Metropolitan sprawl and public attitudes are bottlenecks for the region's ports, according to speaker after speaker at a conference on the region's economy last Friday in Whistler, B.C.
In Vancouver, housing development is spreading over formerly open land outside the city, devouring space for port-related and industrial use and making it harder to develop transportation infrastructure. Highway 1, the main arterial to eastern Canada, is frequently clogged and comes nowhere near the ports, yet there's plenty of opposition to plans to connect them.
Vancouver Port CEO Gordon Houston said the Vancouver area may need to set aside "industrial land reserves" similar to conservation areas designed to protect wilderness. He called for tax changes to take away the incentive to build housing on open land. Seattle's port has tried to deal with a lack of space by siting distribution centers far from the waterfront.
A bigger problem is a lack of appreciation of the importance of the ports to the region's economy, according to most speakers at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference. An official of the Dutch consulate claimed that residents of Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port, are actually proud of their 600-year-old trading history. By contrast, in Washington, trade is said to account for one in five jobs but most residents don't see the connection.
The ports themselves need to build support. Larry Ehl, an official of the Washington Dept. of Transportation, said they should cooperate with conservation groups on new projects rather than trying to resolve protests later. They should make the case, for example, that railroad-expansion projects could take pollution-causing trucks off the road.
Houston said he deals with 17 municipalities who border Vancouver port facilities. "The sentiment ranges from 'Let's work together and move forward' to 'When are you picking up and leaving -- the sooner the better.' That has to change."