4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2017
Bill: More details about the
proposed program released
Continued from Page 1A
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Bridge is reflected in the window of a Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office boat on patrol in September.
Bridges: Two projects are concluding while
two more will not begin or finish until 2019
Continued from Page 1A
Businesses may be espe-
cially enthused. While the
state’s improvement projects
have been necessary, they tend
to have some impact on com-
merce, said Skip Hauke, direc-
tor of the Astoria-Warrenton
Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Any time there’s construc-
tion on a bridge in or around
the North Coast, it affects
somebody. It just makes peo-
ple think twice before heading
in that direction,” Hauke said.
“It’ll be a pleasure not having
the bridge closures next year.”
Workers recently wrapped
a bow around the second of a
three-phase project to repair
the Astoria Bridge. All of
the work above the road is
finished.
Since 2009, workers have
removed and replaced much
of the paint that coats steel on
the 4.2-mile bridge. They also
have replaced corroded riv-
ets and worked on the steel
below the roadway, including
the support towers. Solar lights
were added to deter pilots
away from the towers.
Prior to the project, officials
noticed the bridge, now more
than 50 years old, had become
increasingly fragile due to
year-round storms, saltwater
and heavy traffic both on the
Repairs to the Astoria Bridge will resume in 2019.
road and along the river below
it. The project has taken longer
than originally planned due to
weather and the discovery of
more corrosion than expected.
When work resumes within
the next couple of years, the
final phase will mainly involve
painting the trusses below
deck. The state will have
spent about $50 million dol-
lars by the time the project is
completed.
Repairs to the Old Youngs
Bay Bridge and Lewis and
Clark River Bridges — two
small drawbridges built in the
1920s — will be completed
by the end of this month after
about three years, Torres said.
The $16.7 million projects on
those bridges have included
replacement of electrical sys-
tems, asphalt surface repairs
and improvements to corroded
steel.
“There’s quite a lot of old
mechanical work that had to
happen,” he said. “It’s virtu-
ally finished.”
Major renovations to the
New Youngs Bay Bridge will
commence in 2019, though
the scope, time and length of
the project will not be final-
ized until early 2018. An initial
cost estimate was $12.4 million,
though that figure could change.
Parking is
regulated in
downtown
Astoria from
10 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.
Monday
through
Saturday.
The work will include
replacing joints, installing spe-
cial protection for metal parts,
seismically retrofitting bridge
spans and raising the lift span
tower and sign bridges. Offi-
cials have revised original
plans and are discussing how
to best schedule the project to
curb disturbances to traffic pat-
terns, Torres said.
“We’re talking about some
major work,” he said. “It’s
definitely a modified version
of what we were going to do.”
Though the bridge is less
than a mile long, it is the main
thoroughfare connecting War-
renton and Astoria. Its closure
will likely have some impact
on businesses along U.S.
Highway 101 and U.S. High-
way 101 Business, Hauke said.
But he adds that he does not
oppose the project.
“They do what they do, and
they do a good job,” he said.
go toward projects only in
rural areas, addressing a
concern that a cap-and-in-
vest law would largely ben-
efit already-thriving urban
centers, such as the Portland
metro area.
• Some of the proceeds
also could be used to pay for
“carbon sequestration” on
farms, which could involve
changes in cover plants and
reducing soil disturbances.
• Rule-making for the
program will have legisla-
tive oversight. Some mem-
bers of the business commu-
nity resisted the idea of the
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality having unilateral
authority in rule-making.
• Commissions and advi-
sory groups on global warm-
ing would be consolidated
into one advisory committee
and one legislative committee.
Despite the changes, some
business groups said they’re
still opposed to the idea.
Jenny Dresler, director of
state public policy at the Ore-
gon Farm Bureau, is a mem-
ber of a coalition campaign-
ing against cap and invest,
Oregonians for Balanced Cli-
mate Policy.
“Oregon has made tre-
mendous progress toward
reducing our carbon emis-
sions and is now one of the
cleanest economies in the
country,” Dresler said. “Driv-
ing up gas and energy prices
on consumers, farmers and
employers — as a cap-and-
trade bill will do — will only
result in fewer jobs and more
pressure on family budgets.
There are better ways to fight
climate change, and Oregon is
already at the forefront of that
effort.”
What’s the cap, and what’s
the investment?
The cap would limit the
amount of carbon a busi-
ness may emit to less than
25,000 tons of carbon diox-
ide per year, beginning in
2021. Those that emit more
than that amount — currently
about 100 businesses in Ore-
gon — would be required
to buy market-priced allow-
ances for the excess. The pro-
gram essentially puts a price
on emissions.
Meanwhile, the allow-
ances would be sold at a
North American auction and
generate revenue that would
then be invested in projects
that slow climate change.
Supporters say the bill
could generate hundreds of
millions of dollars a year for
those projects.
Investments could include
rebates for electric vehicles,
solar panels on homes or
safety improvements on bicy-
cle lanes, among other things,
said Brad Reed of envi-
ronmental advocacy group
Renew Oregon.
“Oregonians really value
where we live and making a
cleaner economy. … Once
those investments start to
show, then people are going
to understand how beneficial
this program is going to be,”
Reed said.
How much would it cost?
Cost estimates for starting
the program have yet to be
calculated. That process will
begin once the bill is finished,
Dembrow said.
The state will achieve
some cost savings by partic-
ipating in the same auction
market as California and the
Canadian provinces of Que-
bec and Ontario, the senator
said.
The program will drive
up the cost of fuel and elec-
tricity. Electric rates could
climb by about 1 to 3 percent,
Dembrow said. It’s unclear
how much fuel prices could
increase.
A study by the Department
of Environmental Quality
indicated the costs could have
an inordinate effect on people
in low-income and rural com-
munities because they already
spend a larger percent of their
income on fuel.
Dembrow has proposed
using another chunk of the
program’s proceeds for util-
ity payment assistance for
low-income Oregonians.
Mimosa Madness
Get up early with Cannon Beach for a uniquely different
Black Friday shopping experience. Be One of a Kind not
one of the crowd! Celebrate the day after Thanksgiving in
our small beach town, offering big excitement, personal
service, and refreshments while you shop.
Discover treasures to gift and keep!
Special offers from 8 am - 11 am
Shops open all day
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 24 TH
Credit:
City of Astoria
Parking: Position is paid for by lodging taxes
Continued from Page 1A
But enforcement is a con-
tinual challenge, and parking
an ever-thorny issue. The city
has not had a parking enforce-
ment officer since Officer John
Hord retired four years ago.
“They’ve been begged to in
the last year,” Heath said.
The new position is one of
several for Harris, a prolific
artist who works in several
mediums, including quilted
paintings, tile work and cus-
tom dog portraits.
While being a downtown
ambassador for the city, Har-
ris also leads bike tours on
the Astoria Riverwalk with
cruise ship visitors for Sundial
Travel, and volunteers with
Meals on Wheels in Seaside.
Harris will be in a uniform
with her community outreach
officer title and the downtown
association logo. She is being
introduced to local business
owners and writing courtesy
tickets, with enforcement to
“Mimosa Madness” is
the name of the event,
refreshments vary
by location
For a full list of Haystack
Holidays events and tickets visit
www.cannonbeach.org
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Ronni Harris crosses Commercial Street in downtown As-
toria. Harris is Astoria’s new community outreach officer.
pick up after the holidays.
The reaction is mixed when
she tells people about her new
job.
“I was really going, ‘Oh
God, what did I get myself
into,’” Harris said. “But then,
once I started walking around
and getting to know a lot of the
people, it’s also been very pos-
itive, and people are very glad
I’m going to be doing it. So I
would like to turn it into every-
body’s going to be glad I’m
there. They’re going to be glad
to see me coming. They’re not
going to be like, ‘Oh, you’re
the parking Nazi?’”
Join us for our Holiday Concert with
The Trail Band, an 8-piece ensemble
that creates an energetic blend of brass
and string arrangements on December
27th, and Holiday Foods Around the
World from 12/26 - 12/29
Basketcase-Your CB Florist • Cannon Beach Treasure Co.
Chocolate Café • Dena’s Shop on the Corner
Dogs Allowed • Found
Josephine’s • Maggie and Henry
Organic Boutique • The Wine Shack
Cannon Beach Spa