The good news is that the Streetcar is all but dead. The Sellwood Bridge construction has eliminated a good part of the graded right-of-way and track, and it looks like it will not be replacable. Lake Oswego looks like it is getting eager to get some kind of a trolley in operation this year - I believe the pressure is on before an adverse abandonment is filed (the adjoining property owners file with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to reclaim the underlying land granted as a land grant to the original railroad.) Once that happens, it will cost hundreds of millions for the local governments to re-purchase, re-grade, and re-build the line.

So, in a way, we can thank Milwaukie MAX for killing off the Lake Oswego Streetcar, because of the whole financial shenanigans between MAX and the Sellwood Bridge.

One can only hope.

Let's hope the members of the LO city council stay safe and well if they do manage to stop the developer weasels.

Pardon me for saying this, but what's to stop the urban planners from running the streetcar down the middle of Hwy 43 and side-stepping the issue with the former rail right-of-way? They've done this in the past with light rail and streetcars. All that needs to happen is for the state to sell the highway or transfer authority over it, and I thought Portland (or Metro) was angling for just that?

Grumpy, as you may know, part of the proposed streetcar line from SoWhat to LO is in the middle of State 43 through the Johns Landing area. That makes for one traffic lane in each direction for parts of it. How's that for helping move the 48,000 trips per day through this major corridor?

It's like the reductions on SW Barbur Blvd to one lane going south from Duniway Park to Hamilton to accommodate widened bike lanes. And the many other streets around Portland that use to be two lanes going in one direction-now one lane to accommodate bikes and bioswales. Our so-called state highways aren't even sacred anymore. Portland rules the State.

At least ODOT is not eager to turn over Barbur Boulevard to the city since it is the only reliever for I-5 between downtown Portland and Tigard. The idea of removing a travel lane is seeing resistance.

But ODOT would love to get Macadam Avenue off its books. Just as ODOT has turned over Sandy Blvd., Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, North Portland Road, and M.L.K. Boulevard (Union Avenue). I'm sure ODOT would love to also dispense of 82nd Avenue, Lombard/Killingsworth/NE Portland Highway, Marine Drive (I-5 to North Portland Road), and a number of other streets that no longer have a "statewide importance" to it. The only thing stopping the jurisdictional swap of Macadam is West Linn, because West Linn is refusing to accept responsibility for the road thanks to decades of deferred maintenance on that part of the road unless ODOT spends about $25 million to rebuild the road in the city (ODOT is only offering the city a couple million dollars to make some repairs.) It may end up that ODOT will retain Oregon 43 as a spur route from downtown Oregon City to Marylhurst University (the West Linn/Lake Oswego city limit), and the portion of the road in Lake Oswego and Portland (and unincorporated Dunthorpe) be turned over to the city or county.

Erik H., it would be a huge mistake for ODOT to turn over any part of 43 clear into South Waterfront. Much of Clackamas Co. environs, Gladstone, Oregon City, West Linn, Lake Oswego and even SE Portland and beyond using 43. This adds up to over 300,000 people directly dependent on 43.

Then you have South Waterfront that is extremely dependent on 43 for its south and intermediate access points. What about the 10,000 jobs and 5,000 people that are suppose to live there? What about Nike coming to South Waterfront?

OR 43 certainly has "statewide importance".