Portland City Councilman Steve Novick wants a street fee, but he's open to other ideas - his latest trial balloon is a citywide sales tax. That'd be fine with me; it's been years since I've done any business whatsoever within the city limits of Portland. But I suspect it'd simply encourage Portland residents to put even more wear and tear on city streets as they drive to Clackamas County or Washington County to do their shopping and dining.
And businesses (at least, those that don't relocate out of the city limits) would likely be spurred to cut costs by installing kiosks and other forms of automation, meaning fewer opportunities for employment, especially in the retail sector. Downtown Portland could well become even more of a ghost town than it already is.
On the other hand, fewer people down there translates to less wear and tear on downtown streets, so there's always an upside.
