Cristal Otero
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?
Seville, Spain. What stands out to me is not simply that Seville built good bicycle infrastructure, but that it treated a connected network as something to complete. The city built an initial 80-kilometer network in about two years and expanded it to 120 kilometers within four years. Cycling went from roughly 0.5% to 6% of trips between 2007 and 2011.
Portland already has an ambitious vision. The Bicycle Plan for 2030 calls for a 962-mile “World-Class” network, and Portland has made substantial progress. But the city’s most recent comprehensive progress report found that only 28% of the full World-Class Network was complete or funded at that time.
I think the lesson from Seville is to turn that remaining vision into a completion program: identify the critical missing links and dangerous intersections, establish a realistic timeline, dedicate multi-year funding, and incorporate those improvements whenever streets are paved or reconstructed. A world-class network should mean that someone can travel on a low-stress route across Portland without the safe infrastructure disappearing when they reach a major arterial or intersection. Portland does not need another bicycle vision. We need to finish the ambitious one we already adopted.
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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 is getting right is 82nd Avenue. Taking ownership of 82nd from the state and committing substantial investment to safety, paving, crossings, accessibility, transit access and the public realm matters not only because the corridor needed repair, but because it is a question of geographic equity. East Portland has historically had fewer complete streets and has experienced some of the city’s highest traffic-safety risks. We should be willing to put major capital investment into parts of Portland that went too long without the basic infrastructure other neighborhoods take for granted.
Powell Boulevard represents what we got wrong. For decades we allowed a state highway to function as a major neighborhood street while many parts of the corridor lacked basic pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Important improvements are now underway, particularly on Outer Powell, but residents should not have had to wait this long for sidewalks, safe crossings and protected bicycle facilities.
To me, the lesson from 82nd and Powell is that transportation equity is geographic. A person’s ability to walk, bike, take transit or simply cross the street safely should not depend on which part of Portland they live in. I want us to invest in the places where the gaps and safety risks are greatest, rather than continuing to reproduce the uneven infrastructure patterns we inherited.
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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 think the trajectory is mixed. Portland continues to build safer bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and recent traffic-safety data are encouraging, but one of the key performance indicators has to be whether more people are actually walking and biking.
On bicycling, we have not yet reversed the decline. Portland’s bicycle counts rose through the mid-2010s, declined substantially afterward, and have only recently begun to stabilize. At locations counted in both 2024 and 2025, bicycle volumes increased just 1%. That is better than continued decline, but it is not yet the growth we need.
I think that matters because infrastructure mileage alone cannot be our measure of success. Portland’s own Bicycle Plan treats bicycle mode share, network completion, connectivity, safety, and access to low-stress routes as performance measures. We should be asking not only “how many miles did we build?” but “did more people use the system, did they feel safe using it, and can they actually reach everyday destinations?”
I think the current trajectory reflects several things: remote work changed commute patterns, but the decline in bicycling began before the pandemic; parts of the network are still disconnected or stressful; and cost and availability have affected BIKETOWN. Portland has made substantial infrastructure investments, but we have not yet translated those investments into sustained ridership growth.
For me, the next phase is about outcomes. Complete the low-stress network, maintain it well, make it useful for ordinary trips, and then measure whether more Portlanders are actually choosing to walk and bike.
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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?
I use a mix of transit, walking, biking, and driving. I usually take the bus or MAX to work, and I genuinely enjoy it—I find transit relaxing and a good way to decompress. I also walk almost every day to do errands around my neighborhood, usually with my dog.
I used to bike much more regularly. After 2020, I worked from home for about four years, my commute disappeared, and my bike gradually fell into disrepair. I have not fully rebuilt that habit yet.
The biking infrastructure around my home is actually pretty good. I live close to the Springwater Corridor, MAX, and neighborhood greenways, so I can bike locally or bring my bike onto transit pretty easily. The trips I still rely most on a car for are trips to Vancouver to help care for my mom.
For me, the biggest barrier to biking more right now is honestly just getting my bike back into working order and rebuilding the habit.