There's Gold in Them Constituents...
ODOT says that without more money they could be out of cash by 2025...
The art of understanding is…well, just that… understanding. This weeks theme, ODOT needs your money… and there are various ways in which they plan to acquire it before and after tolling starts. Yes, these are add-ons.
This past week, ODOT went to the Oregon Transportation Commission with a multitude of reports and requests. Preceeding ODOT, was a report of a South Oregon transit company going sideways and shutting down as monies were either mis-spent or there was a failure to raise ridership… this has yet to be determined. Regardless, ODOT was the overseerer as this program went down.
As the meeting progressed, ODOT showed their projected income and expenses for the State Highway Fund over the next 7 years. And it looks like we will be ODOT’s trust fund baby for the future.
We have included the May 11, 2023 OTC video link… it is long. We have also marked a few time stamps to visit in the video. These are listed in our In Short section below.
In Short
Article 1 - This article, that originated from the Bend Bulletin, the Oregon Transportation Plan (OTP Draft) is discussed. Submitted on March 24 and found in our Expert Commentaries, the OTP lays out varies ways to fund ODOT thru you and I.
Article 2 - OregonLive sees the upcoming debt issues for ODOT… well we all do! This article discusses other funding sources that might be used in order to raise funding for ODOT.
Article 3 - Short but to the point, KIRO News Radio asks Seattle drivers, is it time to raise tollings? Currently, the peak toll cost to travel from Lynnwood to Bellevue is $10… to travel 18 miles.
Article 4 - This is the link for the May 11th OTC meeting. Time Stamps are rough start #’s to get you up to speed. 1:17 - ODOT gets going at, 2:01 - tolling delay is not a delay of development, only collections, 2:35 thru 3:18 - Toll Policy, it is moving forward and how ODOT answers your questions. ODOT budget starts at 4:51…
Weekly Articles
Opinion piece from The Observer/Bend Bulletin
Well Washington does it so it must be OK (Dripping Sarcasm). Salem should surprise all Oregonians by starting to think for itself.