ORENCO STATION, PORTLAND, OREGON: A SUCCESSFUL TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT EXPERIMENT?

Abstract

Orenco Station in suburban Portland, Oregon is promoted as an example of transit oriented development (TOD). This article examines whether the community will succeed as a TOD. Successful TODs have certain key requirements: the need for supportive land polices around rail station and terminals; the promotion of high density residential development near stations; some commercial and mixed-use development and pedestrian design elements. Many of the housing units in Orenco Station are up to one mile away from the light rail station, and the freeway is only about 2 miles away, discouraging transit use. In Orenco Station, an early, limited survey found that the majority of households always drive and only one out of six use transit more than twice a week. Access to the light rail line seems to play only a minor role in residential location decisions at Orenco Station. Most Orenco Station residents appear to have chosen the community because of its upscale character, design characteristics and open space rather than because of its transit access. Because the rail station only opened in 1998 and many housing lots closer to the station have not yet been developed, Orenco Station's status as a TOD remains an open question.

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