PORTLAND

In October 2009, President Obama pledged to give $75 million dollars in federal funds to Portland, Oregon to expand its streetcar system.

Portland, Oregon Quick Facts 2020 - United States Bureau of the Census - Department of Commerce

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)

"VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN: Saving Lives With Safe Streets" - Portland Department of Transportation (2016)

"VISION ZERO ACTION PLAN: Saving Lives With Safe Streets" TWO Year Update - Portland Department of Transportation (2019)

"Why These Streets Are So Good (Portland)" HINT: Because of Streetcars - City Nerd (April 24th, 2024)

Portland has multi-line light-rail system, called, "MAX."

PORTLAND STREETCAR

Trimet - MAX & Bus SYSTEM

WES COMMUTER TRAIN

Concept to Reality: The Making of the Modern Streetcar - Portland Streetcar

Portland. Oregon Ridership History (2001 - 2019) [2019 Population 645,291]

"Census Data by Neighborhood" - Portland State Government

"Portland Metro Slammed the Brakes on Population growth in 2021, Census Estimates Show" -

PSU'S POPULATION RESEARCH CENTER RELEASES PRELIMINARY OREGON POPULATION ESTIMATES

Portland Metropolitan - Macrotrends

Portland, Oregon Population 2022 - World Population Review

Portland, Oregon Population History 1890 - 2019

Multnomah County State of the Air - American Lung Association [Ozone 2022:C]

"Laure Quinlivan's Streetcar Report" [Cincinnati Checks Out Portland] (2009)

Experiment: Portland, Oregon The amount of savings for a typical Portlander, just by slight decisions {bike paths urban growth boundary, reorienting themselves around biking, transit, and nature) was 3% of their income. Spending 10 minutes a day less in traffic. Saving 3% of their income by driving less. The life of Portland, which has become famous for, cappuccino shops. But in fact, in Portland, people are spending more money on books, are spending more on recreation. They're spending more money on their houses. And that is what happens when you don't have to drive so much.
Biking in Portland is 15 times more than rest of U.S.A. - comparable to Europe.
"Dramatic effect with very limited investment."

"Transit Oriented Development, Explained" - City Beautiful

2010 U.S. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEE TESTIMONIES

Mr. Potter. Thank you, Chairman Markey and also to the members of the Committee.

STATEMENT OF TOM POTTER

Mr. Potter. My name is Tom Potter. I am the mayor of Portland, Oregon. I want to thank you for the invitation to testify today about the great progress we have made in Portland on reducing emissions and lowering energy dependence while at the same time making our community and our economy stronger.
I am proud of what we have accomplished in Portland to address global warming. And I believe we offer not only an example to follow but real hope in a situation that I believe is truly dire.
Portland has been dealing head on with global warming since 1993, when we created a global warming action plan that was the first of its kind by any U.S. city. Since that plan was adopted, we have reduced local greenhouse gas emissions to one percent below our 1990 level. I believe we are the only city in the United States that can make that statement.
But the real lesson for others is that we have not only been able to make our city and our planet healthier. We have also been able to do it in a way that has been good for our economy, good for job growth. Portland knows firsthand that we can combat global warming while keeping our country strong and growing.
Even as Portland's population was growing 16 percent, we were able to reduce our per capita emissions while adding jobs and growing wages three times faster than inflation.
These results are a combination of good public policy and real dedication by our citizens and our businesses. And to nurture this culture, the city has made some bold policy moves, the most fundamental of which was effective planning for growth.
Oregon law says that all cities must increase density in the urban core while preserving farmland outside the city. The idea is to keep the city compact, mix jobs with housing, and encourage development near transit; in other words, build in place that keeps people close to their jobs and recreation. This has not only been smart environmentally but has also had the social and economic benefit of keeping Portland's downtown alive, vibrant, and growing.
Where many American cities are losing their downtown, Portland's has become a highly coveted place to live, work, and play. Portland also has focused early on innovative transportation policies. Congressman Blumenauer, a member of this Committee, has been leading this effort for nearly 30 years.
Our choice in the '70s and '80s to use federal transportation dollars to build light rail systems, instead of freeways, is a corner of Portland's success, a cornerstone. A planned highway to Mount Hood that would have destroyed neighborhoods was shelved in favor of spending those dollars on a light rail system that people from around the world come to study.
Congressman Blumenauer, thank you again for your leadership. Today we have a world-class transit system that includes both light rail and modern streetcar service. The number of people riding transit has increased 85 percent since 1990.
While helping the environment, the economic bonus is that the long rail lines, we have seen literally billions of dollars of new development and investment, housing, and retail located primarily based on its proximity to public transportation. This synergy between transportation and land use has created a vibrant community for people to work, live, and play.
We have also worked hard to build demand for varied transportation choices. For instance, five percent of all trips in Portland are by bicycling. That has quadrupled in the last ten years. We are now putting in double-wide bike lanes to accommodate bike traffic.
This is partly because we have built the infrastructure that makes people feel safe on their bikes. Portland has over 275 miles of bike lanes, paths, and designated bicycle routes.
Portland has also a program called SmartTrips. We go into neighborhoods and talk to folks, asking them to start with a small change, shifting one car to two cars a week, instead of five. Residents can order transit, bike, and walking maps from the city. And those things are delivered to them within a few days. And I might add it is delivered by bicycle.
This program really works. In one neighborhood alone, we have reduced car travel by 19 million miles in one year. We are now in our fifth neighborhood. And each person has consistently shifted about ten percent of their drive-alone trips just by getting solid information and a little encouragement.
Because they are biking and walking and they are taking transit, Portlanders drive seven percent fewer miles per capita than they did in 1993. They use nine percent less gasoline per capita.
We are also looking hard at the buildings that we live and work in. Since 1987, the City of Portland has worked with landlords and building owners to weatherize more than 44,000 apartment units. The families who live in those buildings now save $4 million each year on their utility bills.
Portland has a green building policy that says any city building has to meet LEED gold standards and any private sector project getting public funds has to meet LEED silver standards. That is why Portland has more LEED-certified buildings than any other city in North America.
City hall has been leading by example. We save about $2.6 million a year on energy efficiency. For instance, we have changed all of our traffic signals to LEDs. We have retimed traffic flights. We have replaced our car fleets with hybrids and smart cars. Our diesel vehicles are 20 percent bio and 99 percent biodiesel. Parking meters are solar-powered. Drinking water systems include turbines to generate power and many other things.
In Portland, we know from experience that doing good by the planet can do good by the economy as well.
I want also to say that I believe that the federal government can be of great assistance to local communities. You can help prime the pump. Create the demand, and the results will follow. And I think Portland has borne that out.
Thank you.

From, "GREEN CITIES: MAYORAL INITIATIVES TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION HEARING" - before the SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 19, 2007)

STATE OF OREGON GOVERNMENT

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Portland, Oregon Population 2022 - World Population Review

Portland, Oregon Population History 1890 - 2019

"We will first recognize the gentleman from Oregon, Mr. Blumenauer." 2 House Representatives from Oregon. Other, Greg Walden. [No Maryland representative on Committee]

2007
"We now have over three million square feet of green roofs,
either installed or under construction, more than any other city in North America. Every public building in Chicago will now be LEED-certified by the U.S. Building Council. We have retrofitted more than 15 million square feet of city-owned office space, saving more than 4 million a year. We are buying five percent of our power from renewable sources. We are retrofitting our municipal fleet with cleaner vehicles and
cleaner fuels.
We have installed a rain tunnelinstead of sending this water into our sewage system.
We are also actively engaging the private sector and homeowners. Our local efforts, green efforts; permits for green technology; EDUCATING developers, architects, and engineers; launching a waste to profit network, which recognized that a company's waste is another company's raw materials; developing a green business strategy to help green existing products, practices attract new green industry and technology into our city; distributing thousands of rain barrels built by an ex-offender program; forming conservation clubs in all of the Chicago public high schools to encourage young people to improve their own neighborhood environments. ....
So far our research predicts a hotter and dryer climate along with more storms, which may require changes in the way we currently manage all of our operations. With energy and transportation as the largest producer of greenhouse gases, new federal policies in these areas will be very, very important to urban communities.
In particular, federal efforts to accomplish the following would be beneficial: increase investments in public transportation, very simple;--nothing is more important to the environment than a vibrant public transportation system and not just in the big cities but throughout the metropolitan areas-- ....
QUESTION FRON THE SELECT COMMITTEE
We will first recognize the gentleman from Oregon, Mr. Blumenauer.
Mr. Blumenauer. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your courtesy.
I was struck, Mayor Daley, with your phrase a moment ago about ``lead by example.'' Clearly we have three very specific examples from cities that are leading by example. And I wonder if you have some thoughts or observations about how the federal government aside from being there with resources, transit, and so forth--are there other areas that occur to you that the federal government could lead by example in your communities in terms of our stewardship?
Mr. Daley: Well, construction of every federal building, every post office, every federal building in America if they are led by example in regards to energy, in regards to the type of material they are building, the cost of energy inside, water retention. They are exempted from all local laws. So we can do everything we want. But that one building doesn't even follow many times the local codes in regards to building codes or environmental movement.
And so I think the mayors here, we lead by example. We did this before the word "global warming" was on everyone's docket. Most of these cities have been doing it for many, many years, as Mayor Potter pointed out in regards to his city. ....
Mr. Potter. Yes. You know, currently the City of Portland does provide tax benefits to companies who do green building, but we could do it on a much larger scale. We could be more innovative in the types of green building that is going on in our country. ....

Let me turn and recognize the gentle lady from California, Ms. Solis.
Ms. Solis: I actually started my political career not as a mayor but as a township supervisor of a town of about 30,000. So I have a little bit of understanding and sensitivity to the job that you have at the local level. And you really are very much on the leading edge of things. ....

Mr. Daily: You have to have the green roofs. You have to have new technology in regards to retrofitting older buildings, what type of alleys you are building dealing with rainwater, basically not allowing the rainwater to get into the sewer system. ....

Mr. Daley: One thing I found out, it seemed like businesses need better public transportation, whether in the city or suburban collar counties. And one thing we are listening, business support in regards to a system that needs funding from the federal government, that can be clean, safe, on time, and friendly. And that is an alternative. Really, it is an environmental movement.
It has never been looked at that way. It has always been "Okay. We have the highway system. There are lobbyists" versus public transportation, usually mayors or in some way in regards to needed public transportation.
But I think it is getting bigger than that. It is necessary for businesses to exist in many communities if they don't have public transportation. ....

The Chair recognizes the gentle lady from South Dakota State, Ms. Herseth Sandlin.
Ms. Hanrahan: And we have done that through partnerships, particularly with our largest employers and the University of Florida, that they provide fare-free passes. And that has really dramatically changed the way that those riders use the system.

Mr. Daley. I think you have to be careful what {public transportation} plan you decide to do because you get a company and they start building them and, all of a sudden, in three years they are not there, they are not in existence. ....

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington State, Mr. Inslee. ....

EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts, The Chairman: Now, can you talk to us about green alleys?
Mr. Daley. That is one thing we have done in regards to water. Usually the alleys are mostly paved with concrete. And, in turn, what happens is it has to go in the sewer system. And one thing we are using is the system where they use in the Netherlands and other places, other cities, is where we are holding the water and letting the water slowly settle into the ground.
And because we have a combined waster and sewer system, you have to divert water out of the combined water and sewer system. You have to move the water away from that. Whether it is the alleys, whether it is the streets, or whether it is the rain barrels, whether it is the stormwater management system for any development, they have to apply for it. And you have to do that.
I really believe water would be--more like the oil crisis we are in today, we will be in a water crisis very shortly."

From, "GREEN CITIES: MAYORAL INITIATIVES TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTION HEARING" - before the SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (June 19, 2007)