Ali Beaudoin
Council - District 3
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Q1 A city to learn from
What city has an approach to transportation that Portland should learn from? What specific policies, funding, design, etc., could be adopted to work here?
Portland should focus on building a transportation system that is reliable, affordable, and practical for how people move around the city. We have invested heavily in transportation, but residents still experience poor road conditions, unreliable transit, congestion, and gaps in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. One example is our system was built with a focus of moving folks to downtown and as our economy has shifted, we need to change the pattern of moving people around.
My approach would start with maintenance and accountability. Before committing to expensive new projects, the City should establish clear priorities for maintaining roads, bridges, sidewalks, traffic signals, and existing transit infrastructure. Every major transportation investment should have a transparent budget, timeline, measurable outcomes, and regular public reporting.
For pedestrians and cyclists, we should continue investing in safe connections between neighborhoods, schools, business districts, and transit, with particular attention to areas that currently lack basic infrastructure. Transportation design should reflect the needs of the specific neighborhood and corridor rather than applying the same solution everywhere.
Finally, transportation policy should be connected to housing and economic development. New housing, small businesses, schools, and employment centers need reliable transportation access. We should use transportation investments to strengthen neighborhood business districts and make it easier for residents to reach jobs and essential services.
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Q2 Got it right, got it wrong
What is one specific Portland transportation project (built, abandoned, under construction, or proposed) that you think Portland got right, and one that Portland got wrong?
One project I think Portland got right is the 70s Greenway: Cully Connector. The project is creating a safer connection through Cully and Roseway, with new sidewalks and bicycle facilities, safer crossings, traffic calming, and connections to neighborhood schools, parks, and businesses. It is also being coordinated with the larger Cully Public Works project so that the neighborhood can address multiple infrastructure needs at the same time.
I like this approach because it focuses on practical neighborhood improvements rather than one large transportation project. It addresses basic infrastructure, pedestrian safety, biking, traffic speeds, and access to local destinations at the same time. Importantly, the Cully project also prioritizes streets based on factors such as equity and connections to parks, schools, and transit.
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Q3 Progress on biking, walking & safety
Is Portland making progress on getting more people biking and walking, and on making streets safer? What do you think is behind that trajectory?
I would challenge the premise that Portland is making enough progress in getting people to bike and walk. We have made some meaningful improvements to street safety, but we have not done enough to get more Portlanders choosing to bike or walk for everyday trips.
Portland's own 2025 bicycle count found that the number of people biking remained essentially flat for the second consecutive year. BIKETOWN ridership also declined in 2025, despite the expansion of the e-bike fleet. That tells me that simply building more bike infrastructure does not automatically mean more people will use it.
I do think there are examples where Portland's street redesigns are making a measurable difference. For example, the SE Hawthorne improvements reduced speeding, improved bus travel times, and created better conditions for people walking and biking. The city has also reported meaningful safety improvements on several high-crash corridors.
The bigger question is why aren't more people choosing these modes? I think convenience, safety, connectivity, and reliability all matter. A bike lane that ends unexpectedly, a dangerous intersection, poor lighting, or a long gap between safe crossings can make an entire trip feel inaccessible. Walking has a similar challenge: Portland needs more continuous sidewalks, safer crossings, better lighting, and better connections between neighborhoods, transit, schools, and business districts.
I would focus less on simply counting how many miles of bike lanes we build and more on whether people are actually changing how they travel. We should set measurable goals for walking, biking, and transit use, track them by neighborhood, and invest where the infrastructure is most likely to change behavior.
Portland should absolutely continue making streets safer, but the goal should be bigger than infrastructure. We need to make walking and biking safe, convenient, and practical enough that more people actually choose them.
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Q4 How they get around
How do you actually get around Portland day-to-day? Commuting, errands, evening plans, etc. What is the last trip you took by bike or transit, and what's stopping you from doing more of your trips that way?
Day to day, I use a mix of walking, transit, and driving depending on what I need to accomplish.
I live in Montavilla, so I walk quite a bit within my neighborhood to local businesses, meetings, and other nearby activities. I also take the bus, including for trips into other parts of Portland. In fact, I’m taking the bus today.
For errands that take me outside my neighborhood, particularly grocery shopping and other tasks where I need to carry things or make multiple stops, I generally drive. That is the reality for many Portlanders: our transportation choices depend on where we are going, how much time we have, what we are carrying, and whether there is a convenient alternative.
My most recent transit trip was a bus trip, and I would like to see transit become a more practical option for more of my daily trips. The biggest barriers are reliability, travel time, and convenience. If taking transit requires significantly more time or multiple transfers compared with driving, people are going to choose their car.
I also think Portland should focus on making walking and biking
more useful for everyday trips not just recreational trips.