Portland State University

How can community members become more engaged in transportation decision making?

Individuals and groups can learn to effect powerful change, but success requires some familiarity with how civic processes work. Community Transportation Academies, or CTAs, provide a basic technical understanding of how a city or region’s transportation system operates, along with the decision makers and decision-making processes that determine how the system is shaped.

Supported by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the new Wasatch Transportation Academy (WTA) at the University of Utah was piloted in 2022 in the Salt Lake City region. The research team developed a course vision, topics, and logistics for the WTA by interviewing stakeholders in the Utah Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, and the Wasatch Front Regional Council. Led by Nathan McNeil of Portland State University and Keith Bartholomew of the University of Utah, the WTA used the established Portland Traffic and Transportation class in Portland, Oregon as a framework. 

...

The video begins at 0:23.

The history of the Columbia River Highway is a tale of visionaries, civic leaders, skilled engineers and talented artisans. In 1913, Samuel Lancaster designed the first 20 miles of what is now known as the Historic Columbia River Highway Lancaster’s work resulted was a world class scenic highway that once stretched from Portland to The Dalles.

Starting in the 1940s, the construction of a freeway through the Columbia River Gorge severed the original route in a number of locations. The Oregon Legislature in 1987 directed ODOT to preserve and enhance existing portions of the historic highway. Much work has been accomplished since that date. However, 12 challenging miles remain. Interested groups have joined together to advocate for the completion by 2016, the 100th anniversary of Lancaster's masterpiece.

This presentation will provide an overview of the history, current status, and future plans with specific emphasis on technical issues relevant to the surveying and engineering communities. An opportunity will be provided for questions.

View slides

Abstract: Our speaker for May 14, 2010 is Gill V. Hicks, Director Southern California Operations for Cambridge Systematics, Inc.  For more than ten years, Mr. Hicks served as the General Manager of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA).  The $2.4 billion Alameda Corridor consolidated harbor-related railroad traffic onto a single 20-mile corridor between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the railroad mainlines near downtown Los Angeles.  Mr. Hicks’ responsibilities included overall management of the agency, building consensus, estimating benefits and costs of the project, generating political support, testifying before U.S. Congress, State Legislature, regulatory bodies, city councils, funding agencies and other stakeholders; developing a financial plan, raising funds, coordinating with railroad, trucking, and shipping businesses, and managing contracts for the project.

Mr. Hicks will discuss the major challenges faced by the project, including negotiations with three competing railroads, several municipal governments, utilities, regulatory agencies, contractors, and funding entities.  The process for consensus building will be discussed. Major lessons learned will be described, including methods for reducing project risk, keeping on schedule and within budget. Mr. Hicks will also touch on the challenges facing the agency as...

Sharon Wood Wortman and Ed Wortman, authors of The Portland Bridge Book, and Edith Fuller, a retired PPS district librarian, are part of a volunteer effort to create The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver—A Book for Young Readers.

http://www.bridgestories.com/

The video begins at 0:10.