Passing the Bucks: How TOD Actually Works (or Doesn't?) in the Porltand Region

Hess and Lombardi, in their 2004 literature review, offer a wide-ranging overview of the various types of transit oriented development (TOD) models and the common elements of successful examples. One key element that they identify in the literature is that, while TOD is almost always a joint-effort between local government bureaus, transit agencies, and private developers, there should be a leading entity and it most often is the transit agency itself (Hess and Lombardi, 2004).

Here in the local region, TriMet and Oregon Metro have come up with an alternative approach. Since 1999, TriMet and Metro have have agreed to swap federal funds with each other in an arrangement that allows TriMet to direct more funding to preventative maintenance and Metro to funnel more cash into its TOD program (Resolution 17-09-67). This mutually beneficial arrangement has since been renewed twice (in 2008 and 2017), and one can imagine that it will continue on with the forthcoming  light rail expansion along the Southwest Corridor.

However, in light of the Hess piece, this all begs the question: what does TriMet lose when it abdicates direct control of TOD to the regional government? If, as Hess and Lombardi state (and common sense would likely agree), increased transit ridership is an essential outcome of TOD, can the region’s efforts in this arena be judged successes?

One of the most high profile examples of TOD in the region is the New Urbanist Hillsboro neighborhood of Orenco Station, nestled along the Blue Line. Began in 1997, and built through a complex series of public-private partnerships, the neighborhood stands today as a kind of dense, urbanized oasis amid an otherwise traditional suburban Washington County. Recent studies and articles, such as one by Bruce Podobnik in the Journal of Urbanism, praise Orenco Station as a shining example of New Urbanism’s  potential to  improve livability. However, Podobnik concedes that Orenco Station residents simply aren’t riding transit in the kinds of numbers that one would hope, and they certainly aren’t abandoning car travel anytime soon. Only 15% of Orenco residents commute by transit, compared to 20% in a comparison suburb in Beaverton, and 26% in a comparison neighborhood in NE Portland (Podobnik, 2011).

Orenco Station

Granted it’s wonderful that Orenco residents can walk and bike to their neighborhood grocery store, and that many have taken transit more often for non-commute purposes since moving into the neighborhood. However, is this the highest and best use of TriMet’s resources? As opposed to simply using funds to directly target high-density, multifamily development next to stations, or entering into transit joint-development projects with developers to build such housing directly on TriMet land, I worry that splashy projects like Orenco Station will water down the primary reason for TOD’s existence, to get people to become regular, frequent transit riders. Ideas like a recent one for Prosper Portland’s Post Office site really swing for the fences in this regard, proposing pre-paid passes (paid by whom is unclear at this point) for the approximately 3,000 future residents (Monahan, 2018). Until that day comes to pass, here’s hoping TriMet starts taking a more direct and active interest in making the region more sustainable.

-Justin Sherrill


(edited by Sachi Arakawa)

Hess, D. B., & Lombardi, P. A. (2004). Policy Support for and Barriers to Transit-Oriented Development in the Inner City: Literature Review. Transportation Research Record, 1887(1), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.3141/1887-04

Podobnik, Bruce (2011) Assessing the social and environmental achievements of New Urbanism: evidence from Portland, Oregon. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 4:2, 105-126, DOI: 10.1080/17549175.2011.596271

Monahan, Rachel. “A New Dream Rises in Portland: A Housing Development Where Everyone Rides the Bus for Free,” Willamette Week, 1 August 2018. https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2018/08/01/a-new-dream-rises-in-portland-a-housing-development-where-everyone-rides-the-bus-for-free/. Accessed 3 November 2018.

Resolution 17-09-67 of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) Authorizing a Funding Exchange with Metro for Transit Oriented Development Program Funding Coordination. TriMet, 27 September 2017. https://trimet.org/meetings/board/pdfs/2017-09-27/res-17-09-67.pdf. Accessed 3 November 2018.