Tokyo News Segment About Portland Transportation

Male Japanese Reporter:
"At first, they just wanted to reduce car traffic: however, there ended up being more benefit than was originally perceived.

In Portland, a city on the west coast of the United States, you can see many people cross bridges to get to downtown by bike early in the morning. During the 8am rush hour, the city is full of bikers."

- Male Portland cyclist speaks.

- Female Portland cyclist speaks.

Male Japanese Reporter:
"America is still a big car society even though the cost of gas is rising. On the other hand, the number of bikers in Portland has increased more than three times in the past ten years. This is due in part to the city’s “smart trips project” to reduce car traffic five years ago.

The smart trips project is quite simple: If you tell the city where you would like to go, they can give you a map and inform you on the best way to get there. Of course, not by car but by bike, walking, or taking public transportation such as buses and trains. They provide the information with maps for free. "

Another Male Japanese Reporter:
"This is one of the bags they provide for people to find easy ways to get to work without driving. In this map, for instance, you can see the colorful lines which explain easy bike routes."

- Female cyclist speaks.

Male Japanese Reporter:
"In the bags, there are not only maps but also a pedometer and coupons to encourage more people to join the “smart trips project.” "

- Commissioner Adams speaks.

Male Japanese Reporter:
"The bags are delivered to people, of course, by bike. Three staff members from the city visit 100 houses a day and give the bags directly to people.

Mr. Johnson, working at the university hospital, is one of the people who became inspired by the “smart trips project” and started to go to work by bike.

- The first day of biking to work.

The bike route the city staff recommended to Mr. Johnson was through a nice residential area surrounded by a lot of trees instead of a road around busy highways. "

- Mr. Johnson speaks.

Male Japanese Reporter:
"As a result of this city project in Portland, the number of single-passenger drivers who drive a car decreased 13%; in contrast, the number of bikers increased 6%, and the number of walkers also increased 7.3%. Thus, the city reduced 23,500 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. This information ironically comes with the country’s rejection of the Kyoto Protocol. At the local level, however, more than 500 cities in the United States are willing to achieve the goals written in the Kyoto Protocol.

In May, the second C40 Large Cities Climate Summit took place in New York. 11U.S. cities, including Portland, participated and insisted in changing the negative behavior around the global warming issue by the U.S. federal government. "

- Commissioner Eric Sten speaks

Male Japanese Reporter:
"Portland is surrounded by mountains. There is a mountain which is a symbol of civilians’ high environmental consciousnesses – Mt. Hood."

- The professor of Portland State speaks.

Male Japanese Reporter:
"During the economic development of the 1960s and 70s, the construction of highways occurred all over the U.S. Plans to build an extended freeway system to the base of Mr. Hood from Portland were due for construction. However, the people of Portland voiced their concerns about the environmental destruction around Mt. Hood with the proposed freeway. Accordingly, the plans for the freeway were stopped dead in their tracks as the project failed to be built. With this bold move, the city of Portland became the first city to say “no” to building highways in America. The slogan, “emerge from a car society” galvanized environmental activism within the city.

- Street car

In 2001, Portland revived its once extensive streetcar system. Portland was the first city to do so since the collapse of streetcar infrastructure years ago across the United States. They created the fareless square system so that more people could use public transportation. To reduce CO2 exhaust produced by idling engines at red traffic lights, they innovated the “signal manipulation system” which controls signals depending on the traffic. The city of Portland also worked on the “car share system,” encouraging more than one person drives in a car when commuters go to school and work."

- Commissioner Adams speaks.

Female Japanese Reporter:
"This is a map and a pedometer provided by the City of Portland. Even though their system is nothing new, it is still interesting to see that they prefer to protect their environment instead of their convenience. And the environmental movement is getting bigger in a big car society, America."

Male Japanese Reporter:
"Not all of cities in the U.S are like Portland, but it is wonderful to see their efforts to effect change. "

(Then they introduce the topic for tomorrow.)