Policy Memo Assignment

Transportation and the environment are two distinct factors of society that go hand-in-hand. While both create many opportunities for furthering societal progress, they also can both pose as issues that need solutions and more awareness. Transportation is an essential component for economic development, and the government has an obligation of ensuring that transportation systems are fairly developed in all regions. The government also has an obligation to make efforts towards preserving and protecting the environment, responsibilities that fall under the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA.

The topics of transportation and the environment are very related. Major changes or news in one topic is likely to influence the other. For example, transportation emissions are the single largest source of carbon emissions in Oregon and release a significant contribution of air contributor that harms Oregonians health. Closing in on types of transportation, public transportation and Portland’s environment are deeply correlated as well. Public transportation is a transport of a group of people from the public in the same time and each passenger must pay a fee to ride in. With better quality transportation, more Oregonians are likely to make the switch to Trimet or other Oregon public transit, instead of cars or other self-owned vehicles. It’s a matter of simple math, the more cars we have the more accidents we ought to expect, additionally, the more cars we have the more carbon emissions we can expect. By improving public transportation we can decrease traffic flow, traffic accidents and pollutant emissions. An important data point to consider is that, “The typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year”

New report from the Oregonian, states the Average Portland driver spent 50 hours in traffic in 2018, a three-hour increase from the year prior. This increase in traffic time cost a staggering $3.9 Billion in fuel. This shocking study further solidifies how deeply correlated the environment and traffic are. This is why further improvements need to be made to public transit in Portland.

This table that was made using information gathered from the Oregon Government shows that not only has traffic increased in Portland, but so has the number of accidents. Number of accidents and the amount of traffic increase in a linear fashion. In order to trump those alarming numbers steps must be made to not only further improve Portland transportation system, but rather to improve its roads and infrastructure.