Downtown Portland heading from bad to worse
We may have a shiny new train coming in from Milwaukie, all right -- but given the coming increase in the number of homeless and mentally ill people on downtown Portland streets, nobody's going to want to come, from Milwaukie or elsewhere. "Wahhh! The state and the feds cut our funding!" Well, o.k., geniuses -- knock it off with the dopey streetcars and MAX lines. "Oh, no -- never -- linchpin smart growth sustainable peak oil density walkable 20-minute healthy yada yada." Fine -- suit yourselves.
It's really not complicated.
| Posted at 10:51 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
Couldn't this be a good thing? Fewer Services = Less incentive to be here.
Posted by Blake | September 14, 2011 11:00 AM
Who says any of this was ever about solving transportation issues?
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | September 14, 2011 11:02 AM
And I just read in the O that PBoT wants to buy State Hwy 43 from the state. Gee, I wonder why? Watch the money magically appear from BoA via another loan. .
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | September 14, 2011 11:06 AM
Mr. Grumpy,
It never was about solving transportation, was it?
Many of us will remember who pushed this and who wants back in to do more!
Posted by clinamen | September 14, 2011 11:23 AM
SO they built a new homeless Hilton by the train station
and down the street on Broadway
and another one next to that one
and now they can't pay for it.
Posted by Sick of PDX | September 14, 2011 11:35 AM
Hasn't it always just been about building, then not good planning for operational costs?
How many vacancies do we have in apartments, condos, homes? I see many for rent signs.
Concerning money needed for social services, look at the big hole up at Powell Butte for the storage tank not needed, $137 million dollars poured down that hole. Leonard used an emergency ordinance to get it too! Don't know what was said at that hearing, did he get the council to go for it based on "in case we wouldn't get an exemption on that EPA LT2 rule?"
By the way, it doesn't look like he really wants to stop spending, no matter what kind of letter or press release he sends out, appearances are one thing, details are another.
Posted by clinamen | September 14, 2011 11:54 AM
Health services are supposed to come from the County. But the city steals a huge chunk of County money through Urban Renewal.
From the standpoint of a pure inter-governmental territorial p*ssing match, the city has no incentive to help with this stuff. In fact, the city has the financial incentive to expand Urban Renewal districts and make the problem worse.
"It never was about solving transportation, was it?"
It is about the perfect confluence in Portland of cynical development and political interests, with an entrenched infrastructure of dewy-eyed planners who back it all up with baseless theories on how to engineer human behavior.
Posted by Snards | September 14, 2011 1:04 PM
The insanity and dishonesty could currently be greatest in Clackamas County where 4 commissioers place Milwaukie Light Rail above all other interests or concerns.
Including the public's overwhelming rejection of all things Portland/TriMet/Metro and the need for funding every essential service.
They simply do not care about the public or their fiduciary responsibilty at all.
They are working towards borrowing the $25 million to pay TriMet for MLR without any regard for county revenue needs or public will.
Wait till the voters pamphlet comes out with the concocted BS supporting their sham measure and opposing the citizen measure.
They will take sleaze to a whole new level.
Posted by Ben | September 14, 2011 1:39 PM
What they need to do is take the homeless and mentally ill off the streets and keep them on the MAX 24/7 to boost ridership figures.
Two problems solved! I really should run for City Council.
Posted by Steve | September 14, 2011 5:14 PM