Metro is rolling out new strategies and transit plans in what looks more and more like a war on cars — and Cascade is calling out the baseless evidence they’ve leaned on for thirty five years. At an April council meeting, Cascade President John Charles delivered pointed testimony against two major actions designed to prioritize transit while punishing people who rely on their cars.

At that meeting, Metro approved its Transportation Demand Management Strategy and pushed forward the gridlocking 82nd Avenue Transit Project — a plan that would dedicate miles of existing car lanes to buses only.

Charles reminded councilors that Metro has been trying to engineer travel behavior since the early nineties, yet reductions in vehicle miles traveled have never materialized. Metro’s own performance measures show the 30 year goals weren’t met, so instead of rethinking the strategy, they stretched the timeline to 45 years and kept building plans on the same fantasy metrics.

As Charles emphasized, driving isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. It’s central to employment, wage growth, childcare, and basic mobility. Yet Metro keeps doubling down on failed strategies that make driving harder and daily life more expensive.

After decades of missed targets, the region deserves transportation investments grounded in reality, not wishful thinking — investments that actually improve mobility and economic opportunity for real people.

For Cascade Policy Institute, I’m Naomi Inman.

Read the full story at Cascade Questions Evidence Behind Metro’s War on Cars - Cascade Policy Institute