My Letter to the Columbia River Crossing “Independent” Review Panel

Posted on by
Reply

Thank you for taking the time to review the proposed Columbia River Crossing.

Since no one sitting on this independent review panel lives in Oregon, I wanted to share some thoughts about why this project is not consistent with our region’s values of smart growth, good planning, and sustainable forms of construction and transportation.

1) We already know that building capacity does not solve congestion. In fact, it invites more SOV use, which leads to more congestion. The only way to handle the current congestion is to promote and support alternative ways to get across the river. Such solution would include but not limited to bus rapid transit, light rail, good bike and pedestrian pathways, and a tiered tolling system that would reward commuters for traveling during non-peak hours.

2) Tearing down a good bridge to build a brand new one is an affront to our local culture. We do not throw things out in Portland, we reuse them whenever possible. If we want to build a new bridge, it should be to the benefit of local access, mass transit and active transportation, not for an interstate highway. If there are seismic issues with the current bridge, we should repair them. Nothing I’ve read indicates that a replacement is necessary.

3) There will be a negative impact on our region’s environmental and sustainability goals if the proposed 10-12 lane bridge is constructed. Affirmations from the CRC organization that reduced idling will somehow outweigh the overall carbon footprint of thousands of new SOV crossings a day is absolutely false. That sort of arithmetic error demonstrates the CRC organization’s poor grasp of the serious environmental costs this bridge would have on our region and our world.

4) The proposed bridge would not properly accommodate those who are walking and biking. Portland recently passed the Bike Master Plan for 2030, which commits the city to building a world-class bicycle network. The pathways of the proposed new CRC would be an improvement over the current network, but do not go far enough to allow the proper safety and enjoyment of those users who wish to experience the Columbia River Crossing by foot. We can do better.

5) We cannot afford this bridge, when there are other, higher-priority local projects that require necessary funding. Let’s fix the current bridge and move on to more important local projects.

There is absolutely no consensus on this bridge, and the the process for public input is severely lacking, if not appalling. There is no way this bridge can be built within the current framework for public input.

In Oregon, if we’re going to build something, we want to make sure it’s the right thing to do. The new bridge is not what we want, it’s as simple as that.

Sincerely,
Steve Bozzone

4 Agreements

Posted on by
Reply

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON’T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.

don Miguel Ruiz, via Adam Wood.

Cooking Dry Beans

Posted on by
Reply

These instructions have produced excellent Pinto beans from scratch.  They taste a lot better than the canned stuff, more affordable too.

beans double in size

  1. rinse beans
  2. cover with water in pan 3″ over top of beans
  3. bring to boil
  4. reduce, simmer for 10-15mins
  5. let sit for 1 hour with lid on
  6. pour out water
  7. cover beans with fresh water 1″ over top of beans
  8. simmer beans for 4 hours, ensure they have enough water always
  9. done

I’m going to try this on black eyed peas now, hopefully it translates well.

Open Letter to SEPTA: Innovate, Don’t Discriminate People Travelling with Bikes on Trains

Posted on by
Reply

Thank you for recently allowing additional bikes on your trains.  Connecting your bike trips with regional rail is essential for building a sustainable transit network in the Philadelphia region.

I’m dissappointed that SEPTA now forbids bikes on the R1 line, and I suggest that SEPTA approach the challenge of accommodating large bags and bikes on the same train in a creative way.

I’m not sure the R1 works as well as it could.  It’s still pretty awkard lugging your bags around, up to the top rack, etc. “But, I’ve got these these bags..” is one of the biggest excuses folks use to avoid using transit and instead drive or taxi to the airport.  It would be nice for SEPTA to innovate a little here and designate a special space for large bags, bikes, strollers, etc. aboard the R1 line.

I’d like SEPTA to consider this: How do you make this connection as easy and comfortable as possible, considering there is a large transportation hub (PHL) at the end of the line?

If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.

Sincerely,
Steve Bozzone

Dignity Village – More Than a Tent City

Posted on by
Reply

Shortly after moving to Portland, I began working within the city’s continuum of homeless services. While I had some experience with this in Philly, through street counts and staffing emergency shelters, my experience in Portland has been more entrenched.

One misconception I held was that if someone was on the street, they were avoiding the shelter system due to a variety of valid concerns. This may be true for some folks experiencing homelessness, but many people are interested in warm, clean places to sleep and meet their basic needs. The problem is capacity: there are simply not enough beds to house those on the street, largely due to a lack of capital and operational funding. In Atlanta, where thousands have no beds in shelter and the homeless are defacto banned from the city center, one solution has been large warehousing of the homeless. It is not pretty or comfortable, but it is a shade better than sleeping on the street. Most of the funding for those shelters are through private contributions. Our country refuses to fulfill the basic human right of housing for all. Instead, we see homelessness as an inconvenience, an eyesore.  We criminalize homelessness and push it further to the outskirts of society.  As long as we cannot see it, it must not exist.

Along with an incredible list of non-profits, who have taken on the task of providing basic needs and transitioning the homeless to affordable housing, there is also the ground-up solution of tent cities.  Tent cities allow safe spaces for homeless housing. Tent cities have their own governance, all the officers and decision-makers are also residents. Tent cities provide a source of autonomy that many shelters (once you wait 3 months for a bed) cannot provide. Many tent cities are operated on unused private or public land, sometimes in violation of property laws. It seems that a simple solution would be the provisioning of public land for this use, but because tent cities require a degree of visibility, there is resistance from more affluent citizens.

The Pacific Northwest has gradually accepted tent cities as part of the solution toward ending homelessness.  Such efforts in the Northeast have generally been installed as protest, although there is now a tent city in Camden, NJ. Dignity Village in Portland is part of a movement to create tent cities across the country.  Here are 2 videos that give a glimpse into the world of a tent city:

Working in the Winter Warming Center, a more temporary and crude housing option for homeless residents, I’ve seen how much can be done with little resources. We’re able to house about 100 homeless residents for about $1000 a night. Surely we can come up with the funding to support all of our homeless, if we can muster up the political will to do so.