Measure 26-209
Referred to the People by the City Council
BALLOT TITLE
Renew Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax for Street Repair, Maintenance, Safety
Question: Shall Portland renew four-year, 10 cents per gallon fuel tax for maintenance (paving, potholes) and safety (crossings, lighting, sidewalks)?
Summary: Portland’s 10 cents per gallon fuel tax was approved by voters in 2016. If renewed at the same tax rate, this measure is estimated to raise $74.5 million over four years, beginning January 2021.
The funding would continue to be dedicated to street repair, maintenance and safety projects, including paving, pothole repair, sidewalk and safety improvements.
Specific proposed investments include:
Street Repair and Maintenance
- $25 million for paving, focused on busy and neighborhood streets
Safety
- $6 million for Safe Routes to School projects to improve safety for elementary students
- $4.5 million to expand Neighborhood Greenways and connect schools, parks, transit, and neighborhood businesses
- $5 million for traffic signals and crossing beacons
- $4.5 million for street lighting on High Crash Network
- $4.5 million for sidewalks and other walkways
- $1.5 million for small-scale neighborhood safety improvements
Community-Identified Transportation Needs
- $13 million for potholes, gravel streets, and pavement base repair
- $10.5 million for basic safety improvements
Expenditures go through independent financial audits and are reviewed by a public oversight committee that reports annually. Establishes license requirements.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
In 2016, Portland voters approved a 10 cents per gallon fuel tax to fund street repair, maintenance, and safety improvements. Portland City Council also approved a companion heavy vehicle use tax.
Voter approval of this program followed independent research by City Club of Portland into options to fund local street maintenance and safety improvements. The report identified a local gas tax as a needed new funding source for transportation investments.
Over the past four years, the fuel tax has raised $76 million dedicated to the Fixing Our Streets program, which repaved 38 lane miles of city streets, repaired over 400 sections of failing road, built sidewalks in East Portland, and 170 additional safety improvements across Portland. For a full list and map of completed projects, visit www.fixingourstreets.com.
If renewed by voters at the same tax rate, the 10-cent fuel tax is estimated to raise $74.5 million over four years beginning January 2021.
Renewing the fuel tax will allow the Fixing Our Streets program to continue keeping Portland streets in good condition for current and future users, with project selection guided by existing plans and public input from neighborhood stakeholders, transportation justice advocates, and business groups.
For a full list of proposed projects, visit www.fixingourstreets.com/2020.
STREET REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
If renewed, Fixing Our Streets funds would continue to fund repair and maintenance projects that prevent expensive full replacement of worn-out streets.
Proposed projects include $25 million dedicated to paving, with a focus on busy and neighborhood street repair and maintenance projects that are less expensive to fix now. An additional $13 million would fund pothole, gravel street, and pavement base repair services identified as community priorities.
SAFETY
If renewed, Fixing Our Streets funds would continue to be invested in safety projects for people driving, biking, and walking in neighborhoods across Portland, including creating safer intersections, reducing vehicle speeds on cut-through routes, retrofitting our existing Neighborhood Greenways, and making additional safety enhancements to existing projects. Proposed projects and services for targeted investment include $5 million for traffic signals and crossing beacons, $4.5 million for sidewalks, $4.5 million for street lighting, as well as better and safer access to schools, transit, and community services for Portland’s kids, seniors, and families. $6 million would fund Safe Routes to Schools projects, and $4.5 million would expand Neighborhood Greenways. An additional $10.5 million would fund basic safety repairs.
SAME TAX RATE
Because this is a proposed renewal, the 10 cent per gallon tax rate would remain the same as it is today. The average Portlander would continue to pay approximately $5 per month.
AUDITS AND INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT
The Fixing Our Streets program will continue to go through annual independent financial audits. These audits will be shared with the oversight committee and the public. Spending from the program will be overseen by the Fixing Our Streets Oversight Committee representing the many communities with a stake in Portland's streets and roads.
Submitted by:
Chloe Eudaly, Commissioner
City of Portland
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
SAME TAX RATE. BETTER STREETS.
This May, vote YES on Measure 26-209 to renew our local gas tax, and continue funding street repair, maintenance, and safety projects across Portland.
Because this is a renewal, the tax rate would remain the same as it is today.
Just a few dollars a month ensures our streets are safer and well maintained for people driving, walking, biking, and riding transit.
VOTE YES for Street Repair & Maintenance
Measure 26-209 saves money by funding repair and maintenance projects today and avoiding more expensive rebuilds of worn-out streets later:
- $25 million dedicated to paving
- $13 million to fund pothole, gravel street, and pavement repair
VOTE YES for Safety for Kids, Seniors, and Families
Measure 26-209 funds neighborhood safety projects to improve intersections, reduce vehicle speeds, expand neighborhood greenways, and make additional safety enhancements to existing projects:
- $4.5 million for sidewalks
- $5 million for traffic signals and crossing beacons
- $4.5 million for street lighting
- $6 million for Safe Routes to Schools
- $4.5 million to expand Neighborhood Greenways
VOTE YES for the Same Tax Rate
Because this is a proposed renewal, the 10-cent per gallon tax rate would remain the same as it is today. The average Portlander would continue to pay just a few dollars a month. And Portland City Council renewed the Heavy Vehicle Tax that ensures freight vehicles are paying their fair share.
VOTE YES for Audits & Independent Oversight
The program is overseen by the Fixing Our Streets Oversight Committee, and spending is audited annually.
Learn more at FixOurStreetsPortland.com
Join us and VOTE YES on MEASURE 26-209:
Mayor Ted Wheeler
Commissioner Amanda Fritz
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty
Metro President Lynn Peterson
Jennifer Rollins, Co-Chair, Fixing Our Streets Oversight Committee
Ashton Simpson, Co-Chair, Fixing Our Streets Oversight Committee
APANO
Oregon Walks
The Rosewood Initiative
The Street Trust
Verde
(This information furnished by Steph Routh)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
VOTE YES on Measure 26-209
This is a renewal: Your tax rate will remain the same!
MEASURE 26-209
will improve our transportation system!
“We have an unsafe, inequitable, and unsustainable transportation system, with over $1 billion in deferred maintenance after decades of not saving for the future. Fix Our Streets has provided critical funding to improve and maintain our streets; this renewal will keep us on track for repairs and improvements. As Portland’s Transportation Commissioner, I want you to know that we’re working hard towards a system that works for everyone.” -Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly
In May 2016, Portland voters passed Fixing Our Streets. That same month, the Portland City Council created the heavy vehicle use tax. Together, these provided the first local funding sources in the city’s history dedicated exclusively to road repair and traffic safety.
Over the past four years, the fuel tax has raised $76 million dedicated to fixing our streets. The funds repaved 38 lane miles of city streets, repaired over 400 sections of failing road, built sidewalks in East Portland, and made 170 additional safety improvements across Portland.
Let’s Renew Our Commitment: Vote YES on Measure 26-209!
Our current transportation system still doesn’t work for everyone. Residents of East Portland in particular—including people of color and low-income Portlanders—have fewer options for moving around safely. We need to consider equity with every transportation project and provide greater access for everyone
As your Transportation Commissioner, read more about what PBOT and I have done to fix our streets: www.VoteChloe.com/transportation
But we’re not done! A YES vote on Measure 26-209 helps us continue investments toward:
- Repairing deteriorating streets and preserving others, avoiding more expensive repairs later
- Achieving Vision Zero safety goals through improved and safer infrastructure.
- Aligning our transportation equity goals with our housing goals so that we’re not pushing vulnerable populations away from the city center and reducing transportation options.
(This information furnished by Chloe Eudaly)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
SMALL INVESTMENT, BIG RETURN
Business and Labor Leaders are voting YES on Measure 26-209
Better Roads — Good Jobs — Same Tax Rate
BETTER ROADS
Thanks to voters’ support in 2016, Portland invested $76 million to start catching up on a backlog of crumbling streets, dangerous potholes, and missing sidewalks. Now, voters have a chance to renew the local gas tax—maintaining the tax rate, and ensuring Portland continues this progress.
Business and labor leaders agree: This investment keeps our streets in good condition for current and future users, and keeps our local economy moving.
Renewing the gas tax helps Portland invest in lower cost maintenance projects now, avoiding larger bills to replace worn-out streets later. Every dollar spent on standard road maintenance can save approximately $10 by avoiding a complete rebuild of our roads in a few years.
GOOD JOBS
As Portland looks ahead to recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the jobs funded by Measure 26-209’s continued investment are more important than ever—and the average Portlander pays just a few dollars a month. It’s a solid investment in our local economy.
"The streets of our city are the circulatory system of our economy: they are the essential routes that carry people to work and goods to market. It is imperative that we invest in the maintenance and improvement of that system in order to support the daily commerce and mobility that our member businesses depend on." - Ashley Henry, Business for a Better Portland
SAME TAX RATE
Thanks to the renewal, the 10 cent per gallon tax rate would stay the same for another four years. Spending would continue to be audited annually.
Please join Portland’s business and labor leaders in voting YES on Measure 26-209 to renew our investment in better roads and more jobs.
Business for a Better Portland
Portland Business Alliance
Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland
PROTEC17
NAMC-Oregon
Professional Business Development Group
(This information furnished by Steph Routh, Fix Our Streets)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
VOTE YES TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE
Portland students should be able to safely walk and bike to their neighborhood school.
But too many children do not have a sidewalk, bike path, or safe crosswalk on their route to school.
That’s why we’re voting YES to renew the gas tax that fixes our streets and funds safety improvements so kids across Portland have a safe route to school.
The first four years of funding completed 53 Safe Routes to Schools projects across Portland, near 31 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, and 10 high schools. But there are hundreds more needed improvements, big and small, to keep our kids safe.
When kids can’t walk or bike to school, it increases neighborhood traffic, hurts air quality, and deprives students of the opportunity for healthy physical activity. This is unacceptable.
We must continue to fix dangerous intersections, improve street lighting, and extend sidewalks. These projects support our city’s students as they pursue a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Students are healthier and perform better academically when they have the opportunity to physically exercise in the morning—and they create habits of walking and biking throughout their life.
Voting YES on Fix Our Streets would provide desperately needed funding to ensure students have a safe route to school, with $6 million dedicated to Safe Routes to Schools projects, and millions more for sidewalks, traffic signals, and other neighborhood safety improvements.
This money will be spent on safety projects all over the city including, chosen with extensive community input—visit www.fixourstreetsportland.com to see a full list.
A YES Vote 26-209 is a vote for stronger community, schools, healthier children, and safer streets across the city.
Michelle DePass, PPS School Board member
Sam Balto, teacher
Laura Content, parent
Esther Harlow, parent
Nova Newcomer, parent
Tara O’Brien, parent
Dan Rivas, parent
Kari Schlosshauer, parent
Jillian Schoene, parent
Eli Spevak, parent
(This information furnished by Steph Routh, Fix Our Streets)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Crossing the street shouldn’t mean crossing your fingers.
Every two hours, a pedestrian in the United States is killed because a street or crosswalk is unsafe. Children, seniors, people of color, and families living on lower incomes are disproportionately the victims of these fatalities. According to the 2019 Dangerous by Design report, Oregon is the 18th most dangerous state for older adults. Between 2008-2017, adults over 50 were 64% more likely to be struck and killed while walking compared to people under 50.
That is why AARP Oregon supports Measure 26-209.
Over the next two decades, Portland Metro’s 65+ population is projected to grow by 106% compared to a 34.6% increase in the overall population. Research shows that the average man outlives his driving years by 7 years and woman by 11. Older Oregonians overwhelmingly want to live in their own homes as they age. A strong transportation system that provides accessible and safe mobility options for all road users is vital to helping people remain independent.
Measure 26-209 will provide much needed funds for critical projects to make our streets safer for all Portlanders – pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and public transportation users.
Measure 26-209 will achieve this by:
- Improving pedestrian safety and walkability by adding more street lights, sidewalks, and walkways that especially help children, low-income, and older Portlanders access transit, schools, community centers and key services;
- Targeting investments in underserved areas of the city, including paving improvements and installing new signals and beacons on streets with a high pedestrian crash history;
- Improving basic maintenance and safety improvements, such as fixing potholes, repairing failing or maintaining gravel streets, and reducing vehicle speeds on cut-through routes for neighborhood safety.
Vote YES on 26-209. We cannot afford to defer fixing our streets. Portlanders of all ages and abilities deserve safer streets. AARP supports Measure 26-209 as an important and timely response to the transportation needs of our rapidly growing Portland.
(This information furnished by Ruby Haughton-Pitts, AARP Oregon)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
AN INVESTMENT IN CLEANER AIR, HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES FOR ALL
Portlanders cherish our city’s commitment to livable, sustainable communities. That’s why public health and environmental advocates across the city have endorsed the Fix Our Streets Portland campaign. This is our opportunity to vote for a cleaner environment.
Carbon emissions from transportation use represents a significant threat to local air quality in Portland’s neighborhoods. A local tax on gasoline will encourage
Portlanders to consider walking, biking and taking transit for their daily trips, and will raise revenue to ensure Portlanders can safely walk, bike, and take transit in every neighborhood.
“In many respects, Portland is a tale of two cities—one Portland enjoys a transportation system with robust connections and walkable neighborhoods and business districts. Another Portland endures unimproved roadways, puddle-saturated bus stops, and high crash crossings. Fix Our Streets is focused on building dedicated programs that bring Portland's communities together.” - 1000 Friends of Oregon
Fix Our Streets taxes pollution to invest in infrastructure. The gas tax gives us an opportunity for cost-effective, green transportation options for every neighborhood—greenways, crosswalks, bike lanes, and bus lanes. This improves local air quality, supports walkable neighborhoods, and is an investment in a low-carbon transportation future.
For these reasons, prominent environmentalists have joined with public health advocates to endorse the campaign. Better air quality and accessibility to our green spaces are important components of a sustainable, healthy, equitable Portland.
Portland’s future depends on green transportation options to fight climate change. This gas tax provides much needed support for Portlanders to bike, walk and take public transit while building the necessary infrastructure to make it happen.
We encourage a YES vote on 26-209:
Neighbors for Clean Air
1000 Friends of Oregon Verde
(This information furnished by Steph Routh, Fix Our Streets)
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Dear Neighbor,
My name is Sarah Iannarone and I am a resident of Mt. Scott- Arleta Neighborhood in Outer Southeast Portland, a part of town with numerous unpaved roads where too many of our children walk to schools, playgrounds, and transit stops on streets without sidewalks.
I’ve been fighting alongside you for basic services, safety improvements, and climate smart investments in our community for over fifteen years. We’ve made some progress, but we have much more work to do. Last year, I attended too many vigils for neighbors killed on our streets-- this is heartbreaking and unacceptable.
That’s why I need you to join me in voting YES on Measure 26-209.
(Don’t worry, your taxes aren’t going to go up. This is a renewal of the few dollars a month you’re likely already paying, not a new tax.)
As we face a long economic recovery, we need to spend our precious tax dollars wisely: investing in lower-cost repair, maintenance, and safety projects today helps us avoid larger bills in the future while making our streets better and safer for people walking, biking, driving, and taking transit.
Please join me in seizing this important opportunity to create good jobs through smart investments while making Portland’s streets safer for our most vulnerable residents.
Onward,
Sarah Iannarone
Candidate, City of Portland Mayor
Endorsed by The Street Trust Action Fund
Co-founder, The Arleta Triangle Project
Fmr Board Secretary, The City Repair Project
Member, City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee
Land Use & Transportation Chair, Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association
Member, City of Portland Bureau of Transportation Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee
(This information furnished by Sarah Iannarone, Friends of Sarah for Portland)
ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION
Here is what you’ve been paying… 2009 6-cent gas-tax increase
2009 Car registration fee increase
2009 Auto title fee increase 2009 License plate increase 2009 New Multnomah car Fee
2015 14-cent gas cost increase LCFS est. 2016 10-cent Portland gas-tax increase 2017 New .5% car sales tax
2017 10-cent gas-tax increase
2017 New Transportation .1% payroll tax 2017 Auto registration fee increase 2017 Auto title fee increase
2017 25% truck mileage tax increase
2020 Employee payroll transit tax increase
Where are all the new highway lanes? Where are all the new bridges to drive on?
Where are all the highway bypasses to relieve traffic?
After 11 years of continuous auto tax increases and after paying MORE in these taxes than the national state average, we have little to show for it compared with the massive amount of tax dollars spent.
Here’s where your tax dollars are going:
- $175 million in tax $$$ wasted on a bridge never built
"Columbia River crossing managers spent more than $175 million in public funds planning a bridge, highway, and light rail complex that won't be built...it burned money at prodigious rates."— Oregonian 7/4/13
- Tax $$$ wasted REMOVING lanes instead of building lanes
Portland is spending millions of your tax $$$ on the “Central City in Motion” project, which will be removing perfectly good driving lanes in your neighborhood and replacing them with bus- and bike-only lanes.
Vote no on 26-209. NO NEW GAS TAXES
No more removing lanes
No more wasting local gas-tax funds
Taxpayer Association of Oregon Urges No on 26-210
—Please follow us at OregonWatchdog.com. We’ve been fighting government waste, fraud, and abuse for more than 20 years. We could use your help.
(This information furnished by Jason Williams, Taxpayers Association of Oregon)
ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION
5 reasons the current 10-cent gas tax was full of broken promises and rampant misuse.
A 2019 Audit report shows gross mismanagement of Portland’s current gas tax.
1. Unknown how much the gas tax is going to what was promised
“It was difficult to determine if the Bureau maintained the spending split it promised.”
(2019 City Auditor report, page 10)
2. Most projects ran behind schedule with cost delays
“…most were behind schedules that the Bureau set after the tax passed.”
(2019 City Auditor report, page 3)
3. Inability to properly monitor how gas tax funds were spent
“…we found that the committee could not effectively fulfill its monitoring role…”
(5/19 City Auditor report, page 7)
4. Current 10-cent gas tax promised to increase safety. Ironically, safety decreased.
Portland traffic deaths in 2019 are the highest since the year 1997. (Oregonian 12/20/19)
5. Portlanders pay 20%more for gasoline than the U.S average.
We are not getting what we pay for. Our high gas prices cut into our cost of living and quality of life.
Vote no on 26-209 until Portland can fix the blatant mistakes of its first 10-cent gas-tax increase.
Don’t reward failure. Don’t perpetuate a flawed system. Don’t double down on mistakes and broken promises.
No New Gas Taxes until they fix the problems they already have
Taxpayer Association of Oregon urges No on 26-209
—Please follow us at OregonWatchdog.com. We’ve been fighting government waste, fraud, and abuse for more than20 years. We could use your help.
(This information furnished by Jason Williams, Taxpayers Association of Oregon)
The printing of these arguments does not constitute an endorsement by Multnomah County, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or truth of any statements made in the arguments.