Gas prices displayed in Sept. 2022 at this Chevron station on NE Martin Luther King Blvd., in Portland, Oregon.
Rob Manning / OPB
Portland City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to again refer a city gas tax to voters.
The 10-cent-per-gallon tax will appear on the ballot this May. It could generate an estimated 70 million dollars over four years for programs that improve Portland’s streets.
The money will be used for filling potholes, maintaining traffic signals, repaving residential roads and improving traffic safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
The initial tax passed in 2016 with 53 percent of voter support. In 2020, 77 percent of voters approved its renewal.
If it’s renewed, the Portland Bureau of Transportation estimates the tax will cost average Portland drivers with gas-powered vehicles about $2.50 per month.
The tax has raised nearly 150 million dollars since its introduction.