Protesters picketed the first meeting of the Independent Review Panel of the Columbia River Crossing project (CRC) this morning outside the Expo Center.

About a dozen members of the grassroots organization Stop the CRC Coalition held up signs and banners denouncing what they call a “rubber stamp panel” of experts appointed by the governors of Oregon and Washington to assess the fundamentals of the $3.6 billion project.

“This is a 1950s approach," said David Osborn, holding a sign that read, “Mobility for People Not Cars! No CRC!” Osborn believes the process has been flawed from the beginning, by what he says included limited outreach to the public and a refusal to hear alternative designs.

“12 lanes gives us increased capacity at an incredible cost,” he said. “This moves us away from our sustainability goals and doesn’t strive to create livability.”

Osborn and his coalition denounce the panel of experts, that consist primarily of bridge and freeway engineers, because they are not evaluating the planning process itself.

The latest CRC project update says the panel will “assess the implementation plan for the CRC project, review the financial plan for the project [and] review and evaluate post-construction performance measures.”

“The cost of this review panel is $750,000 over and above the $1 million being spent every month by the project,” Osborn said in a press release of the event. “And yet, the review panel appears to be getting ready to rubber stamp the bridge’s current 12-lane, $3.6 billion design, despite widespread opposition to the project.”

Not everyone in the community agrees the process is as sinister, however. Roger Staver, chair of the Hayden Island Neighborhood Network (HiNooN) says he is satisfied that Hayden Island, which will bear a huge footprint of the project, has had a say in the planning and refinement process. He says eight members of his community are on the design board.

“We have a good relationship with the CRC,” he said in a phone interview. Staver believes whatever bridge gets built will have a huge impact on Hayden Island, but that he is pleased Mayor Adams has showed an openness for a smaller bridge.

“I think the goal is to reduce the footprint on the island,” he added. “The process has been quite open, but the final test is going to be what the result is. I think time will tell.”

Protester Lela Brown is concerned the increased carrying capacity of the bridge will fill up quickly, as it has done in other metropolitan areas after freeway expansions. She worries the idling cars will increase pollution and asthma rates in North Portland.

“People shouldn’t feel it’s ok to live so far from where they work,” she said, gesturing to the halting morning traffic of I-5. And a larger bridge, she says would make it even easier to commute from greater distances.

Brown, a resident of the Kenton neighborhood, says that as an unemployed construction worker she understands the job implications the project has, but she believes the project designers have short-sighted thinking. “I love my community too much. We need to think long term. This will make the neighborhood less livable.”

The CRC says the panel will host a public meeting to hear directly from members of the community starting at 7 p.m. at the Expo Center in Hall D.

The panel will meet again May 20 from 8 AM until 4:30 PM at the Vancouver Hilton. Additional meetings are scheduled for June 1, 2, 17, 18 and July 7 and 8 if needed.

For more info, please visit www.columbiarivercrossing.org