METRO councilor Rex Burkholder, the bicycle boy, is now sporting a good portion of egg on his face because he and his coven of "planners" submitted a six billion dollar application for funds from the Federal Highway Administration to carry out a "transportation plan" that includes no roads. Nope, ol' Rexie and his buds want to build more choo-choos and bicycle paths. Rexie self-righteously proclaims that people should live near their places of employment, yet somehow conveniently omits the fact that he and his coven, along with the PDC, have built tons of condos that most working folks can't afford - even if they wanted to live like so many rabbits crammed into hutches. That's his "vision". And quite frankly, as is usually the case with METRO, it's a deranged perspective.
And so it was especially amusing to have the FHA drop Rexie's application right back onto his immaculate desk. And along with the return, they included some solid advice that Rexie and his buds will of course ignore:
"A transportation plan should first and foremost include transportation goals, and meet transportation needs, while also considering other factors and needs, such as land use, human health and the environment," the federal agency said in commenting on a draft of the plan's opening chapter.
"It is difficult to find the transportation focus in this opening chapter of the Regional Transportation Plan," the agency said.
The highway agency scolded Metro for not focusing more on highways, cars and parking.
"The plan should acknowledge that automobiles are the preferred mode of transport by the citizens of Portland," the agency said. "They vote with their cars every day."
That assessment doesn't bother little Rexie, though. He knows what's best for you, and so he dismisses the rejection and the comments, noting that the highway agency's comments on the region's approach can be "taken with a grain of salt." Well, Rexie my boy, there comes a time in political life and death in which a decision must be made. And that decison can come from your long-held view that you know what's best. Or it can come from recognition of the possibility that maybe you don't.
Perhaps people really want housing that they can afford, and roads that move cars and trucks. And if having your "transportation" application slapped back in your face doesn't tell you that, then you're likely incapable of learning.
