One of the confounding factors about getting a job – or a good job – in many parts of Oregon is the need for a car. This is also true for getting to grocery stores, health care, and other services in general. Many communities have limited, if any, public transportation routes and systems. Therefore, what may take 15 minutes in a car may take over an hour via public transportation, if an option exists at all. Bus schedules don’t always support late and early shifts at restaurants, hotels, hospitals or the like. Taking a taxi or ride service regularly could eat up a good portion of a minimum or low wage paycheck. The challenge exists too of getting from one community to another, 30 or 60 miles away which are common travel distances in rural Oregon. Connectivity within a community and to other communities is important, Participants shared. Limited transportation options prohibit people’s ability to secure and succeed in a good job, contemplate a new job, meet daily needs, have a good quality of life, or handle an emergency situation needing urgent care.
There is such a poverty level and you can't actually cycle out of poverty unless you have transportation or it takes you the entire day to get to places. (Medford Dialogues)
There is fragility in both urban and rural when it comes to households living in poverty. Relying on one method of transportation to get to work and having that method failing, that is stressful. It’s the same with kids getting to school. (Medford Dialogues)
You've got folks driving 60 miles to get to a grocery store. (Baker City Dialogues)
Regional connectivity is not really available and it is expensive too. If you're trying to get to Madras, you have to plan the whole day. It's really kind of impossible to plan like a work schedule around that. (Warm Springs Dialogues)
Population and density of these communities yields a high price point for public transportation. Participants also noted that the metropolitan areas of Oregon receive more funds because of their population and existing infrastructure. A Baker Participant that worked in the field of planning said that they look at bike and pedestrian options too, but Portland and the Willamette Valley get significantly more dollars for their projects. Multiple Medford Participants expressed desire for more transportation options. One shared, “They [urban residents] don't think that we [rural] need a lot of what they have, but we do. I mean we really would like to have a better transit system down here because I don't want to drive my car everywhere.”
In contrast, Participants in a few Dialogues felt like public transportation options in rural areas are cost prohibitive and that limited tax dollars cannot possibly go to funding transportation options when houses are more spread out. Investing in a bus system was described by one Participant as “ridiculous.” Another shared that they made a choice to move to a rural area and feels like taxpayers cannot do everything, that one just cannot expect the same level of service in Fossil as one would in Portland or Eugene.
Infrastructure needs are different across Oregon and coastal towns have the challenge of handling extreme population changes from tourists and weekenders. Lincoln City’s population is 50,000 but 150,000 during high tourist times. It's an extreme infrastructure challenge.
Oregon Department of Transportation has a plan for the roads, highways and bridges, but the coastal bridges are in the third tier of that plan, with larger cities getting priority because that is where the people are. However, returning to the point of the challenges of sustaining a tourist economy, Participants do not see any accounting in these transportation plans for the increased weekend population. Newport, Coos Bay, and other communities require crossing bridges to get there. Whether caused by wear and tear eroding or the Cascadia Subuction Zone earthquake, Participants expressed the great impact that the closing of any of these bridges would have on their communities. “infrastructure, short term and long term is one of the major issues that we need to address and to and to find a way to upgrade.”
We have a bridge in Coos County that's been moving every year and we don't repair it. We just track it, just making sure it's not moving too much. (Lincoln City Dialogues)
Newport has one of the most seismically vulnerable dams in the state that needs to be replaced. Most of our communities have aging sewer and water infrastructure. We have 150 bridges up and down the coast that are aging out and need to be replaced - and we have got to find a way to retrofit our infrastructure so that we are strong enough to withstand the Cascadia Subduction Earthquake. (Lincoln City Dialogues)
Eastern Oregon has a lot of unfilled jobs and, per one Participant, there's a lot of effort to invest in and better transportation so people can get to work and home. Rgional buses like Kayak Transit have extended their services, providing regional connections. Many Participants felt like the Oregon legislature has just not invested in rural infrastructure historically, whether it be roads, transit, sewer or water, and failing infrastructure was named as one of the biggest challenges in many of the small groups.
Both urban and rural Participants talking about the importance of repairing the metro Portland area roads and easing the region’s congestion. “A company like Tillamook Cheese needs to get Portland, but with the trucking rules and the hours drivers are no longer able to get to Tillamook, to Portland, and back because of traffic and their hours.” This is a 1 ½ hour drive in a car and truckers cannot get to and from in one day!
Another Participant contributed that Oregon exports grass seed, wheat, cheese, finished lumber, and other goods. Much of this is exported through the Port of Tacoma and requires going through Portland to get there. Taking time and resources away from these companies and associated workers, Portland traffic congestion becomes an added burden for these industries.
Like a number of other issues, working together locally and/or regionally to plan and prioritize came up as part of the solution. Participants gave examples of having a voice around the urban infrastructure needed to accommodate rural economies, as well as planning for projects to secure funding like through programs like the Safe Routes to School. Shared a Baker City Participant, “Those are the things that we need to consider and see how we can partner and leverage funds and the ability to build what we need.”