Freight Plan Grinds into Gear


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.

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