Is Portland Light Rail a
Portland-Area Commuters Using Transit
10
Percent of Total Commuters
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1980
1990
2000
2007
Source: Census Bureau
Portland-Area Commuters
750,000
500,000
250,000
0
Auto
2000
2007
Transit
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Downtown Portland Commuters
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
Auto
2001
2007
Transit
Walk/bike
Source: Portland Business Alliance
“High-Capacity Transit”?
“Rapid Transit”?
QuickTime™ and a
Motion JPEG OpenDML decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
Motion JPEG OpenDML decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
“Development-Oriented
“We have not seen any of
the kind of development—
of a mid-rise, higherdensity, mixed-use, mixedincome type—that we
would’ve liked to have
seen” along the MAX line.
—Mike Saba, Portland City Planner,
1996
“We are in the
hottest real estate
market in the
country,” yet “most
of those sites
[along the MAX line]
are still vacant.”
—Charles Hales, City
Commissioner, 1996
Urban Renewal (TIF) Districts
(subsidies in millions)
$335.0
$72.6
$167.5
$233.9
$165.0
$143.6 $66.3
$288.6
$164.2
$75.0
“It is a myth to think
that the market will
take care of
development along
transit corridors.”
—Charles Hales, City
Commissioner, 1996
“The $55 million
streetcar line has
sparked more than
$1.5 billion (and
growing) in new
development.”
—Charles Hales, 2006,
now with HDR
“Urban rail transit
investments rarely ‘create’
new growth, but more
typically redistribute
growth that would have
taken place without the
investment.”
Cervero & Seskin, FTA Report #TCRP7
Are TODs Successful?
Is Light Rail “Green”?
Is Light Rail Affordable?
“Who needs
police precincts
and housing
inspectors in
times like these,
anyway?”
Jack Bogdanski,
law professor and
bojack.org blogger
Preserving the American
Dream Conference
Defending Mobility
and Homeownership
June 10-12, 2010
Orlando, Florida
For more information:
Web sites:
ti.org
cato.org
americandreamcoalition.or
g
e-mail: rot@ti.org
For e-mail updates, give me
your e-mail address