Portland: Crossroads of Industry and Suburbia

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Entry posted by SounderBruce · February 28, 2014

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Further down the Newport Highway lies Portland, where industry and some well-to-do suburbs are only a freeway underpass and a gentle hill apart. The city of barely over 5,000 prides itself on the newly-renovated Port of Portland, often forgotten in the shadows of the more visible and larger ports of Tahoma and Whatcom, and the their Coast Guard installation.

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Let's begin with an overview of the entire city, bisected by the elevated Newport Highway and rails carrying freight trains from the port as well as the Newport Express passenger line.

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From another angle and hours later, you can see the port at full capacity, switching out foreign-made goods going to big-box retailers in Baker and its suburbs for jobs being moved overseas old cars and parts for "recycling" in the third world.

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Speaking of imported goods from the Far East, the southern end of Portland is home to its very own dealership row, where Hyundai and Toyota try to show off their "freshest" vehicles straight out of the shipping container.

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Adjacent to the container port is the recently-opened Portland Docklands Station, built to replace the 80-year-old Portland Passenger Depot to better serve passengers disembarking the Newport Express with adequate local bus service and a peak-only ferry service to Baker City and Newport.

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It's pretty obvious to see why the elevated bypass freeway of Portland was built, since the old highway is by multiple railroad crossings and lined with businesses and other traffic-generating buildings.

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The Portland-Newport Coast Guard Station was christened after fears of escalating terrorism reaching the quaint shores of Baker Bay managed to send even the calmest of citizens into a panic. The station is located directly behind the offices of the Port Authority of Portland & Newport and two oil tanks that supply the many gas stations around the South Baker Bay area.

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The big-box retailers receiving shipments from the port decided to move closer to their source in order to appease the Port Authority after it had threatened to restrict trade from countries with "less than favorable" working conditions.

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Downtown Portland consists mostly of retail and suburban-styled office space, with the exception of the new Portland General Hospital and the barely-visible Newport-Portland Stadium.

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Above the retail and factories is Chapel Hill, the only residential area in Portland. A bike trail loops around the entire base of Chapel Hill, providing a useful way to commute without having to wait in traffic on one of the three two-lane roads that cut off access to the houses.