How soft are the East Side streetcar budget numbers? (Jack Bog's Blog)

The City of Portland is well on its way to extending its expensive and inefficient streetcar system to the Idaho side of the Willamette River. There's federal money out there to pay some of the construction costs, and around here that's enough of an excuse to build whatever the condo developers want, even if there are substantial construction and operating costs that local taxpayers are going to have to cover.

The initial liars' budget for the project construction is $147 million. Everybody knows that in the early stages of transportation infrastructure projects, the proponents of the system can barely hold back their laughter when it comes to discussing costs. They're always underestimated, and often by wide margins.

At this point in the east side streetcar fiasco, the Portland Development Commission is looking to spend $50,000 to $75,000 to hire a firm to conduct a "risk assessment" of the plan. This will supposedly instill some realism into the scope, budget, and schedule for the project; and give a critique of its sponsor, management, design, and construction contract.

Bids for the risk assessor work are due over the next two business weeks, and the winning contractor is supposed to have its first phase of findings to the PDC by Christmas. (A perfect time for it to get lost in the holiday shuffle.) The final report will be due in late March.

Comments (4)

Perhaps the real risk being assessed is whether or not the feds will cough up the money for this toonerville trolley
The feds have already said they are not too impressed with trolleys. The question then becomes do the taxpayers need to pay for this study?
Just add this cost to the debt clock.
So much for the refomation of PDC. It sure didn't take this newer bunch very long to be just like the previous bunch of crooks.

Posted by portland native | October 8, 2007 5:12 PM

Most likely the EastSide trolley will be as soft as the two trolley extensions from PSU to RiverPlace, then to SW Lowell in SoWhat. But there are always ways Sam the Tram and others cover the shortages.

For example PDC took the $6Million from The Strand condos in RiverPlace land sale which the PDC owned and gave it to the extension into SoWhat. Additionally, they will take the Parcel 3 which they also own just south of The Strand and apply it to the trolley extension costs from RiverPlace to Lowell. And don't forget the $3Million that Sam took from the general Transportation budget and gave to the shortfall in the trolley extension to SW Gibbs.

Certainly the EastSide Trolley is soft, but when you have PDC and Sam working together there is always a rabbit in the hat. Then Sam and Chris Smith will claim that no public tax dollars were used to build the trolley-the continuing shell game.

Posted by Jerry | October 8, 2007 8:25 PM

"The initial liars' budget for the project construction is $147 million."

Let's just hope it's not as far off as the original streetcar estimates and its extensions... does anyone remember what those were?

Posted by JKG | October 9, 2007 4:18 PM

I like the idea of building up streetcar infrastructure -- I think it will do good things for the city.

Still, I'm a little skeptical of this plan. I just don't understand who it connects to where, either in today's eastside or in any plausible future eastside. All those people communing from OMSI to Lloyd Center seem to be getting by OK as it is -- why not connect, say, a heavily residential area with a shopping area?

I just don't understand where the demand's going to come from on this particular route.

Posted by Pete Forsyth | October 12, 2007 1:40 PM

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Monday, October 8, 2007

How soft are the East Side streetcar budget numbers?

Comments (4)

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