Regional leaders expressed mixed feelings this week about ways to meet a state mandate to curb the region's tailpipe emissions.
Representatives of the Climate Smart Communities Scenarios Project brought their latest report to the Metro Policy Advisory Committee Wednesday night, and to the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation Thursday morning. Both committees are made up of leaders from around the Portland region.
The Climate Smart project has spent the last few years looking at how to address a state mandate to curb the Portland region's tailpipe emissions by 20 percent in the next 20 years. A plan to do so must be submitted to state officials by the end of 2014.
Metro officials say implementation of the plans already on the books in the Portland region could meet the state mandate with room to spare. The trick is having the money to implement those plans.
"This is good news," said Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick. "We don't have to abandon the American way of life and become Dutch or something to meet the targets."
But if the MPAC and JPACT discussions were any indication, regional leaders will want to know more about how much impact certain projects can have on addressing the state mandate.
Could better-timed traffic lights decrease congestion, and get the region to the goal? What if there was a dramatic increase in transit service? What if cities charged more for parking?
And, above all else – what if there was more money to make the region's plans a reality?
Regional leaders expressed appreciation for the work that's gone into the program, with Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey saying Climate Smart project managers have "done a great job of narrowing this down to something that we can not only get our heads around, but something we can consider as feasibly doable."
But, Willey wondered, did they narrow in the right places?
"When I see things that still concern me about feasibility," Willey said at MPAC, specifically pointing to a 24 percent increase in transit service. "I think that's honorable that we would try to do that, but we have a transit system that is financially constrained."
On the other hand, a project to smooth driving on Cornell Road by timing green lights for drivers cost only $250,000, and led to a 7 percent reduction in emissions for Cornell drivers.
"I think there's a significant amount of low-hanging fruit that we can do," Willey said. "If we can emphasize those kinds of opportunities, I think we would exceed our 20 percent and maybe not have to add additional revenue negatives."
Thirteen hours later at JPACT, Clackamas County Commissioner Paul Savas shared similar thoughts.
"If we're going to impact this positively, we should take a harder look at congestion," Savas said.
Changes in plans should also be addressed, said Lake Oswego City Councilor Donna Jordan. For example, the "current plans" referenced by Metro staff include a planned streetcar to Lake Oswego. With the streetcar unlikely at best, some emissions won't be reduced.
But, Jordan said, Lake Oswego has made changes that may not be reflected in current plans.
"The streetcar is off the table, but we're doing a lot of work on our westside, on Boones Ferry Road, that probably wasn't anticipated in the original transportation plan that you looked at from Lake Oswego," Jordan said at JPACT Thursday.
Implementation was a key part of the conversation, but many MPAC and JPACT members wanted to talk about ways to pay for projects that would curb emissions.
"This region is outperforming most in accomplishing where we're trying to go (with emissions)," ODOT Region 1 Manager Jason Tell said at JPACT. "Our ability to keep doing that hinges on our ability to implement, and to implement, we need money."
A proposed letter of support for draft federal legislation to raise the gas tax was pulled from the JPACT agenda, but the push for more funding was clear at both meetings.
"The real inhibitor isn't planning," Tell said Thursday. "It's money to implement these things. We're going to need some more money."
The night before, two MPAC members expressed support for more transportation funding.
"I would agree to a motion to encourage our state and federal legislators to seriously consider an increase in gas tax to fund our transportation needs," Willey said.