-
City auditor rips PIR North Portland Trust Fund oversight
The City of Portland Auditor’s Office has harshly criticized a city bureau’s oversight of Portland International Raceway’s North Portland Trust Fund. The auditor said “inefficiency and waste” has prevented distribution of at least $45,782 in grants to community groups between 2022 and 2024. The investigation came after a tip to the Auditor’s Office’s Fraud Hotline.…
-
Legislators call for leaded fuel ban at PIR
The debate over Portland International Raceway (PIR) has reached the Oregon Legislature with State Rep. Travis Nelson proposing a ban on leaded gas at PIR. Nelson represents N/NE Portland. “For nearly a decade, the fight to ban leaded fuel at Portland International Raceway has been on-going…and the health risks still remain,” Nelson told fellow legislators…
-
PIR noise debate may be heading to City Hall
The debate over whether to address Portland International Raceway (PIR) noise levels is about to leave North Portland and may end up at City Hall. The city’s Noise Review Board will soon meet to vote on its PIR subcommittee’s recommendations to more closely monitor and potentially reduce racetrack noise. Board approval would send the report…
-
Racetrack noise issue update
Portland International Raceway (PIR) revving of engines is a familiar summer sound to many North Portland residents and a City Noise Review Board PIR subcommittee is taking a fresh look at that. The panel is proposing that the Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau’s Noise Review Board launch a comprehensive study on the longstanding issue of…
-
City panel revisits PIR racetrack noise
The revving engines of Portland International Raceway (PIR) are a familiar summer sound to many North Portland residents. The PIR Subcommittee of the Noise Review Board has been taking a fresh look at reducing the noise. After 2 ½ years, the Subcommittee is wrapping up its work and is now preparing to present to the…
-
PIR controversy: leaded exhaust, noise rankle neighbors (August 2023)
A recent London-based Guardian newspaper investigative story singled out the Kenton neighborhood as having some of the worst racetrack-produced lead fumes in any residential area in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned leaded gas for passenger cars in 1996 because of the health hazard, especially for young children. But the law exempted racecars. The EPA…
