Portland Metro Region Value Pricing Under HB 2017 Oregon Transportation Forum November 2, 2017

From 2013 to 2015 . . . Portland metro region daily vehicle hours of delay increased 22.6% Portland metro region hours of congestion increased 13.6% The challenge we face is that congestion in Portland is growing rapidly. Due to population and economic growth, between 2013 and 2015 daily vehicle hours of delay went up by 23% and hours of congestion went up 14%. As a result, many parts of the highway system are gridlocked for hours each day. This is affecting quality of life of people who live in the region as well as the statewide economy. And it’s not just people in Portland who see congestion in the metro region as a problem. Last year the Governor's Transportation Vision Panel and the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization toured the state listening to Oregonians about the needs of the transportation system. All across the state—from Portland to Medford to eastern Oregon— people talked about how congestion in the Portland metro region impacts the ability of businesses across Oregon to move goods from our farms, forests and factories to market. The congestion here is increasingly affecting our trade-based economy, increasing costs to move goods and making our businesses less competitive.  

Congestion Relief in HB 2017 “All of the Above” Approach Recognizing the impact of growing congestion in the metro region, legislators took an “all of the above” approach to addressing congestion in HB 2017. About $1 billion will go to state and local road projects spread across the state that are specifically named in the bill. Targeted investments in congestion bottlenecks will keep traffic moving and improve safety so people can get where they want to go quickly and reliably. New lanes on I-5 at the Rose Quarter will save motorists 2.5 million hours wasted in gridlock each year, and widening sections of OR 217 and I-205 in Portland will improve reliability. Investments in freight rail through ConnectOregon will help move products from Oregon’s farms, forests, and factories to markets across the world. New intermodal rail facilities in the Willamette Valley and Eastern Oregon will shift freight from truck to train, freeing up space on crowded freeways. HB 2017 also seeks to add one more tool to our toolbox by using value pricing to reduce congestion and improve reliability. Significant funding for public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian projects will provide people more options to get around so they won’t have to get into their car to make trips. Bottleneck relief Transportation options Freight rail Value pricing

Bridge/highway tolling Types of Value Pricing Value pricing, also known as congestion pricing or peak-period pricing, is a type of tolling in which a higher price is set for driving on a road when demand is greater, usually in the morning and evening rush hours. The goal is to reduce congestion and improve reliability by encouraging people to travel at less congested times or by other modes. Those who pay the toll get a better trip. Two main types of value pricing have been implemented in the US—and both have been implemented in our neighbor to the north in the Puget Sound metro region. Managed toll lanes, which involves putting a toll on one or two lanes that vary by time of day or traffic volumes to provide a more reliable trip to those who pay to use the lane. Because the entire road isn’t tolled, people can choose to pay the toll if they want to save time on their trip. Managed lanes often involve converting a carpool lane (also known as a high occupancy vehicle or HOV lane) to a high occupancy toll, or HOT, lane. It can also involve building a new managed lane (which is more expensive).   Tolls on a bridge or a section of highway that vary by time of day. This is typically used as a financing mechanism to finance a bridge replacement or widen a section of highway. This is what WSDOT did with the SR 520 floating bridge and the Tacoma Narrow Bridge and what we proposed to do with the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project. In this type of value pricing, all lanes are tolled and people pay higher prices at rush hour. Bridge/highway tolling Managed toll lanes

Value Pricing Feasibility Analysis Corridors In order to address congestion in the Portland metro region, HB 2017 requires the Oregon Transportation Commission to develop a proposal to implement value pricing on I-5 and I-205 from the Columbia River to the junction of the two freeways and to apply to the Federal Highway Administration for permission to toll. It’s important to note that this bill DOES NOT require ODOT to toll at the border or toll the entirety of the corridors; the requirement it to implement value pricing on sections within these corridors. We also recognize that success requires a very transparent process that engages stakeholders and allows for public input so all voices can be heard. ODOT recognizes that in order to be successful, we will need to show the public that value pricing can help reduce congestion and provide better, more reliable trips.  

Value Pricing Policy Advisory Committee Organizations Represented Oregon Transportation Commission City of Portland Port of Portland Metro City of Vancouver Clark County Clackamas County Washington County Multnomah County TriMet Ride Connection AAA Oregon Oregon Trucking Associations Portland Business Alliance Fred Meyer Westside Economic Alliance The Street Trust Oregon Environmental Council Verde OPAL Community Alliance of Tenants ODOT WSDOT FHWA (ex officio) The Oregon Transportation Commission has created a policy advisory committee to evaluate options for where and what type of value pricing to implement and consider public input. The PAC includes local elected officials from both sides of the river, truckers and businesses, environmental advocates, advocates for low-income families, and others. They will analyze how different options impact road users, the transportation system, and the community, economy and environment. The PAC will provide input and recommendations to the Commission, which will determine what to put forward to FHWA.  

Schedule The group will meet half a dozen times between November and June, with many opportunities for public input throughout.

How serious is traffic congestion in your community? Metro region respondents in the 2017 ODOT TNIS While getting the public to accept tolling won’t be easy, the good news is that we have fertile ground into which to plant the seed. ODOT does a biennial Transportation Needs and Issues Survey to listen to Oregonians about their desires for the transportation system. In 2016 the results showed growing concern about congestion. In Portland, 72% said that congestion was a very or somewhat serious problem (this compares to just 53% statewide who said congestion was a very or somewhat serious problem.  

Would you support or oppose a toll to reduce congestion? Metro region respondents in the 2017 ODOT TNIS Even more remarkably, when we asked whether people would be willing to pay a toll to reduce congestion, 44.5% in the Portland metro region said they would support that approach. That’s a good place to start from.

Federal Tolling Statutes Federal law generally prohibits tolling on the Interstate with limited exemptions The Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program allows up to three facilities to be tolled if the state can show that it can’t adequately maintain the facility without tolling. FHWA is requesting applications by February, and ODOT is looking for a section to apply for. But we’ve been told by FHWA that this isn’t the best fit because it’s focused on preservation rather than congestion relief. One of the challenges we face is that federal law restricts tolling on interstate highways. In general, federal law allows for imposing tolls on the Interstate in three cases: Minnesota DOT used it to close a gap between HOV lanes it was converting to HOT lanes. Virginia used it to toll a pair of tunnels that were being reconstructed. Reconstructing or replacing a bridge. Adding new lanes—but then only new lanes can be tolled; you can’t reduce the number of free through lanes on the Interstate. VPPP is most likely the authority we will turn to if we have to go outside what is normally permitted in federal law. However, we don’t know how expansive FHWA’s ability to approve projects under this authority is because it’s never really been tested. The Value Pricing Pilot Program allows for states to impose tolls. But it hasn’t been widely used. Converting a high occupancy vehicle lane to a high occupancy toll lane. WSDOT used it to impose tolls on SR 520 before construction of the new bridge was complete; tolling the bridge was eligible under normal federal law, but this pilot program allowed them to accelerate implementing it.   If the proposal the Commission comes up with doesn’t fit into one of these, there are two pilot programs that may provide more flexibility. Bridge reconstruction/ replacement New through lanes HOV to HOT conversions

For more information go to www. oregon. gov/ODOT/Pages/Value-Pricing For more information go to www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Pages/Value-Pricing.aspx