Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Raleigh looks to Portland

Ex-mayor gives tips on transit

Improving the public transit system in Raleigh can do more than help people get around without cars. It’s also an essential way to make development dense, compact and walkable – qualities that will define successful cities for the next generation.

So says former Portland, Ore., mayor Earl Blumenauer, who spoke downtown Thursday in a visit sponsored by the city and WakeUP Wake County, an advocate for transit and responsible growth.

Raleigh can use buses, local and regional rail, a streetcar and cycling amenities to move past the fading era of suburban sprawl, Blumenauer told an audience of 150 in The Stockroom, a renovated space on Fayetteville Street.

“There’s a rumor that in Portland, we’ve declared war on the car,” said Blumenauer, a Democrat who now represents Oregon’s Third District in Congress. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

A more apt description, he said, is that Portland did not surrender to the car by choosing to guarantee ample parking spaces in front of every building.

Blumenauer’s visit to Raleigh came at an opportune time. A proposed new development code would steer growth toward corridors served by mass transit.

Aging New Bern Avenue could one day get a streetcar line, though the prospect is only conceptual.

Perhaps most important, there’s hope for a referendum this fall on a half-cent sales tax to pay for more frequent bus service and the introduction of peak-hour commuter rail from Durham to Garner.

Durham County voters approved the tax in November.

Local voices react

With state and federal aid drying up for such projects, Raleigh will have to rely on partnerships with developers, land owners and other local governments, said City Councilman Russ Stephenson, who attended Blumenauer’s talk.

“If we want these kinds of improvements to happen, we’re going to have to find creative ways to pay for them,” Stephenson said.

A growing elderly population, coupled with the expected arrival of more young people and Hispanics, adds to the need, said Karen Rindge, director of WakeUP Wake County.

“These are all demographics that want and need public transit,” she said.

Portland can offer a model, Blumenauer said. The city operates 79 bus lines, a 14.7-mile commuter rail line and a light rail system that adds, on average, two miles every year.

A streetcar line has attracted $3.5 billion in investment to downtown, providing a link to districts highlighted by creative shops, museums and galleries.

It wasn’t always this way, Blumenauer said.

In the 1960s, an urban renewal plan would have resulted in 1 of every 10 Portlanders living next to a highway or moving to accommodate one.

The plan was opposed by neighbors, preservation advocates and progressives – a constituency that later gave rise to Blumenauer, known for his bow ties and focus on livable cities.

The former mayor, who wore a bicycle-shaped pin on his suit jacket, described how a bridge over the Willamette River was retrofitted with special lanes for cyclists. Traffic increased by 20 percent, with 19 percent coming from more cyclists, Blumenauer told the audience.

“People think you’re having a bike event,” he said. “No, that’s the morning commute.”

Dealing with growth

The Triangle is projected to grow much faster than Portland, Blumenauer noted, making transit even more important.

“You can’t keep developing 35 acres a day,” Blumenauer said in an interview after his speech. “You’re sentencing people to endless traffic, air pollution, parking problems...”

Smart cities, he said, are figuring how to attract young professionals who want to get around without the car.

“It’s not just Portland and Seattle. You can do it here (too). If you don’t, you’re going to lose your edge.”