That’s according to the Smercury (here).
Here comes a county car tax–on top of all the car taxes the state has passed. Multnomah County may go with a $19/year car tax. Interesting, pedestrians and bicyclists get more room than the cars. In fact, the Sellwood Bridge fix may have to be “street car ready.” So even LESS room for cars! Where’s the tax increase for bikes and peds for using Sellwood Bridge? And where else are they going to use that $$. Here’s Mult Co Chair Ted Wheeler’s ph and email: 503.988.3308, mult.chair@co.multnomah.or.us

The legislature paved the way for the county’s vehicle registration tax as part of House Bill 2001 in the last session, which is expected to generate $127million in bond proceeds for the county over 20 years. There are 577,000 eligible vehicles in Multnomah County, although trucks over 26,000 pounds are excluded from having to pay. The county will vote to approve the ordinance setting up the tax on October 22, with a first reading on October 15.

The county chose a preferred alternative to the bridge late in 2008, which has 12 foot shared sidewalks on each side, 6.5 foot bike lanes on each side, and two 12 foot travel lanes for vehicles. Current estimates for the new bridge are $330million in 2014 dollars (accounting for inflation). The Federal Government is likely to contribute $40million, while the city of Portland will also contribute $100million towards the cost, as long as the bridge is “streetcar ready.” Mayor Sam Adams was in the audience this morning to watch the discussion and gave testimony.