Everybody Agrees!

Light rail is pretty much a done deal if the replacement I-5 bridge connecting Portland and Vancouver is to be built.  Never mind the fact that, as Portland has definitively proven, light rail is expensive, slow, and doesn't efficiently move large numbers of people.  It might, if it happened to be built along the lines of, say, Chicago's EL.  But it isn't - at least here.  So-called "trains" consist of only two cars, because that's the maximum number that can fit onto any given downtown Portland city block.  And for some insane reason, TriMet and other agencies insist that light rail must pass through downtown Portland, and must do so at street level.  That requirement cripples what might otherwise be a sensible mass-transit solution over the long term.  In Portland, lofty "visions" trump common sense, every time.

For some inexplicable reason, Portland-area "planners" think light rail is just really cool, really "green", and may even one day actually work.  They apparently are convinced that running ineffective and inefficient systems like this will save the planet, in addition to just being really cool toys.  After all, according to The Reverend AlGore, "Didn't they realize that four times in 15 years the entire scientific community of this world issued unanimous reports calling upon them to act?"

Never mind that The Reverend is lying when he utters nonsense such as that - your politicians and "planners" not only Believe, they insist that you believe as well.  Separation of Church and State is all well and good.  It was a fine idea for its time.  But it's out-dated.  When it comes to the Religion of Global Warming Alarmism, Church and State must become one and the same.

Comments

[OregonGuy]

Any chance this decision can be delayed until after the election?

Do you think Governor Rossi is going to want to spend money on a toy train?

He's going to be running hard on transportation issues. In Washington, transportation still means getting from here to there quickly and dependably.

Is seven months too long to delay a decision?

I hope not. When Governor Chrissy is gone, Governor K won't have a "play partner".

[max]

Good point, OG - Rossi'd be unlikely to play along, as the Queen's been doing. Still, it probably isn't necessary for him to get involved, as the bridge decisions seem to be largely left to the councils of Portland, Vancouver, and of course Metro.

[AL M]

Portland is pulling all the strings and of course they want everything to begin and end in Portland.

[max]

Things end in Portland. Beginnings are further and fewer to find.

[Ethan]

Regarding your comment that "TriMet and other agencies insist that light rail must pass through downtown Portland," Trimet is, in fact, completing the first suburb-to-suburb project in the nation, the WES. It is curious to me that you use Chicago's L as an example, since if you look at a map, you will see that it is a very downtown-centric design, as opposed, to say the London Tube.