POLICY & PROGRAMMING
select projects
PACIFIC NORTHWEST HIGH SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR PLAN, BUSINESS STRATEGY, and ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
ORegon department of transportation
Working with the Oregon Department of Transportation, Sorin Garber led a team in technical evaluations of high speed rail operational and track capacity requirements, ridership estimation, investment strategy and business planning.
The project led to a certified Federal Railroad Administration Environmental Assessment and a Capital Improvement Plan for incremental improvements that were ultimately financed by both the Union Pacific RR and the State of Oregon.
The plan advanced a passenger rail program to reduce travel time by 22%, double the train frequencies, and double ridership in five years. The study led to a funding package adopted by the Oregon Legislature for an additional daily round trip of passenger service.
As a follow-on, the Washington State DOT asked Mr. Garber to participate in an update of its business plan for passenger rail which became the Amtrak Cascades Plan for Washington State. He prepared updated operating plans and capital and operating costs for increased passenger rail service between Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR.
These efforts led to related work for the SW Washington Regional Transportation Council’s RTC Commuter Rail Study (between Vancouver, EWA and Portland, OR), and the North Sound Connecting Communities Project-Commuter Rail Feasibility Study for a proposed commuter rail line connecting the major communities between Everett, WA – Vancouver, BC.
PORTLAND TRANSPORTATION RECOVERY PLAN
portland bureau of emergency management &
portland state university
SGA acted as Principal Investigator and team leader
in the creation of a citywide recovery plan to prioritize and initiate recovery actions for the transportation system following a natural or human-caused disaster.
This project brought together leadership and staff from all the agencies who own, operate and maintain transportation infrastructure, systems and services in the City of Portland as well as the some of the City’s largest employers and TMAs.
Mr. Garber led all technical and stakeholder activities, including interviewing staff leading maintenance, construction, engineering, communications and planning for Metro, ODOT, PBOT, TriMet, Port of Portland, Multnomah County, OHSU, PSU, and the Lloyd Center TMA.
The recovery plan developed a chain of command of agency by agency responsibilities with timelines, reporting procedures, and priorities.
