Lack of Transportation Options to Portland's Industrial Areas Inhibit Job Seekers

Public transportation options are very limited in North Portland's Rivergate District.

Express Employment Professionals is having a difficult time placing people in jobs. It’s hard to fathom, considering Oregon’s consistently high unemployment numbers. But Suzanne Smith, a placement professional in the St. John’s office says that the obstacles to getting to and from work in outlying industrial areas can be prohibitive, especially where there’s a lack of public transportation options.

Recent Trimet bus service cuts to areas with lower ridership drew attention to the impact that lack of consistent public transit can have on the lives of Portland residents. Longer waits between buses, less runs per day or elimination of service altogether make getting to and from work in those affected areas a serious challenge. Although walking or bicycling is an option for workers in more urban areas, in light to heavy industrial areas like Rivergate Industrial District at the port terminals in North Portland or the Columbia Corridor where freight trucks and large machinery share the road, it can be downright hazardous to navigate. Furthermore, Rivergate is several miles away from the nearest MAX stop and Columbia Boulevard doesn’t exactly rouse a sense of safety—especially at night.

Low-Density Industrial Areas Transportation-Challenged

Dan Marchand is a Trimet bus service planner and a Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) administrator, and although he understands the difficulty some people face getting to jobs in Rivergate, he says they added service to the area in the past after manufacturers like Steinfeld’s that operate 24-hours a day asked for it. But ridership was too low to warrant regular service; on most trips there were only two boarders, one of them being the driver. Eventually, Trimet cut the service.

“This is the challenge of the low density industrial area,” says Marchand. He explains that Rivergate employees are more likely to carpool because of the flexibility it offers—particularly employees who work swing or night shifts.

Portland's Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) Offer Solutions, Require Employer Support

While Rivergate and the Columbia Corridor continue to offer challenges for some job seekers, there are areas that have adapted to public transportation setbacks by developing highly productive programs to help area employees. For example, Swan Island, despite cuts in Trimet bus trips, has a well-developed Transportation Management Association (TMA), a project of the Swan Island Business Association, that ensures employees can get to their shifts, no matter the hour of day. TMAs are non-profit, collaborative efforts by public agencies and area employers (such as Daimler Trucks) who fund the programs with help from the federal government’s Congestion Management /Air Quality (CMAQ) grant program.

Managed by TMA project director Lenny Anderson, a passionate advocate for the program, the goal of Swan Island TMA is to develop better transit options to promote less driving on the island. A shuttle fills the gaps made by Trimet bus cuts; its evening to late night runs take swing and graveyard shift workers to and from the Rose Quarter Transit Station. A rideshare program for Clark County commuters encourages vanpooling and employees who live within walking distance can take an improved, wider walkway across Going Street Bridge or stroll a segment of the Willamette Greenway Trail.

A bike commuter, Anderson has made enormous strides in getting more people to Swan Island by bike. He admits that he stays on the sidewalk while navigating Swan Island streets because of enormous freight trucks and he encourages others to do the same but getting to the island is much easier now thanks to better bikeways.

Yet, in spite of all the transit options Anderson has helped make available, most people still drive to Swan Island. Anderson says he doesn’t blame Trimet for making cuts to Swan Island bus trips. “If you don’t have [worker’s] commitment to use the bus, you’re toast.”

Anderson explains that commuters don’t have much incentive to take public transportation when parking is plentiful and free. “They’re giving away good industrial land for parking,” says Anderson. “It’s like paying people to drive [to work on Swan Island]. I don’t get it.”

The Lloyd District was suffering a similar condition two decades ago before the Lloyd TMA flipped the ratio of driver to public transit rider. The trick was to enforce a pay-to-park policy then offer a number of other incentives for commuters to take public transit. Businesses got on board the TMA and the outcome of their commitment made an enormous impact on traffic in the area as less people commuted to work by car.

The new South Waterfront TMA hopes to achieve the kind of successes seen in the Lloyd District and on Swan Island. Developers have been especially supportive of the new TMA as it subscribes to the over-arching goal to create an urban environment at South Waterfront that reduces frequent car trips into downtown and commuting to jobs throughout the city. In addition to increasing bike parking, the South Waterfront TMA will be focused on working with the City on the Milwaukie Light Rail and Lake Oswego Streetcar.

With successful programs such as the Lloyd and Swan Island TMAs why doesn’t Rivergate form their own TMA to help workers get to their jobs? That’s the million dollar question.

“To make a TMA work, you need employers to support it,” says Anderson. Most businesses don’t have an inclination to do that. You have to make the case there is value in a TMA.”

While a good TMA would create transit options for Rivergate employees, ensuring they can get to and from work during all shifts, a convincing case still has to be made to Trimet. There must be evidence that workers would use a bus service. That’s hard to do, especially when parking is free and easy.

“I just don’t see a TMA forming in Rivergate,” says Dan Bower, Transportation Options, Policy Program Manager at PBOT. “It’s an uphill battle. There’s a lack of options to point people to.”