What are your three big wishes for Portland’s transportation system? – BikePortland

[Publisher’s note: Hi everyone. I’m back after being out of town since Friday. Sorry for the lack of posts! – Jonathan]

The City of Portland has launched an update to their Transportation System Plan. Known as “the TSP,” this plan is the bedrock of policies and projects that move our local transportation system forward. It reflects our city’s values and goals and it provides a roadmap for the next 20 years of decisions about how to manage our roads and paths.

But how does the Portland Bureau of Transportation even know what our values and goals are? We have to tell them.

PBOT has just released a new survey to garner feedback from individuals and organizations. Instead of fixating solely on what’s wrong with transportation in Portland, they want to hear what works for you. Here’s more from PBOT:

“We invite you to start by thinking about some of the best times you’ve had getting around Portland or related to our transportation system. Then consider what that positive experience might mean about what you deeply value. Finally, consider what it makes you wish for the future of Portland’s transportation system.”

The TSP’s 30 Citizen Advisory Committee members already did this exercise, but the plan isn’t there’s alone. To make it a Portland TSP for the people, we need more folks like you to share your experiences and wishes. PBOT staff will then take all the input from CAC members, mix it with input from the greater public, and then craft a draft vision and set of goals that will eventually be adopted into the 2045 TSP.

To help guide your input, PBOT offers these three tips:

• Think high-level. If you tell us a project you want to see prioritized, we may need to infer the reason why you want to see it. We aren’t asking about specific projects in this survey, we’re asking about the impact you want to see our cumulative efforts having on the transportation system. 
• Tell us what you want to see, not what you don’t want to see. If you tell us what you don’t want to see, we’ll need to infer what the opposite is/your intentionality. Don’t make us have to guess, just tell us what you want. 
• Think “why” to get to the heart. Why do you want to make this wish for the transportation system? Feel free to mention your why or make your wish clearer by starting with your why. Try to be brief and clear so we can most easily code and summarize collective results.

Now with that in your head, go spend 5-10 minutes with the online survey. You have until October 1st to get your answers in.

— 2045 Transportation System Plan Update project website