These are some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city and they want to charge every household $720 to $3,600 per year for 20 years. These guys are so detached.

(Note that the poll doesn't mention the "for 20 years" part.)

Sounds like another "gotch yer money now, sucka!" scheme.

Funny, how the funding that was collected for street maintenance got used up "for other transportation projects" in ritzier neighborhoods.

One huge problem this City Council has is their credibility must be near an all-time record low.

Not surprising at all. This jackwagon ran as a "progressive, equitable" candidate, and the people getting the BOHICA treatment from the administration continue to be those who can't afford to buy their way into Sam's good graces. And when the hell did basic services like streets and garbage become something that gets a surcharge, while the bike/Max playground gets forced down our throats.

Some other options that didn't make the list:

f) Tear up the road and put in row houses (free, sort of)

g) Fence the road and raise pigs or chickens (you're choice)

h) Trade-in you ill equipped vehicle for a monster truck (cost depends on what sponsors you can get)

i) Donate your road to the United Nations' kick native people off their land program ($5 per month, for no good reason)

Since when would it cost $6,000 to build about 50' of walkway? (Assuming 100' deep lots, one on either side, and they are only building 100' of walkway, on one side, so each home owner would be paying for about 50' of walkway.)

Note: only 39 "Followers" of the Circle Jerk.

If a politician falls in the city and no one pays attention, he won't make much of a noise. "Poof."

Unbelievable. Of course, the logical question that comes to mind is why are there still ANY residential/neighborhood streets in Portland still UNPAVED? What is this, the Philippines?

The way this is worded, it doesn't sound as if these are streets located in pockets of Multnomah County, which would be a county responsibility (I think there used to be some of those over in the SW Portland/Capital Highway/Multnomah Village area). In any event, the gall, expecting these residents to pony up the money to have it done, is breathtaking.

Maybe someone can provide some clue as to why anyone living in a city would want/choose to live with unpaved streets, as suggested by this City Facebook poll. Serious question; I don't understand the upside.

There's always the possibility that squeezing residents out of the poorer neighborhoods is the real goal. Don't forget who's in charge of the theme park.

I see he doesn't allow any comments on his question.

Snards, I posted on Jack's Aug 21st post "From the SamRand to you, a 20 year mortgage" that Sam's proposal would cost a poor east county 50 foot wide lot owner over $72,000 for the 20 year term of the Agreement for a little asphalt.

What a deal. Sam doesn't mention the added interest that might be charged for the 20 year term.

How about secret option Z:

"As a long time Portland resident who's paid taxes for years and never got a property tax break or included in a LID, how about you do the job you've promised each year for the last 30 years and PAVE THE EFFING STREET, and force the wealthy, out-of-state developers who developed the Pearl District, South Waterfront, and other areas of the downtown area to pay for their own streets instead of giving them a free ride, AND giving them a tax break for it!"

rbl, those streets are unpaved because they were built out when it was county land.

Portland and some other cities like Gresham, annexed it in the 1980s(?), but never paved the streets. At the time, they also forced many of the annexed households to put in expensive sewer systems because they were on septic.

I doubt any one "wants" to live on unpaved streets, but many of the residents may not have a lot of other choices. Those are affordable neighborhoods.

Not sure they got much from annexation than larger tax bills and a City Hall that barely remembers they exist. This is actually a perfect example of how in Portland, you don't want the city's attention. When the city turns its eye to your neighborhood, generally it's going to cost you in money or livability.

But they have to charge for it. After all it isn't a bike lane, bike boulevard, bike box, or bus pad.

They have to save valuable transportation funds for the worth causes like bike & ped, no money for cars.

Thanks
JK

Snards "At the time, they also forced many of the annexed households to put in expensive sewer systems because they were on septic."

Yes and no. The City did put in (much needed) sewer systems after the 1992 midcounty annexation. (At the time Outer Southeast was the largest unsewered urban area in the nation. Go, Portland!) However, "Of 22,000 households in the mid-Multnomah County annexation area, about 15,000 received sewer connection subsidies that averaged $2,300. Only residents who agreed to consent to annexation -- and the accompanying higher tax rate -- were granted the subsidies." The cost of the subsidies was borne by all of the City's ratepayers. In August of 1995 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that subsidy illegal without specifying a remedy. To the best of my very incomplete knowledge the City's ratepayers are nonetheless still covering those costs.

Edited to attribute the quote:

"Of 22,000 households in the mid-Multnomah County annexation area, about 15,000 received sewer connection subsidies that averaged $2,300. Only residents who agreed to consent to annexation -- and the accompanying higher tax rate -- were granted the subsidies . "

HOT TOPICS COURT AGAIN RULES AGAINST MIDCOUNTY ANNEXATION PROJECT
Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Saturday, August 19, 1995
Author: Nena Baker and Cami Castellanos - of The Oregonian staff

I never cease to be amazed at the lengths CoP goes to be trendy, often ignoring their own codes. Remember a while back when Adm. Randy went on a code jihad against all the food carts that had installed decking and electrical that had offended his emminence? Now this... Just today, the O's website had a story of an individual that was denied a permit to subdivide a property and build four residences because of a lack of parking. Yet, they can approve condos with dozens of units on Division, with no parking, and it's just ducky with them. Insanity.

I live in SW and until the city annexed our area, the county maintained the street (with no curbs, sidewalks or storm drains).

Now when the city is repaving a street one block away, they not only refuse to dump the leftover hot patch in a few pot holes, they warn of the ILLEGALITY of residents doing so.

So at Lowe's, I bought four, 50# bags of "Quickrete" asphalt cold patch @ $ 9 each, one gallon of tack @ $ 6 and did it myself. Covered the patches with plywood and drove my car over them four or five times. It took me 30 minutes.

Please don't rat me out ... I don't want to pay the $ 800 fine and have them dig out my work because I failed to get a permit (which would NOT be issued).

It's what we expect of our government lately.

Guerrilla pothole repair, could anything be more "Portland?" Nicely done, Itjd.

Obviously missing is the box that says discount your property tax bill by 25% if your street is without sidewalks or isn't paved.

(Itjd--I hope you drew in the concrete with a popsicle stick to comply with the 1% for Art mandate.)

We live near an unpaved street. It may serve as a traffic calming device, but we drive a couple of blocks out of our way to avoid it (adding to greenhouse gas emissions). Last summer we were thrilled to see a city crew working on the street, until we realized that rather than paving it, they simply scraped it down, dumped in more gravel, and rolled it. I asked the crew about it once it was obvious they weren't going to pave it, and they said it was a test case to see how long it held up, and if it worked out, that's what the city would be doing with all the other unpaved roads.

I haven't seen the crew back, but the potholes reappeared within a couple of months. I'm guessing the test failed.

There is ONLY one clear answer, we all need to move. The City of Portland, and their policies are detrimental to our physical, and mental health. Living here is causing all of us to endure a "Crisis of Character" in other words the continued actions of the Portland City Council, TriMet, and Metro are marginalizing us and making it more and more difficult to justify living here, in Portland and the Tri-County Area, much longer. Is it really worth the fight, or would we all be better off to just leave and start off in another community?

Thanks, Snards, for the info. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive to the financial constraints or lack of choices some people living on unpaved streets may have. I was actually mocking the Mayor's option #4, "I like my street unpaved" and wondering why they think someone would "like" their "street unpaved."

Maybe option #4 was included and written in that dickish way, as opposed to "I prefer that you leave it unpaved since it appears as though the other options will cost me a lot of money that I do not have and don't think I should have to pay, especially in light of the fact that I've already paid beaucoup dinero in property taxes which should cover paving streets."

So much for that Office of Equity.

Is it really worth the fight, or would we all be better off to just leave and start off in another community?

I doubt that I'll be leaving, but my days of singing the praises of Portland -- which I did for about 20 years to anyone who would listen -- are over. People like Katz, Blumenauer, Hales, Sten, Adams, Leonard, Kulongoski, and the rest of the Goldschmidt Party -- they've largely wrecked it. And the next wave -- Novick, Nolan, the Latest Kafoury, and that giant toad Jefferson Smith -- promise to be just as bad, if not worse.

ltjd wrote: Covered the patches with plywood and drove my car over them

Did you put a bird on it? I would very much like to see a bird pattern in the cement. Maybe some grooves that play birdsong. But seriously, nice job.

Mark wrote: There is ONLY one clear answer, we all need to move.

I foolishly resisted that option for years, and paid the price (literally and figuratively). I am much happier now that I live where routine paving and road repair is a thing.

Join me, and increase your happiness while you decrease your taxes and service fees. One forgets how good civilization can be. Let them eat their own in PDX.

Downtown Denizen,
Where are you living now?