If you drive, walk, bike, or take transit, you know we need street and sidewalk improvements. Years of deferred maintenance and rising costs have eroded our system. (Voodoo Doughnut even recently created a “pothole” doughnut!)

You also know that Oregon’s transportation infrastructure is the foundation of our economy, emergency services, neighborhood safety and daily life. This holds even more true for Portland, the state’s largest population center and economic engine.

Portland’s deferred maintenance has ballooned to more than $6 billion. Our streets, bridges, streetlights and traffic signals are deteriorating and urgently need repair and replacement.

You may not know that our highest-crash streets and intersections are disproportionately impacting low-income Portlanders and Portlanders of color. This is unacceptable.

This comes despite the city’s efforts to raise funds through our local gas tax and parking revenue. Rising costs have come as the Portland Bureau of Transportation has made cuts to its budget and sought ways to economize.

This month I joined my City Council colleagues to co-sponsor and pass a resolution to bring more sidewalks and pothole repairs to parts of the city that have been neglected the most: Southwest and East Portland. This is one small but needed step forward.

But there is only so much the city alone can do. Without additional funding, we will continue to lose ground. This will mean weight-restricted bridges, streets riddled with potholes, snow-covered roads uncleared in winter and an increasing number of failing streetlights and signals.

But here’s the good news: Our elected leaders in Salem are considering legislation to meaningfully address these issues. The Oregon Transportation Reinvestment Package (TRIP-2025) is focused on the basics at the local and state levels. The goal is to enhance safety, modernize infrastructure and move us toward a stronger, more resilient transportation system.

About half of the increased revenue generated by this legislation will go directly to cities and counties for critical local operations and maintenance. That means Oregonians will see a return on investment in the form of improved local roads and services.

But this isn’t just about fixing roads — it’s about fixing traffic lights and intersections, improving deteriorated roads and sidewalks, and making our system safer to use.

In addition to critical funding for operations and maintenance, this package provides funding for transit and safety programs like Great Streets and Safe Routes to School — investments that will make our transportation system safer.

The need for meaningful investment in our transportation infrastructure grows by the year — and with the growing need comes poorer streets, less safety, more pollution and longer transportation times. These outcomes will not set up our families, our communities, nor Portland as a whole for success.

Please join me and write or call your state legislators and tell them you want safer streets, better transit and more infrastructure. Now more than ever, the future of our beloved city depends on it.

Olivia Clark represents District 4 on the Portland City Council and chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.