones.
2. Safety Over Speed: retrofit dangerous roads and streets to make them safer for people walking, biking, and driving.
3. Make Transit Work: provide capital and operations funding for reliable, affordable public transportation that connects people to jobs, services, amenities, health care, and each other.
4. Reconnect Communities: dismantle targeted highways and invest in the communities around them to increase opportunity and redress the harms these projects have inflicted.
Here are the 17 Oregon-based groups who’ve sign onto this campaign:
1000 Friends of Oregon350PDXAORTA-Association of Oregon Rail and Transit AdvocatesBetter Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST)BikeLoud PDXBike Walk RoseburgBreach CollectiveCity ObservatoryDouglas County Global Warming CoalitionNeighbors for Clean AirNo More FreewaysOPAL Environmental Justice OregonOregon Environmental CouncilOregon WalksPortland: Neighbors WelcomeStrong Towns PDXVerdeSee the official call-to-action here.
