Blah Blah Blah.
Mainstream media in this area will not cover any dissenting opinions on this topic. Only glowing gushy praise of the most idiotic sort is allowed when it comes to Trimet light rail projects. We all know the local government basically controls the mainstream media here in Portlandia.
How do people really feel about the project? Here is a sampling of comments from the only newspaper in town. And its not the government paradigm. Sure there are some positive but the majority are not exactly complimentary
Brian Owendoff
2 days ago
On the positive side, no risk of max hitting speeds of 106 MPH like the train that caused the tragic accident outside Philadelphia.
Our system is one of the few in the country that has no slow down to a crawl when temperatures are above 85 degrees.
$205 million per mile for a slow ride. BRT is a more sensible solution for "Mass" transit in portland.
Too bad commensurate investments in the mode of transportation that 95% of Oregonians choose to utilize in highways & road infrastructure is not also being made
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dontlie2me
2 days ago
The light rail system as designed, built and operated in Portland is not a mass transit system. It is not a rapid transit system. It is not a 'green' system. And it is absolutely not an economically feasible system. As this article points out, the light rail system, as designed, built and operated costs in excess of $200 Million dollars per mile to build. The light rail system as designed, built and operated travels at approx. 18MPH. The light rail system as designed, built and operated is only capable of moving about 2,000 passengers per hour in one direction. The light rail system as designed, built and operated requires massive amounts of electricity to operate. The MAX system is PGE's biggest customer in terms of how much power MAX consumes. These are all by design and cannot be changed. The Federal Highway Admin. estimates $200 Million gets you 3 - 4 miles of 6 lane expressway capable of moving 25,000 vehicles per hour @ 55mph.
The next phase of the light rail system is designed to travel from downtown boondoggle land, to Sherwood, using Barbur Blvd - 99W as its route. It will reduce this thoroughfare from a 5 land highway to a 2 lane street with railroad tracks running down the middle. Vehicle traffic would be reduced by 70%, the speed limit reduced and many, if not most, left turns eliminated. Own a business along the route???
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Concerned
2 days ago
Will Kate give all SEIU/OPEU free passes to ride another boondoggle so the numbers will look good on ridership? How many roads/bridges be repaired/maintained for the high costs of a failed metro system that the majority of Oregonians will never ride?
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Hill_3110
2 days ago
Over $3,000 an inch! And that is just capital cost. Conductors, and free rides will cost extra.
@Hill_3110
And Operating costs will be equally loaded with overhead, salary, benefit costs and some actual operating expenses.
Crime Met is going to have to hire another half dozen "Public Relations Spokespersons"....that never answer any questions.
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theobserver
2 days ago
Why is this news, and who really cares if the accidental governor rides a train, a bus, or even crawls on her hands and knees.
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lbs
lbs
2 days ago
If reducing congestion and pollution from automobiles (pollution no longer applicable since the introduction of ecu controlled fuel injected engines) is actually the governments goal, then an honest start would be the proclamation that all employees of the government, all city,state etc be mandated to ride public transportation. Coupled with all employees of downtown businesses also to ride public transportation as a stipulation of their employment. Imagine the reduction of congestion on the roads when the vehicle of every government employee stays home during the workday, after all, the government is the largest employer in the state
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SP Red Electric
2 days ago
@Concerned Exactly.
Let me know when Governor Kate and Senator Jeff ride a TriMet bus. Not a "V.I.P. Coach" but an ordinary, revenue, regularly scheduled, route bus, with ordinary citizens on it.
Hell will freeze over before they co-mingle with the dirty scum that they call "Constituents" on Election Night and "annoyances" the day after.
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Concerned
Concerned
2 days ago
PHOTO opts for the substitute gov. kate, and Oregon's joke senator merkley, all part of the 2016 campaign roll out. How is the transportation bill going Katie? Time to spend time back in the marble palace, repeal the cylvia carbon tax, pass a transportation bill, and at least act like a real governor for the people not just the libs puppet you currently are.
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Hill_3110
2 days ago
Orange Line: With stops at 'Felony Flats,' 'Thug Avenue,' 'Don't Get off Here, Place,' and Sam Adams' 'Kissing Corner.' And they did this without even approval by the voters. What next will they do? Silence is consent.
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FreedomOfSpeechInOregon
2 days ago
MAX is exactly what a mafia creates in a city where the documentary "Portlandia" is made. MAX is exactly why the Feds need to stop subsidizing mass-transit projects.
Lets see, MAX handles 1/10th the riders at 10X the cost of Highway 26. Overall, MAX moves 1%. MAX uses more energy than private auto and is less reliable. The true cost per ride on MAX is higher than private auto. MAX is in all ways INFERIOR.
So to summarize: MAX is simply a way for Construction companies to siphon off Federal Money while building something nobody uses, nobody wants.
Now everything I just said would go completely over the heads of Merkely and Brown - which points to another problem - "why did you elect such retards?" Oh, I forgot - you didn't elect one of them.
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FreedomOfSpeechInOregon
FreedomOfSpeechInOregon
2 days ago
It seems sick that the supporters of MAX like it for it's entertainment value - "its a great way to get to a Blazer game".
It would be much cheaper to chauffeur these clowns to the game.
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Lorca
2 days ago
The "Loot Rail Mafia" lives on.
New cast of characters.
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NJAO
2 days ago
@TradeWind Liberal elites are too busy living in Eastmoreland, in detached single family housing, which is set to be downzoned in density from R5 to R7 (min 7,000 sqft lots) in the Portland Comp Plan update despite being adjacent to a new, $1.5 billion fixed rail line. They also installed turnstiles at the Bybee stop to keep the riff raff out.
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Flyer
1 day ago
@porsadgai @Flyer @FreedomOfSpeechInOregon @TradeWind
Well, the last #'s I've seen showed that Trimets fees covered about 22% of operating costs. Nothing for Cap cost, interest expense, etc. Not sure that I'd consider that a "success". Maybe even getting it 50% of all would be considered a real success?
As far as "paving over" - I'd love to see some new lanes on the busiest routes. Cars are still, and for the foreseeable future, the most often used for of transportation.
I believe at last count that between 10-12% people use Trimet (including MAX) for commuting. I am not saying to do away with it, however seems as though they are a lot of funds on something that serves a much smaller percentage of the people.
Portland can't seem to allocate the funds they have to keep the current streets in order. Perhaps we could use some transportation funds for the roads going forward.
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NevadaDave
1 day ago
So nice to see all the political parasites enjoying their free ride. No doubt the last time you will see any of them riding the crime train. Meanwhile, ordinary taxpayers will be paying for this boondoggle for decades.
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Roadking
1 day ago
This disgusts me---on multiple levels---Clackamas County fought it for 10 years---voted down twice--passed three measures to try to stop it---countless meetings---Milwaukie had to pass a bond measure to pay their $5mil share---commissioners borrowed $20mil from B of A three days before the passing of a measure that would have stopped the funding----that money is being paid back by the general fund with debt service of course--BLIGHT-met said we want our money now before the election ---$1.5bil boondoggle---destroyed 60 homes, 25 businesses, environmentally devasting---history has proven that it does not get cars off the road and that crime will escalate by 50%--- it is not green in any stretch of the imagination---tragic
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scatcatpdx
1 day ago
This is profane on many levels:
"Gov. Kate Brown was like a kid with a new toy Friday, pressing her face against the glass of the operator's cockpit of one of TriMet's newest trains as it made the first run with passengers on the $1.5-billion Portland-Milwaukie light rail line."
A new toy bought with our tax dollars while cutting bus service to support Trimet's new toy. In rock creek are the Will Creek Max was served by 47, 48, 52 and buss 89 served the Rock Creek / Parkview to Sunset transit center. Now we on have the 52. No more route 89.
For one million dollars each, we cold buy 100 X3-45 Commuter Coach (what bolt drives) with all the amenities,offer free doughnuts and papers. pay for all the maintenance and driver wages cost for 10 yeas and still not come close to the cost for the Orange line.
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bottaboom11
2 days ago
Must be serendipity I got caught by this very train yesterday morning crossing SE 17th in that new "road diet" area. With the gates coming down 20 seconds before the 9mph behemoth slithered through, along with another 20 seconds for the gate to go back up long after it passed, it really fouled up the intersection of 99e and 17th.
I feel so much better flipping off the train now.
Keep it weird PDX.
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Ready For Hillary!!!!!
2 days ago
"Gov. Brown acted as a tour guide for Merkley and other passengers, pointing out landmarks and restaurants along the way -- making sure everyone knew of her east Portland roots."
She came to Oregon to go to law school - in west Portland.
Those are deep roots!
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Hill_3110
2 days ago
@Ready For Hillary!!!!! Did she point out the locations where new gangs would take up residence? How people along the route will lose their businesses when the neighborhood turns to garbage? More 'pins' for the crime map.
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dwr
2 days ago
Is this the same Orange Line Clackamas voters didn't want?
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@BigDaddy
Express buses would have been better than the Yellow line.
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Hill_3110
2 days ago
@BigDaddy Portland Light Rail is a real study in democracy. After all the votes not to build, only to be ignored, we quit voting. Now we are ready for the new way of business at state and federal level. Thanks, Merkley.
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gottalovethat
2 days ago
Hey dems, why the grandstanding today for a trimet line that's not open to the public for 4 more months?? Gotta love government efficiency!!
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BigDaddy
2 days ago
Hey Oregonians, open your mouth and say Ahhhhhh so we can shove this down your throats.
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akoni
2 days ago
@editchick @WebFootSTi @michael22 it takes four months to teach someone how to push a button that says "go" and another button that says "stop"?
Good old fashioned government efficiency.
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Roadking
1 day ago
We fought it for 10 years---voted it down twice---passed three measures trying to stop it---don't tell me we're late
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bigmike46
2 days ago
Just another liberal dog and pony show to celebrate the wasting of Other People's Money
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Skyline
2 days ago
New Photo Caption
"Governor Brown, seen here navigating the most difficult chapter in hers and Oregon's history by succesfully stepping down from the platform, is shown with her right hand man , Jeff Merkley in the background, whose handlers to help him down are not shown...AP Photo"
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BigDaddy
2 days ago
Too bad they don't have any money to take care of our crumbling infrastructure. I wonder who is going to take care of more trains?
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Concerned Citizen
2 days ago
Kate and Jeff- Dumb and Dumber II. Another huge waste of taxpayer money that should have been used for highway improvements. Never overestimate the intelligence of Oregon democrats.
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BigDaddy
2 days ago
1.5 billion would have gone a long way on a CRC bridge, especially if it didn't have light rail on it.
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bananadan
2 days ago
@BigDaddy the problem is that they think it will bring crime and sleezeballs to their neighborhoods. Aside from the fact that both criminals and sleezeballs are already there, there's little reason to think that the addition of light rail will do anything other than reduce traffic jams, and will cost commuters less to get to and from work once they add in all the costs including parking as well as petroleum. Clark County is deeply misguided, but I don't see how we can fix that. I do think that a big fat TOLL on the bridge would wake people up to the fact that driving everywhere is hardly free, and that it is heavily subsidized by all of us. We have a society. No wonder we sometimes are called upon to engage SOCIALLY to create solutions and build collectively-owned infrastructure. The attitude of BigDaddy and others will lead to bridges falling directly into the river due to lack of maintenance and building. Oh well . . . less Clark County leeches crossing into Multnomah area to collect their salaries and escape back to income-tax-free Washington!
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hilaryclinto
2 days ago
@JHM2 @BigDaddy If you carefully follow the money, Oregon is actually run by the NGOs of the environment, the parallel government bureaucracy created by the Tip O'Neil and before Democrat House Speakers. There is no visible line between being employed by Government and Big Environment, and they share the same employee pool. Look at Merkley's employment record. Follow Oregon agency heads, even our Governor, as they wind in and out of environmental law school, to agency jobs to liberal litigation law firms, back to elected or appointed Democrat jobs. The OregonWild, Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, ad nauseum NGOs, and then they are working at Interior, USFS, EPA and then back to Oregon. Or for congressional committees with environment jurisdiction.
But the real depth to their tentacles of government involvement had to be Cylvia Hayes and her loose canon First Lady agenda of personal gain and environmental causes. The whole of the Global Climate/environment scare deal is about how much money to government coffers, and how much the politicians can siphon off to private side cohorts and buddy socialism. Cylvia was just another environmental concubine in Oregon, lining her coffers with free government money. Not an anomaly. The Greenies forgot to properly vet her. You can be sure they are vetting harder now. And still have their fifth column at work in government.
There are billions and billions to be had. Grow the bureaucracy. The real impact is that government has brain drained the private side to the point the US now is sorely deficient in innovation, growth, and productivity. Stalled. Our economy is stalled. Government has grown and has strangled the private innovation side of practical daily endeavors. Hence, light rail was well under way before Big Dig sewer was approved. Turds in the Willamette were secondary to light rail. The Oregon economic choice
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BigDaddy
2 days ago
Street cars going over the Broadway bridge was so the rich people in the Pearl could get to the Blazer games without having to get on a bus with common people. Big waste of money that one was. So is this.
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NJAO
2 days ago
"She gushed about the Tilikum Crossing bridge, saying it was not only the prettiest bridge to cross the Willamette, but "the most beautiful bridge in the world."
google "The Millau Viaduct" governor
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