It's what Portland and Metro are all about. The "planners" doubtless had good intentions, but as we all know, the road to Hell is paved with those. And judging by the results, Hell is exactly what the "planners" have produced.
The idea was to curb urban sprawl by imposing artificial land-use boundaries, forcing increased density in the metropolitan area. By refusing to add infrastructure (or to even maintain existing infrastructure) geared toward cars and freight, "planners" hoped to force people to walk, ride bicycles, or to take mass transit. To further the idea, they diverted billions of dollars into rail, the "Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade", and other options designed to increase roadway congestion. The vision, originally put forth by pedophile Neil Goldschmidt, has been carried out by his acolytes, who were willing to overlook little things like raping a teenager in favor of Neil's "grand vision for the future".
So how has that visioning thing worked out?
It made property values skyrocket, pricing people out of homes in the Metro area. Clark county in Washington and other areas not under the domination of Metro "planners" found that suddenly, a lot of folks were moving there. And they aren't riding rail transit.
Even with subsidies, the condo towers in South Waterfront are empty - though served by both light rail and streetcar. In short, the exact opposite of what the highly-paid "planners" planned is what actually occurred.
There is not one example of success to be found in any of the "planned" developments. Downtown Portland, which "planners" insisted should have rail transport, is populated by addicts, bums, and teenage "spangers". Empty storefront after empty storefront. Nobody goes there any more, unless they absolutely have to.
At some point, one can hope, voters in the region will recognize that the David Bragdons, the Sham Adams, the Randy Leonards, and the other so-called "leaders" need to be removed and replaced with people who understand the value of a dollar - and who recognize that billions of dollars have been wasted on the salaries and benefits of "planners" and their failed results.
