Meeting of the Minds Redux

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in Meeting of the Minds, an event hosted by the Oregon Transportation Commission, Oregon Business Council and Governor Kulongoski. The event, held on July 30-31, 2008, brought together over 250 or so policy and business leaders from across the state to “explore and promote active discussion about several ‘key ideas’ that could reshape how one innovative place (the Portland region) thinks about and positions its transportation future.”

A few big impressions from the meeting:

1)      One of highlights from the event was the statement from Governor Ted Kulongoski that reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) should be an explicit goal for Oregon's transportation investments. "Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT)... is a critical component for reducing the transportation sector's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)." 

2)      The Columbia River Crossing, while not a primary focus, did rear its head at several moments during the meeting. One such moment that was particularly interesting was when participants voted on what the maximum toll they would be willing to pay on a new I-5 bridge crossing the Columbia River.  Project projections assume a $2.50 toll each way at peak hour, and the poll choices varied from $1 to 10 or more.  The most popular response by far (31%):  a maximum toll of $1.00!   

 What does this show?  It shows that if people who focus on transportation issues are skeptical of tolls on I-5, the region likely has a long way to go before tolls on I-5 are accepted by the public.  It also shows how hard it will be to fund the CRC project.  If leaders in the state don't want to pay for the big bridge as users, the state government doesn't want to pay, the local cities in the Metro area don’t want to pay and the feds don't have the funds....where’s the money going to come from?

3)      Bill Reinert, who manages advanced technology for Toyota USA, gave a gut punching presentation on what he saw as our dim prospects on the future of liquid fuels and adequate replacements (plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells) such that we can continue our car-centric way of life. He said the public needs to transition from expecting, what he calls “spontaneous mobility” while at the same time being given more options in how we travel. Great message from a car-maker!