Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland’s mayor and Metro councilors are on a collision course over a federally required transportation plan.

As Rob Manning reports, Mayor Sam Adams threatened Thursday to oppose the long-term road plan, if it doesn’t do a better job of controlling greenhouse gases. 

Metro’s analysis of its 25-year transportation plan shows new roads would boost greenhouse gas emissions close to 50 percent.

Mayor Adams wants to see a lower number – or at least a breakdown of the climate impact of individual road projects. At a meeting of regional leaders whose support is key to adopting the plan, Adams threatened to vote “no.”

Sam Adams: “Not because I want to, but because we need to start to put substance behind every politician’s – including mine – good words about climate change.”

Metro councilors say analyzing each project would take too long, and would not produce accurate enough information to be helpful.

They suggest analyzing the climate impact of individual projects later on, when they come up for funding. But Adams argues that even incomplete information now would help.

He says projects might gain too much momentum as they reach the funding stage, for emissions’ data to stop them.