Portland Steps Forward: Building the 21st Century Transportation Infrastructure

The Columbia River Crossing proposes spending $4.2 billion dollars to build a 12 lane [cars] mega-bridge. The problem is congestion, greenhouse gas emission, and job creation. The best route to solve these problems and build a sustainable transportation infrastructure is high-speed passenger rail with parking hubs at major work/live destinations in downtown Vancouver, Hayden Island, and Portland.

"'The temptation is much greater to bail out the automobile industry,' said Anthony Perl, an urban studies professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the author of 'Transport Revolutions.' He advocates electrical mass transit powered by renewable energy as the solution to our twin problems of climate change and energy.

 "The United States once led electric rail technology, stringing interurban rail lines across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Americans abandoned many of the lines and stalled any new rail development with the coming of the Great Depression and the rise of the automobile."

For the whole story see: Obama's stimulus plan offers opportunity for Chicago mass transit by Chris Gray and Alexander Reed, Dec 11, 2008

The infrastructure spending written into the stimulus bill is Portland's opportunity to quell congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build out the clean tech industry. The potential to power an electric passenger rail with energy generated from renewable resources of wind, solar, wave, and geothermal will create the synergy necessary to mitigate cost.

It takes ten years and more to build extensive infrastructure. Europe's response to the higher price of transport fuel provides a model for sustainable development in America.

"European passenger trains run on electric power and can travel at much higher speeds," Gray and Reed state, "France's TGV (train à grande vitesse, or high-speed train) runs entirely on electric power and can regularly reach speeds of up to 200 mph. American Amtrak trains run mostly on diesel, and the network's fastest electric train rarely breaks 150 mph. The typical Amtrak train runs at about 80 mph.

"The American passenger rail system isn't as extensive as Europe's, a continent where countries have collectively built an efficient, clean rail system after the devastation of two world wars... 'In Europe, you can go from the north of Sweden to the tip of Italy all on electric trains,' Perl said."

High-speed passenger rails are common in Europe and Japan where intercity travel is a quick hop. Trips under 400 miles are a perfect niche for high-speed rail. The great distances between major American cities makes high-speed passenger rail impractical and expensive. A lightrail serving Portland to Vancouver is possible. Intercity rail service is an investment towards an infrastructure that will serve our region when oil resources are scarce. It is important to build sustainable infrastructure while oil is relatively cheap. A sustainable infrastructure thrives in a renewable energy economy of wind, solar, small-scale hydroelectric, and geothermal. New highways and bridges landlock money. The infrastructure spending should be a one-time deal with a long-term (100 years or more) vision that anticipates our future needs.

Rail infrastructure is as a way for each region's farms and natural resources to connect to their major cities. The passenger rail connection between Vancouver and Portland is a symbolic step towards connecting the four states of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The youngest and least developed part of the United States, these four states contain only 4% of the country's total population.

If our problem is job creation, let's advocate for infrastructure projects that will create job skills that can and should be replicated in other cities.

This was the aborted response to the last oil crisis:

From an informative article by Alan Drake on The Oil Drum.

Yes we can: electric lightrail from Portland to ... wait we're not on the map. Come on, all aboard. Here's one for the kids, or the kid in you: the Solar Powered Model Railroad. You can play with ideas and toys, but sustainable transport infrastructure requires real political commitment. Portland politicians mention Amsterdam when looking for a similar geophysical relationship between river port and dense urban development. Here's a look at how CityCargo of Amsterdam solves transport problems by shipping goods via hubs and preexisting trams to deliver the last mile with electric vehicles.

The simplest and most effective way to limit the number of cars in urban settings is congestion-pricing. This also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use. The monies from drivers paying to enter urban areas can finance electric rail and a fleet of electric cars available for inner-city use. In 2003, London enacted a congestion-pricing plan and charged motorists $11 dollars to enter various districts. In 2007, New York City Mayor Bloomberg introduced to Albany a congestion-pricing plan and people hated the idea. Can Portland see the benefits of using money earned from car transportation to build a sustainable transport infrastructure?

Envision a commute where you leave the house on foot or bicycle to the nearest transport hub, ride the rail to the stop nearest your destination, step out and pick amongst an array of personal transport options: city-owned bikes, rental electric cars, streetcars, or vehicle sharing technology.

New social networks for ridesharing based on referrals and participants reputations (see:couchsurfing.com) via mobile computing and online networking are RideLink, GoLoco, and Avego Shared Transport. This "casual carpooling" is popular in San Francisco and has the potential to work in Portland. Carpooling can save you $3,000 a year. Money once spent on gasoline and car maintenance is much better spent on your personal relationships. A personal car is a financial liability. The gap to revisioning personal transportation is the car's unequalled convenience. With busy lives spent between home and work, commuting can become a social experience. And for incentive, think of a city streets where people walk and ride bikes, and when they pass each other, they stop and talk with a new acquaintance, business partner, or friend.

The only thing missing is the political will to do it. Politicians need to repay the expensive ads that gave them a chance to reach you. The way to get them to act on a plan is to reach out and open a dialogue where you intelligently advocate for the future. There are road bumps to a sustainable transportation infrastructure. Zoning and regulation must encompass more than short-term planning. To build what works for Portland requires a long-term perspective with international trade just another link in the transportation infrastructure. Local is our first consideration. A well-considered reality is our interdependence with the entire world.