January 16, 2012
Community opposition and infrastructure projects
A major issue with large-scale infrastructure projects, such as highways or rail transit lines, is that frequently they face community opposition. Depending on which side of the fence one sits on a particular project, such opposition can either consist of heroic defenders of community values fighting valiantly against vested interests and the desctruction of their homes and neighborhoods--or of howling bands of NIMBYs putting their own selfish and parochial interests ahead of the Greater Good™. (Even the acronym NIMBY is generally considered a term of abuse). I've been on both sides of this particular fence, and so have you, I'm sure.
Three major controversial infrastructure project in the Portland area--one just "suspended" (and likely cancelled, at least for the forseeable future), one which continues full-speed-ahead through the planning process, and one which is already under construction but which has been subject to eleventh-hour attempts to derail it, serve to illustrate the issue quite well.
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Posted by EngineerScotty at 12:00 AM | Comments (7) | Permalink
January 13, 2012
Gregoire Fails to Embrace CRC
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire outlined a 10-year transportation package in her state-of-the-state address, and did not include the Columbia River Crossing. Evan Manvel gives the details at Blue Oregon....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 2:18 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
January 11, 2012
LO Streetcar project "suspended"
Allan got here first in the the open thread, but The Oregonian is reporting that the Lake Oswego/Portland transit project has been "suspended". Last night, the Lake Oswego city council indicated that they would not support the project, and Portland...
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Posted by EngineerScotty at 10:30 AM | Comments (113) | Permalink
January 10, 2012
TriMet Hiring CRC Manager
Would you like to manage all the transit aspects of the Columbia River Crossing construction? Now's the time to apply. And the pay's not bad. But wait, I thought we didn't have any construction funding yet? Who's going to pay...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 8:05 PM | Comments (10) | Permalink
They're Back...
The PSU Transportation Seminars are starting up for the Winter term. The first two weeks are student presentations: Portland State University Center for Transportation Studies Winter 2012 Transportation Seminar Series The Winter Quarter will begin with a special TRB Preview....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 9, 2012
Your City's Parking Footprint
What do surface parking lots do to land use patterns? Check out this post at Price Tags for a great comparison of different cities....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:15 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
January 5, 2012
Rent Out Your Driveway?
I had heard about this last year when I was in San Francisco for Transportation Camp, but apparently it's coming to Portland now. I actually suspect in many cases this would be a zoning violation, as it would be classified...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 11:41 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
January 4, 2012
Where the PBOT Budget is Headed?
A pseudonymous reader passed along these two draft PBOT budget documents: a ranking of PBOT programs by senior staff (PDF, 30K) and a text description of potential cut packages (PDF, 63K). Meanwhile the Oregionian is reporting on the possibility of...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 8:28 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
KBOO Bike Show: Mayoral Candidate Eileen Brady, CRC
Listen to the show (mp3, 27.7MB) Michelle, Tori and Steph talk with Mayoral Candidate Eileen Brady. Economist Joe Cortright discusses the Columbia River Crossing....
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:17 PM | Comments (22) | Permalink
January 3, 2012
Coming Up on the KBOO Bike Show: Mayoral Candidate Eileen Brady, CRC
This Wednesday at 11:00 am we're interviewing Eileen Brady about her candidacy for Portland Mayor; then at 11:30 am we'll talk with Joe Cortright, a Portland economist, about the Columbia River Crossing 11AM-Noon, Wednesday, January 4th KBOO FM 90.7 Streamed...
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Posted by Chris Smith at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
