An exhibit hall filled with historic locomotives in the shadow of the new Tilikum Crossing – a symbol of the Portland region's transportation future – made for an interesting setting Wednesday for the first of three events in a new discussion series on infrastructure crises and sustainable solutions.
The evening's conversation was all about funding and operational silos – and how they impede progress in planning, funding and building networks of roads, pipes, power lines and other infrastructure that can be resilient in the face of climate change, inequity and other growing concerns.
The panel featured Liz Kelly, vice president of engineering powerhouse CH2M; Dave Unsworth, capital projects director at TriMet; and Todd Vogel from the Seattle-based Loom Foundation, which focuses on finding connections between improving equity and the environment. Moderator Andre Baugh, chair of the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission, and Metro Councilor Bob Stacey provided additional comments, along with dozens of attendees who shared thoughts in frequent interactive check-ins at several round tables.
Here are a few nuggets from the evening's conversations about addressing long-term regional infrastructure challenges:
"We've reached the point where we need to use system thinking…rather than wishful thinking." – Metro Councilor Bob Stacey
Stacey highlighted the conclusions of two recent Metro studies: a 2008 analysis that revealed a $10 billion gap in the region's infrastructure maintenance needs, and the Climate Smart Strategy adopted by the Metro Council last December, which found the region will need to invest $36 billion in transportation infrastructure alone to build already-adopted local and regional plans and meet the state's climate emission reduction mandates.
That 2008 study was a wake-up call for many in the region, Stacey said, and led to a new way of thinking at Metro and many of its partners. Now, he said, more in the region are looking for more ways to work together on rethinking how new investments are made and existing infrastructure is maintained.
"We've built the easy projects with the easy money. Those days…are gone." – Andre Baugh
Baugh, a consultant who helps boost diversity in hiring and outreach for large infrastructure projects, argued that the tide is changing in how governments, the private sector and the public sector need to work together on infrastructure planning and investment. Poor infrastructure – potholes, overburdened sewers and pipes, insufficient power supply and more – is a key barrier to achieving the region's economic potential, he said. But to get more out of these essential public structures and the limited funds available to improve them, more agencies need to think together about how their investments can serve multiple purposes.
Baugh endorsed four principles from Olympia-based Center for Sustainable Infrastructure that could guide that thinking: affordability, resiliency, sustainability and integration. All four were featured in report called Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions, released by the center last November, which inspired the infrastructure discussion series.
"We need to get the umbrella bigger." – Liz Kelly, CH2M
Kelly said governments should reassess how they do contracts with the private companies that usually construct infrastructure projects. She recommended a lifecycle approach that considers a project's long-term effects on mobility, health, equity and economy, and said governments should become more adept at making a business case for public projects. "A good business case is all about how you define the problem," she said.
Recognizing that many governments are still facing funding challenges – particularly with infrastructure, which historically has been funded in large part by federal sources that have dried up – she suggested this approach might be a way governments can do more with less.
"When we work in silos, we break the trust of the community." – Todd Vogel, Loom Foundation
Vogel highlighted how his foundation tries to help nonprofits with a variety of missions and governments work together on solutions that may challenge traditional ways of thinking about building and maintaining infrastructure. Most people aren't all that concerned about which agency, exactly, is responsible for which piece of infrastructure. They expect that the tap will run clean water, that the route to destinations will be safe and complete regardless of the mode of travel, and that the light switch will turn on the lights. "How do you put the pieces together so that the whole is more than the sum of its parts?" Vogel asked.
As an example of better coordination, TriMet capital projects director Dave Unsworth pointed to how construction on the Tilikum Crossing included coordination with Portland General Electric to provide larger than needed electrical conduits so that PGE has extra capacity when needed for future South Waterfront developments.
"Change moves at the speed of trust." – Mary Rose Navarro, Metro natural areas grants coordinator
The priorities of an entire community must shape where investments are made, and government has a responsibility to show the community how its investments are worth it, several people said Wednesday. Much of the evening's conversation revolved around building trust with the public by giving people a better sense that government, utilities and the private sector are coordinating in more effective ways and reducing extra costs and unintended consequences. But, Navarro and others pointed out, people have to trust the public entities involved before they can support new ideas. The public is ready for better coordination, panelists and others suggested – even if it can't happen overnight. "It takes a long time to turn a ship," Vogel noted.
This was the first event of "Infrastructure Crisis, Sustainable Solutions", a series of three interactive discussions hosted by Metro, Urban Land Institute, and the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure. The series is inspired by a report from the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure published last November.
Related: Report calls for better Northwest infrastructure innovation
The second event in the series, to be held in September, will focus on "disruptive technologies" and how they can encourage innovation in infrastructure. The third, planned for November, will discuss potential funding models that can get past today's challenges to support a more efficient, resilient infrastructure system for the future.
Ken Ray contributed reporting for this story.