Washington County residents who want the Oregon Legislature to hear directly from them on local transportation system needs will have an opportunity to do just that in Hillsboro at the final stop of a listening tour by the Joint Committee on Transportation.
“The committee will hold public hearings to listen to members of the community about local transportation needs and how the Legislature should support the long-term safety and maintenance of Oregon’s transportation systems,” a press release announcing the event read.
The final stop will be held September 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hillsboro Civic Center in the Shirley Huffman Auditorium (150 E. Main Street).
Those interested in testifying can sign up in-person starting thirty minutes before it begins.
If time allows, remote testimony will also be taken. Those wishing to testify remotely can register on the committee’s webpage at olis.oregonlegislature.gov.
Written testimony can also be submitted to the committee via email at [email protected].
A livestream of the event can be viewed online at olis.oregonlegislature.gov.
The Hillsboro stop will be the last of 12 stops on the statewide Transportation Safety and Sustainability Outreach Tour that began in Portland in June.
“Safety and efficiency have been central parts of each stop along this tour and will be key to identifying an equitable transportation system that gets Oregonians and goods to where they need to go,” said Rep. Susan McLain (D – Hillsboro). “I’m grateful for each member of the public, local leaders, and transportation officials who engaged at each stop we’ve made. We’ve heard loud and clear from community leaders and from the public, both about their communities’ transportation needs, and, importantly, what funding solutions they would support to meet those needs.”
The legislature’s impact on local transportation issues is especially strong in the rural Gales Creek and Banks areas.
Banks’ Main Street doubles as a state highway, and much of the region uses Highways 6, 26, and 47—all state-owned highways—for travel and commuting.
The Salmonberry Trail, starting in Banks and traveling through Manning, Buxton, and Timber into the Tillamook State Forest, is a major transportation project that has already seen legislative support; a 2014 bill mandated the development of a plan for the Salmonberry Trail.
The Salmonberry Trail Foundation urged supporters of the trail’s development to advocate for the trail at the stop and a similar one scheduled the day before in Happy Valley.
“Don’t miss your chance to voice support for trails, recreation, and the Salmonberry Trail at one of the final stops,” the group said in an email.
In 2022, the legislature passed a bill sponsored by then-State Legislator Suzanne Weber to require the Oregon Department of Transportation to study Highway 6 and suggest fixes to address repair and safety issues.
“In the past 10 to 15 years, changes in the area’s economy have brought more freight, tourist and transit traffic to OR 6. As traffic has increased, crashes and fatalities have become more common,” ODOT said in the executive summary of the study report.
The bill did not fund any repairs, however, and major repairs would likely require further legislative action. Estimates in 2022 put major repairs in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars.
By the time the tour ends in Hillsboro, the committee will have made stops in Portland, Tillamook, Albany, Eugene, Coos Bay, Medford, Ontario, Hermiston, Bend, The Dalles, and Happy Valley.
“Perspectives and information gathered by the committee will inform legislators as they develop a plan in the 2025 session to maintain critical infrastructure, complete work on major projects, and guarantee the safety and diversity of transportation systems across the state,” a legislative press release about the tour read.
The Joint Committee on Transportation is co-chaired by Sen. Chris Gorsek (D- Gresham) and Rep. Susan McLain (D- Hillsboro) and vice-chaired by Sen. Brian Boquist (R- rural Polk and Yamhill counties) and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R- Albany, Millersburg, and Tangent).
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
