LET’S TALK ABOUT: TRANSPORTATION!

Global city rankings for quality of life include things like compact design, good transit, and walkable neighborhoods. No auto-oriented city is in the top 50 cities. But, going car free is not an easy reality for many families. We have to be able to implement a variety of strategies that encourage a reduction of vehicle miles traveled and make walking or biking more appealing for short trips.

This would not only impact our emissions but our overall health and well-being.  That requires an increase of walkable and bike-friendly infrastructure across the city. It means a key need for hubs of commercial and social spaces of activity in neighborhoods outside of downtown Milwaukie. It also means engaging all our communities, including youth residents in the process of shaping our future together.

Change is sometimes hard for residents to adjust to but having safe places for families and children to walk or bike to school, get to the grocery store, or visit friends is crucial to a healthy community. 

Some Ideas I’m Excited About:

Family-Friendly Bike Routes:

  • Increase fun and engaging placemaking built into our bike infrastructure to make the trip more enjoyable for families.

  • Explore a bike path covered with a solar energy grid to shelter from weather and power renewable lights for visibility.

  • Research the idea of an electric trolley system that can help mitigate the geographic divide of Hwy 224 while recreating some of the City’s history of a vibrant trolley system. 

  • Work with residents and community leaders to gather suggestions to reduce vehicle miles traveled and increase short trip capacity in neighborhoods.

Walkability:

  • Increase mixed use and commercial nodes of activity to create ways to run errands with short trips.

  • Create more opportunity for engaging walks, wayfinding, placemaking, art, public gathering places, etc.

Safe Routes to School:

  • Pilot biking “school buses” to neighborhood schools.

  • Increase signage, sharrows, and protected biking spaces for newer or younger bikers.

Electric Vehicles:

  • Partner with PGE to access federal infrastructure funds to create key charging zones for electric vehicles and bikes.

  • Explore options for residential charging stations built into light poles.

Policy:

  • Support and engage people and communities to promote safe, affordable, accessible, and multimodal access to opportunities and services.

  • Work to reduce transportation-related disparities, adverse community impacts, and health effects.