New report: “Smarter Investing in Transportation for a Stronger Oregon Economy”

A comprehensive transportation system, rich in choices, can reduce costs for Oregon households, businesses, and the state.

BEST is happy to sign on to MoveOregonForward’s new report “Smarter Investing in Transportation for a Stronger Oregon Economy.”

Executive Summary

Transportation policy is not separate from economic policy, it is economic policy. For Oregon, the strongest business case is not “a status quo investment approach,” but a recommitment to a transportation and energy vision that lowers household costs, expands access to workers and customers, improves freight reliability, reduces crashes, and strengthens local energy resilience. The evidence from Oregon, national, and international research points in the same direction, that investments in transit, walking biking, trails, targeted safety upgrades, transportation electrification, charging infrastructure, and grid resilience can:

• Create more jobs and economic activity per dollar of public investment;
• Save Oregonians money by giving households and businesses lower-cost, less volatile transportation options, including electric vehicles, transit, walking, and biking;
• Deliver benefits faster by prioritizing projects that reach main streets, pocketbooks, and local economies sooner, and deliver more projects on time and on budget;
• Build compounding local benefits by keeping more transportation spending in Oregon through local utilities, electrical workers, maintenance jobs, safer streets, and existing infrastructure;
• Reduce strain on Oregon’s environment and infrastructure by making better use of roads, transit lines, and walkable centers, which can support more housing at lower public cost.