Hollering "All Aboard!", the "editorial page editor" (whatever that is) over at the Vancouver USA newspaper displays an amazing degree of ignorance regarding light rail. He apparently believes that "If light rail is such a wasteful boondoggle, shouldn't the systems around the nation be contracting and even closing?"
He goes on to note that instead, "the reverse has been happening for more than 25 years" (the Neil Goldschmidt era). He conveniently left that latter part out. Aside from being an admitted child-rapist, Goldschmidt pushed for a "modern" transportation system based upon 19th-century technology, and built largely upon tax funds formerly dedicated to roads.
He asks: How could governments and transportation planners nationwide have been so incredibly stupid — or worse, so duplicitous and corrupt — for the past quarter of a century?
The obvious answer: Democratics. Neil Goldschmidt. Sam Adams. Randy Leonard. David Bragdon. These are the folks who brought you 19th-century transport, and the latter three were behind the vacant condo towers (replete with fixed rail) in what is referred to as the "South Waterfront District" in Portland.
Especially in Portland, but also elsewhere across the country, the legacy of the child-rapist lives on - and it began a quarter of a century ago: Neil Goldschmidt, mayor of Portland, killed a freeway in favor of a fixed rail plan (when he wasn't busy raping a girl who lived a couple of houses down).
Oregon voters (Portland) elected the pedophile to the governor's office, where he pursued similar policies (although by now he was paying hush money to the girl). Then, just as things on the rape side were getting potentially grim, the peanut farmer - President Jimmuh Cahtah - tapped him to be the national Transportation Secretary.
And the rest is history, Johnny. This is why "newspapers" are tanking: the "editors" lack any understanding of precedents, they make sure that "news" items conform to their bias, and they are not inclined to let facts get in the way of a good story.
Of course, there are other options. Bus lines run on roads, and if they encounter a problem, they can compensate - unlike light rail. There are also, for the egocentric politicians, less expensive alternatives to light rail that essentially perform the same tasks - only better, and at less cost.
Some 13 miles of these can be built at the cost of one mile of light rail. They can take you closer to where you want to go. And they don't conflict with cars, trucks, buses, cyclists, and pedestrians.
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