« Assessing Health Impacts of Active Transportation | Main | Tiger II grant winners in Oregon and SW Washington. »

October 20, 2010

The Long Coffee Supply Chain

This diagram was developed out of a stakeholder interview for the sustainable freight task force I just served on. It's illustrative that even if you get the last mile to be very sustainable, there's a lot of complexity in moving even a very simple commodity.

Coffee1_01OCT10

click on image for a larger view

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:47 AM

Bookmark and Share

Comments

October 20, 2010 1:26 PM
Lenny Anderson Says:

Did Fed Ex Ground's relocation to Troutdale (15 miles from downtown) from Swan Island (1 mile) come up in your discussions? This move was facilitated by the Port of Portland, and will impact operation of I-84 at Troutdale as well as put Fed Ex employees a mile from the nearest TriMet route as opposed to their front door.
Meanwhile on Swan Island, UPS doubled the capacity of their hub by building UP instead of OUT on their former employee parking lot. Parking is still free, but the 85 Swan Island stops at the front door.
Employment density is critical to successful bus service to jobs. Swan Island has it, Rivergate and Columbia Corridor do not. Troutdale doesn't even come close.


October 20, 2010 5:27 PM
Chris Smith Says:

We discussed the FedEx relocation particularly in light of the many FedEx who take transit to Swan Island today and will now be driving to Troutdale.

It underscored why we need to keep as much employment at the center of the region as possible!


October 20, 2010 5:41 PM
dan w Says:

It underscored why we need to keep as much employment at the center of the region as possible!

Or push for transit that's not so center-region-specific.


October 21, 2010 9:11 AM
Lenny Anderson Says:

Is the Port of Portland represented on this freight committee? They sold the land to Fed Ex. re transit service...you've got to have, housing density & job density in close proximity to make it work. Spread out industrial/employment areas with acres of free parking will not support transit.


October 22, 2010 1:54 PM
dan w Says:

re transit service...you've got to have, housing density & job density in close proximity to make it work. Spread out industrial/employment areas with acres of free parking will not support transit.

I know Metro's 2040 Growth Concept proposes a number of Regional and Town Centers that put employment and residental zones in fairly close proximity, connected by improved transit. To use the Troutdale example, major employers such as FedEx could be served by a transit hub (possibly even incorporating future commuter/Amtrak service) located in downtown Troutdale.


Post a comment (**by posting a comment, you are granting a license to Portland Transport for your comment**)




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)

Design by Sean Moran, Art of Bliss | The Rules | Contributors | Contact Us | About Portland Transport

© Copyright 2005-2010 Portland Transport, some rights reserved

Creative Commons License