Why aren’t we doing a comprehensive plan for the entire island?

In essence, we are. The Hayden Island Plan (2009) was a collaborative effort between the City and the community to improve accessibility, livability and sustainability of Hayden Island over the next 20-30 years. The goals and regulations included in this plan anticipate development of the island around a future Columbia River Crossing (CRC) and light rail line.

Mayor Sam Adams launched the WHI planning process in early 2010 to ensure that planning for the western part of the island synchronizes with the CRC project and factors in the objectives of the Hayden Island Plan. Regional Plans call for a mix of industrial development and open space on WHI. In July of 2010 City Council received a set of Foundation Studies prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Based on those studies, and public testimony, the Council voted (Resolution 36805) to proceed with development of concept plans for no more than 300 acres of marine terminal development and at least 500 acres of open space.

All three of these projects (Hayden Island, CRC, WHI) are intended to provide planning direction in the area for the next 20-30 years.

How would a marine terminal on WHI generate 1,000 to 1,200 jobs, and would they all be on WHI?

Experts estimate 1,000-1,200 jobs could result from development of a marine terminal on WHI. This includes direct jobs, induced jobs and indirect jobs. Direct jobs are those generated by the cargo moving through the facility, such as the longshoremen and equipment operators working at the terminal.  

Direct jobs generally represent a third of the total number of jobs created from new economic development. Of the estimated 1,000-1,200 jobs generated by marine terminal development, approximately 300-400 jobs would actually be located on WHI, including all work shifts.  

Induced jobs are performed by people in the area providing goods and services to employees engaged in the direct jobs, including people working in retail, hospitality and service sectors.  

Indirect jobs are generated by the firms directly dependent on maritime activity making local purchases for supplies, parts and services. Firms engaged in supplying services to the terminal (indirect jobs) often locate in close proximity to the customers they serve, which could create additional development in Rivergate or other areas of North Portland. An example of an indirect job could include an assembly job with a Port-dependant manufacturing firm.

Potential impacts (traffic, etc.) of these direct and indirect jobs would be studied during the current phase of planning for WHI.

Has the work on the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) considered any future development on West Hayden Island?

Yes. The CRC Project has developed traffic scenarios which assumed that WHI would develop at some point in the future and incorporated the anticipated traffic into its traffic analysis, including scenarios with and without a new arterial bridge on WHI.

The traffic analysis found that if a new arterial bridge were constructed, the majority of WHI traffic would use it to access Marine Drive — not the Hayden Island interchange. If the arterial bridge were not constructed, the amount of traffic generated from WHI and using the Hayden Island interchange would be minor compared to other traffic using the interchange.

Neither development scenario would affect the current CRC design options because the forecasted traffic counts coming from a proposed marine terminal are low and can be absorbed into the current design.

Will Hayden Island traffic concerns be addressed? If so, how?

David Evans & Associates provided a white paper on transportation impacts of future marine terminal development on WHI. Staff will continue to work with the CRC project as plans are solidified to ensure that traffic modeling and planning for WHI complements other planning efforts.

In this next phase of the WHI planning process, more detailed traffic analysis will be conducted to identify potential local impacts to the surrounding East Hayden Island neighborhoods and the road system if West Hayden Island were developed. While the forecasted traffic counts coming from a new marine terminal would be low, the analysis will model and analyze traffic scenarios with and without a new WHI bridge and consider the livability impacts of truck traffic from different terminals. Following the results of that analysis, a second scenario will be analyzed that includes potential mitigation for the traffic impacts associated with possible development to ensure that impacts to the community are addressed. Analysis for these scenarios will provide information necessary to understand how potential development could affect the surrounding area and what road improvements will be necessary to mitigate those impacts.

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