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An Oregon Department of Transportation plan to widen Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter is attracting scrutiny as Portland’s City Council prepares to enact the Central City 2035 plan.

A coalition of activists wants the city to reject the ODOT project, fearing it will repeat the mistakes of the past that favored vehicle transportation ahead of walking, biking and mass transit. Some are urging congestion pricing 鈥� tolls meant to reduce traffic during peak commuting times.

They’ve started to gain some traction. Commissioner Dan Saltzman, in a statement posted Thursday, said he backs installing tolls, which he called 鈥渧alue pricing,鈥� before the project begins.

鈥淰alue pricing is a proven congestion and carbon reduction strategy, and it is an essential part of the project,鈥� Saltzman said.

The $450 million project would add auxiliary lanes to smooth merging of vehicles on and off the freeway between Interstate 84 and Interstate 405.

It also would add shoulders to allow drivers to move their vehicles out of the way following a collision. Fender benders in this stretch greatly worsen congestion because of a lack of space for drivers to pull over, ODOT says. The corridor has the highest crash rate in the state, according to the agency.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Plan has been significantly narrowed from earlier ideas to add braided ramps and additional lanes. The current project is more in line with Portland’s goals to reduce congestion and boost alternatives to driving, Saltzman said.

The project calls for an overpass for pedestrians and bicyclists at Northeast Clackamas Street and other improvements. Opponents say the plan would double down on car-centric design that creates more problems than it solves.

鈥淓xpanding urban freeways has never solved a congestion problem,鈥� said Joe Cortright, an economist and director of City Observatory, a website that focuses on urban issues.

Cortright gave the example of a 23-lane freeway in Houston that has continued to see increased trip times despite repeated expansions. The problem, he said, is a concept called 鈥渋nduced demand鈥� 鈥� wider freeways generate more traffic and encourage sprawl.

Chris Smith, a Portland planning commissioner and member of No More Freeway Expansions, a local group founded to fight the I-5 project, said congestion pricing must be implemented first.

鈥淲e believe it’s irresponsible to design a project before knowing what effect congestion pricing is going to have,鈥� he said.

Opponents of the project have drawn on Portland’s rejection in the late 1960s and early 1970s of the Mount Hood Freeway, which would have segmented much of Southeast Portland. But the I-5 Rose Quarter project is much smaller in scope.

鈥淚 don’t view this as being a massive widening,鈥� said Nolan Lienhart, director of planning and urban design at ZGF Architects, which was involved in early project plans. The project includes 鈥減ositive changes鈥� for the surface street system, he said.

The I-5 project follows years of work on the Portland North/Northeast Quadrant Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in 2012.

More public testimony on the plan will be accepted at a second City Council hearing Thursday.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is a transportation priority in the Central City 2035 plan, an omnibus document that sets the stage for zoning Portland’s core. It’s the first comprehensive update of Portland zoning since 1988, and covers everything from building heights and density to views of Mount Hood and requirements for bird-friendly windows.

A vote to adopt the Central City 2035 Plan is expected on Jan. 18, 2018.