Although Portland is now the 26th largest city in the U.S., its traffic has quickly outpaced that. A comprehensive study on traffic patterns released by INRIX Inc. places Portland at #12 on a list of the nation’s top 15 cities with the worst traffic congestion. INRIX, a leader in transportation analytics, studied over one thousand…
The Oregon Legislative Assembly pulled off its biggest achievement of the 2017 session: it approved a huge transportation bill (House Bill 2017) that seeks to raise $5.3 billion over the next ten years. By introducing tolls on interstate highways, new taxes, and raising current transportation taxes and fees, the state hopes to raise enough revenue…
While crash trucks have been used for some time to successfully shield road construction workers from arrant vehicles, until now one worker has been required to sit behind the wheel and drive the truck. The Colorado Department of Transportation, with technology from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, recently announced its plan to road-test an unmanned…
After over two years of planning, negotiating, and compromise, the Oregon State legislature has finally passed a transportation bill that will provide funding for needed repairs and upgrades to Oregon’s highway infrastructure and statewide expansion of transit. Earlier Funding Proposal Lacked Bipartisan Support In June 2015, Oregon lawmakers revealed a transportation package that would have…
US transport carries an estimated 50 million tons of cargo every day, according to 2010 numbers released by the US Department of Transportation. All that cargo is carried by rail, water, air, and above all, trucks. Nearly 70% of those fifty million tons per day is transported on heavy trucks, which are allowed to carry a maximum…
“Portland’s long history of transportation innovation is about to enter a new chapter. My Goal is to have an autonomous vehicle pilot program in Portland, working for Portlanders, by the end of the year. To the inventors, investors, and innovators, I’m here to say that Portland is open for business.” — Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland Business…
The Oregon Transportation Safety Committee (OTSC) will meet at 9:30 am on Tuesday, August 8th, at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, 4190 Aumsville Highway SE in Salem, with a pre-meeting agenda review session in DPSST Room A254 at 9:00 am. Anyone wishing to be present for a particular item should arrive when…
Media reports of trucking companies in California forcing their drivers into debt and pressuring them to work up to 20 hours a day while paying them pennies per hour has caught the attention of a group of high-profile Democratic Senators and Representatives. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Dianne Feinstein, and Kamala Harris joined Senator Sherrod Brown in…
Nationwide, distracted drivers account for one in ten traffic fatalities and 18 percent of traffic injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Because one life lost is one too many, neighboring Washington and Oregon states have recently expanded their distracted driving laws banning cellphone use. Washington Adds Any Mobile Electronic Device to its…
From the computer mouse to the Nike swoosh, many great inventions bloomed in Portland. Most recently, self-driving trucks have been developed in Rose City by a team of engineers working for Daimler Trucks North America, headquartered east of the Willamette. The group is a big piece of the automation puzzle and seeks to adapt automation…