Because there are so many wonderful bikey, walkie, train thingies to blow tax dollars on instead of street maintenance. Lookee here -- all the pretty colors. Shiny trains to nowhere -- it's for the children!
Comments (21)
Is it time yet to start referring to Metro HQ as "The Kremlin?"
The Democrips have been in power here so long that this should be no surprise to anyone. Keep voting in the dems and this is what you get..Its what " The voters " want so I hope that I dont hear any of them botch when everything else goes to crap and such..
Remember its for safety, the children, social justice, diversity. or any other schlock these asshats can think of to spend OPM...
I have seen some pretty dumb urban planning, but nothing that tops this mess. For my little part of the planet in Lake Oswego, Metro proposes bike/ped trails along Iron Mt. Rd. and Upper Dr. to the tune of $53 million. This cost is an insult in and of itself, but it is almost laughable when you consider that Iron Mt. already HAS a bike path, and Upper Dr. Is a quiet residential street that isn't designed to be an arterial for any kind of multi-modal "improvements". And the path they want to put along Kruse Way for $5 million.... We have one of those there too! What are they thinking?
My favorite is the "Surf-to-Turf" trail (I kid you not!) that runs along the edge of West Bay on Oswego Lake and proceeds along the shoreline to where Iron Mt. Rd. turns toward the Hunt Club. Will this be a condemnation of private land? The entire shoreline of Lake O is privately owned. What is going on in those little scheming pea brains, and how can we get rid of METRO the fastest way possible?
Looks like I mistook the gray line that is the data collection boundary for a trail system. My mistake. There is no planned trail on the shores of Lake O. But since planners and governments these days care little for private property rights, anything could happen, just not this time.
Message:
"The metro area WILL be transformed into a Multi-Modal Wonderland. Residents who don't like it can go screw themselves or go live somewhere else".
As a Tigard (and "Southwest Corridor") resident, this has got to be one of the worst planning documents I have ever seen. Even my kids have more sense and logic when writing up their Christmas lists to Santa Claus; this list reminds me of a kid who does nothing but plays SimCity all day long, and then writes his list to Santa, while watching Disney movies in the background...and I'm sure there are drugs involved somewhere as well (maybe some LSD?)
Putting bike lanes on steep uphill grades, while ignoring EXISTING bike lanes just a few hundred feet away next to a creek and a railroad (no hills!)? Building a $50 million overpass over Highway 217 and calling it part of a light rail project? Sidewalk improvements in Murrayhill, and linking it to a Bus Rapid Transit line between Portland and Tualatin???
What's worse is that 99% of the projects have no regional significance to them; yet this is a Metro funded and managed "project". Right off the top, every project should be listed for "regional significance" and if there is none (virtually all of them, and especially the LONG list of Portland submitted requests) they should be axed. The cities need to be responsible for their own sidewalks and bike lanes - NOT Metro and not regional funding.
Then, this project actually does not have any bus related projects, yet the idea is to come up with projects to link with bus and rail service. (Fortunately, there is nothing involving WES in this document. I think even Metro has acknowledged WES is a failure.) So we build a nice shiny new "high capacity transit" line down Barbur - now what? What if I need to ride a bus from 72nd Avenue? It's disjointed and there's no common link. Just a big wish list of projects, and a very loose definition of calling it transit-oriented.
I really need to start working on my proposal for Tigard to break away from TriMet...heck, Washington County should. No reason for Intel's payroll tax dollars to fund downtown government workers' MAX trains.
Erik - how do Tigard residents feel about the water partnership with LO? Are your water rates shooting up yet? Has your city given you an estimate of what this fiasco will cost you? We are fighting this and have to believe that Tigard residents are not happy either. With citizens left out of all planning and facts being twisted and hidden, how can we vote for or approve anything anymore? Bike Paths, water plants, tree codes... It's all insanity.
Nolo,
Watch for it to get worse. That word that sounds so good - Regional!
More being "really" left out of local decisions, or rights being reduced or taken.
Next up, this West Coast Exchange, that is even a larger entity taking a measure and control of our local resources.
Oh no! Not another one! I feel myself sinking further into the tar pit with the weight of multiple layers of government being piled on. Looks our old friends, CH2MHill are involved in this one to. Why am I surprised at all anymore.
Nolo,
If you hadn't heard, I am sorry to have been the bearer of more bad news.
This is the wave of the future?
I guess incrementally they will have gotten us used to not "having a say" so that they can pounce upon our rights and resources big time?
All for the good of whom?
I was pleased to hear that LO was able to change the direction of their council.
Too bad we weren't able to do the same in pdx.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (21)
Is it time yet to start referring to Metro HQ as "The Kremlin?"
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | February 18, 2013 4:18 PM
The Democrips have been in power here so long that this should be no surprise to anyone. Keep voting in the dems and this is what you get..Its what " The voters " want so I hope that I dont hear any of them botch when everything else goes to crap and such..
Remember its for safety, the children, social justice, diversity. or any other schlock these asshats can think of to spend OPM...
Posted by jgaltlives | February 18, 2013 4:41 PM
Sustainable stupidity.
Posted by RJBob | February 18, 2013 4:53 PM
Stupidity ain't sustainable....that's why we left Oregon just a year ago.
Posted by Kathe W. | February 18, 2013 4:57 PM
I have seen some pretty dumb urban planning, but nothing that tops this mess. For my little part of the planet in Lake Oswego, Metro proposes bike/ped trails along Iron Mt. Rd. and Upper Dr. to the tune of $53 million. This cost is an insult in and of itself, but it is almost laughable when you consider that Iron Mt. already HAS a bike path, and Upper Dr. Is a quiet residential street that isn't designed to be an arterial for any kind of multi-modal "improvements". And the path they want to put along Kruse Way for $5 million.... We have one of those there too! What are they thinking?
My favorite is the "Surf-to-Turf" trail (I kid you not!) that runs along the edge of West Bay on Oswego Lake and proceeds along the shoreline to where Iron Mt. Rd. turns toward the Hunt Club. Will this be a condemnation of private land? The entire shoreline of Lake O is privately owned. What is going on in those little scheming pea brains, and how can we get rid of METRO the fastest way possible?
Posted by NoloNolo | February 18, 2013 5:00 PM
Do you lefties realize that your policies cause this crap?
Posted by tna | February 18, 2013 5:25 PM
"Lights on" maintenance is boring, predictable, and not very sexy. And those streets already have names.
New, bold, visionary projects are what you can leave your mark on. They already have powers of taxation... what more justification does one need?
Posted by Downtown Denizen | February 18, 2013 5:46 PM
heh...Yeah...Legacy projects; 'leave their mark on'.
We know what that translates to....
We're about to be 'marked' again.
Posted by godfry | February 18, 2013 5:54 PM
Looks like I mistook the gray line that is the data collection boundary for a trail system. My mistake. There is no planned trail on the shores of Lake O. But since planners and governments these days care little for private property rights, anything could happen, just not this time.
Posted by NoloNolo | February 18, 2013 6:00 PM
Message:
"The metro area WILL be transformed into a Multi-Modal Wonderland. Residents who don't like it can go screw themselves or go live somewhere else".
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | February 18, 2013 6:12 PM
Speaking of Shiny Trains ">http://www.kptv.com/story/21232369/caught-on-camera-max-door-open-as-train-travels-at-full-speed>
Posted by tankfixer | February 18, 2013 6:15 PM
I have not seen a planning wet dream of this scale since Dick and Rummy were handing out drilling rights in Iraq back in '03!
Posted by Old Zeb | February 18, 2013 7:17 PM
'projects are what you can leave your mark on.'
leave your mark....
yeah....like skidmarks in their underwear....
Posted by thaddeus | February 18, 2013 7:18 PM
The streets and other public services will keep crumbling until there is meaningful PERS reform.
Posted by adp | February 18, 2013 7:49 PM
As a Tigard (and "Southwest Corridor") resident, this has got to be one of the worst planning documents I have ever seen. Even my kids have more sense and logic when writing up their Christmas lists to Santa Claus; this list reminds me of a kid who does nothing but plays SimCity all day long, and then writes his list to Santa, while watching Disney movies in the background...and I'm sure there are drugs involved somewhere as well (maybe some LSD?)
Putting bike lanes on steep uphill grades, while ignoring EXISTING bike lanes just a few hundred feet away next to a creek and a railroad (no hills!)? Building a $50 million overpass over Highway 217 and calling it part of a light rail project? Sidewalk improvements in Murrayhill, and linking it to a Bus Rapid Transit line between Portland and Tualatin???
What's worse is that 99% of the projects have no regional significance to them; yet this is a Metro funded and managed "project". Right off the top, every project should be listed for "regional significance" and if there is none (virtually all of them, and especially the LONG list of Portland submitted requests) they should be axed. The cities need to be responsible for their own sidewalks and bike lanes - NOT Metro and not regional funding.
Then, this project actually does not have any bus related projects, yet the idea is to come up with projects to link with bus and rail service. (Fortunately, there is nothing involving WES in this document. I think even Metro has acknowledged WES is a failure.) So we build a nice shiny new "high capacity transit" line down Barbur - now what? What if I need to ride a bus from 72nd Avenue? It's disjointed and there's no common link. Just a big wish list of projects, and a very loose definition of calling it transit-oriented.
I really need to start working on my proposal for Tigard to break away from TriMet...heck, Washington County should. No reason for Intel's payroll tax dollars to fund downtown government workers' MAX trains.
Posted by Erik H. | February 19, 2013 10:08 AM
If Tigard breaks away from Metro- pls. annex Se Portland.
Go Damascus!
Posted by Mamacita | February 19, 2013 11:00 AM
Erik - how do Tigard residents feel about the water partnership with LO? Are your water rates shooting up yet? Has your city given you an estimate of what this fiasco will cost you? We are fighting this and have to believe that Tigard residents are not happy either. With citizens left out of all planning and facts being twisted and hidden, how can we vote for or approve anything anymore? Bike Paths, water plants, tree codes... It's all insanity.
Posted by Nolo | February 19, 2013 8:08 PM
It's all insanity.
Nolo,
Watch for it to get worse. That word that sounds so good - Regional!
More being "really" left out of local decisions, or rights being reduced or taken.
Next up, this West Coast Exchange, that is even a larger entity taking a measure and control of our local resources.
Posted by clinamen | February 19, 2013 9:09 PM
Oh no! Not another one! I feel myself sinking further into the tar pit with the weight of multiple layers of government being piled on. Looks our old friends, CH2MHill are involved in this one to. Why am I surprised at all anymore.
Posted by Nolo | February 20, 2013 7:14 AM
Nolo,
If you hadn't heard, I am sorry to have been the bearer of more bad news.
This is the wave of the future?
I guess incrementally they will have gotten us used to not "having a say" so that they can pounce upon our rights and resources big time?
All for the good of whom?
I was pleased to hear that LO was able to change the direction of their council.
Too bad we weren't able to do the same in pdx.
Posted by clinamen | February 20, 2013 10:14 AM
Why Portland streets will keep crumbling
And Portland huge trees will keep "tumbling"
. . . a grand one likely chopped if not stopped!
http://www.kgw.com/news/Fighting-to-save-their-Sequoia-191930631.html
The bike lobbyists win out over a 120 foot high and 18 feet wide Sequoia in Pier Park??
Posted by clinamen | February 20, 2013 2:48 PM