Portland City Council unanimously approved a plan to ask voters to approve a 10-cents-per gallon gas tax in May.

The tax would continue the gas tax program for another four years. Portland voters approved the gas tax in 2016 with 56% of the vote.

The renewal is no surprise. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly signaled in March of last year that she would ask voters to renew the tax.

“These investments are vital for our community — our commitment to Fixing Our Streets will shape the future of Portland,” Eudaly said during the council hearing, using the city’s name for its gas tax program. “I urge all voters to cast your ballots this May in support of renewing this gas tax. It is well worth the dimes we pay at the pump, and it will provide us the tools we need to advance safety, equity, and sustainability in Portland’s transportation system.”

Gas tax revenue continued to outpace the city’s initial estimates, which was pitched to voters in 2016 as a $64 million project list. Instead, the city estimates it will collect $13 million in surplus gas tax revenue.

The 2020 gas tax renewal includes a $76 million project list.

It includes $25 million for paving, $5 million for new traffic signals, $4.5 million for sidewalks, and $4.5 million for street lighting. The remainder includes a variety of safety projects citywide and near schools.

Stretches of Northeast Killingsworth Street, Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast 45th Avenue will be repaved.

The current gas tax prompted an analysis from city auditors that determined Portland wasn’t prepared to handle the influx of revenue or get the projects out the door on time.

Transportation officials said that quickly changed, and the city expects to have completed or broken ground on all all the projects by the end of 2020.

“I’m really proud of the progress that we’ve made and the ways we addressed the concerns of the auditor,” Eudaly said Thursday.

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said she supported the way Portland was focusing improvements on all areas of the city, including east Portland.

She said that didn’t happen overnight, crediting a more than 12-year effort from east Portlanders to turn the city’s attention to projects in that huge swath of the city.

“I’ve got to tell you, I’m loving what I’m seeing,” Hardesty said Thursday following a briefing on the first four years of gas tax projects, “And what I know is change is scary for people,” she said, referring to the city’s decisions to reduce the number of travel lanes for vehicles.

“Don’t think that what you’re doing is not having an impact,” Hardesty said of the city’s initiatives. “It’s having an impact on behavior.”

Portland City Council is also expected to renew a four-year tax on heavy trucks, a proposal that is expected to bring in $11 million total. That plan doesn’t have to go to voters.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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