In order to avoid the Banfield I've been using Broadway to get to I-5 North and then going over the Fremont Bridge to catch the I-405 south. Now I'm stymied.

I used to go down Burnside to cut over to the Morrison bridge to go to my once a month downtown appointment. Now I'm stymied.

I used to use Multnomah Blvd to avoid 99W and the I-5 south of Terwilliger coming home at night, but a new sign advises me that sewer construction on Multnomah will soon have me stymied.

Is it just me, or do others get the feeling that the city of Portland is deliberately blocking every alternate route on their daily commute?

The construction along the entire length of MLK and Grand and at intersections with major east/west streets (Burnside, Broadway) has created a gigantic barrier of crawling traffic basically running the length of the river across from downtown. This has gone on for many many months now. Or has it been more than a year? I lose track.

The total disregard on the part of the City for the normal functioning of the community, it's people and businesses is breathtaking. For all of our great "planning reputation" we sure can't seem to plan how to sequence a transportation projects in a sane manner.

And all for a streetcar that nobody asked for, going to places that tourists don't want to go, taking resources from more useful modes of transit.

How many times did we vote down the Lite Rail?? And Rapid Transit with compressed gas (air quality) is less than 1% of the cost. Naw, let's ride the Forrest Gump Railroad in this mentally challenged Borough. We just can't throw away money fast enough, bail out the developers.

Wow. That pretty much tears it for me going to much of the East side until this is over. Aside from visiting frineds who live in Irvington, most of my reasons for going to the East side involve spending money at local businesses. Sorry, but the travel frustration means loss of business for them. The West side is torn up enough.

I used to use Multnomah Blvd to avoid 99W and the I-5 south of Terwilliger coming home at night, but a new sign advises me that sewer construction on Multnomah will soon have me stymied.

It sure will. I got caught in the start of it the other day and it sucked.

Multnomah is the best east/west thoroughfare out here in SW. Depending on how far west you need to go (and where you need to end up north/south), you could look at cutting down to SW Garden Home. Or cutting up to SW Vermont.

I've found that getting to know the shortcuts available by cutting through SW residential neighborhoods is a fine use of one's time.

"I've found that getting to know the shortcuts available by cutting through SW residential neighborhoods is a fine use of one's time."

I'm sure the neighborhoods appreciate the increased traffic flow on their residential streets. Good thing we don't build roads anymore - we wouldn't want to put through traffic on infrastructure built for through traffic...

Flynn,
I'm basically trying to get from old downtown Tigard to the Marquam bridge. Any tips would be appreciated. It takes three or four lights to get onto 99W from our place so I've been avoiding it by going Greenburg, Oleson, Garden Home, Multmonah and jumping on I5 at Terwilliger.

My family business is WC Winks' Hardware. We moved to the CES from the Pearl in 2001. We managed to get our business through the recession, but this construction for the big pipe and now the trolley is very!!! bad for business, not only for us but for all the other inner east side establishments as well.
We moved the business to get away from the Pearl District madness. I think I can state with certainty that none of our customers are going to ride the trolley to shop at Winks', the roofing supply, the produce wholesalers, Mesher, or Miller Paint, and the hundreds of other industrial suppliers.

Anne, they just don't care. Their goal is to run all industrial activity out of the street car loop and make it all a tourist destination. Coffee shops, gift shops and used book stores will be our economic salvation, in their view. Then it will be like Amsterdam and they will be happy.

Anne, in this city, a cycle for a business staying put in one place is about 15 years now. Then you'll be forced to move because of the "higher and best use" formula. Rezoning, mass transit, subsidies, higher property taxes due to rezoning and you're out of there. Capitalize on your investment and think nothing of what really makes a city: the neighborhoods.

Remember just a few years ago when you moved there, the inner eastside was going to be an incubator of jobs, small industry and businesses will prosper, and PDC and Katz and Sam told you so. You are toast as well as many other businesses like yours. I was just there yesterday at McGee Blinds. They'll be joining you out in Beaverton or Tigard and your land will be Condos and Coffee Shops. That will add a total of 21 miles to my shopping trip and that is certainly Green.

Now Sam wants to do the same trolleys on SW Macadam, SW Barbur and SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy. Gridlock will make us all go by donkey because it will be faster than trolley.

Long time customer of yours

Thanks Dave and Lee.
I realize the city doesn't care, but I just had to whine a little bit! I know it won't do any good, but I said it anyway.
It is frustrating that those of us who provide the jobs get kicked around by the bureaucrats who seem to have no compunction about firing people, and have never really had to make a payroll, by earning the money they spend.
Thanks for your support of small businesses in the city.

The construction is just part of it.

Portland, along with Metro and TriMet, have managed to sucker the federal government into using TRANSPORTATION dollars for a project whose connection to transportation is rather weak. The Streetcar was never intended to move people, just a sexy little toy for people who are too drunk to walk from a bar to get back home four blocks away.

Now, there's only so many transportation dollars in the pot. Highways can't be touched. How dare light rail be stopped. So what gets hit? BUSES. TriMet pays over $3 million each year in a check to the City of Portland to pay for Streetcar operations - on top of providing all of the operating personnel, the track maintenance, and planning/construction support. When the Eastside Loop is completed, TriMet's contribution will be $5 million/annually.

Meanwhile, TriMet is cutting bus routes. So you folks in Oregon City, Sherwood, Forest Grove and Troutdale - you're losing your transportation options, so that we can run streetcars in circles downtown. Seriously. And a large number of those Streetcar riders will pay nothing, or will pay a tiny fraction of what TriMet riders pay - an annual Streetcar/Tram pass for $100; yet an annual TriMet pass costs $946 - even if you travel exclusively within Forest Grove, or only within Oregon City.

Why do we need a Streetcar loop? Someone mentioned "how many times do we vote down light rail?" Well, the City, Metro and TriMet have finally realized that citizens vote it down, so they found ways to get the project going without a vote of the people. And TriMet's even worse - you can't even vote for the Board of Directors. Your only vote for TriMet is the Governor.

Fortunately, we have two Republican candidates (Allen Alley and Chris Dudley) who have already made public comments stating they would halt the Milwaukie MAX project. I've already moved outside of the City of Portland, changed my party affiliation from Democrat to "Non-Affiliated" and it'll be time to vote (R) in the General Election...and voting in a Metro President who doesn't live in Multnomah County (Tom Hughes, former Mayor of Hillsboro).

Erik H.
Thanks for your information.

Isn't it really all about the permanent tracks that facilitate the tax abated developments?

Earl Blumenauer is the part of all of this with the federal dollars.
Willamette Week article:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3345/9589

Darn. I was getting used to the idea that before I die I could ride from my Milwaukie home to downtown Portland. Of course the reality is that I don't find much downtown worth the hassle.

Which gubernatorial candidates will shut down all the eastside streetcar construction? The MAX is an upgrade over buses (although at a highly subsidized cost I believe) but the streetcar is just cuter than a bus, messes up the streets for cars, bikes and trucks and costs way more. And is just faster than walking.

All I want to know is when are they going to change the name TRIMET to PTSD?
Portland Transit/Streetcar District?
They could at least be honest about this stuff, oh wait, I forgot, its local government. Stupid me.

If you're old enough and have lived here long enough you saw the first set of trolly tracks torn up. I believe we will live to see the second, once the folly of all this is recognized by the majority.