What’s happening!
$1.1 billion in transportation spending for our region for years 2027 to 2030 is going to be decided soon in a document called the MTIP (Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan). Public comment is open until April 9. The people who get to decide are the Metro Council (5 people) and the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation or JPACT (17 people).
Wilsonville’s representatives are Gerrit Rosenthal (Metro Council), and Paul Savas, Clackamas County, and Joe Buck, Mayor of Lake Oswego representing cities in Clackamas County (JPACT).
Why you should care?
$1.1 billion is like a lot of money. Especially in dire transportation funding times. In the draft plan that is out for public comment, Wilsonville’s projects are: Boeckman Creek trail and SMART bus maintenance.
Also, in the draft plan we aren’t making progress on our high speed rail connected future or connections among communities where we’ve seen growth in the past 30-years, and we need to rethink how we prioritize for equity. My full comments are below.
Quickest way to send your comments are to email Metro Council at transportation@oregonmetro.gov and JPACT at legislativecoordinator@oregonmetro.gov.
Click here to generate an email to both places!
Information from Metro
What is the MTIP?
The MTIP tracks the Portland metropolitan area’s transportation investment priorities and schedule of federal expenditures. Every three years, Metro updates the MTIP to document funded transportation projects and programs for the next four years.
Ways to share feedback
2027-30 MTIP StoryMap and survey
This brief StoryMap provides key information about Metro’s role, the purpose and contents of the MTIP, and high-level takeaways about the 2027-30 MTIP regional investment profile. After reviewing the StoryMap, take the short survey and provide additional comments. The full 2027-30 MTIP public review draft is also available for review on Metro’s website.
Other ways to provide feedback include:
Other ways to provide comments include:
By mail to Metro – Planning, Development and Research, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97232
By email to transportation@oregonmetro.gov
By phone at 503-797-1750 or TDD 503-797-1804
By written or verbal comment at the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation public hearing, held in-person and online on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7:30 a.m.
Survey results and comments will be documented and shared with JPACT and the Metro Council this spring, as both take steps to approve the 2027-30 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) in July.
My comments
Subject: Public Comment: Reforming the 2027-30 MTIP for Strategic Impact
Dear good people of Metro Council and the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT),
I am writing to submit formal testimony regarding the 2027-30 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) Public Review Draft.
After reviewing the proposed plan, I am concerned that it reflects a business-as-usual approach that spreads regional resources too thin. Below, I have outlined how the current draft compares to a more strategic, results-oriented framework that our region desperately needs.
1. Strategy vs. Plan
The current MTIP draft aims to serve a broad array of goals—safety, equity, climate, and mobility—resulting in a list of 139 projects that dilute our regional impact. By trying to achieve everything, the plan risks achieving nothing at scale.
A true strategy must be "scrappy" and focused. If a strategy has more than three goals, it is no longer a strategy—it is just a plan. I urge the Council to refine the MTIP to focus on three singular strategic priorities that drive regional prosperity.
2. Regional "Catalyst" Projects vs. Local Responsibilities
The proposed draft allocates 53% of its $1.1 billion budget to maintenance and preservation, with significant funding for local-scale projects such as sidewalk gaps and traffic signal upgrades.
While these are worthy community goals, they should be the primary responsibility of cities and counties. Regional and federal dollars should be reserved for fewer, more significant catalyst projects.
The Proposal: We must establish a higher numerical threshold for the quantity of people served for a project to qualify for regional funding. This ensures that taxpayer dollars are invested in high-leverage infrastructure rather than spreading the peanut butter too thin across too many jurisdictions.
3. Improving Equity
The MTIP currently relies on static, geographically aligned equity metrics (Equity Focus Areas). This geographic focus is too narrow. True equity is not just about where people live, but where they can go.
The Proposal: We need to center our equity focus on economic mobility. The MTIP should prioritize competitive and reliable transit access to life-changing wage jobs. Connecting underserved residents to major industrial and job centers is a more powerful tool for equity than localized infrastructure improvements.
4. Proposed Strategic Priorities
In contrast to the current list of disparate projects, I propose that the 2027-30 MTIP be anchored by three clear strategic priorities:
Industrial and Living Wage Job Center Access: Prioritizing the movement of workers and goods to our region’s most vital economic engines.
Completing the Transit Loop: Developing a light rail system that connects Hillsboro-Beaverton with Tigard-Tualatin-Wilsonville, Oregon City, and Gresham (with spokes to the city center), creating a truly integrated regional network.
Cascadia High-Speed Rail: Begin laying the groundwork for the planning and physical footprint needed to connect Portland to Seattle and Vancouver, BC via high-speed rail.
Our current economic climate and growing mobility needs require us to be more strategic and less administrative. I ask the Metro Council and JPACT to reconsider the current draft and move toward a model that prioritizes significant regional catalysts over local maintenance.
Thank you for your time and for your service to the region.
Sincerely,
Garet Prior