City Council Questions for the Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Project

Funding 1. What is the funding plan for the local share of the LOPT project? The local share for the Enhanced Bus alternative is $20.4 million. The local share for the Streetcar alternative (less the local match value of the Willamette Shore Line right-of-way) ranges from $57.3 million to $86.3 million, depending on the various design options along the streetcar alignment. A specific funding plan by the project partners will be developed once an LPA is adopted and a specific project is identified. At this time, it is reasonable to assume that Lake Oswego’s share will be around 20% of the eventual local match requirement for any of the alternatives. Final amounts and funding sources will be locked in as part of the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) between TriMet and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) by 2015. 2. How will the City of Lake Oswego’s share be paid? The City’s share would likely be paid with revenues from the urban renewal district, a local improvement district, transportation systems development charges and other private sources. 3. Will the federal/local split be 60/40 or 50/50? The project assumes a 60/40 split. By law, the maximum federal share for transit projects can be as high as 80%. Historically, 60% federal and 40% local has been typical. FTA and TriMet recently agreed that the Portland to Milwaukie LRT project would be split 50/50, with the primary reason being it’s a large-scale project that will cost over $1 billion. 4. What will be the local share for the streetcar alternative for both the 60/40 and 50/50 funding scenarios? The range for the local share for the 60/40 split (less the value of the Willamette Shore Line right- of-way) is $57.3 million to $86.3 million. The local share range for a 50/50 split (again less the WSL right-of-way value) would be $95.3 million to $132.2 million. 5. What will be the local share for the enhanced bus alternative for both the 60/40 and 50/50 funding scenarios? The enhanced bus alternative is estimated to cost a total of $51.1 million. The local share would be $20.4 million under a 60/40 funding scenario and $25.6 million under a 50/50 funding scenario. 6. What commitments are currently in place for these amounts? Metro has committed $6 million to the design and FEIS for the project. 7. Will Lake Oswego property taxes go up because of the streetcar? No, unless Council refers a general obligation bond measure for the project and voters approve the measure. 8. Is a new urban renewal district in Foothills part of the local funding plan? While there is no formal funding plan at this time, tax increment revenues from a future Foothills urban renewal district could potentially be used for the project. Both the formation of such a district and the use of tax increment funds would be decided by City Council and the LORA Board. 9. How much would this district draw away from property tax revenues currently going to programs in Lake Oswego and Clackamas County? No existing revenues would be redirected from City and County programs. 10. Will a Foothills urban renewal district adversely affect the school district? Urban renewal affects school district funding as it relates to the local option levy. Planning for any new urban renewal district should look for ways to avoid this impact. Forming a new district in Foothills could benefit the school district long term by increasing housing for families in Lake Oswego. 11. How will SDCs be used to help fund the streetcar alternative? There are two options: existing Transportation SDCs could be allocated directly to the project and/or the City could set up a special SDC district for Foothills, in which new development in Foothills would generate extra SDC funds that go directly to the project. Establishing a special district would take Council action. In both cases, the Streetcar project would need to be an approved SDC project. 12. Would SDCs be on future or existing development? SDCs can only be collected on new development. 13. Would transportation SDCs fund only transit? Transportation SDCs can fund any type of transportation improvement project that provides increased capacity to offset increased travel demand generated from new development, as long as the project is on the approved SDC project list. 14. How will LIDs be formed along the entire streetcar alignment? Forming an LID involves a public process with all potential property owners who might benefit from the project. Property owners in John’s Landing and in the Foothills and downtown areas of Lake Oswego could benefit from the project. These are the most likely areas where LIDs would occur. Property owners’ assessments are directly related to the amount of benefit each receives. The LID formation process involves the governing body authorizing the LID with property owners having the right to remonstrate. 15. How much will properties along State Street in Lake Oswego be assessed for an LID? An LID analysis will be needed to determine which property owners might benefit and by how much. This would then be used to determine the size of the district, the amount of an LID, and what the assessments might be for individual property owners. 16. Given the existing budget problems with the State, TriMet, and Multnomah County, if these jurisdictions are not able to come up with their share of funds for the project, how would this affect Lake Oswego’s contribution? Until there’s a funding plan, the answer to this is unknown. What is known is that City funding for the design and construction of the project will be approved by the City Council as part of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the other project partners. It is anticipated that if other project partners are unable to fund their agreed upon share, the City of Lake Oswego will most likely not backfill their obligations. 17. Will TriMet be able to assess an increase in payroll taxes for businesses in Lake Oswego or Clackamas County to pay for the transit project? No. TriMet cannot assess different payroll taxes within subareas of its service district. 18. What is the funding strategy for the $25 million for design and the FEIS? While a specific funding strategy has not been developed, it is anticipated that local, regional and state partners on the project will participate in funding the design and FEIS over the next four years. 19. What type of an estimate is the $25 million for design and FEIS, i.e. conservative, mid-range, or high-end? This is considered a reasonable estimate and the project partners believe it might end up costing less. The estimated construction cost for the project is under $200 million. At $25 million, this is more than 15% of the construction cost. 20. What is the City’s share of the $25 million and how will it be paid for? Again, a specific funding plan has not been developed. However, a reasonable assumption for Lake Oswego’s portion of these costs is $2.5 million. Urban renewal would be a likely source of these funds. 21. What is the estimated amount of City funding that will be spent prior to FTA’s commitment to the project? Using the assumption in #20 above, the estimated amount of City funding spent prior to a Full Funding Grant Agreement with FTA is $2.74 million. This includes the $2.5 million for design and FEIS, the current $150,000 Lake Oswego contribution for the DEIS and LPA, and approximately $90,000 for direct consulting services. 22. Is the City’s loan payment to TriMet at risk? No. There is an IGA to ensure repayment of the loan by TriMet. It’s guaranteed by MTIP funds, which is a secure and stable funding source. 23. What are the cost implications for the Macadam In-Street option versus the WSL alignment? The Macadam In-Street design option is estimated to cost approximately $8.9 million more than the WSL design option through Johns Landing. The project would also forego the $8.9 million value of the WSL right-of-way through Johns Landing as part of the local match. 24. Will Lake Oswego have any responsibility for these costs? No. 25. What are the cost implications between the two streetcar design options for the Lake Oswego segment? The Foothills design option is estimated to cost approximately $21.3 million more than the UP design option. The Foothills design option entails significantly more right-of-way acquisition and Foothills street improvements. 26. How will the difference in costs between these two options be paid? The local share of this amount could be paid for by revenues from tax increment districts, a local improvement district, transportation systems development charges and private sources. 27. How will the loss of the WSL local match for the Riverwood option be covered? This has not been determined.

28. What are the cost implications to the streetcar alternative due to the South Portal design alternative in Portland, and will it have any effect on Lake Oswego’s contribution to the project? The Moody/Bond design option for the South Portal area is estimated to cost approximately $12.9 million more than the WSL design option, and should have no effect on Lake Oswego’s contribution. 29. What are the cost implications to the streetcar alternative due to the Sellwood Bridge design alternative, and will it have any effect on Lake Oswego’s contribution to the project? Coordinating the Streetcar project with the Sellwood Bridge project could save the streetcar project up to $4 million. It should have minimal, if any effect on Lake Oswego’s contribution.

Operations and Maintenance 30. Please provide more detail on the annual cost to operate and maintain each alternative to verify the statements that streetcar alternative is less expensive to operate and maintain than the enhanced bus and no-build alternatives. The No-Build alternative is actually the least expensive to operate and maintain since it provides less transit service. The Enhanced Bus alternative provides increased service over the No-Build alternative because it includes 6 additional buses per hour during peak periods (service every 5 minutes, or 12 buses per hour). The Streetcar alternative includes 3 additional streetcars per hour during peak periods (service every 7.5 minutes, or 8 streetcars per hour). Overall, the Enhanced Bus alternative would require about twice as many additional service hours per weekday than the Streetcar alternative. The Streetcar alternative is estimated to cost $1.5 million less per year to operate than the Enhanced Bus. Since the streetcar is a more attractive and higher capacity mode of transit, each hour of streetcar service is projected to carry more passengers than a bus. 31. Who will operate and maintain the streetcar to Lake Oswego and pay for these costs? Both the governance and funding issues will be determined as part of the preliminary engineering/FEIS phase of the project. For the current streetcar system in Portland, it is owned and operated by the City of Portland with contributions from TriMet for both operating funds and train operators.

Expenditures 32. What has been spent on the project to-date? Approximately $1.8 million was spent on an Alternatives Analysis and Refinement Phase conducted by Metro between 2005 and 2009. Approximately $5.2 million is being spent on the current phase of conceptual engineering, the DEIS, and the selection of an LPA. 33. For what services were these funds spent? Alternatives Analysis and Refinement Phase: Metro $1,057,195 TriMet $177,000 Portland $50,000 URS $554,751

Conceptual engineering DEIS, and selection of an LPA: URS and its subconsultants (Alcantar & Assoc., Alta Planning + Design, Bonnie Gee Yosick LLC, DEA, Inc., ENVIRON, IBI Group, Jacobs Associates, Leon Skiles and Assoc., LTK, Newlands & Company Inc., OBEC Consulting Engineers, Siegel Consulting, and ZGF) $2,532,000 Shiels Obletz Johnson $462,000 CH2M Hill $78,000 Metro $1,480,000 TriMet $95,000 City of Lake Oswego (Foothills) $75,000 City of Portland $70,000 Finance Costs $388,000

As part of the Refinement Phase and the DEIS/LPA work, the City of Lake Oswego has also contracted for strategic planning services and communications: Roger Martin and Associates $84,300 Richard Feeney $3,000 34. Where did these funds come from? The previous Alternatives Analysis phase was funded mostly with Federal grant funding. The current Refinement Study/DEIS/LPA phases are being funded primarily with regional MTIP funds. Both of these funding sources required approximately 10% local match provided by Clackamas County, City of Portland, and City of Lake Oswego.

The funding sources for the Refinement Phase are: Metro Corridor Funds $351,355 City of Portland $57,000 City of Lake Oswego $115,800

The funding sources for the DEIS and LPA works are: Metro MTIP $4,000,000 City of Portland $266,030 Clackamas County $850,000 City of Lake Oswego $112,606 35. How much more will be spent to get through the LPA process? The LPA selection process is forecasted to cost approximately $470,000 and is included in the total above. 36. What is the estimate in 2010 dollars for just the construction of the streetcar line? The range of costs for just construction is $164.5 to $200 million. These numbers do not include vehicles, maintenance/storage facility, professional services, financing and contingency.

DEIS 37. Why has the DEIS been delayed so many times? This is not uncommon considering the FTA has numerous projects with varying levels of priority. The schedule has been extended several times due to the time associated with FTA reviews of the DEIS. The original timeline for the project was aggressive due to the possibility of federal funds coming available sooner than later.

Economic Development 38. How much potential new development is there in the corridor that might benefit from the streetcar line? In Johns Landing in Portland, an additional 1.8 million square feet of new development is possible by the year 2025. Assuming a value of $325 per square-foot, the total value for this new development would be $585 million. In Foothills, an additional 2.6 to 3.6 million square feet of new development is possible at full build- out. At $325 per square-foot, the total value for this new development in Foothills would be $845 million to $1.17 billion. 39. How much money from the outside could come to the region due to the Streetcar alternative? Federal funds coming to the region could be over $225 million. 40. How many jobs could be created by building the streetcar alternative? The number of jobs supported by the design and construction of the project could range from 1,430 to 1,530 jobs.

Ridership 41. Does Lake Oswego have the population base to support the Streetcar alternative? Lake Oswego, communities along the corridor, and those to the south of Lake Oswego combined have the population base to support the streetcar alternative. Projected streetcar ridership is a result of the travel demand projected regionally and within the corridor. 42. Who from Lake Oswego will ride the streetcar since currently most residents drive Hwy 43? Approximately 51% of the boardings and deboardings at new streetcar stations between Lake Oswego and SW Lowell Street in South Waterfront would occur at the two Lake Oswego stations. Of transit trips between Lake Oswego and the corridor, 68% would be commute trips, and 32% would be non-commute trips. Specific demographic data by mode is not available. 43. Do ridership numbers for the project include development of Foothills and the Stafford Triangle? The development that is included represents existing projections from the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Total growth for downtown Lake Oswego did not change based on the RTP; however, some of the growth anticipated for downtown was allocated to the Foothills District. Based upon statewide policy at the time the land use projections were developed, some amount of development of the Stafford area was included.

44. In the project sheet entitled “Quick Answers to Your Project Questions", ridership numbers attributed to streetcar are 11,900 between Lake Oswego and Bancroft and 23,000 between Lake Oswego and Portland State University. Does this assume that 11,100 riders each day will get on at Bancroft and travel to PSU? The existing 4-mile streetcar line between South Waterfront and NW 23rd in Portland currently provides over 12,000 rides per day. As South Waterfront continues to develop, significant increases in ridership on this existing streetcar line are expected. The 11,100 riders referenced above are projected to use part, or all, of the existing streetcar alignment between SW Bancroft and PSU in both directions. However, these riders are not necessarily destined to or originating from PSU. These rides could begin or end north of PSU, or be completed entirely within the SW Bancroft to PSU segment. Similarly, the 11,900 rides projected to be on the streetcar alternative between Lake Oswego and SW Bancroft do not necessarily begin and end completely within that segment. Many of these riders will likely continue to downtown Portland, including PSU.

Traffic Impacts 45. How many cars will be taken off Hwy 43 by streetcar and by enhanced bus? The traffic volumes on Highway 43 projected for the 2-hour evening peak period do not change between the No Build and Enhanced Bus and there is a slight decrease in volumes (100 vehicles) during this period with the Streetcar alternative. Portions of Highway 43 will be operating at capacity regardless of the alternative selected. While both the Enhanced Bus and Streetcar alternatives will provide for significantly more trips in the corridor during the peak period, there is enough latent demand by drivers that trips that would otherwise travel outside the peak period, will opt to use Highway 43 in the car during this time. Also, auto trips that may have formerly been on different routes would now be able to travel on Highway 43 due to the freed up capacity. 46. How many cars and riders will use the Albertson’s terminus? On an average weekday in 2035, the Streetcar option is forecasted to have between 1,400 and 1,500 riders accessing the streetcar at the Albertson’s Station. Approximately 350 to 390 of these riders will access the station by cars. 47. Will the parking structure at Albertson's increase traffic in that area, and will intersections along State St. and in the Old Town Neighborhood be impacted? The 300-space structured park-and-ride lot at the Lake Oswego Village Shopping Center would generate additional traffic during the average weekday p.m. peak period in 2035 under the Enhanced Bus and the Streetcar alternatives (see response to #47). This would result in a slight increase in congestion and the potential for increased queuing spillback and overflow at three intersections along State Street. The traffic impacts from the parking structure will be minimized by making sure the facility is designed properly and that the access to State Street adequately accommodates the traffic. With the access to the parking garage being immediately adjacent to State Street, this will minimize traffic impacts to the Old Town Neighborhood. The parking structure will also minimize, if not eliminate, parking in the neighborhood by transit users.

48. Will the parking structure negatively impact the viability of local businesses in that area? If designed properly, it should not. In fact, the additional traffic and number of transit users should provide additional customers for local businesses. There may be some short term construction impact of building the parking structure that will need to be mitigated with signage and alternative routing to the local businesses during construction. TriMet has been very successful in working with businesses during construction periods.

Safety and Security 49. Will the streetcar cause an increase in crime in Lake Oswego? Crime is not a problem along the existing streetcar line in Portland, and there are no indications that the streetcar will increase crime or create a crime problem in Lake Oswego. 50. How does the Clackamas Town Center example regarding crime relate to the Lake Oswego to Portland project? The connection between crime at Clackamas Town Center and the new light rail line has not been established, and studies have shown that crime and safety at transit stations is similar to crime and safety in the adjacent neighborhood. Lake Oswego neighborhoods in the downtown area are safe and do not have a crime problem. Lake Oswego Police expect the same at transit stations along the streetcar line in Lake Oswego. 51. How will security be provided along the streetcar line, and how will security be paid for? These will be developed as part of the next phase of the project.

Historic Resource Preservation 52. How will the historic property that is now Starbucks be protected as part of the streetcar terminus at the Albertsons site? While the Oregon SHPO concurred that the property is not eligible for the National Register, the project still does not anticipate impacting the Starbucks building. The same is true for the other Sundeleaf-designed buildings in the area. In fact, the project provides an opportunity for the City to enhance these properties by improving the surrounding character and environment.

Willamette Shore Line Right-of-Way 53. What is the result of the WSL right of way appraisal? An appraisal completed in 2008 found the WSL had a total value of approximately $85 million. This appraisal forms the basis for the future right-of-way value estimates, assuming no recent change in value and only very modest increases in value over the next 7 years. An updated appraisal will be required prior to a full funding grant agreement with FTA. 54. How many miles of the WSL are in play with the Riverwood Rd. option? Approximately 0.6 miles. 55. What’s the estimated local match for this portion of the right-of-way? Approximately $10 million is not available for local match if the Riverwood Rd. option is selected.

56. How many miles of the WSL are in play with the Macadam option? Approximately 0.7 miles. 57. What’s the estimated local match for this portion of the right-of-way? Approximately $8.9 million is not available for local match if either of the Macadam options is selected. 58. Can the WSL right-of-way be paved and used as a dedicated bus/bike/pedestrian lane? Portions of the right-of-way could potentially be used for these purposes. Some portions are dedicated only for rail purposes. 59. If the streetcar project does not happen, can the WSL Consortium maintain ownership of the right-of-way? Yes, but only if the Consortium maintains rail service on the line. This will become more difficult over time as deferred maintenance becomes more of a problem and costly capital improvements are necessary to keep the line operational. 60. If the streetcar is built only to the Sellwood Bridge (the Minimal Operable Segment (MOS)), can the WSL Trolley continue to operate between the bridge and Lake Oswego in order to maintain ownership of the right of way? Yes. 61. What happens to the WSL right-of-way if it’s no longer used for rail purposes? The portions that are dedicated for rail purposes would either be sold or revert to the adjacent property owners, depending on the type of ownership. The remaining portions would remain with the WSL Consortium.

Streetcar Alignment Issues 62. Have all potentially affected parties been given the opportunity to provide input into the possible closure of the Riverwood Road at Hwy 43, including Lake Oswego police and fire departments, Allied Waste, school district bus service, etc.? Letters are being drafted and will be sent to the emergency responders of the cities of Lake Oswego and Portland, Clackamas and Multnomah counties, and the State of Oregon, describing the stage and status of the project, highlighting the potential change to the SW Riverwood Road/Highway 43 intersection, and offering the opportunity to discuss the potential change. 63. What changes are proposed for Stampher Road and what is the impact on the residents there? The only change to Stampher Road would be an at-grade crossing of the streetcar line. While access to this area could be provided across the new Tryon Creek Bridge to Foothills, residents have indicated that they would like to keep their existing access under the UP rail line that intersects Hwy 43 at the Terwilliger intersection. 64. What steps are being taken to protect Tryon Creek riparian areas and habitat as part of the streetcar alternative? There will be a clear span bridge crossing of Tryon Creek. The project team will work with the property owners adjacent to Tryon Creek including the City of Lake Oswego, City of Portland, Metro and ODOT, to avoid, minimize and mitigate any other possible impacts to the creek. Transit Service 65. Why is it assumed that the bus duplicates service? Is it because it is shown running on 10th and 11th in downtown Portland? The Portland Streetcar currently provides service between downtown Portland and South Waterfront. The line 35/36 buses currently run on 5th and 6th avenues, but generally duplicate this same connection. 66. What is the difference in costs if the bus runs on the Transit Mall on 5th and 6th in downtown Portland? This was not part of the current analysis of DEIS alternatives. The bus alignments are considered similar enough to not have different operating costs. 67. Project staff says the streetcar system already exists in the Portland South Waterfront area, but isn’t the streetcar being redesigned to run double-track on Moody and then shift to Bond? Streetcar service does exist in South Waterfront, and the line from the Marquam Bridge south to the tram is currently being redesigned to accommodate the new Milwaukie LRT line and to provide double tracks for two-way operations. 68. In 2035, how many more streetcars will be operating between Bancroft to PSU than today? The Streetcar alternative would add 3 streetcars per hour in the peak period through downtown Portland. For the No-Build and Enhanced Bus alternatives in 2035, it is assumed that there will be one additional streetcar operating in the peak hour. As part of the Streetcar Loop project, five additional streetcars are planned to operate between the planned transit bridge at SW Moody/Porter and downtown Portland. 69. Are the costs for these additional vehicles figured into the project? Yes, for the LOPT Streetcar alternative.

Willamette Greenway Trail 70. What is the status of the trail project that was originally being planned along with the LOPT project? The Lake Oswego to Portland Trail project is moving forward and is identified in the Financially Constrained RTP. A refinement study for the trail was completed in 2009. This study looked at different trail alignments and opportunities to advance the project. Portions of the trail will be constructed as part of the transit project, Sellwood Bridge project and the South Portal project. The transit project continues to coordinate with the trail project through DEIS, preliminary engineering and FEIS. Regional funds have recently been allocated to do an engineering feasibility study for the section between Lake Oswego and the Sellwood Bridge focusing on how to provide a trail through or around Elk Rock. The study is anticipated to start in 2011 following an LPA decision for the transit project. 71. Is it possible to get a bike and pedestrian path in that corridor along with a streetcar? Yes. The trail project has identified trail alignments based on each of the transit alternatives developed in the DEIS. Some of the trail sections will be adjacent to the Willamette Shore Line right-of-way, and some will utilize other public right of way. Foothills Timing 72. Why are we doing the Foothills studies now? By the time development begins, won't the studies be dated, and have to be redone? While no one can predict the future, many experts in real estate agree that this is a good time to plan for future development. Foothills development, as envisioned, cannot happen until a community-approved plan is in place and all the necessary regulatory changes have been made. This will take time. If the plan is done correctly, it can be implemented when the market returns either in the next few years or several years out.