Green Drinks Portland Oregon August 4, 2009

Please join us Tuesday, August 4th for the next Green Drinks event featuring Mara Gross, Policy Director with the Coalition for a Livable Future.

Date: Tuesday, August 4th
Time: 7:00pm (networking after the speaker)

Location: Terrace on the third floor of the Ecotrust Building - 721 NW Ninth Avenue

Donation: We ask that you donate $5 to help us cover our costs if you can. All attendees will be entered into a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to Trebol courtesy of The Redirect Guide.

Food / Drinks: Feel free to purchase food or drink from Hot Lips or Laughing Planet (on the first floor of the Ecotrust building) and bring it upstairs.

DIRECTIONS: http://www.ecotrust.org/NCC/directions.html

Mara will discuss the Columbia River Crossing project and why the Coalition for a Livable Future is opposed to the project as it now stands. Representatives from the Columbia River Crossing declined Portland Green Drinks invitation to speak alongside the Coalition for a Livable Future.

The Columbia River Crossing is a bridge, transit and highway improvement project for five miles of I-5 from State Route 500 in Vancouver, Washington, to approximately Columbia Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. CRC is studying a replacement I-5 bridge over the Columbia River with light rail extending to Clark College. In July 2008, this alternative was selected by local project partners as providing the best opportunities to relieve congestion, improve safety and freight mobility and increase travel options on I-5 while meeting community needs. Additional information can be found at http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org

At 12 lanes and over $4 billion dollars, the Coalition for a Livable Future believes the current Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project is overpriced, over-sized, and creates more problems than it solves. We need a solution to the issues on the I-5 corridor that is fiscally responsible and healthy for our environment and community. Unfortunately, the current proposal will create more traffic, induce sprawl development, and increase air and global warming pollution, harming our health and environment.

Mara Gross is the Policy Director at Coalition for a Livable Future. Mara has practiced law in the nonprofit, government, and private sectors, and for the last eight years has been a political and social policy advocate. Presently much of her work focuses on promoting a sustainable and equitable transportation system.

About CLF

The Coalition for a Livable Future (CLF) unites over 90 diverse organizations and hundreds of individuals to promote healthy and sustainable communities in the Portland region.

Official Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/portlandgreendrinks/