Metropolitan Transportation

Adopted 1977. Updated 1987, 1994, 1998.

Transportation of People:  The Leagues of Women Voters of Portland, East Multnomah County, and Clackamas County support a metropolitan mass transportation system which is regional, serving all surrounding communities.  The system should be integrated into a well-planned metropolitan community and should be a help in preserving the vital city core.  It should be a means of equal access for drivers, non-drivers, students, elderly, and handicapped to metropolitan areas, especially to those areas of high employment.  The system should be designed with consideration for economy of land use and should not significantly add to sight, sound, or air pollution, nor destroy the livability of the area involved.  It should be competitive in convenience, duration and quality of ride with private cars to reduce traffic congestion.  The system should be efficient and economical, with attention to cost control and financing; it should be flexibly financed.

We believe financing for a metropolitan mass transportation system should be from a combination of national, state and regional sources.  We support diversion of designated gasoline tax funds and use of motor vehicle license fees for mass transit, recognizing that this may mean an increase in these taxes.  We support vehicle taxes based on energy efficiency.  Keeping in mind special considerations for special categories of service, we believe that mass transit riders should contribute toward the cost of their ride through fare differentials for different levels and types of service.  We support a no-fare system within the city core.

In order to shift emphasis from automobile use to mass transportation, we endorse peripheral parking instead of additional core parking.  To increase efficiency, small mass transit vehicles whenever feasible should be used for neighborhood districts and outlying communities; better use should be made of buses off-peak hours, and mass transit routes should enable movement directly from one outlying area to another.

Bicycle racks should be located at park and ride stations.  We favor continual public education with respect to the mass transit system, conservation and efficient use of energy by public and private transportation, and traffic safety.

Transportation of Goods:  The Leagues of Women Voters of Portland, East Multnomah County, and Clackamas County support the transportation of goods by a variety of modes, realizing the unique capabilities of each mode.  Whenever possible, and taking into consideration the commodity and situation, we encourage the use of the most economic and energy-efficient mode, and also the use of multi-modal transportation systems.  We believe that communities should have access to some mode of transportation for goods.

Transportation Routes:  Transportation routes must be an integral part of all land use planning.  Planning for the location and construction of transportation routes must weigh all social and environmental costs, including economy of land use, fuel shortages, and sight, sound and air pollution.  Individual citizens and neighborhood groups must be kept informed and insured input and active participation in the planning, development and operation of any transportation program, especially for their own area.  To minimize overlapping of functions, governmental agencies should coordinate transportation planning.

Tri-Met:  The Tri-Met Board of Directors should be appointed by the governor with consideration of regional recommendations and broad district representation.  The directors should be compensated for board-approved, out-of-district expenses.

Tri-Met should continue to be a separate entity and should work with the regional government for planning and resource utilization.

We support a payroll tax within the Tri-Met service district boundaries, that is broadly based and is equitably shared between employer and employee.