Oregon DOT to move away from ‘Highway-Centric’ Approach

Tom Warne Report, 26 May 2013

Bikeportland.org – May 22, 2013

The Oregon Department of Transportation has announced another step forward in their approach to highway planning. The announcement is a continuation of ODOT Director Matt Garrett’s recent promises to change the agency’s title of “Highway Division” to “Transportation Division” (April 2012), and provide options to commuters.

“Like all public agencies, ODOT is facing challenges and changing expectations from the public. Funding is increasingly constrained, and because our footprint as an agency is not financially sustainable, we need to be more efficient. At the same time, economic and demographic trends are shifting the public’s transportation needs and behaviors, driving a need for more transportation options.

These forces all point toward the need for ODOT to evolve as an agency, moving away from a siloed and highway-centric approach to business. While ODOT began life as the Oregon Highway Department a century ago, today we are much more. While highways will long remain the core of our portfolio, today we have extensive involvement in rail, freight, public transportation, active transportation, and interfaces with aviation and maritime resources. Governor Kitzhaber has challenged ODOT and the state’s transportation leadership to reenergize this multimodal transformation.”

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