Oregon

Portland Shows How to Create More Downtown Parking (Without Building Any)
Dynamic pricing is not the only route to increasing parking availability. Better management of disabled placards at metered spaces may be an easier and more effective strategy. Implemented on July 1, Portland's policy is showing dramatic results.
Portland Businesses Advocate for Road Diet
Angie Schmitt covers Bike Portland's article on store owners teaming up to bring road diet as a means to improve business.
Study: Oregon Bikers Abide Red Lights
Move aside, myth of the reckless biker who flouts the law at every possible junction.
U.S. Supreme Court Approves California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard
A key regulation in California's war on global warming emissions withstood a major court challenge by the energy industry—both oil and corn ethanol—when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their challenge to an Appeals Court ruling on June 30.
Bicycle-Friendly Intersection Proposed to Attract Riders
A Portland urban planner proposes a new street intersection design to make cycling more safe and to attract cyclists.
A Walk in the Woods Just Got Expensive in Washington and Oregon
The largest private owner of timberland in Washington and Oregon is now charging access fees ranging from $75 to $550 depending on the permit area. The $30 fees for National Forest and state parks passes look cheap by comparison.
Who Should Pay for Highways: Motorists or Oil Companies?
A new transportation funding option proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) would repeal the 18.4-cent gas tax, unchanged since 1993, with a "small" tax levied against oil companies on each barrel of oil used to make gasoline.
The Inside Scoop on Portland's Street Signal System
A new installment of the BikePortland podcast reveals the technical considerations in the city’s signal system that contribute to bike and pedestrian safety.
Study Evaluates Protected Bike Lanes in the United States
The National Institute for Transportation and Communities released a new study this week called "Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S."

What Urban Planners Fail to Grasp in Climate Action Plans
Climate mitigation and adaptation have become de rigeur aspects of urban planning for most cities, according to results from MIT's international Urban Climate Change Governance Survey. What's missing in most plans is the link to economic development.

Portland Considering 'Street Fee' for Residents and Businesses
The Portland City Council moved quickly in proposing and revising a "street fee" to finance repairs on the city's crumbling roads. Now a more realistic calendar seems to be in place for considering the fee on residents and businesses.
How Fair Were Reports of Portland's Light Rail Shortcomings?
After a recent report questioned the value Portland's light rail investments, a local journalist and a TriMet representative provide countering metrics of success.
For Sale: Data on 90 Million Bike Rides and 20 Million Runs
The same week that the New York Police Department released a boat load of data about traffic collisions comes news that exercise app Strava will sell its data on the how, where, and when bikers and runners use streets.
Will Portland's Updated Comprehensive Plan Allow More Multi-Family Zoning?
As Portland accepts comments for its Comprehensive Plan update, one writer asks why so much of the city's zoning prohibits multi-family housing—especially as the cost of rent has increased by double-digit percentages in the past year.
Coming this Summer: Airbnb Will Collect Taxes in San Francisco, New York State
The ongoing saga of the tax and regulatory standing of Airbnb, the popular room rental app and poster child for the sharing economy, is evolving in San Francisco, Portland and the state of New York.

How Well Does Light Rail Attract New Transit Riders?
The answer to the question in the headline is “not very.” Thirty years into the initial experiment, however, light rail has not been the game changer it was hoped to be.
Parking Lot Tax Considered Among Portland’s Downtown Plans
A proposal to tax and eventually prohibit parking lots in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown is pitting two powerful figures in Portland’s downtown land use politics against each other.

Can Access to Willamette Falls Spur Urban Renewal?
State and local officials in Oregon have launched a planning process to develop a public access esplanade to Willamette Falls in Oregon City. City planners could center urban renewal plans around what is expected to be a popular tourist destination.
Does Exhausting the Highway Trust Fund Have a Silver Lining?
Avid highway opponents are less concerned about filling the Trust Fund gap, notwithstanding the effect on transit, and more on stopping road expansion. Widening of Colorado's I-25 and U.S. 26 in Oregon may halt without an agreement for new funds.
Airbnb’s 'Shared City' Program Will Collect, Remit Taxes
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently announced the beginning of the “Shared City” initiative, which will “cut red tape” and “collect and remit taxes.” Airbnb will test the program in Portland before tailoring and exporting the program to other cities.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service