Connecting Cascadia Briefing Book

The workshop aimed to answer the following questions:

• What vision for Cascadia will high-speed rail help to achieve?
• How can high-speed rail promote a more productive and inclusive Cascadian economy?
• How can high-speed rail underpin and help achieve Cascadia’s land use and livability goals?
• How does high-speed rail integrate with and serve the large and smaller transportation networks that exist or are planned for the megaregion?
• What is the Cascadian-scale governance model and financing strategy that can help us achieve this vision?

To understand the opportunities and implications of high-speed rail in Cascadia, the group will test a high-speed rail scenario in Cascadia against the land use and station area development scenarios, economic strategies, and transportation connections required to optimize high-speed rail investment. The high-speed rail scenario will be evaluated in the context of a ​“Cascadia Megaregion Planning Framework,” generated by assembling the regional plans and growth strategies of the major and medium-size cities along the corridor, including plans for natural resource protection and land preservation. To answer the questions above, participants will divide into three working groups:

• The New Economic Geography: Ethan Seltzer and Robert Yaro, co-chairs. What are the specific economic implications for large, medium-size and small cities and communities throughout Cascadia? How does high-speed rail promote greater economic productivity, new business relationships, increased tourism, industry clusters and agglomeration in the Cascadia megaregion? What strategies are needed, in addition to the transportation investments to achieve these benefits?
• Land Use, Climate Change and Livability: Robert Lane and Pat Condon, co-chairs. How does high-speed rail complement or conflict with existing regional plans and growth strategies for the future of the megaregion? How can we connect high-speed rail investment to other federal programs and goals, such as the HUD-DOT-EPA livability partnership? How can future investment decisions in infrastructure and land development help leverage high-speed rail investment?
• Network Benefits: Bruce Agnew and Andy Cotugno, co-chairs. How does high-speed rail integrate with and serve the large and smaller transportation networks that exist or are planned for the megaregion? How can connections among different modes provide greater choice and benefits for passengers and freight?

For additional information on the America 2050 project, visit the archived America 2050 website.