The Impact of New Light Rail Service on Employment Growth in Portland, Oregon

Abstract

This study quantitatively examines the impact of the new Light Rail Transit (LRT) service on employment growth in retail, knowledge, and service sectors before and after opening the LRT. At the corridor level, this study conducts a case study of Greenline in Southeast Portland, Oregon. The results of the corridor level study suggest that the new LRT service increased employment along the Greenline corridor among all the three sectors of interest- retail, knowledge, service in the long-term (ten years) while having slightly different results for the short-term (five years), likely due to the slow growth of LRT benefits. This study also looks at the employment growth in transit-oriented development (TOD)s -- Clackamas Town Center and Lents Town Center in Southeast Portland along the LRT. Clackamas Town Center transit station results suggest that new LRT service has contributed to employment growth in the short-term more than long-term. In contrast, Lent's Town Center station analysis shows that there has been no impact or negative impact of LRT on employment change around the transit station. The individual TOD analysis helps us understand how different neighborhood characteristics like pedestrian environment, land-use patterns, location of the stations along the route contribute to employment growth in the region. Hence, providing insightful suggestions for the policymakers for making investments in LRTs.