PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — There is major pushback from Clackamas County officials and residents after the Oregon Department of Transportation announced tolls will be added to stretches of I-5 and I-205 in the next 5 years.
Commissioner Paul Savas wants the community to show up to a town hall on Wednesday, December 1. He and others say in that stretch of I-205 there is nowhere for anyone to catch a bus and hardly any bus service.
Bike routes are non-existent. That’s why everyone drives now, he said.
Clackamas County would have to pay for these improvements, Savas said, while other counties would not have to because their projects are funded.
“It’s not really fair. Our residents should have a safe and viable choice and without choice they are essentially trapped in a pain of toll without any viable alternative to use other forms of transportation,” Savas said.
He said that’s why he wants people to show up at the town hall and make their voices heard.
Nearly 5 years ago House Bill 2017 was enacted which led to the possibility of tolling. Savas said they haven’t had any substantial engagement or involvement since then.
“The fact you have a cliff on one side, you’ve got a river on the other. There’s not a lot of room in that area for other alternatives. So we need to have something significant of all the places in the region,” he said. “Of all the places the metro region the tall this is probably the most difficult. Probably the most unfair.”