The accolades are numerous, and not just for the carpet.
Sure, the unique rug at Portland International Airport is an internet celebrity unto itself, being the subject of countless shoe selfies and earning its own Wikipedia page. But there is more — much more — to the airport that rests essentially one bridge trip away from Vancouver. Travel + Leisure has rated PDX as the best airport in the country each of the past six years; Money magazine joined that chorus this year after ranking PDX at No. 2 a year ago.
For many travelers, an airport visit is inherently stressful. But if you must endure a ride to the terminal, a trip through security, and a hurried walk through the concourse, well, you might as well do it in Portland.
All of which is pertinent to the interests of Clark County residents. According to a recent article in The Columbian, PDX is expecting to welcome a record 20 million passengers this year. Last year’s number of 19,882,788 — an average of more than 54,000 a day — marked a 54 percent increase since 2009, when the Great Recession was in full swing. On top of that, PDX has about 3,000 employees who live in Clark County — roughly 30 percent of the facility’s workforce.
So, it is safe to say that many of the people who trod the famous green carpet each day begin their journey in Clark County.
Now, PDX is undergoing a makeover to help prepare it for continued growth. As part of PDXNext — a $2 billion effort — one concourse is being extended, another will be demolished, the rental car area will be renovated, and other projects will be undertaken.
“We have a significant amount of work in front of us over the next five to seven years,” said Vince Grenato, Port of Portland’s chief operating officer. “We are going to be really focused on delivering those projects.”
All of which is important to the future of the region. According to researchers John Kasarda and Greg Lindsay, airports will “shape business location and urban development in the 21st century as much as highways did in the 20th century, railroads in the 19th and seaports in the 18th.” Richard Florida, an urban studies professor, has found: “The number of airport passengers per capita is associated with higher metro economic output, wages, and incomes, as well as with the share of college grads and even more so with high-tech industry concentration.”
That might be a bit of a chicken-and-egg argument. Developed, thriving cities are more likely to have high levels of air traffic; whether that traffic is a correlation or a cause of a thriving economy is open to debate. Either way, Portland is wise to prepare for growth at an airport that opened in 1940.
As PDX grows and Clark County grows, the synergy between the two will depend on reliable transportation. That might include a replacement Interstate 5 Bridge to take pressure off the I-205 crossing that leads to the airport. It might include a third bridge to the east of I-205 or light rail across the I-205 span, as was originally planned when the bridge was constructed.
Given this region’s inability to devise transportation solutions, we shall not venture a guess as to how Clark County residents will be getting to PDX in 20 or 30 years. But we will suggest that the importance of easy access between this side of the river and the area’s international airport will be significant for the economy and the livability of Southwest Washington.
That is something that cannot, um, be brushed under the carpet.
