Carfree Dreaming in Portland
In three weeks Portland State University will proudly host the annual “Towards Carfree Cities” conference. This is certainly appropriate, given that Portland plans to build a new bridge over the Willamette River for light rail, the streetcar, cyclists, pedestrians and skateboarders – but not motorists.
However, as seductive as pedestrian malls are in the abstract, they don’t work in the United States. For instance, in 1971 Eugene closed parts of Broadway, Willamette and Olive Streets to auto traffic in order to create a pedestrian shopping center. The lack of motorized access killed retail trade, leaving behind vacant storefronts and vandalism. Citizens gradually came to their senses and voted to reopen Olive Street in 1992, Willamette Street in 1995 and Broadway in 2001, at a cost of more than $2.4 million.
Portland had a similar experience with its transit mall. For years the mall was a ghost town after 6:00 p.m., described by Willamette Week as a “dark wasteland of sad store fronts, scrawny trees and lifeless commuters.” Unfortunately, instead of learning from the experience, TriMet and the city decided to put the mall on steroids by cramming light rail into the mix, at a cost of nearly $200 million.
Adding rail instead of automobiles will probably turn out to be one of the costliest urban planning disasters in Oregon history. But as all local politicians know, grandstanding for green building means never having to say you’re sorry.
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If you keep electing the same people to run the Government why should you expect a change in the way business is done.
After our esteemed leaders hire a consulting firm to tell them what they want to hear they do what they had intended all along.
Just like the saying if at what you do does not succeed it is insanity to expect different results from taking the same action over again. The same can be said for reelecting the same people into office.
Light rail is the promise to burden our children with a large tax obligation to maintain its infrastructure.
With a small population as we have in Multnomah county there is no way that we can keep affording all these edifices to vanity.
I used to use the bus system (before light rail) to get to work and was happy with the length of the trip and the time it took. Using the rail system takes to much time unless you live next to it and where you are going is on the line. If I were going to use the park and ride I would just as soon drive to my destination.
With our new Governor elect I do not expect the race to light rail and choo choo trains to use any sensible means to judge the affordability to not only build but maintain these expensive toys.
Comment by Johny A Belgarde — 5/29/2008 @
For better or worse, the revamp WILL add automobiles, no longer restricting them to three block segments.
“A continuous through-lane with separate signals will allow cars and bikes to travel the entire length of the Mall.” –http://www.portlandmall.org/about/design.htm
Comment by Jason McHuff — 5/30/2008 @