The Salem Weekly recently reached out to receive feedback on reasons to support a third bridge in Salem. Here are our answers provided to their reporter.
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Given that we are working to present a positive perspective of
the project, we thought you would be an excellent person to contact.
Could you share with us, briefly, your own thoughts on the following:
- What do you feel the major advantage of the 3rd Bridge across
the Willamette would be?
The Salem MSA represents the second largest population base in the state with over 390,000 people residing in Marion and Polk counties as of the 2010 census. The trends for population growth clearly show the region growing with increased market demand for housing and business activity. Vision planning for the future of our regional economy is absolutely crucial. A 3rd bridge across the Willamette River improves public safety, improves livability for local residents, improves access to market for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and most importantly represents crucial infrastructure to encourage the continued development of new businesses and jobs for Salem area residents for generations to come.
The Salem MSA represents the second largest population base in the state with over 390,000 people residing in Marion and Polk counties as of the 2010 census. The trends for population growth clearly show the region growing with increased market demand for housing and business activity. Vision planning for the future of our regional economy is absolutely crucial. A 3rd bridge across the Willamette River improves public safety, improves livability for local residents, improves access to market for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and most importantly represents crucial infrastructure to encourage the continued development of new businesses and jobs for Salem area residents for generations to come.
- What do you say when others suggest that traffic diminishment
means that a 3rd Bridge (and/or 4D) is "overkill" for a problem that
occurs just a few hours a day, (and is decreasing?)
Major infrastructure investments can spark lively communication
amongst members of our community. The facts of the issue speak for themselves.
The most credible source for information relating to third bridge options
is clearly outlined in the Environmental Impact Study (or EIS). The report, which
is over 1,000 pages in length, provides the in depth analysis on traffic data.
The report clearly speaks to the increasing demand and need for additional
bridge infrastructure. For example, Figure 3.1-9 shows that projected PM peak
traffic for one hour in 2031 out of downtown and onto the current bridge is
just under 7,000 vehicles. Traffic coming over the bridge and into
downtown Salem is projected at just over 5,000 vehicles during the hour. Our
current problem of traffic congestion a few hours a day will become a nightmare
if nothing is done and acted on now.
Seeing the vision is critical for maintaining and improving our
quality of life throughout the region. Any short term arguments for stabilized
or reduced traffic on the current bridge system do nothing to prepare our
community and the region for the growth that will come to this area. If we do
not act, our children and grandchildren will live with that mistake for decades
into the future. The third bridge infrastructure is absolutely necessary to
accommodate long term growth projections and protect our livability.
- What are the chief facts or
arguments that you feel opponents to a 3rd Bridge (and/or 4D) ignore, or simply
don't understand?
Fact #1 – Planning for a
third bridge originated as early as the 1970 Pine Street Bridge and Mission
Street Bridge community conversations. Therefore the community has identified
the need for an additional bridge across the Willamette for over 40 years.
Fact #2 – According to the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of
Governments Salem-Keizer Housing Needs Analysis, the population within the
Salem-Keizer Urban Growth boundary is expected to grow 28% by the year 2032
from 239,760 residents now to 307,543 residents 20 years from now. If we assume
the same rate of growth for the entire Salem MSA, we are looking at a regional
population of just under 500,000 residents compared to a current Salem MSA
population of 390,000.
Fact #3 - According to the EIS study, approximately 56% of
bridge traffic is defined as local meaning the user originates and ends their
trip within the Salem-Keizer area. 44% of traffic is attributed to a
combination of freight and outside of the area trips. These facts are crucial
as the regional population continues to grow and the need for a third bridge
becomes that much more obvious as growth projections come to fruition.
Fact #4 – If no bridge is built or modifications to the current
bridge are made, we do nothing to solve the major problem which revolves around
the bottlenecks on both sides of the bridge. Downtown will continue to be
impacted by higher congestion levels, reduced livability, and will directly
hinder efforts to revitalize and market our downtown as a destination that
spurs demand for living, playing, and shopping.
Fact #5 – The current growth and traffic projections include
multimodal and alternative forms of transportation being utilized. In other
words bridge and traffic congestion in the available studies would be worse
than currently projected if alternative modes of transportation were not
included as part of the planning process.
