Sam,

Since I think the oil will run out, sometime in the next ten years, there is much to do.

I'd suggest a plan, just in case the "Peak Oil" people are right.

Shouldn't we discourage the outward spread of the city, as it will take more fuel that people won't have, or be able to afford, to travel the distances. Doesn't this mean city blocks will have to become multiple use and shouldn't we concentrate growth upwards into taller structures?

I'd say build more mass transit, but there may not be the agreement needed or the financing.

I'm told cities will survive better if they have adequate food production nearby. Can Portland do anything to promote the preservation of agricultural land now, until the need is proved by circumstances?

Granted, these are pessimistic issues, but can you show me there is no cause for worry and concern? So, shouldn't the city look into a plan?

Please update everyone on steps you are taking to turn the gay district on Stark into a visible, recognizable and valuable district of the city. I was in Seattle last weekend and then went to our gay district last night and was struck by the contrast. Ours is small, unattractive and half-dead. I'd like to see it become a vibrant, highly visible area that is a draw to the larger community and a significant contribution to diversity. Thanks.

I guess the supply and use of energy resources will be my subject.

I mentioned the idea that the oil will run out. I read somewhere,...on some website...that the feds ran a scenario, like a war game, only about the oil supply under stress. Seems everything went to hell pretty much straight away.

My idea would be to start a push here in river city, to come up with a plan, and maybe some action.

So, I recommended the city try to help maintain farmland beyond the city limits. The citizens will want to eat when it becomes to expensive to freight the stuff here from Chile, Florida, or even California. There's one idea.

I think we need to look at what kind of transportation will remain after gas hits $5.00 a gallon. Will many of us have jobs that will make cars affordable at that price?

I'm just saying, the city council could entertain a discussion. I think the citizens would appreciate that.

Thanks again for the opportunities to speak up.

I have always been favorable to halting freeway construction and providing transit alternatives.. But I am starting to wonder if the LRT group is becoming the new entrenched bureaucracy. Even though the MAX trains are 'maxxed out" this seems to only be at rush hour; at other times I see largely empty cars. Still, so far we have done well with them and even the lightly used Interstae line would do far better if Clark County would go for the lop to PDX. It's the Milwaukie LRT that bothers me. $515 million and another bridge for what?

Maybe the Milwaukie LRT will eventually link to Clackamas and Oregon City? I hope the cost by then isn't aprroaching an additional one billion, especially if federal funds wither. For the kind of money being discussed an extensive atreetcar system could provide more routes and they could run frequently during rush hours. They could link not only the eastside but also cross the Willamette River at Sellwood and via the UP bridge to Lake Oswego. A stop at Willamette manor complex would also give car-less seniors a ride into two nearby town and a way out of the retirement home atmosphere.

One other note: I am very much in favor of high rise condos. These do more to preserve open green spaces than anything else--it was a shame that CTLH fought them since they are going to be astride the premier development in Oregon. But these condos should be affordable to people who are not wealthy. The only expensive item in them, typically, is the concete floor, despite what developers say. We still have many sites around the Metro area that are suitable and not, yet, expensive. There are many inexpensive high rise condo units in Canadian cities. Why not here? Not everyone can live in the Pearl. Small high rises were built in the sixties and seventies for retirement complexes so it is obvious that this type of construction can be affordable.

Oh-I forgot. Give South Waterfront it's own bridge--between Holgate and Hwy. 43 so they won't have to use the Sellwood Bridge.

Can we rename Hawthorne Blvd--just for one day--to Downing Street in recognition of the Downing Street Memo (http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/)?

Portland's reputation as "Little Beirut" has softened over the years, so I think a little national publicity for the majority of our citizens' anti-war stance would be good for the city.

Plus, it would be freaking hilarious, most would admit.

Considering the obvious (in my opinion) advantages to public ownership of natural monopolies, such as power utilities; and, considering Enron's recent attempt to extort $50 mil. from the City of Portland, I would ask Commissioner Sam adams to join Commissioner Leonard in pursuing condemnation of all PGE assets within the City's jurisdiction.

I'm a general contractor in portland and I'm fed up with waiting for building inspectors to show up for my inspections. You can request that they come between 8am and 12pm or between 12pm and 5pm but they rarely even stick to those big windows of time. You can rarely get a hold of them at the planning office to find out their schedule for the day and when you do they don't stick to it. They also don't call you and tell you "hey i'm going to be an hour or two or three later than I told you. I typically wait an average of 4 hours for inspectors to show up regardless of what time they say they're coming. When I was in sales I had more sales appointments than these inspectors have inspections and I made it to 95% of my meetings on time and if I was going to be late I called with a revised time. We are living in the cell phone age you know! Why can't an inspector live by the same rules that we do in the private sector and be held accountable for making people wait?

Mike,

I asked Commissioner Leonard's office adn the Bureau of Development Services to follow up with you. They emailed the response below.

Mr. Banker,

Tiffani Penson
Customer Service Team
(503) 823-1109

How to improve Portland??? Why not start with the basics:
- buy locals
- recycle
- be considerate to others
- take care of the environment
- limit city sprawl
- improve education and health
- stop illegal immigration

Really people, we live in Portland because it's nice. If we don't take care of it and let it become another Houston (sorry houstonians..) then do you still want to live in here? Measure 37 is an example.

How to improve Portland?? Not by inventing cold fission energy source...why don't start by fixing up some of the mess we've done?? Like Measure 37 and polluted Willamette and toxic gorge air???
Then one can talk about cold fission.

Has anyone at the city noticed or done anything about the short lived,
tax payer funded, multi-million dollar prep and paint job on the
Hawthorne bridge? It started fading and peeling within the first
two years and now it looks like it was painted 20 years ago. My letter
to the Oregonian wasn't posted, maybe someone at Sam's office will
follow up on this.

I applaud the efforts of Tri-met to reduce our city's dependency on fossil fuels, by beginning to purchase hybrid busses. However, the city and Tri-met can go further by using bio-diesel in every vehicle that uses diesel fuel. Has this option been investigated?

Why doesn't the Water Department accept online electronic payments of water bills? Seems to me this would save some money for the city.

The Walking Sack
Practice random acts of kindness with Portland's Walking Sack. While you are walking about stop and pick up bottles, plastic, metal and paper. Take them home in your Walking Sack and recycle them. Good for the environment, good exercise and good feelings. So Sam, how many Walking Sacks do you want to order?

The "wagon wheel" design of our transit system is geared toward transporting workers downtown and returning them to their homes in the outlying areas. Unfortunately, the business tax and fee structure is causing the large employers downtown to move to Washington, Clackamas and Clark counties. Employment downtown is down 30,000 jobs, from 110,000 to 80,000 during the last six years. The result is commuters in Portland needing to get to jobs that are not convenient to transit, thereby increasing automobile traffic, gridlock and fuel use. The tax and fee structure on businesses in Portland and Multnomah County must be made competitive with the outlying counties to reverse this trend. Our four person company paid $3,500.00 last year for our business license in Portland. In Tigard it would be $55.00.

Your previous commentators are right. The city needs to adjust its transportation plans to a future in which traffic is throttled back by increases in oil prices.

I was concerned to see Robert Pamplin's organ (the Tribune) recently advocating more highway expansion. It's time to stop building more roads. Why drive ourselves into debt over capacity we won't be using much longer?

The answer is more, not less, mass transit. If Pamplin's friends want to reap lucrative construction profits, tell them to learn how to contribute to our future, not deplete it.

Every plan of any sort which the city makes in any of its departments needs to reflect the seriousness of the coming changes.

It seems quite plausible that a severe earthquake would cripple Portland's many bridges. All were designed and built before the 1980's and while I doubt that the newer ones would fail altogether, the net effect of serious damage to spans left standing should not be underestimated. The collapse of just one piece of roadway ont he SF Bay bridge effectively made that bridge unusable. As integral as our bridges are to almost every facet of our city's day-to-day life, their loss would represent a disruption every bit as profound as losing electricity and telecommunication.

Given this importance, their disruption should be as brief as possible. To that end I would suggest:

1. Having engineers in Portland with the right qualifications be well versed in the construction of our ciy's bridges, and pre-armed with the plans and tools to rapidly triage the many spans and identify unsafe conditions AND spans that can be brought back to full or limited use.

2. Identify citizens and companies with larger watercraft at various points along the riverfront and form an emergency water-taxi brigade to allow cross river traffic in the event that all bridges are rendered unpassable.

3. Having plans in place with the closest combat engineer unit to Portland, to rapidly move floating bridge(s) into Portland to replace or augment offline spans in the short term. Sites where bank access would allow this should be identified in advance.

4. Bring together local civil engineers (from above), construction firms, and appropriate heavy industry (Gunderson, Esco etc) to form a pool of the knowledge, manpower, and materials to quickly effect whatever repairs are possible to put bridges back into service.

That's it, in a nutshell. I would hate for our city to be effectively bisected for weeks after a disaster . . . awhen we may well have the talent right here to at least begin to put things right again.

Can anybody explain how a temporary 1.25% income tax from the County is different from a temporary 1% income tax from the City. Beside the 0.25% and the new bureacracy and forms to collect it. Will it be a 1.5% tax from Metro will be voting on three years from now.

I can't afford to pay any more taxes.

Anybody know a good realtor in Vancouver?

In the neighborhoods enclosed by SE 82nd, Powell, 92nd, and Eastport Plaza, ACORN member families continue to ask for increased police presence in our neighborhoods. We hope to see the Portland Police become a priory for the city budget this year; which we hope will allow for more patrols of the dangerous areas in our often-neglected Outer Southeast Lents area.

Term Limits.

Clearly, it's time for Portland and Vancouver to grow up and face the facts. And it is long overdue that we began to join the 21 Century, as the rest of the world. We will ALWAYS have the heavy traffic due to jobs in the Portland area and folks living in Southwest Washington.
Another bridge is no solution-at-all and like all transportation projects in this area it would be obsolete before it is completed. What is needed is a plan that will meet the current as well as the 20 to 40 year traffic handling needs
We really need a double deck tunnel with
8 lanes on the center level for vehicles less that 1 ton, and 4 lanes on the bottom tier for trucks and busses.
The tunnel need not be too long. It could start in the Delta Park area and end in West Vancouver Barracks area South of the VA facilities there. A 2-way light rail could occupy the space above the 8 lane Vehicle lanes. Funds for such a project should come from 4 sources, Federal Highway Projects, Federal Light-Rail projects, a Tunnel toll, and a small tax for 25 years.

Leaping Lizards, is this the "Republican Denny Smith"? If it is then here is a first time for me that I and a conservative Republican ever agreed on anything. I couldn'nt agree more about the solution to Portland and SW Washington transportation problems. More bridges are not the answer, grade seperation of various transportaion methods is. Through traffic, auto and truck, needs to go underground as does passenger rail and freight rail in some locations.At some point Portland will have to face up to this reality. In the mean time putting max and cars on to the transit mall is a waste of money and resources. Put Max in a tunnel starting in Sullivans Gulch and keep it below grade through the city. Move I-5 below grade as it comes out of the Terwilliger Curves and just keep going until you come back to the surface on the North Side of 4th Plain.No more short range near sighted solutions that cost money but fix nothing.

Regarding the tram project's backup power system, is it possible for the diesel engine to run on locally produced biodiesel?

Sam,
Not sure who is in charge of roads...
But ...why has Vancouver Ave work not been completed? It has been unfinished for months.
Also why was it resurfaced at this time anyway? It was in good condition and there are many streets more in need of paving.
Thanks,
marlene

Sam,

Why aren't the City vehicles that utilize diesel fuel, burning biodiesel, as well as the Tri-met buses?

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/04/cincinnati_metr.html#more

Install a back-up power generator at the 911 Call Center, together with enough fuel for 14 days of operation.

Living in an urban area such as Portland, transportation is a basic need just like housing, food, clothing, etc. There are some (inadequate) programs regarding housing, food and clothing for very low income Portlanders. However, there is no program at all for transportation.
Tri-met provides discounts for older and disabled individuals, but nothing based upon income. A monthly adult bus pass is currently $71 or $72 dollars and will be going up again in September to $74. It makes no sense to provide a discount to a high income 65 year old while a very low income 30 year old individual (perhaps a single mom) is effectively barred from regular use of public transportation. Even the honored citizen pass will go up again in September to $23 from only $16 early in 2005 an increase of more than 40% in one year.
I manage a non-profit that serves low income individuals living with HIV/AIDS. We attempt to provide montly passes to our lowest income clients in order to allow them to access services. Each time the cost of passes goes up, the number of passes we are able to provide goes down.
Not only low-income indiduals suffer when tri-met prices go up. My middle income collegue finds it cheaper to drive in 16 miles each day and pay high gas prices than to buy a tri-met pass and ride the max. As a consequence we all pay with traffic congestion and greenhouse gases.
Sam. Please use your influence to find a way to make public transportation affordable and available to all in our city.
Thank you for your kind consideration. Lowen.

You know, all these articles about this skyscraper, that skyscraper, FAR this, airspace that, bulk etc. etc. etc.-- it's enough to drive me crazy.

I think an underutilized block out of sightlines should be made into a mixed comm/resi block with NO height limitation. ... but there's a catch.

The companies bidding on the building rights to the block would have to use the winning design from a SKYSCRAPER DESIGN COMPETITION! Oooh yeah!

A contest is set up where ordinary citizens are given a theme, a description of the lot, and the name of the building. Something snaz like "The Portlandia". Their goal is to come up with a drawing of their ideal building shape, a description of said shape, and ideal amenities and elements (water features, bike features, etc.). Perhaps a little diagram of the current skyline could be included with an outline of the lot's airspace to allow the entrant to design within the context of the skyline itself.

While the winning bidder would not have to include all the amenities listed, they would have to:
-Keep 75% of the shape/design intact in their interpretation (so long as the winning design is reasonable-- if the winning design is far too extravagant, the interpretation can be looser)
-Provide a reasonable amount of middle income housing within the building (that is to say, rentals not condos; price controlled and such)
-Incorporate pedestrian/citizen friendly features like shop space, a bike rack room, or similar

More than likely, the neighborhood that gets the lot will cram the contest with ideas so the NIMBY set won't cry as much about putting up a building on their doorstep that's going to kill their culture or something.

There's a large physical barrier to getting your bike from Beaverton to downtown and back -- or vice versa since more companies are fleeing taxes to set up shop in Hillsboro, Beavertron and Tigard.

Riding over those hills is HARD. I don't have to do it, thankfully. And even as much as I ride recreationally, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do it daily. There's just no way my knees or back would survive that kind of abuse.

One or two more options besides the MAX for getting over the hill both ways would probably remove a few excuses from bike commuters who don't have the luxury of a shower (and masseuse) waiting for them at the end of the ride. Wait, maybe we should just put in public showers and hire an army of masseuses! I like that idea a LOT better, actually.

Or even a simple thing like a Trimet campaign pointing out all points at which you can catch a bus at the bottom of either side of the hill.

But heck, bike commuting in winter is plain hard, anyway. Bad light, wet roads, cold weather, crappy bike lights, angry drivers who can't see, expensive gear, time-consuming bike maintenance...

Gripe gripe gripe. I don't envy you...

How about calling the tram cars "Itsy and Bitsy"?

suggest Scylla and Charybdis

How about " Sky-Max" We already have Max in the city.

-Edmon

Name:Portland AirMax, Kudo's to Edmon for Sky-Max... That was my first choice.

Tom Maier

name them as they are BOON & DOGGLE

My names for the cars --- Boondoggle and Money Pit.

Portland's elected officials need to take responsibility for healing the Portland-rural divide. No one else will. It's in our self interest, and that of the state, to do so.

Oregon's economy has been through many transitions and some rural politicians and talk show hosts have used those changes to pit Oregon's counties against Portland. Their success has played out in the legislature, particularly on school funding, K-12 and in our universities.

Portland's officials need to communicate the synergy between urban and rural Oregon. That means newspaper interviews, television and radio appearances in the rural counties. Hold competitions for local filmmakers, including those in the schools, to tell Portland's story; run those stories as PSA's outside Portland. The flow of tax dollars between Portland and each county in rest of the state needs to be continually publicized. I would not be surprised that many Oregonians think it is the reverse.

Commissioner Leonard's Eastern Oregon biodiesel proposal is an example of a great program illustrating what I am proposing. If it is successful, we need to publicize it. The story of Portland transportation planning and its ports affects the whole state as well.

Along the same lines, the city government needs to tell the stories of its successes to its customers and stockholders, the taxpayers. There is quite a bit good to tell, I believe. Using competitions for telling those stories on video is very inexpensive and such a program would be newsworthy in itself, nationally.

Rob W

Portland is one of the best cities in the nation for solar hot water. Let's put 10000 units on homes in 2007. The sun is free and cannot be taken, even by governments.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/04/ntraffic04.xml

Is this the end of the road for traffic lights?

By David Millward

Most traffic lights should be torn up as they make roads less safe, one of Europe's leading road engineers said yesterday.

Hans Monderman, a traffic planner involved in a Brussels-backed project known as Shared Space, said that taking lights away helped motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to co-exist more happily and safely.

	Road users take more care in Drachten as signs have been removed

Residents of the northern Dutch town of Drachten have already been used as guinea-pigs in an experiment which has seen nearly all the traffic lights stripped from their streets.

Only three of the 15 sets in the town of 50,000 remain and they will be gone within a couple of years.

Click for the full story

Commissioner Sam,

It has recently come to my attention that the City of Portland is moving towards the sale of some Park properties. Of urgent importance is the possible sale of a portion of the Mt Tabor Park presently used as a nursery and maintenance yard.

The citizens of the greater Metro region recently elected to tax themselves to purchase more public green spaces. This is a clear indication that the people highly value our parks. Does it make sense that the City of Portland would be selling park property?

It is troubling that the possible sale of the Mt Tabor Park property has progressed so close to realization with no explicit public involvement! The circumstances even appear that the process has been deliberately concealed, possibly for the private benefit of an interested buyer, the Warner Pacific College.

This portion of Mt Tabor Park has historic importance of over 100 years. Once it is lost to the public, it is gone forever.

Any potential development of this area would also be detrimental to the quality of life for all residents of the Mt Tabor and South Tabor neighborhoods due to increased traffic and noise. It is entirely unsuitable for any use other than it's historic use, or as open and public green space.

I am very concerned and upset about this! Please don't let this sale move ahead!

Microsoft is a convicted monopolist! Why did the city not do its duty to keep Microsoft out of our economy and help the Linux economy that the OSDL and other Linux organizations provide -- keeping our money local?!

I filed to be on the WIFI committee that approved MetroFI. I was denied. That was a shame. I would have made sure that local money went to local businesses!

This is a travesty of mismanagement, and I'm preparing a campaign to re-evaluate the granting of a monopoly to a convicted monopolist and taxer of the public commonwealth. I will NOT stand by as Microsoft gets to advertise monopolistically on our public airwaves!

Portland already has areas of free public wifi provided by anti-Microsoft volunteers. That Microsoft preempted them by paying for GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION runs counter to local control!

The city could have subsidized the volunteers and ensured a free and useful network without any ads that was available to all, without an eyeball advertising tax being sent to Microsoft. This is laughable, absurd, and deplorably bad judgment on the city's part!

Now, too, Microsoft is asserting unnamed IP ownership over Linux! The combination is a nexus of attack on Portland digital innovation! The FUD attacks will never end with Microsoft! HELP END CORPORATE DOMINANCE; END MICROSOFT'S MONOPOLY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

Dear Mayor Potter,et all

I have appeared before you on two occasions, wrote to you as a concerned veteran begging you to set up something on the local level to handle the vets coming into Portland in the coming years. I have stood on the Morrison Bridge with my signs blasting the federal government for this madness called the War in Iraq. Because I stand alone, I am called the Lone Vet.

I am in my mid-sixties and do not do these actions for myself, but for my grandchildren who will pay for our madness in the coming years. I will not be here when the bill comes, you and your family will reap the consequences of what is now seen as a disaster. We are all called now to take a stand.

My hope is that you will stand for life, for getting our beloved military out of the quicksand. Most of us recognize there will be pain whether we stay or get out. This should cause all of us to be outraged. We have won the war but lost the occupation of Iraq.

Join us who say………make the decision to get out and then do it!

Joseph Walsh, USN 1962-71
222 SE 79th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97215
503-257-2812

Cc

Sam Adams
Dan Saltzman
Erik Sten
Randy Leonard

names: sky glider,rose glider, or space glider

Ask voters to approve a system of road fees (I believe Tualatin uses this system) to maintain the roads. Just make sure that the road fees collected in every neighborhood are used for road projects in that neighborhood, and that there is a transparent process by which neighborhood organizations can (a) set priorities and (b) accept competitive bids for repair jobs.

Poltically, I expect a road fee is easier to sell to voters if they recognize it will go to fix cracks and potholes in their own streets instead of being thrown into a pot and put into some major transportation project across town.

Plus, neighborhood-based revenue and neighborhood-based decision-making will strengthen neighborhoods.

Terminator I
Terminator II, Judgement Day

just kidding....

I know the contest deadline is past, but my suggestions for the tram names are:

Lewis and Clark

LEWIS and CLARK

In recognition of the bicentennial of the Corp of Discovery

Driving under the tram line and seeing it movve for the first time the name "Skypod" jumped into my mind.

SAM: I REALLY LIKE YOUR HANDLE ON THINGS SO THAT IS WHY I WILL APPROACH YOU WITH THIS. I WAS CLEANING OUT MY CAR THE OTHER DAY, A NEW ONE, MY FIRST, WHEN LOW-AND-BEHOLD I FOUND A CIGARETTE BUTT ON THE CARPET. THIS WOULDN'T BE A BIG DEAL EXCEPT "I DON'T SMOKE"!!!
I STARTED TO FUME A LITTLE (NO PUN INTENDED) BUT I WAS WONDERING WHOSE, OUT OF THE SO MANY POOR FOOL, SAD-ASS CIGARETTE SMOKERS TOSSING THEIR USED 'PACIFIERS' ON THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY(S),THIS ONE BELONGED TO? I WONDER IF THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF FUNGUS THAT PERHAPS IS NOW LIVING AND CONGEGATING IN MY CARS' CARPET AND WHEN I TURN MY HEATER ON TO THE FLOOR SETTING TO WARM MY FEETS, IF THE FUNGUS IS METAMORPHISING ITSELF INTO A VAPOR WHICH I AM INHALING...ENOUGH WITH THE DRAMATICS ALREADY...BUT WHY DO ALL OF US WHO DON'T SMOKE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH SOME IDIOTS CIGARETTE TRASH IN PUBLIC. AFTERALL, IF I WAS TO TOSS MY TRASH OUT THE WINDOW AND A POLICE OFFICER WERE TO WITNESS SUCH, WOULDN'T I GET A TICKET FOR LITTERING???
ANDLAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WHAT ABOUT ALL THE KIDS THAT SEE THIS BEHAVOIR BEING "LIVED" OUT EVERYDAY...WHAT ARE THEY LEARNING??? POLUTION IS O-K!!!
CAN'T SOME SORT OF FINE BE IMPOSED??? $25.00 PER BUTT SURE COULD HELP OUT THE FUNDS TO FEED THE HOMELESS OR SOMETHING AS HONORABLE.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME...

THOMAS

Create a more walkable community in the outer SE area. Foster/Holgate 50th and beyond 82nd. We need growth. Grocery stores, coffee houses, etc.

Sam: Are all the City of Portland Park Paths wheel chair accesible with proper widths and pavement texture???

P>S>: Thanks for getting rid of the cigarettes in Pioneer Square....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Something needs to be done about the bad freeway congestion in this city before its too late. Why do they keep cramming the religion of high density "smart" growth down our throats and making area commutes so intolerable? Cars sitting idling on freeways doesn't seem environmentally sound to me! I moved to the Lloyd District in Portland a year ago from Beaverton so I could be within walking distance to work. Even when I did live in Beaverton I was right on the max line but always chose to drive because because I didn't want to have to stand in a crowded max train packed in like a sardine and pick up everyone's airborne illnesses. Even with the higher rent in Portland I could still save money by not having to pay for parking and gas. Furthermore I am saving wear and tear on my vehicle and feel that I was "doing my part" to save the environment. My sentiments have now changed to the point I am bitter. When my rent came up for renewal they raised it almost 15%! To add insult to injury the City of Portland has decided to eliminate the $15/year streetside parking permit program, forcing me to either give up my car or park it underground for $100 a month. So there goes my savings for living here! So why, you may ask, have things changed? They need to pay for the streetcar that is going to be built on 7th! I don't think its fair that I should be punished for owning an automobile, especially when I don't even use the streetcar or max for commuting. It's not like parking spaces in this area are at a premium like in downtown! Other than Christmas time I have never seen all the spaces filled. Many just sit empty. Economics isn't driving this, streetcar development is! Why should these socialist-like subsidies exist for mass-transit projects that are siphoning gas taxes away from highway projects? Now I understand they are even considering TOLLING because they "can't afford" new highway projects. It seems all the money is being diverted into "transit oriented development" instead of building new freeways that would actually alleviate congestion. I'm sure that if Tri-Met went on strike and didn't operate on a given busy workday traffic would be any worse than it already is!

People who choose to ride on Tri-Met should pay the full fare. It's absurd that automobile owners and people unfortunate to live near a rail line are subsidizing the system. It also frustrates me that many evade the fares and vagrants harass people with their foul odor and money begging. I have observed fare inspectors getting on board and then all the evaders bailing at the next stop. I am not anti-transit I just think the system needs to be competitive with autos and pay for itself!

I also disagree that the city needs to discourage the outward growth. You can't have your cake and eat it too! Many rural families in this state have owned their property for several generations. The government starting in the 1970's started to put undue hardship on them and placed draconian restrictions on how they can use their own property! Even though Willamette Valley farmland is very fertile many farmers are barely scraping by! Should it come as a surprise they want to subdivide and build on their own property? Building houses on the land is a more profitable venture than growing crops. Many of these elected officials who instituted the land use laws weren't even originally from Oregon but yet they think they "know best" for the people of the state. If the environmentalists in the city want to mandate their crazy philosophy on rural landowners then they need to come up with the money to buy out the farmers, and then utilize the land how they see fit. Until they are willing to do that, then they need so shut up! It will be interesting to see how measure 37 unfolds. They will probably put a kibosh on it, forther fomenting rural landowners' animosity of Portland politicians. Who knows -- maybe then they will have to make Portland into a separate state.

Hi,
I know this is concern for alot of people but having safe streets and transportaion is important. I know teenagers ride the bus at night and that scares me because of what can happen. Alot of kids just hang out and think it is okay and it can cause of alot problems like drinking and drugs with teens. I know public transportation is important for people that do not drive but maybe after a certian time teens should show Id to bus drivers and if they are out after curfew be stopped. Some teens want to be treated like adults and go and do whatever they want. They do not know that they are not old enough to do that yet and we need to ensure their safety if they are not going to. I know it is frustrating at times to deal with teens but the more teens know that they could or can get in trouble they may not want to or be able to hang out at night. Summer seems to be especailly the right time for kids to want to hang out because of the warm weather and more going on. If we put more restrictions on kids after dark it might help some of the crimes that are going on. School grounds seem to be a place where kids like to hang out and either do drugs or drink. So we need to limit access to school grounds after dark as well. Thank you for your time on this matter.

I would like to see funding for Tri-Met increased to the point of it being free for anyone to ride. the last time I asked, the amount of the Tri-Met budget covered by rider fares was close to 20%. If there were no fares, ridership would increase dramatically. The cost could be covered with tax increases by the city, county and metro as well as the business taxes already paid to Tri-Met.

Make riding the tram a third zone fare on a Tri-Met ticket, making it a 4 hour ticket, and charge $1 more than the 2 zone ticket price.

Doing so would help offset the cost, give people enough time to go up the tram for an appointment and back, and integrate the tram fare into the Tri-Met ticket system.

I think you should keep the City's word on a seamless transportation system with a resident fare of $1.70. A resident could either be someone who lives in the Portland metropolitan area or a anyone with an Oregon ID. A higher fare should be set for visitors, who normally expect to pay a premium for vacation activities anyway. More residents are likely to ride the tram in the first couple years (coincidentially when the City's share of the operating costs are limited to 15%) while it's still a novelty. Visitor ridership, on the other hand, is more likely to be a steady factor over time and a better source of stable income to help offset the increased construction costs.

By the way, I'd also like to suggest the names Martha and George for the tram cars. They are friendly names with a historical significance. They also have the added benefit of being endearing children's book characters - two friends who are gray hippos - which the trams kind of resemble!

Let each neighborhood association submit a list of high priority secondary streets that currently receive no plow/sand service. Something more comprehensive than the City Commissioners and/ or Neighborhood Association President's street.

Keeping the arterials open doesn't do the hilly neighborhoods much good if they can't get out of their neighborhood without skis or crampons. Why take Tri-Met if you the last 1/2 mile home is unsanded/unplowed ice?

As if the neighborhood associations actually represent the neighborhoods? Give me a break. Why don't we just quit fretting about the snow and realize that it happens so seldomly here that we should just relax. "Skis and crampons." Right. What tropical island did you grow up on that you can't figure out how to make your way through THREE inches of snow? And you can't walk a half mile in the snow? Why when I was a kid...

Looking out of the hotel window that my employer has graciously put me up in because driving home would be too dangerous, I see snow covered, icy streets...over 24 hours after the snow fell.

So I'm wondering to myself, why isn't this environmentally friendly chemical, yes chemical, melting what's out there? Because it's not as effective as other solutions out there.

I grew up in the midwest and moved out here to Portland 2 years ago. Back there we're used to the snow. As are the folks here in Portland becuase it's bound to happen ever winter. I saw you phone interview on KATU tv Tuesday morning and I loved the way you skirted the question asked to you by the reporter which was, "Why don't we use salt here"? Your answer was that because of the lack of snow events and becuase you don't want to damage people's property and the environment. Your answer was the perfect reason to use salt. The "deicer" is s derivitive of salt, and not pure salt. It's not natural. Salt appears naturally in the environment. And since you don't have to put it down until after or during the snow even has occured, you're not putting down thousands of gallons of deicer when a non-event occurs. Which is more damaging? Introducing a chemical into the environment when it's not needed, or putting down an amount of salt when it's needed and it does the job. From past experience, as soon as it's applied to the roadways, they'll be clear within an hour. If not down to wet pavement, it's all slush that can be plowed aside. A much safer travel/work environment than what I'm seeing right now outside. The ratio of salt to snow when everything is melting will be enough to dilute it to a level that IS NOT dangerous to fish or wildlife. Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes. Do you see fish floating belly up? I don't think so.

I think it's time to put the issue up for vote by the citizens of Portland. I'm tired of seeing legislation and city ordinances that are for the bottom or top 5 percent of the population instead of the majority out there.

Just my 2 cents.

In the poll that is being taken, there are only 3 options. I suggest anothe option be a $3.00 roundtrip ticket with a $1.30 (the difference between the present $1.70 they pay and $3.00)for the TriMet Monthly pass holders. This would go a long way toward recovering the actual cost of the operations, but would give a bit of a break to riders while the true costs are being determined. Everyone should pay for the cost of this project. The TriMet monthly pass holder are already getting the benefit of a subsidy because they are not now paying the total cost of their rides. For others who arfe going to use the Tram on an occasional basis, $3.00 is not an unreasonable fare, especially when you consider the convenience that comes from not having to drive t0, and find a parking place, at the medical facilities on the hill.

I am new in the North Portland neighborhood of St Johns. I love it here but the one thing that drives me crazy are the freight trucks. I would really love to see these monstrous vehicles rerouted to the highways and not on local neighborhood roads. I knew when I moved to my new home that there would be some traffic but not as much as I have experienced. Lombard heading west of St Louis is a major road through this area, agreed, but it runs right through a neighborhood, too. There is no reason a double trailer freight truck should be using this road. It is much too big for the road itself, it is unsafe to pedestrians, it rattles the windows of my home and is loud! Trucks seem to be getting bigger and bigger through the years that they can no longer make the turns from the SJ Bridge to Ivanhoe to St Louis to Lombard. The intersections are much too small.

Isn't there another solution? Interstates were made to move goods, why can't trucks be routed to the interstate and exit on Columbia Blvd to get to the terminals? Those junctions are huge to accommodate for trucks, St Johns is not!

Trucks leaving the terminals should be forced to take I-5 to their next destination when coming out of the terminals. This would at least help congestion on one side of the road.

Can there be a time span where trucks can not come through the neighborhood? For example, late at night/early in the morning when people are trying to sleep.

How about a new river crossing connecting farther north on Lombard for the trucks that are coming from Highway 30 to get to the terminals?

Thank you for listening.

Just curious. Do you read these ideas/suggestions that citizens leave for you? There are some great ideas. One idea that I think would carry a large environmental statement would be to actively encourage the use of reusable shopping bags.

A piece that was recently run in the Oregonian showcased the alternatives that local grocery stores have provided their customers. The alternatives work to lure people into saving not only the stores' money, (5-10 cents a bag) but also our precious natural resources.

Could City Hall unite these individual store efforts with a common design for a reusable shopping bag? We could create a yellow canvas bag, just like the recycling bins, that says "Portland: Savy Sustainability."

Who wouldn't want to be carrying this bag around? Any takers?

Hi there,
I appreciate all the work you've done on creating routes for bikers and pedestrians, as well as the recent developments on the South Waterfront. I understand there's a larger transportation plan being worked on for that area, but in the meanwhile, I think we need a safer route for bikers and pedestrians over the Ross Island Bridge. Since I live south of Powell and work at OHSU, I sometimes biked over Ross Island bridge and darted across the I-5 ramp, but there weren't many of us. Since the opening of the new buildings and the tram, I've noticed an increase in both bikers and pedestrians crossing in rush hour traffic. I don't want us to take action after somebody gets hurt. Maybe for now just a little ramp to get from the west side of Ross Island down to the streetcar, tram, etc? Some signage so that cars know we're there?
Thank you.

Many Portlanders are switching to compact fluorescent bulbs in order to save energy. However not many people are aware that these lights contain Mercury. When tossed in the trash this mercury ends up in our landfills and pollutes our ground water. I think the city should help inform people about this problem and provide an easy way to recycle the bulbs.

for more info: http://www.lamprecycle.org/

I noticed that I-5, I-405, and all the bridges and overpasses look worn and grungy because of cracked and faded paint. I have no idea how much it costs to paint enormous infrastructure like highways, but if the price is reasonable, a little paint and color would brighten the city.

Mike:

A fresh coat of paint? Our highways, bridges, overpasses, and on/off-ramps need much more than a coat of paint.

I find it amazing that they can build Disneyland projects all over town but not even take care of the very basic infrastructure. This town is dysfunctional. And its laughable that they call this "The City that Works".

This is a re-post from:

http://undergroundscience.blogspot.com/2007/03/congestion-pricing-in-portland-or.html

Recently, there was a post on PortlandTransport on why Congestion Pricing isn't more widely implemented. This was based on a blog post written by Michael Manville (of UCLA) on the same topic. What follows are the thoughts that I had after reading Professor Manville's article, basically related to how Congestion Pricing might work in the Portland region.

I think that the issue of Congestion Pricing has thus far been implemented in two very different ways, which should perhaps be considered differently:

1) Cordon-style district congestion pricing, ala London and Stockholm
2) Peak period variable tolling of specific lanes on a freeway -- so-called High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes.

The first could potentially be implemented in Portland for an area encompassing the 1990s-era Fareless Square district (before this district was expanded across the river to include Lloyd Center). This district generally has the most surface street daytime traffic congestion in the city. The revenue could be used to help improve transit service for the district, by paying for some capital costs for new streetcars/LRVs, as well as the additional operational costs associated with these vehicles. More bicycle facilities could also be constructed leading into and within the district. Presumably, this would encourage many folks to stop driving and start taking transit or riding their bicycles to enter the district.

The second idea could be implemented on Portland's freeway system, and indeed, this does make some sense when taken in tandem with the idea of removing I-5 from the east bank of the Willamette. I-405, I-26 through the tunnels, I-84 through Sullivan's Gulch and I-5 through NoPo and the Terwilliger Curves could all have congestion pricing applied to them. This charge could help pay for the capital costs associated with the removal of I-5, and perhaps then with the capping of the freeways and the building of parks, bike lanes and neighborhood centers on top of them. Call it a citywide freeway mitigation program.

What the program needs, apparently, is a strong advocate to make it happen.

Commissioner Sam Adams... are you listening?

SAM: I was walking down NorthWest 23rd the other day and started to visualize what a ideal street it would be to close-off from ALL motor vehicle traffic, except bikes, strollers for the lil' one's, and a solor-electric powered street car. These would be running to and fro amongst shoppers which would be visiting and enjoying the many shops and restaurants presently located on the street, and the many new shops , restaurants and kiosks which could be positioned where the physical street is now
located. The asphalt street would be replaced with a stamped concrete design of cobble stone, perhaps a reddish-orange and above would be a semi-open roof cover. A mixture of visually attractive, temperture controlling plastique roffing. From said cover hang several casablanca ceiling fans to keep air flow circulating. Throughout, waterfalls here and there with and area to sit and relax across from the kids playground.

Parking for the customers would be located on the north end of the open-air market down near Nicoli Street with easy freeway access. The recyclables and trash could be carted down to a waiting recepticle areas on each end.

More and New vendors could lease from the City ares for their shops...No more the need to patch potholes, your favorite, time and time again on NorthWest 23rd.

What do you Think of this idea???

Hello,
I wanted to pass along an idea that would improve downtown traffic and would be beneficial to both autos and pedestrians. I drive through downtown twice a day and notice that the backups are largely caused by vehicles waiting for pedestrians to cross before the vehicle can turn. Sometimes only 1 vehicle can make it through a signal light. This also causes the middle lane to be slow as vehicles stay in the middle lane until they need to cut over to the turn lane. Mostly because they don't want to wait in the long lines of the turn lanes.
During a recent trip to visit Colorado, we stayed at a hotel right in downtown Denver. The intersections there have a 3 cycle light with one being a pedestrian crossing. The north/south traffic has a turn, followed by the east/west followed by pedestrians only. This benefits both cars and pedestrians because 1) it stops the pedestrians from crossing in front of turning vehicles so traffic is not stalled and 2) it allows pedestrians to cross any direction with their light cycle, even diagonally.
Drivers are happier because they don't have to wait for pedestrians on their green and pedestrians are happy because they can cross the street once (on the diagonal) if they want and not have to wait for 2 light cycles.
It was a pleasant experience as both a driver and pedestrian.

1. Tell everyone who's moved here the last 20 years or so to go back from where they came.
2. Then I would impeach all the city politicians and send all the government workers packing and require them to be drug tested in order to get their jobs back. Obviously they are on drugs or they wouldn't be coming up with such hairbrained ideas.

-- 26 days and counting --

I think that switching to biodegradable bags is an option, but not a long term solution - just as using paper isn't a long term solution. A better option would be to encourage people to use re-usable, environment friendly bags - preferably made from recycled materials - and encourage retailers to make them available to their customers, and perhaps offer an incentive of five cents for every reusable bag used by the customers.

I did an online search for a local resource, and found a wonderful article about the ARC/Mult. Co. and the Java Totes that they produce. I've already called to order mine, and was told that samples had been sent to Commissioner Adams. The product is great, the idea and business are sustainable...it's recycled, biodegradable, helps developmentally disabled adults work towards self-sufficiency - and supports the "buy local" concept. By far a win-win situation!!

Wow...some great ideas...and each cost $$ I realize that we cannot do all of them. Just my two cents worth on two not super important issues:

1) To imporve traffic flow in the Pearl especially from the offramp of the Broadway Bridge until you get to 14th it would help to ban left hand turns. There are plenty of places where you can make a right turn go up and around the block and get onto a One Way street going that direction and it would be much more consciencous to those traveling those busy blocks and promote better traffic flow.

2) Could the city put up some fixed Magazine/Newspaper racks that they could rent out for a return on their investment. The ones around the city are often battered (look junky) are often partially blocking the sidewalk, laying over (from windstorms and vandals) chained to any infrastructure (light poles, meter poles, trees) and they oftent get moved or are in the way of people getting into or out of vehicles or just walking the streets. Also there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how many can be chained together nor to what they can be chained to. Maybe having ones that are fixed and uniform, like ones in other cities (Palm Springs and other Cities) would be an improvement.

Just some thoughts. Thanks for your time!

Here's a mass-transit option that would move through downtown much faster than the MAX, cost a small fraction of a subway, and help all the riders stay healthy:

http://www.velo-city.ca/MainFrameset.html

It's an elevated bikeway--a bike boulevard on steroids.

I wonder while we are focussing on litter issues related to plastic bags why no one, including Sam, is looking at the problem of cigarette butts. While small, they are a huge problem cumulatively, since they don't bio-degrade, are very unattractive as they pile up, and are terribly toxic. Yet day in and day out, Portlanders freely throw these on the ground, as though the city were one giant ashtray. It cuts across all social lines too, both young, old, poor, well off, and Hawthorne trendies and Pearl yuppies. Why does everyone in city government simply overlook this major litter problem. Check out this website:
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Butts.html
Please show some leadership in this area and combine public education about this with enforcement of our existing litter laws. If we need revenue as a city, this could be a major new source.
Thanks!

I read in the Oregonian today that Columbia Sports Wear could possiby be considering relocating their corporate headquarters. The city of Portland should be all over this prospect. With the expantion of the max along I-205, this may be the perfect opportunity to attract new business to the far end of Southeast. The barely surviving strip mall on the northwest corner of 82nd and Powell, for example, would provide ample space for a company like Columbia to build a suitable campus and grow their business. It is also in close proximity to the new max line and would certianly add value to this area. The city should work with companies like these, building incentives, to encourage relocation into SE Portland. The South Tabor neighborhood deserves a bit of a face lift on the 82nd side, and seems like the logical next step in growth of Portland. This is the perfect opportunity to work with successful companies and reward the good people in this area. Thank you.

Portland needs a large art's space. An empty box like Machine works or the cathedral. It must be in the city, not on 82nd or in the burbs. Most of us are city dwellers so somewhere in SE industrial would be perfect. We need a place that can be built out to our satisfaction. None of us want a seated venue, thats not the way we work. It needs to have Power, water, hang points and high ceilings so we can hang Truss, screens and lights among other things. We will build the rest. At this point in time most of the venues we were useful to us have been torn down so they could be built into condominiums... a sad direction to go for the largest arts city on the west coast.

Thank you.
Chris 0(

Here are some suggestions to improve biking in NE Portland.

Add a separate, 2-way bike or bike/pedestrian path parallel to Tillamook, on the north side of the street, using a narrow strip of land from the southern edge of the Rose City Park and Municipal Golf Course. This would be just north of the existing row of trees--don't cut down any trees to make the path. This would probably involve moving the existing fence ~15' to 20 ft north. This would transform this stretch of Tillamook for cyclists, making it safer and more appealing. It would enable many more citizens to enjoy the edge of the golf course, besides golfers. It would make it much more pleasant for neighbors to walk or bike a few blocks, to the Rose City Park.

Add a north-south path along the west edge of the high school grounds, to make NE 78th a complete street for bikes and pedestrians between Tillamook and Siskiyou.

At the intersection of Halsey and NE 74th, add a pedestrian crosswalk button on the SE corner of the intersection. At present, cyclists traveling north must use the button on the SW corner, which is dangerous.

Find at least one way for cyclists from NE to access the dedicated bike lanes on a bridge (Broadway, Steel, or Burnside) without using bike lanes on busy streets. I can get near the Willamette on Ankeny or Tillamook, but the bike map does not show how to actually cross the river from Northeast with a bike, without merging with heavy car traffic, taking the MAX, or using a pedestrian sidewalk.

Thanks!!!