Yesterday the Portland Planning Commission formally recommended the Freight Master Plan to City Council.

But the recommendation did not come without qualification. Some of the issues the Planning Commission discussed:

– What’s the impact of peak oil on this plan? (no answer other than that the issue is not covered by the City Transportation System Plan)

– Could Transportation Demand Management be better integrated into the plan (answer – the City has a separate TDM plan)

– Higher reliance on trucks over rail due to underinvestment in rail infrastructure (answer – rail right-of-way is owned by private companies, not under control of public sector)

– The Portland Freight Committee that oversaw the plan development lacks representation from other stakeholders (answer – a number of open houses were held to gather broad input)

– Once again the status of the Central Eastside Industrial District was debated. Should it remain a broadly defined freight district, or is more nuance appropriate? (answer – work on this during the Central City Transportation Management Plan update)

The final motion recommending the plan says it all – Commissioner Larry Hilderbrand moved that the plan be forwarded as the “Portland Truck Freight Master Plan.”

Tell it like it is, Larry.