You were warned. TriMet rebuffs C-Tran request

TriMet reiterated Wednesday that it has no plans to terminate a controversial light rail contract it signed with C-Tran last year, despite an earlier request from C-Tran to do just that. The two agencies signed the deal last year to detail how they would operate light rail in Vancouver as part of the proposed Columbia River Crossing project. The Interstate 5 Bridge replacement plan has since died, but the contract has no end date, leaving it in legal limbo.
www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/12/trimet-c-tran-l...tract

#Trimet #Metro #portland #pdx #portlandia #stumptown #multnomah #orcot #multgop #C-Tran #lightrail #orleg


https://chumly.com/n/297c94f

What's Portland's most crime-ridden bus line?

What is the Portland area’s most crime-ridden bus line? What TriMet park-and-rides do auto thieves target the most? Where are transit riders least likely to be a crime victim? The bus route with the most reported crimes was the No. 72 (Killingsworth/82nd Avenue). There were 44 reported incidents, including 14 assaults, eight robberies, one sex offense (involving masturbation) and eight thefts. Police were busiest at the Gateway Transit Center, the scene of 48 reported crimes. Twenty of those involved auto thefts or car break-ins at the park-and-ride garage. The only part of the TriMet system where crime went up in 2013 was along the Green Line between Gateway and Clackamas Town Center. Along that section of track, 48 crimes were reported in 2012 while 52 were reported in 2013. Most of that increase was recorded at stations along Interstate 205. Actually, only the Lents and Holgate stations, serving two of Portland's high-crime areas, showed upticks.
www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/04/wha....html

Divided Damascus Reveals METRO’s Flaws

By Les Poole: Fortunately there is ample information available that gives us insight as to how Damascus became a land-use battleground, and why regional governments should not have authority over our counties for planning decisions. The Damascus divide should become a test case for modifying some interpretations of the Oregon Land Use Plan. Approved in 1973, Senate Bill 100 was never intended to become a holy grail for regional planning and control. The battle that’s pitted neighbor against neighbor in Damascus has become common elsewhere in the region, and each battle includes METRO as a major participant. In 2002 METRO proudly added thousands of acres to the Urban Growth Boundary, an action that should have been administered by Clackamas County. Unfortunately METRO was in control, and unreasonable expectations for Damascus became the order of the day. Damascus has survived the disincorporation effort, and eventually it will become a city that is prepared for the inevitable growth that is bulging along its western boundary. In May of 2014 we expect to see one or more comprehensive plans on the ballot.
nw-connection.com/blog1/category/opinion/page/3

Energy-Efficiency Myths of Commuter Rail

Advocates of rail transit tend to argue that we need trains because they are more energy-efficient than buses or cars. Unfortunately, that’s only true in some cases. According to a new report by the Federal Railroad Administration, the average energy consumed by all commuter rail systems in America during 2011 was 2,923 British Thermal Units (BTUs) per passenger-mile. But the commuter line operated by TriMet (WES) was close to the bottom: WES consumed 5,961 BTU per passenger-mile, more than twice the national average. Nonetheless, TriMet management is"all-in” on more commuter rail. In its proposed FY 15 budget, the agency plans to purchase two additional rail vehicles at a total cost of $8.5 million. None of those costs will be paid by the privileged few who ride WES; debt service will be paid by taxpayers for the next 20 years. It’s a cliché but still true: In government, nothing succeeds like failure.
oregoncatalyst.com/27150-energyefficiency-myths-co....html

Building 'bridge to nowhere' in Milwaukie!!

Once feared of becoming the"ugliest bridge in America,” now the bridge TriMet is building may be the country’s most useless, at least for people trying to cross it on foot or by bike without an extra leap of faith. Local residents in 2011 panned TriMet’s design for a 1,675-foot-long light-rail bridge across Kellogg Lake, but its look got an aesthetic redesign. The bridge also gained favor with a concept for adding a parallel structure underneath to connect Lake Road with the Trolley Trail walkers and bikers. In 2012, city leaders celebrated getting the Oregon Department of Transportation to approve $1 million in Transportation Enhancement funds for the multi-use structure under the light-rail bridge being built across Kellogg Lake.
pamplinmedia.com/cr/24-news/214982-74013-building-...aukie

Building 'bridge to nowhere' in Milwaukie??

Once feared of becoming the"ugliest bridge in America,” now the bridge TriMet is building may be the country’s most useless, at least for people trying to cross it on foot or by bike without an extra leap of faith. Local residents in 2011 panned TriMet’s design for a 1,675-foot-long light-rail bridge across Kellogg Lake, but its look got an aesthetic redesign. The bridge also gained favor with a concept for adding a parallel structure underneath to connect Lake Road with the Trolley Trail walkers and bikers. In 2012, city leaders celebrated getting the Oregon Department of Transportation to approve $1 million in Transportation Enhancement funds for the multi-use structure under the light-rail bridge being built across Kellogg Lake. Milwaukie is responsible for an estimated $1 million shortfall to construct the bridge, according to its contract. Federal and state agencies are funneling $1.2 million through TriMet to complete the bridge, and, so far, Milwaukie has only allocated $200,000 more.
pamplinmedia.com/cr/24-news/214982-74013-building-...aukie

Portlanders resist major land-use changes!!

Not everyone thinks the land-use"grand bargain” approved by the 2014 Legislature is so grand. A compromise that resolved land-use planning problems in Washington County was hailed as one of the major accomplishments of the season that adjourned on March 7. It was supported by elected officials, developers, environmentalists and farmers to end the uncertainty created when the Oregon Court of Appeals rejected Metro’s 50-year plan for future growth and conservation in the region. But Jim Standring and Sandy Baker say the agreement does not meet their needs. Both of them had filed legal challenges in the appeals court to be allowed to subdivide their land. Standring owns 70 acres of farmland in unincorporated Washington County that he wants to develop as residential property. It is at the northwest corner of the Sunset Highway and Helvetia Road. Although Metro had designated the property for future development, the grand bargain prevents that from happening for the foreseeable future."I bought that property in 1993 because I knew it was situated for future development. It’s right along the freeway and is already served by utilities,” says Standring, a homebuilder who denounces the grand bargain as"an ill-conceived plan.”
www.pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/214155-72153-portla...anges

Milwaukie Light Rail Orange Line squeezes neighborhood parking!!

There is already competition for on-street parking in the Brooklyn neighborhood between SW 14th and 17th. But with TriMet’s new Orange Line just a block away neighbors said they may have to resort to parking permits in front of their own homes. TriMet employees use a lot of the street parking and the competition for parking will get worse as commuters from other parts of town park in the area, then hop on the MAX for the rest of the ride to work. TriMet admits at peak times there isn’t enough room for all its employees to park. Brookly neighbors are considering enrolling in a neighborhood permit system. They would tax themselves $60 per year for a permit to park near their own houses. Anyone else parking in the area without a permit would get tickets.

Report Shows $52 Million Dollars Wasted on Street Project which Makes Traffic Worse!!

To make matters worse, in September 2013 the entire road was shut down for three weeks and much of the new work torn up so that the light rail tracks could cross at grade just west of the new Willamette River rail bridge. Since accommodating light rail was the primary purpose of raising Moody in the first place, this additional retrofit simply wasted tax dollars and inconvenienced local travelers. Neither the City of Portland nor TriMet has provide a credible public explanation of why this was done.
oregoncatalyst.com/25990-report-shows-52-million-s...alyst)

Portland-to-Milwaukie Orange Line station gets Earth Cast For $1,000,000

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - The Portland-to-Milwaukie light rail line now has sculptures installed at one of its future stations. The cost of this one sculpture is One Million Dollars. Do You Think Tri-Met and Metro are growing beyond their means?
www.koin.com/news/multnomah-county/orange-line-sta...48367

MAX Green Line ships gangs to Clackamas County, survey suggests.

An uptick in gang banging around Clackamas County is tied mostly to gangsters based in Portland -- some who take TriMet's Green Line trains to Clackamas Town Center, according to a new survey. The survey lays some of the increase to recent transportation-system improvements, specifically the MAX light-rail line to Clackamas County that opened in 2009. Despite relatively few incidents on the trains themselves, deputies said they have seen an increase in graffiti tagging and thefts in the area, the telltale signs of gang activity. The majority of criminally active street gangs in Clackamas County are connected to outside gangs, most commonly from Portland.
www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2012/....html

Metro To End Single Family Homes!

Metro’s vision of ubiquitous apartment bunkers means that the region will slowly become a childfree zone, because few parents wish to raise their children in vertical housing. Portland parents, and those who hope to become parents, should ask hard questions about why the Metro Council thinks this is a great leap forward for livability.
oregoncatalyst.com/25472-metro-singlefamily-homes....alyst)

Metro To End Single Family Homes!

Metro’s vision of ubiquitous apartment bunkers means that the region will slowly become a childfree zone, because few parents wish to raise their children in vertical housing. Portland parents, and those who hope to become parents, should ask hard questions about why the Metro Council thinks this is a great leap forward for livability.
oregoncatalyst.com/25472-metro-singlefamily-homes....alyst)

Clackamas County Commissioners Demand I-205 Diversion Estimates

The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners wrote Gov. John Kitzhaber today with a warning: If they don't get good estimates on how tolling the Columbia River Crossing might affect Interstate 205, they'll officially oppose the project. The letter (PDF), dated today, says the commissioners have asked Kitzhaber three times in five years for how tolling Interstate 5 would affect I-205 and "have failed to release satisfactory answers." As WW reported, consultants CDM Smith have been preparing an investment grade analysis for tolling the $2.7 billion CRC. Emails obtained by WW show that state officials have long known that tolls on I5 would fill I-205 to capacity. The Oregonian reported last week that the commissioners were likely to send a "letter with teeth" regarding the proposed Oregon-only Interstate 5 project to replace bridges into Washington state, expand interchanges on both sides of the river and extend MAX lines to Vancouver.
www.wweek.com/portland/blog-30867-clackamas_county....html

Damascus Voters Could Dismantle Government!!

Damascus residents voted to become a city in 2004. That was two years after the Metro regional government included Damascus in the largest urban growth boundary expansion in state history. Those two changes meant a new Damascus city council had to draft a long-term plan for how the city would grow. Chris Hawes says regional plans to develop Damascus were flawed from the beginning. He says building city neighborhoods across the rocky hills and valleys of Damascus is so expensive, that it might never happen. And that makes city property taxes unnecessary. Dissolving the city would save taxpayers money, he argues. "The net would be a $2.53 per thousand of assessed value savings, which is about $600 or so for a house that’s assessed at $200,000.”"Metro needs to be dealt with,” says Anderson. "The city is going to be better able to deal with it. If we go back to county control, then we’re just relying on the county commissioners to make some of the decisions that we’ve already stepped through, and are we going to be happy with the people who are going to run the plan process at the county.”
www.opb.org/news/article/damascus-voters-could-dis...ment-

Convention Center Hotel Opponents Offer List of Failed Hyatts!

Metro Council President Tom Hughes didn't need say much to convince Portland City Council to cast the key votes for his long-desired $198 million Oregon Convention Center hotel. All five commissioners had tipped their hands well before the Wednesday vote.
Yet when Hughes presented the plan at City Hall, he made a bold claim: The Hyatt-run hotel at the convention center would succeed, because Hyatts don't fail.
www.wweek.com/portland/blog-30711-convention_cente....html