I believe that there has been plenty for both the Left and the Right to be upset about lately with the way light rail has been rearing its ugly head again.
I can only speak for myself, but I was personally insulted when I saw the ridiculous editorial in the Columbian that asserted “YOU LIKE LIGHT RAIL”. The Columbia Crossing Project sponsored pollsters conducted a telephone sampling of 400 “likely voters” in Clark County, where there are over 400,000 Registered Voters. The sampling size was not even significant, but the results have been used ever since as proof of some new consensus on the issue where only one old one persists:
The voters rejected Light Rail in 1995 by a definitive 2 to 1 majority.
Since that time, nobody has come forward with anything to change the stated views of the voters. Yet I keep hearing about a new up or down vote on |Light Rail.
For those who think that voting on “Light Rail” is a good thing, I would like answers to three questions first:
1. What exactly do you want to build? Please define the project.
2. How much will the project cost? Real numbers, please! An include the cost of buying the land for the Right of Way, as well as a projected Operational Budget, which will have to be funded separately, but needs to be considered as part of the total package.
3. How do you propose to pay for it? There are a number of things to consider, including (but not limited to ) tolls, Sales taxes, Fares, Property Taxes, Business Taxes, State and Federal Money, and anything else you can think of.
I am a homeowner and taxpayer in Vancouver, and I completely support paying my taxes in order to pay for the things that make our Community livable. One of the ways we do that here in Vancouver is put forth projects through the Neighborhood Associations, that eventually get approved and incorporated into the City’s Transportation Improvement plan. Here is the link to that plan so you can read it like I did:
http://www.cityofvancouver.us/upload/images/Transportation/TIP_2007_2012.pdf Now There is an estimated $300 Million worth of very worthy projects on that list, and the City cannot finance even 10% of them in any given year. I believe Light Rail will siphon off what few dollars there are to tackle even the little projects on that list; but I will allow the possibility that I may be wrong about that.
Another source I want to toss up, is a link to the only real Regional Transportation Plan I have ever found, for the Portland and Clark County metro areas.
http://cec.wustl.edu/~adj1/max/plans/plan2.htm That link will show three light rail lines that all pass through the City of Vancouver, but originate North of the City limits. The point is that the City cannot call the shots, and underwrite Light Rail all by itself. Like it or not, the Mayor and Co., are going to have to find a way to work with the Clark County Commissioners on this, but that won’t happen soon.
So let’s talk about this, either here, or my site, or both. We have got to hammer out an agreement in the Community on this, or else we risk arguing for another 20 years and accomplish nothing.
Stout hearts!
Chief
I’m not a transportation expert but it seems to me that the population is so spread out in Vancouver that making a convenient, affordable rail system would be economic suicide.
In order to pay for it I imagine slapping a big toll on both bridges thereby giving an extra incentive for Couverites to park their cars and get aboard.
I think I’m like most Americans in that even if the rail was cheaper and faster than using my car, the comfort, convenience and privacy of my car will still be my preferred mode of transportation.
I’d rather see our funds and efforts put towards a nonpolluting vehicle that can move us around without pavement and bridges (hello Jetsons).
I am loathe to admit that I too don’t believe that light rail, attractive though it is, won’t solve our problems. The infrastructure doesn’t exist and our present mass transit system has been gutted by cuts and its own bureaucratic hubris. And like Chief, I too am a little hinkey about the less-than objective reportage from The Columbian. There’s this belief that it will enhance the downtown area and – one would think – Campbell’s business park. But then some of those same folks said that the Hilton would be our Field of Dreams (“if you build it, they will come”), making Downtown Vancouver a big destination. Has it gotten into the black yet? So, as much as I’d love to see trains zipping back and forth, and more people riding buses, there’s fewer and fewer routes and stops. I’d love to ditch my car for most of the week, but might as well drive, since there are so few connecting routes and park n’ rides.
bt and Rich, excellent comments from you both. Let’s get some more of your friends into this thread and hear from them as well.
Another point that strikes me on this, is why on earth would you want to attract any more traffic toward the I-5 Corridor, by building Light Rail there and forcing you to deal with parking on top of the existing congestion?? Does it not make more sense to do everything we can to move traffic away from I-5??
I can see more opportunity for building a strong case for light rail along the I-205 corridor, if anywhere in Clark County. There is ample right of way in the median, and building the required stations similar to the way the Max stop at Park Rose on the Red Line was built, (with an attractive bridge from the Park and Ride across the freeway to the actual Max stop), makes infinitely more sense than anything I can conjure up for the I-5 area.
Want to make that case stronger for selling to the whole County?? Terminate the Red Line at the Clark County Fairgrounds, instead of at Salmon Creek.
Think that might help alleviate traffic in and out of the Amphitheater?? I sure do.
That gives someone an excellent way to demonstrate how to really solve a traffic problem on this side of the river. How about selling light rail as an asset to the County, instead of just a good way to get to the Schnitz in Downtown Portland??
But again, I am not a traffic engineer either, and it certainly isn’t my job to design an acceptable package like that, nor am I qualified to do so.
One of my favorite quotes from Robert A. Heinlein:
“What are the facts? Again and again and again — what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell”, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the “unguessable vertdict of history” — what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!”
Good advice for many things in life, as well…