Portlanders are expressing significant dissatisfaction with the city’s management of roadways and sidewalks, ranking it last among various municipal services in a recent comprehensive survey.
Street maintenance received the lowest favorability rating from residents, trailing even behind the city’s frequently criticized permitting system and the ever-increasing costs of water and sewer services.
This information comes from a report released this week by the city of Portland.
Nearly 67% of those surveyed indicated that streets, sidewalks, and transportation should be a top funding priority for the city, closely following the 72% of respondents who prioritized affordable housing and homeless services.
Additionally, 62% believed that police, fire, and 911 services were also top funding priorities, while 53% listed parks and community centers as important.
“The results of this survey are a powerful snapshot of how Portlanders were experiencing their city last summer,” stated Mayor Keith Wilson.
“As city leaders, we have a responsibility to take these results to heart.”
The biennial Portland Insights Survey saw almost 4,300 residents participate, conducted between June and October of the previous year.
City staff and researchers from Portland State University reached out to 20,000 randomly selected households to gain a deeper understanding of Portlanders’ perceptions of city governance and its services, aiming to inform budget development, policymaking, and performance management processes.
The city intentionally oversampled people of color, who are often underrepresented in such surveys.
Years marked by declining revenues, escalating costs, and competing priorities have left the Portland Bureau of Transportation and its extensive infrastructure in severe distress, frustrating many city residents.
Currently, Portland’s streets are marred by gnarled asphalt and pervasive potholes, affecting miles of deteriorating roads and bike lanes across the city.
Street sweepers rarely clean major thoroughfares and have discontinued service on the majority of residential blocks.
Traffic safety issues, along with fatalities, continue to prevail as significant concerns in the city.
Records indicate that Portland’s transportation maintenance backlog has surged to over $6 billion, a figure that increases by hundreds of millions of dollars each year as the city’s roads, bridges, and other infrastructure further decline.
Furthermore, many neighborhoods in Portland lack sidewalks or even paved roads altogether.
Over 34% of those surveyed described Portland’s transportation infrastructure maintenance as poor, while 36% rated it fair, 22% said good, and only 5% provided an excellent rating.
In contrast, the city’s parks and natural areas received the highest ratings, with 48% of residents rating them excellent, 39% good, 10% fair, and just 2% poor.
“You don’t have to be an engineer to know that the pavement on most city streets is in poor or very poor condition,” remarked Transportation Bureau spokesperson Dylan Rivera.
“Our maintenance backlog is counted in the billions of dollars and is growing.”
Currently, the bureau is preparing to cut more than 100 jobs and reduce pothole repairs, street paving, safety enhancements, and basic services to mitigate a $40 million revenue shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year.
Possible relief may come as Oregon lawmakers are expected to address a significant transportation funding package this year.
Portland’s elected officials have also signaled their intent to allocate more funds towards street maintenance and capital projects.
“We are encouraged that the state legislature and the new City Council have identified transportation funding as critically important,” Rivera noted.
“We are optimistic that leaders will devise the necessary funding to make headway in enhancing the quality of street surfaces that Portlanders rely on every day.”
Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.
He can be reached at 503-294-7632 or via email at [email protected].
Follow him on X @shanedkavanaugh or on BlueSky @shanedkavanaugh.
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