Overall, the research team found positive effects on business activity in the retail and/or food sectors, demonstrating that the potential economic benefits are not just in more urban parts of the city of Portland:

• 75% of the project locations saw measurable economic gains in the food or retail industries after implementation.
• Layering complementary investments (e.g. light rail stations and transit oriented-development) has the potential to yield the greatest benefits.
• The projects that did not see positive effects tended to have higher traffic volumes and/or speeds. Projects are more likely to reach their full potential when they reduce the effects of an auto-oriented environment and create places for walking that are also less stressful and more comfortable.

"The findings reveal that these types of investments can have positive outcomes in places outside of downtown and inner Portland, particularly when coupled with other planning and infrastructure investments, but that we do need to address the negative effects of high speed, multi-lane arterials," Dill said.