An odyssey in the land of Tod
I have just returned from the land of Tod — a
mystical journey full of surprise, disbelief,
tears, and wonder. It is a land where light rail
lines are everywhere, where new high-density
communities spring up spontaneously around the
stations. It is always Spring. They have many
Walgreens stores and so it is the land called
Perfect — according to Portland’s elected
officials.
Let me tell you more about this wonderland of
Transit Oriented Development (TOD).
In the land of Tod the first requirement of its
inhabitants is that they suspend any belief in
what is in front of their eyes. Thus, when their
daily paper, the Oregonian, describes the rail
line as, “a popular alternative for transit
riders” you must forget that the trains you see
are mostly empty. And should someone tell you that
the light rail only carries 1.9 percent of
Portland’s commuters, you must definitely ignore
such a number since it is so obviously
silly.
[1]
And when you hear that this high density housing
you are looking at is only allowed — and only
needs — one parking space per apartment because a
light rail station is nearby, then you have to
ignore the number of automobiles parked on
sidewalks and in adjacent neighborhoods. Instead,
you should focus on the one space per apartment
because that must mean there are fewer automobiles
in the land of Tod, which is
virtuous.
And when you look down the sixty foot wide light
rail right-of-way from Orenco station and can see
no trains in sight for
miles,
[2]
it might occur to you
that it would make a good transitway for buses and
vanpools, and carry cars as well, and take far
more riders than the light rail, and be far
cheaper, and help with Portland’s really bad
traffic congestion. But don’t think that; it is
not a good thought since rail is
virtuous.
And when people gush over 15 foot wide ‘skinny
houses’
[3]
and apartment blocks
with the density of New York’s Lower East side of
the 1890s, keep your thoughts to yourself and just
repeat, “The Emperor is wearing
clothes.”
Seriously, it was my first trip to Portland and I
personally found the Transit Oriented Development
structures to be quite bizarre. There is a cold,
eerie feeling about these developments. There are
few people around there, no people on the
sidewalks, nobody walking the dog, no one pushing
the pram, no joggers.
And consider the fact that the light rail train
stops at the Cascades station. There is nothing in
the empty 120 acres surrounding Cascades station.
It was to be a development but it has been lying
dormant for many years now. However, the train
stops every 15 minutes in each direction — day in,
day out. The doors don’t open but the train waits
the obligatory 45 seconds anyway as if loading and
unloading
passengers.
[4]
Do not ask
why.
Transit Oriented Development is a worrisome
concept that planners are attempting to foist on
us in Honolulu and across the
nation.
[5]
What is the concept
about? Quite simply, it is about planner
power.
They talk about protecting farm land but that is
an excuse. The acreage devoted to croplands
nationally has remained steady over the last 50
years and only 3 percent of all U.S. land is
devoted to urban
use.
[6]
The simple fact is that without the huge subsidies
for the TOD projects that Portland
employs,
[7]
people would not want
this new high-density housing. With appropriate
zoning, nothing prevents developers anywhere from
building the kind of high density housing seen in
Portland.
The sole result of this Portland TOD exercise is
heavily subsidized sub-standard housing
theoretically accessed (but only in theory) by
heavily subsidized light rail
lines.
[8]
You must go to Portland to see for yourself. Take
TOD Advocate
material
[9]
in one hand and the
Cascade Policy Institute’s in the other and go
visit.
[10]
You may find it quite
unnerving to think that such plans are afoot for
Honolulu.
Cliff Slater is a
regular columnist whose footnoted columns are at
www.lava.net/cslater
Footnotes:
[5]
The Transit Oriented Development Advocate
website.
&
Third Annual Hawaii Conference on
Social
Sciences. June
16-19
is promoted
by the TOD Advocate so one assumes it will
be discussed and presumedly promoted there
& Locally, city planners are
writing
editorials
, extolling
its virtues on its
website
as in the
following:
“
Unique and vibrant
neighborhoods
In recent
years, many of Honolulu’s communities have
begun to lose their identities. A growing
trend nationwide is the return of
traditional neighborhood development,
commonly referred to as “new urbanism,”
“urban village,” or “transit-oriented
development.” In this model, each
neighborhood evolves into a vibrant mix of
land uses, appropriate to that location,
which fosters a high quality of
life.
Land
uses–such as retail, residential,
commercial and institutional–are located
in such a way that walking, biking and
public transit become increasingly
attractive transportation
modes.
The vision
for Honolulu neighborhoods includes a
pleasant mix of small businesses,
churches, schools, and locally owned and
operated businesses within walking or
biking distance of residences, or
connected by neighborhood
circulators.”
Note:
This is
without regard to whether residents want
‘vibrant’ neighborhoods. Waikiki is
vibrant, Hotel Street is vibrant. And
extolling slum-level population densities
is just strange.
[8]
Since 1980
just before the first rail line opened to
2000, Trimet subsidies grew 183 percent,
allowing for inflation, versus a 38%
increase in total population, a 57%
increase in workers, and a 24% increase in
commuters using public transportation of
any kind.
[10]
In addition
to the
The Transit
Oriented Development Advocate
website
see
also
Trimet,
the transit
agency for information and maps. Those
critical of Portland’s current TOD plans
include the
Cascade
Policy
Institute
and
the
Coalition for the Preservation of the
American
Dream
who say,
“…this dream is being challenged by a new
planning doctrine known as smart growth,
which calls for dense urban development,
restrictions on rural development, rail
transit boondoggles, and barriers to auto
driving. Despite its attractive name,
smart growth is one of the greatest
threats to American mobility, affordable
housing, and freedom today.”
Cascade Policy Institute’s John
Charles
is their Senior Policy Analyst and
Environmental Policy Director. Prior to
joining the Institute, Mr. Charles was
executive director of the Oregon
Environmental Council for 17 years. As
director, he served on dozens of local,
state and federal commissions and advisory
boards related to environmental
protection. Charles was also an active
participant in legislative proceedings,
and helped author numerous environmental
statutes in the areas of forest
management, toxic substances, air
pollution, watershed restoration, and
transportation. Mr. Charles began his
career as an executive assistant with the
Environmental Defense Fund in New York and
has written extensively on environmental
topics. An expert on urban land-use and
transportation issues, Charles is author
of a chapter on the Portland experience in
the book A Guide to Smart Growth,
published jointly by the Heritage
Foundation and Political
Economy
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