Oh, who'd ever have thought? Reported crimes at Clackamas Town Center rose from 503 from January to June 2009 (when there was no MAX line) to 745 from January to June 2010 — a change of 48.1 percent. Skeptics pooh-pooh the statistic, arguing that correlation does not imply causality - but that's a weak and wimpy claim.
Fact: light rail came in, crime went up by 48%.
Plans to run a streetcar line from Portland to Lake Oswego (formerly called "sucker lake") are being scrutinized in light of crime statistics along current light rail lines. Proponents claim that fears of increased crime are silly, because Lake Oswego residents simply won't tolerate it.
Imagine that you're a car thief. You can take a free light rail ride out to the Fred Meyer parking lot in Oak Grove, or a free streetcar ride into Lake Oswego. The odds of finding a Lexus are a lot higher in LO. Where are you going to go?
