Oregon’s kids are back in school. Families on their way to pumpkin patches and fall activities are walking, biking, and rolling along streets that simply don’t keep them safe. Right here in Portland, Powell Boulevard remains one of the most dangerous corridors for children and families. Thousands of students either go to school on Powell or use it to travel every day (the #9 line is one of the busiest).
Yet in the stopgap transportation deal that finally passed the Oregon Senate this week, HB 3991, there’s a freeze on funding for Safe Routes to School programs and a zeroing out of the Great Streets improvement program, which could have made deadly corridors like Powell Boulevard safer.
This week’s deal is intended to prevent layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation and buy time for a more permanent solution to the crisis. However, the inclusion of an expiration date for funding essential transit operations in 2027 also creates a new set of challenges and more unneeded uncertainty in Oregon’s future.
Our Executive Director Sarah Iannarone partnered with longtime active transportation advocate (and this year’s Alice Award winner) Oregon Representative Mark Gamba to spell out the urgent need for strategic, long-term transportation investments. The op-ed, published in The Oregonian this week, notes that HB 3991 “does little to prepare us for the mounting challenges ahead: deep federal cuts, revenue shortfalls, economic stagnation, rising costs, traffic deaths and global warming.” Read it here.
Transportation investments are one of the most powerful economic tools we have. Oregon needs to make the coming year a turning point, treat the need for innovative ways to fund transportation as a great opportunity and begin laying the groundwork for a strategic investment package in 2027.
This stopgap bill buys us time, but it does not buy us stability. We need to look ahead to 2026 and 2027 now, to when we’ll have legislative opportunities to pass a comprehensive transportation package and fund safety for all Oregonians, not just those who drive. The coming year must be a turning point. To win in 2026 and 2027, we need to act together and organize right now.
We are hosting the Alice Awards: Safe Streets Party in just two weeks to fuel this fight and our advocacy. This absolutely critical fundraiser (and celebration of our community) supports The Street Trust’s ability to influence policy and grow political power. It’s how we made historic gains in HB 2025 and how we will lead into the 2026 election cycle and 2027 legislative session.
This annual celebration (first held in 1995) lifts up the transportation advocates leading the way AND allows us to influence policy in Salem and beyond by helping fund:
Education for lawmakers on the latest research on the benefits of multimodal transportation and stories from those most impacted by the lack of investments in their communities.
The only dedicated lobbyist in Salem fighting for safety for cyclists, walkers, rollers and the 30% of Oregonians who don’t drive.
Innovative, community-based programs to make transportation justice and accessibility a reality.
The Alice Awards are where community meets strategy: a night to gather, celebrate, and prepare for the long road ahead. If you care about Oregon’s transportation future, please join us on Thursday, 10/16 at The Redd on Salmon.
Plus if you get your Alice tickets before Monday, 10/6, you’ll be entered to win one of two historic framed Bike Commute posters!
Check out the online cycling and Portland art auction here. We’ll open some items for online bids the week of the event.
Once we’ve packed up our Alice Award decorations, we’re not waiting around! We now have a clearer picture of who is ready to fight for a safe, affordable, and multimodal system, and who is standing in the way of progress.The truth is simple: passing and implementing a game-changing transportation package in 2027 will take political power. And the 2026 elections are going to be pivotal.
That’s why we’ve retained a leading political strategist and are activating our electoral arm, The Street Trust Action Fund (TSTAF) immediately.
The Street Trust Action Fund is building a stronger, more active statewide board to prepare for the 2026 elections, when we will work to elect champions and unseat those blocking progress on transportation justice.
If you are interested in being a part of TSTAF’s work in 2026, please complete this interest form no later than midnight on Sunday, October 6th.
We need statewide activation and leadership with electoral skills. The next phase of our work depends on community and civic leaders who understand campaigns, fundraising, and how to move voters and lawmakers. This is the kind of power it takes to win. Join our leadership, become a board member or volunteer, donate, or simply sign up for our email list.
This is a long game and we are starting now. We have to act immediately to raise funds, build alliances, and lay the groundwork through policy and elections.
Together we can make sure that the next time kids head back to school, they have safe routes, safe crossings, and safe communities to carry them there.
This is our chance to celebrate how far we’ve come, fuel the fight ahead, and lay the groundwork for the transportation package (and future) Oregon truly deserves.
See you at the Alice Awards!
P.S. Can’t make it on 10/16? You can still help The Street Trust represent cyclists, walkers and rollers across Oregon by:
Buying one of 96 remaining raffle tickets for an amazing commuter ebike donated by Vvolt, a class 3 Centauri II in galactic blue, valued at $2,599. You don’t have to be present to win!
Checking out the online cycling and Portland art auction here. We’ll open some items for online bids the week of the event!
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