Rivergrove: An Analysis of Services

Under the Land Conservation and Development Commission Public Facilities Planning Rule, cities in Oregon are required to develop public facilities plans or planning processes to meet the needs of their communities. The City of Rivergrove requested the Center for Urban Studies to undertake this report as part of its compliance with the LCDC rule. Increasing urbanization and demand for services in the area surrounding Rivergrove present this small city with a unique set of planning issues, including the provision of sewer services to its residents. This report examines the City\u27s financial background and three alternatives for service provision: maintaining the status quo, annexation of additional territory, or disincorporation

Milwaukie Downtown Revitalization Project: The Milwaukie Storefront (Final Report)

The Milwaukie Storefront was a one year program intended as a catalyst for the downtown and to focus attention on the potential for improved business activity. The Storefront, initiated in September of 1983, served as a technical resource, and as a coordinator and facilitator of promotional events in downtown Milwaukie. This report describes the Storefront as an organization, looking at its structure and original purpose. A review of the individual projects is presented to demonstrate the range of Storefront activities. In drawing conclusions, the report looks at whether the Storefront was able to meet its expectations and cites the accomplishments and problems that were experienced. The report finally looks at the Storefront\u27s activities and applies them in a broader perspective to small town or neighborhood commercial revitalization programs

Portland\u27s Changing Landscape

Occasional Papers in Geography Publication No. 4 What is the nature and character of Portland? What are the conditions, changes and developments that have made it what it is? How does Portland compare with other places? What makes it unique? These are some of the question pursued in this volume. This book contains thirteen chapters discussing various facets of Portland\u27s environmental, economy, and character. It is an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of dynamics and change in the landscape. An overview is provided of Portland as a city and place to live, as well as its functional significance on a national and international basis. Two threads are woven through the tapestry of these essays. One is that Portland is a big city but with many attributes of a small town. The other is the closeness and accessibility of city and nature. The challenge is how to nurture and maintain both - to have our cake and eat it too. The evidence is clear that most American cities have not been able to achieve this. Only the future can tell how Portland will fare. The authors are all professional geographers or work in closely related fields. All have been involved with the Portland scene for a number of years and are uniquely qualified to write about these topics. While each approaches problems from his or her own perspective, the net result is a summing up, a taking stock of where we have been and where we are going. When considered as a whole the book should provide a better view than we have had of the nature and character of this special place.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_occasionalpaper/1000/thumbnail.jp

Expenditures for Urban Services in Tigard: An Update

This Study analyzes Tigard\u27s expenditures for FY 82-83, FY 83-84, and FY 84-85 in a manner comparable with that produced as part of the Washington County Urban Service Study (Phase I). Total City expenditures for urban services increased by $98.42 per capita (Cur rent Year$) during the study period. A large portion, $75. 84 per capita (Current Year$), of this increase is attributable to Capital and Debt Service expenditures associated with LID 1 s and the Civic Center project. The increase in operational expenditures accounted for only $22.58 per capita (Current Year$). This increase is the result of a large number of small individual budget line item increases. Some of these line item increases were mandated by other governments (i.e. FICA etc) . Urban services expenditures were subject to relatively little inflation impact during the study period. Total inflation was 7 .1% between July 1981 and July 1984. Taking into account the effects of inflation, total expenditures grew from $267. 28 per capita (1984$) in FY 81-82 to $357.28 per capita (1984$) in FY 84-85. These increases have occurred along with City efforts to increase the productivity of existing staff. Also, the City population and land area have increased due to annexations during the study period. This has resulted in the same amount of city staff serving a larger population. Accordingly, there have been internal city shifts in the mix of services delivered in order to meet increased service demands. The City should provide itself with additional inf or ma ti on to identify the forces causing increases in city expenditures. These include the following: analyze the budget to determine the portion of expenditures that are mandated versus discretionary, look at the effect of increases in capital construction on city staff work loads, look at the relationship between population growth and service expenditures, look at the relationship between service improvements and required expenditure increases

Constructing the 1990 Public Transportation Study Process: Reflections of the 1988 Research Team

The 1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study provided a solid foundation of information about Oregon’s transportation providers. In particular, it furnishes information on which revenue sources members of the industry are utilizing, expenditure patterns, capital and operating revenue needs, the protected increased demands for public transportation, and the ability of provides to makes use of available resources in their strategic planning. The study also substantiated that many members of the industry do not identify themselves as transportation providers, particularly the Special Need Transportation providers. The research process also revealed several additional factors about the process of collecting information that should be taken into account in future studies of Oregon’s Public Transportation community. Hence, this report is aimed at suggesting an approach to future research efforts to improve the information collected both substantively and in terms of reliability

Governing and Managing Multi-Modal Transit Agencies in a Multicentric era

We explore the dynamics of governing and managing multi-modal regional transit agencies through a case study of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transit District (Tri-Met), which provides bus and rail transit services to the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area (see map). Along with other similarly constituted firms in the United States transit industry, Tri-Met confronts the challenge of providing service in a geopolitical context that is quite different than when the agency was created. The critical new element in Tri-Met\u27s operating environment is the emergence of several suburban business centers that effectively compete with the Portland central business district (CBD), and are seeking transit investments that will facilitate locally-oriented economic growth

Ridesharing in Oregon: A Descriptive Analysis

This report provides an overview of the major rideshare programs in the cities of Portland, Salem, and Eugene. A general description of the setting, a brief history, and the current program is provided for each city. The cities of Portland, Salem, and Eugene all have existing rideshare programs that include a matching service for prospective participants and a discounted parking cost program for vehicles used for ridesharing. The two hospitals reviewed (Good Samaritan and The Oregon Health Sciences University), in addition to the matching service and parking discounts, also subsidize mass transit as an alternative . Good Samaritan and the Oregon Department of General Services both provide a free shuttle bus service from satellite parking lots . The Rogue Valley Transportation District has received funding to start a carpool program but has not yet achieved its goal of an up and running program (although they have erected signs and purchased a computer). In general, the major Oregon urban programs have reduced marketing efforts over the last several years due to reduced interest on the part of the public and employers in ridesharing. Program sponsors have concentrated efforts on computerized matching services and permit parking programs that offer incentives to carpools and vanpools which are still popular in areas where parking shortages exist . The cause of public and employer apathy is not clear, but several possible factors were mentioned by the managers of these programs: the recent decline in gasoline prices, the ready availability of gasoline, and the desire for transportation flexibility by the public. The general consensus of the rideshare program managers was that unless there is another gasoline shortage or some other major change in circumstance rideshare programs would not grow much beyond present activity levels

Manager Retention and Job Change in the Transit Industry: A Survey of Manager Attitudes

This paper examines issues related to the managerial personnel needs of the transit industry over the next five years. Specifically, we explore the career expectations reported by 1301 managers from 178 agencies. Their responses are grouped based on whether they will be with the same transit agency, a different agency, retire, or leave the transit industry. These stated intentions are examined in relation to agency characteristics, individual demographics, professional experience, and evaluations of personal career development and opportunities. our survey results portray a significantly different transit manager than that described by Mundy and Spchalski in 1973. Current managers are younger, more highly educated, and more diverse in terms of training specialization and current function. Most did not plan a career in transit. Further, these new transit managers seem less wedded to a long term career in transit. While satisfied with current positions they are less positive about future career development and advancement opportunities offered by individual agencies and the industry. Three explanatory factors are suggested: 1) the training and experience of new managers, 2) the possible lack of a clear career ladder within the industry, and 3) the end of the period of rapid transit expansion. Our findings indicate that the industry may experience substantial managerial change over the next five years and that recruitment needs may be greater than forecast by TRB in 1985. These needs will be more pronounced for some management categories, specifically marketing, personnel, finance

The Contribution of Manager and Organizational Characteristics to Transit Agency Performance: A National Study of United States Transit Providers

The primary objective of the report is to relate attitudinal and demographic characteristics of transit management personnel and agency institutional characteristics to agency performance. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the relative contributions of manager and institutional characteristics as explanatory factors in transit agency performance. The study is based upon the responses of 1033 managers from 134 agencies representing the full range of agency size, institutional, and locational characteristics. Across six basic performance measures (coat efficiency, labor efficiency, service effectiveness, maintenance efficiency (measured in two different ways) and vehicle efficiency) used here, manager characteristics and attitudes do not appear to be consisteruly associated with performance outcomes. That is, while the analysis established that these are important factors, these relationships point in differina directions. Thus, efforts to increase manaaer capability may also add to the forces differentiati.na orpnizational capacity without contributing to overall industry performance. In sum, the twbulence experienced by the transit industry may not have lead it toward greater refinemenl of performance abilities but rather introduced even greater tension and centrifugal forces. The result may be an even further reduced ability to specify the keys to successful transit service delivery. It is also clear that the changing nature of the industry in terms of its role and function in wban settings may be reflected in our findings. Increasingly, efforts toward the development of new, specialized services have been paralleled by the development of new organizational provider types. In some instances this has brought new management opportunities, demands and attitudes into the industry. The elderly and handicapped have generated an increasing involvement of health service providers in transportation. The expectations of service performance have concurrently undergone re-examination. All transit agencies have focused on more than fixed route, scheduled service the keys to improved performance have changed with the service mix

1981-82 Revenues and Expenditures in Washington County: An Examination of Geographic Incidence

This report is the second phase of what is known as the Washington County Urban Services Study. First phase research commenced in March, 1983 and was completed in December, 1983. The focus of this first phase was the comparative cost of urban service provision by jurisdiction by service for the cities, special districts (excluding schools) and County that provide services inside the Washington County Urban Growth Boundary. The results of this research were reported in Expenditures for Urban Services in Washington County: A Benchmark Comparison which was issued in January, 1984. The second phase research examined the revenue and expenditure patterns for the provision of all County services. These expenditures and revenues were examined on the basis of geographic points of delivery and origin. In other words, the County was divided into three geographic areas: Incorporated (cities), Suburban (unincorporated but inside the Urban Growth Boundary), and Rural (unincorporated but outside the Urban Growth Boundary) . County revenues (taxes, fees, grants, etc.) were examined in terms of how much each area produced and expenditures in terms of how much each area received. The difference between revenue and expenditure produces a measure of revenue equity by service. In sum, this report prov ides a measure of the extent to which the County\u27s expenditures for service are equitably related to the source of its revenues