Up Sucker Creek

Up Sucker Creek
Photo Courtesy of the Lake Oswego Library

Sunday, February 9, 2014

TAB on the TSP - Transportation Plan Meeting on WED.!

If you have any concerns, questions or suggestions for the Transportation Advisory Board, NOW is the time to do it!   There is a meeting on Wednesday night - be there - bring your ideas for the committee!  It's YOUR town and YOUR money after all.

NOTE:  It was my understanding that this meeting was to be a TSPAC meeting that was to make up for the January 8 meeting that was cancelled (the TAB still met).  Will the TSPAC get together for their final review of the TSP Draft?  In December, Amanda Owings gave the committee members (from Metro, ODOT, Clack.Co, Trimet, Kittelson and Assoc. and others) homework that they would discuss in January.  What was the homework?  When will the committee reconvene?  If they do meet, will they meet in person, will the meeting include the TAB, and will it be announced so the public can attend?  Up Sucker Creek would like to attend to meet these people who are helping create our plan.
TAB Meeting
Wednesday, February 12
6:30 pm, City Hall

To aquainted yourself with the material, or refresh your knowledge, read these blog entries and the links to documents:
The CIP Plan gives images and descriptions to the numerical listings on the TSP CIP lists.  They are both important - one references the projects to the maps and the other fleshes them out, but has no project number.  Some of the information is repetitious, but not all.  Concentrate on the TSP Open House materials, past TAB meeting documents (and audio files), and info. on what a MMA is.  If you have any time left, read about the SW Corridor Plan, the Metro Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), and anything on the Metro website about transportation and transportation funding.  Whew!

Why is this so important?  Everyone should know by now that Central Planners want to separate us from our cars and have us ride trains and buses, and bike and walk everywhere.  Cars are dirty, wasteful, and elitist.  Cars begat urban sprawl.  Driving around makes us fat and stupid. Cars are bad!

The BIG REASON transportation is so IMPORTANT to you and me is that it is intertwined with LAND USE.  Land use means DENSITY.  Use money that should be going to maintain and improve the roadways for bicycle paths (even where we already have them like Iron Mt. Rd.), pedestrian paths, exclusive BRT lanes, MMAs with increased congestion and reduced parking, slow streets, and rail transit.  Some of these things will no doubt prove useful and desirable, but should be at a cost that is reasonable compared to usage and our ability to pay for it -- and agree with our desire to even have the changes in our city.

Important message to remember from City Traffic Engineer, Amanda Owings in a Memo to the Planning Commission on 1/21/2014:

  1. Although State and Metro planning rules require the City to periodically update its Plan, the City chooses how to create a wellfunctioning, integrated transportation system that responds to local needs. The transportation plan must address increasing automobile traffic and alternative modes of travel, while maintaining neighborhood livability. 

    THE CITY CHOOSES HOW TO RESPOND TO LOCAL NEEDS!  


NEXT STEPS
The goal is to finish the TSP in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan update. At this time, it appears that will be late spring or summer of this year. Remaining steps and key dates are as follows:

Open House  -  January 27
Planning Commission Work Session  -  January 27
Planning Commission Hearing & Findings  - March 10, March 24
City Council Work Session  -  April 15
City Council Hearing and Adoption  -  
May 19 May 20

page4image5932 page4image6016

2 comments:

  1. According to the TAB agenda there will be no review of the TSP at the meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also see that when the meeting was cancelled at the last minute, the agenda was taken down rather than revised as is done with the City Council agendas. Whatever the new agenda says, your memory will have to suffice as a reminder of what was there before.

    ReplyDelete