Portland - Milwaukie Light Rail (PMLR) | Completed

[tworivers]

Wow. Just wow.

Milwaukie resident's anti-light rail petition could jeopardize city's $5 million contract with TriMet
Published: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 9:48 PM Updated: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 10:42 PM
Molly Harbarger, The Oregonian

A second petition has been filed aimed at blocking a light-rail line through Milwaukie. Provided it reaches the ballot and is approved by voters, it not only could jeopardize $5 million in city funding for the project, but also tie Milwaukie officials' hands concerning future maintenance or improvements to the line.

Long-time light-rail opponent Ed Zumwalt filed a petition Friday to collect signatures to place a measure on the November ballot. It would change the city charter to require a public vote before Milwaukie can spend any money to finance, design, construct or operate the $1.5 billion Portland-Milwaukie light rail. Zumwalt needs nearly 1,900 signatures to send the issue to city voters.

Zumwalt's measure is nearly identical to one filed in late December that would place a measure on the May ballot to prevent Clackamas County from making the same kinds of expenditures.

The 7.3-mile Orange Line between Portland and Oak Grove is slated to open in September 2015. Construction began in June on the centerpiece of the project, a 1,720-foot bridge over the Willamette River, and designs are 90 percent complete for the rest of the line. Construction of the segment extending east from the river could begin as early as February.

Zumwalt said he's concerned about crime, traffic and parking around the light-rail stations. He added that he's even more upset that TriMet is rolling over residents and that the City Council is not pushing for solid promises from TriMet about security measures and amenities.

"I get nothing but pie in the sky from TriMet and nothing from our City Council," Zumwalt said.

Zumwalt said he'd prefer TriMet stop the light rail in Portland at Southeast Tacoma Street.

TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said it's too soon to know what the petitions would mean for the east segment of the line. However, if the county is blocked from paying its commitment of $25 million, and the city can't pay its pledged $5 million, that could eliminate at least $60 million from the project because of matching funds from the federal government.

Council President Greg Chaimov, who is a lawyer, said the petition would likely accomplish the opposite result of what Zumwalt wants. Chaimov, along with Clackamas County attorney Scot Sideras, interprets the U.S. Constitution to say that government bodies cannot change laws to void existing contracts.

"The main problem with the measure is that it is so poorly written and so broad that it's likely, if it passes, to prevent the city from doing the tasks that would be needed to make light rail a better neighbor but not keep the city from -- for example -- making the $5 million payment that the city's agreed to make," Chaimov said.

However, Zumwalt said whether a vote could stop the payment to TriMet is "up to courts to decide."

TriMet would view the contracts as legally binding, Fetsch said, meaning TriMet could sue the county and Milwaukie if payment is not made.

Clackamas County Commissioners are considering asking TriMet to renegotiate the county's $25 million contract. Already, the Milwaukie city councilors are discussing how to come up with their $5 million, which could involve raising taxes for a bond. Councilor Dave Hedges said the council agreed to pay the money, despite a tight budget.

"I think people need to weigh what they're likely to lose by not paying the money and that would be their personal choices to make," Hedges said.

-- Molly Harbarger: 503-294-5923

[bvpcvm]

I think Multnomah County needs a fence on its southern border.

[NJD]

Light rail projects do not cause crime, in fact, in some places new light rail stations reduce crime:

University of California

University of North Carolina

Research on Trimet's MAX System

Portland State University

Funny, if you repeat the words "crime rail" enough, people will actually start believing a lie.

“We’ve done some studies and
basically, we’ve learned that if
crime is already in your area, you
have crime, light rail doesn’t bring
crime; it’s already there or not.”

Lynn Rust, Assistant Deputy
Project Director of the CRC

[tworivers]

Petition against Portland-Milwaukie light rail project goes unchallenged
POSTED: Monday, February 13, 2012 at 02:50 PM PT
BY: Reed Jackson, DJC

A petition that would send nearly every decision about the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project to public vote is one step away from getting on a special election ballot in September.

Petitioner Ed Zumwalt’s measure went unchallenged in the five days since it received a title last Tuesday, meaning the only hurtle left for Zumwalt is to get 1,724 resident signatures by late summer – a process, he said, that should be “no big deal.”

If the ballot is passed by voters, it would change the city charter to require a public vote before Milwaukie can spend any money to finance, design, construct or operate any public rail transit system, jeopardizing the city’s ability to pay the promised $5 million portion of the line’s cost. If Milwaukie fails to foot the bill, TriMet would also lose federal matching funds for that amount.

The measure is similar to one filed last December that would have required Clackamas County voter approval of the county’s $25 million pledge to the project. It was challenged, however, by a Lake Oswego resident, because it would include existing and future light rail lines, not just the $1.5 billion Orange Line expected to go through downtown Milwaukie.

Zumwalt said developers of the light rail do not comprehend the detrimental effects it will have on crime, parking and children’s safety.

[65MAX]

Too little too late, idiot. Where were you 4, 8, 20 years ago when this was in the planning stages?

It went unchallenged because even if he managed to get enough signatures, then it somehow passed in September, it will be totally meaningless. Milwaukie MAX is a done deal. If Milwaukie or Clackamas County backed out of their contracts now, they would be sued by everybody involved in the project and it'll end up costing them more in the long run. Voters can't un-sign a legally binding contract. They can vote out the city and county officials who signed the contracts if they want, but I doubt that will happen either.


"Zumwalt said developers of the light rail do not comprehend the detrimental effects it will have on crime, parking and children’s safety." LOL.... yeah, only this moron can comprehend the detrimental effects of this project. Maybe he can enlighten us as to how many children will be killed when this gets built, since apparently it's a mortal danger to Milwaukie's children.

[MarkDaMan]

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recommends $100 million for TriMet's Portland-Milwaukie light-rail line
Published: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 7:50 PM Updated: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 7:52 PM
By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian


U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recommended Tuesday $100 million in federal funding to the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project and said the federal government is on the verge of signing a pledge to cover half the Orange Line’s price tag.

In a conference call with reporters, LaHood said that President Barack Obama considers the $1.5 billion light-rail line extension from downtown Portland to Milwaukie an integral part of rebuilding the nation’s economy.

Meanwhile, LaHood sounded confident that the federal government's dedicated gas-tax funding for public transit would survive the current showdown in the U.S. House. LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, said the GOP-led transportation bill, as it stands, “takes us back to horse and buggy era.”

If the bill became law, TriMet and other mass transit companies would no longer automatically receive one-fifth of federal fuel tax revenue and other user fees in the highway trust fund. It would scrap a system that has been in place since the Reagan administration in 1983.

Instead, Congress would establish a general-fund “Alternative Transportation Account” that would force transit agencies to compete annually with other programs for a smaller share of the 2.86 cents per gallon federal gas tax.

Currently, TriMet gets about $42 million a year from the "formula funds," which it dedicates to maintenance costs.

TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane recently told The Oregonian that he would probably have to ask himself "what-if" for several more months. "I'm assuming there won't be a vote (on the House transportation bill) until after the presidential election," he said.

However, Allan Pollock, Salem-Keizer Transit General Manager, is already in panic mode.

The proposed House bill, the Cherriots bus service leader said, would create uncertainty and a deeply politicized funding process that would force transit agencies to operate on a wing and a prayer.

"This change will make it very difficult for us to plan for the future," Pollock said. "Instead of creating jobs and encouraging economic growth, we will be forced to contend each year with a deeply divided Congress."

LaHood also recommended $39 million for the Columbia River Crossing as a gesture of support for the project. The transportation departments in Washington and Oregon estimate the the proposal for a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River could cost between $3.1 billion and $3.5 billion. Federal appropriations are projected to make up about a third of the funding.

Ultimately, the bridge would depend on $850 million in federal "new starts" funding, officials said. But that appears to be a long way off.

In fact, transportation officials said the proposed $39 million allocation for this year would materialize only if the controversial project stays on course.

In May, the federal government is expected to sign a nearly $750 million funding agreement with TriMet promising to cover half the cost of building the Orange Line. LaHood said the budget politics in Congress won't alter those plans.

The $100 million recommended for the Portland-Milwaukie line by LaHood, and contained in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget, is in addition to the $85 million received by TriMet for the project last year.

The project itself will create up to 14,000 jobs and generate up to $573 million in personal earnings, Oregon's largest transit agency said.

On Tuesday, LaHood recommended $2.2 billion in funding to begin or advance construction of 29 significant rail and bus rapid transit projects in 15 states.

“President Obama called on us to rebuild America by putting people back to work on transportation projects that are built to last,” LaHood said. “The budget proposal released yesterday demonstrates our commitment to put people back to work to build the infrastructure we need that will improve our transit systems, highways, railways and airports well into the future.”

President Obama’s proposed budget also recommends investing $243.7 million for seven new transit construction projects, including $75 million for the West Eugene EmX Extension in Eugene.

TriMet, which is facing a $17 million operating budget shortfall this year, has already begun work on the the $134 million Portland-Milwaukie light-rail bridge across the Willamette River.

In a recent interview with The Oregonian, TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane said he doesn’t expect the agency’s ongoing budget woes to delay the projected opening of its newest light rail line in September 2015.

"I fully expect that we will have the funding,” McFarlane said. He expressed confidence that Clackamas County will contribute its $25 million share. Currently, two citizen initiative petitions aim to force a public vote on the funding.

LaHood said the latest U.S. House transportation bill makes no sense at a time when the economy is crawling back from a long recession. Transit systems, he said, are “the lifelines for our national and regional economies, the way we lead our lives and pursue our dreams.”

--Joseph Rose

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting...retary_ra.html

[tyroneshoelaces]

"If Milwaukie or Clackamas County backed out of their contracts now, they would be sued by everybody involved in the project and it'll end up costing them more in the long run. Voters can't un-sign a legally binding contract. They can vote out the city and county officials who signed the contracts if they want, but I doubt that will happen either."



Those would be interesting lawsuits. Maybe after years in court/negotiating, Tri-Met could get some money, but I doubt a judge or jury would order county officials to perform acts prohibited by a voter-approved ordinance.

At the very least, the litigation and uncertainty would make selling bonds a difficult task for Tri-Met.

[bvpcvm]

I think Milwaukie would suffer more, for not honoring signed contracts. That's kind of a big deal.

[tworivers]

Wow, I'm not going to do the Tribune the honor of pasting the whole article here, but you guys should read this:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...34531203991200

It lumps the Milwaukie MAX opposition in with the CRC opposition and by doing so implies that stopping the CRC will interfere with our emissions-reduction goals. Bizarrely poor reporting. Lots of great quotes from Clackamas douchebags, too. Plus the usual hayseed comments at the end (make sure you read the one from the Lake O city councilperson where she misquotes the Trib's writer). Enjoy!

Portland needs to figure out how to force people from that county to pay a toll anytime they want to drive into PDX city limits, the city they claim to hate so much.

[tworivers]

An article from the DJC that at least makes sense:

Petition could derail orange line to Milwaukie
POSTED: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 02:51 PM PT
BY: Reed Jackson, DJC

A bid to require a public vote for nearly every decision about the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project is one step away from becoming a special election ballot measure for Milwaukie voters.

Petitioner Ed Zumwalt’s initiative went unchallenged in the five days after it received a title on Feb. 7, meaning that he needs only to gather 1,724 signatures from residents by late summer – a process, he said, that should be “no big deal.”

“It’s time (for city councilors) to take care of the neighborhoods they vowed to protect when they took an oath in office,” Zumwalt said.

He said light-rail developers do not comprehend the detrimental effects it will have on traffic, crime prevention and children’s safety. The planned orange line will “cut the town in two,” he said, and clog main intersections during busy travel times.

Zumwalt also pointed out that TriMet has already reduced the number of park-and-ride garages promised originally – a result of less federal financial support than expected – so some riders may have to park in surrounding neighborhoods.

As for safety concerns, he said the line will be close to four schools, including Milwaukie High. TriMet has stated that part of the development process will include educating students in the area and adding strict security, but Zumwalt said he needs more reassurance.

“All they do is talk in circles,” he said. “They say they haven’t had crime on the (green) line, but it went up 57 percent last year. They say they’ll educate (students), but I say, ‘How?’ I want something concrete.”

If voters were to pass the measure in September, it would change the city charter to require a public vote before Milwaukie can spend any money to finance, design, construct or operate any public rail transit system.

Milwaukie and TriMet officials claim the measure would not jeopardize the city’s ability to pay the promised $5 million portion of the orange line’s cost, however, because breaking the contract the city has with TriMet is not allowed by the state’s constitution.

“The city of Milwaukie voted twice to approve the project and then the funding,” TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said. “TriMet is proceeding in good faith and is counting on our partner jurisdictions to do the same.”

City Council President Greg Chaimov said the ballot measure would instead hinder the city’s ability to make necessary adjustments to the line, because most of them cannot wait for public approval.

“Last December, we had our Design and Landmarks (Committee) work really hard with our planning staff to make sure the bridge that’s crossing along Milwaukie Boulevard was safe,” Chaimov said. “If the measure had been in place, we wouldn’t have been able to do that, because we only had a small window of time.”

He added that the measure would prevent the city from operating the rail without public approval, which could hinder the city from providing security on the trains.

“I just wish Mr. Zumwalt would go about his effort to stop the light rail in a way that wasn’t so counterproductive to what he’s trying to achieve,” Chaimov said. “All it’s going to do is make sure we end up with a line that won’t be a good neighbor as we want it to be.”

The effort is similar to one last December that would have required voters to approve Clackamas County’s $25 million pledge to the project. It was challenged, however, by a Lake Oswego resident, because it would have affected existing and future light-rail lines and not only the $1.5 billion orange line.


Milwaukie resident Ed Zumwalt is the author of a petition seeking to subject the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project to increased public scrutiny. He needs to collect 1,724 signatures by late summer to place a measure on a special election ballot in September. (Photo by Sam Tenney/DJC)

^^^ This guy has me thinking once again about how I cannot wait for his ignorant, hate-filled generation to die off and leave the rest of us to clean up the mess they've left us. The sooner the better.

[MarkDaMan]

As for safety concerns, he said the line will be close to four schools, including Milwaukie High.

The horror!

I hope they do pass their little chicken shit Clackistani measures and get their asses sued off by TriMet. No better lesson than having their taxes rise to pay off judgements that would well exceed any original contribution.

I think Milwaukie residents are a little more sane than their rural counterparts. They just need to ask Beaverton and Hillsboro if they'd rather have light rail or not.

[bvpcvm]

Sneaky. So the line gets built - contracts are signed, after all - but then Milwaukie can't do anything to mitigate any problems that arise. Giving residents even more ground to oppose rail. And opponents in other parts of the city will have something to point to when they try to block the next line.

What do they want instead? More freeways through their neighborhoods, would that be better? Or the "status quo", which of course means "get off my lawn and give me back the world I grew up in".

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by tworivers

An article from the DJC that at least makes sense:


Milwaukie resident Ed Zumwalt is the author of a petition seeking to subject the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project to increased public scrutiny. He needs to collect 1,724 signatures by late summer to place a measure on a special election ballot in September. (Photo by Sam Tenney/DJC)

^^^ This guy has me thinking once again about how I cannot wait for his ignorant, hate-filled generation to die off and leave the rest of us to clean up the mess they've left us. The sooner the better.

Agreed. This dude is a creepzola, as are most of the angry tea partiers he's aligned with. Definitely not someone you want to have a beer with..

[tyroneshoelaces]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

Sneaky. So the line gets built - contracts are signed, after all - but then Milwaukie can't do anything to mitigate any problems that arise. Giving residents even more ground to oppose rail. And opponents in other parts of the city will have something to point to when they try to block the next line.

What do they want instead? More freeways through their neighborhoods, would that be better? Or the "status quo", which of course means "get off my lawn and give me back the world I grew up in".

Or HOT lanes running shiny new hybrid buses every 10 minutes?

[bvpcvm]

Sure, maybe, but one of the reasons TriMet is concentrating so much on rail is lower labor costs. One train (with one union-salaried driver) can carry up to 350 people. A bus is probably 80, tops, and more like 60 to be comfortable. Also, buses wear out faster; the lifetime of a transit bus is I think around 12 years; for an LRT vehicle it's more like 30+. AND, even if those factors weren't an issue, rail attracts more riders, simply because more people are willing to ride trains than are willing to ride buses.

Also, I don't see any reason for these bumpkins to stop making their silly complaints about crime and child safety just because the choice of transit vehicle is different.

[tworivers]

This is an actual comment on a Portland Tribune article tonight, signed "Clackamas Resident".

Re: Bowling alley bouncer killed

For Gods sake, where is Jessie Jackson? He is exactly what these gang bangers need. But good ol Jessie is afraid of the ones that are alive. He sure won't put his life on the front lines to beg these hoods to stop, but he will sure will crucify any white officer for taking the life of a black man.

Sam Adams is lame, always has been. Always will be. He has no idea how to lead, other than through dictatorship. The majority of Portlands citizens are not minorities of race or interest. Yet you Sam bend over backwards, or any other position, to make them happy. What ever happened to doing what is right? Not just what you want.

Gang killings will continue until their parents become responsible people, and law enforcement decides to put an end to it once and for all.

Way to go Sammy, I just love your new anti gun laws in the city.

"Clackamas Resident"

(email verified)

Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 06:28 PM

[Derek]

Originally Posted by tworivers

This is an actual comment on a Portland Tribune article tonight, signed "Clackamas Resident".

Re: Bowling alley bouncer killed

For Gods sake, where is Jessie Jackson? He is exactly what these gang bangers need. But good ol Jessie is afraid of the ones that are alive. He sure won't put his life on the front lines to beg these hoods to stop, but he will sure will crucify any white officer for taking the life of a black man.

Sam Adams is lame, always has been. Always will be. He has no idea how to lead, other than through dictatorship. The majority of Portlands citizens are not minorities of race or interest. Yet you Sam bend over backwards, or any other position, to make them happy. What ever happened to doing what is right? Not just what you want.

Gang killings will continue until their parents become responsible people, and law enforcement decides to put an end to it once and for all.

Way to go Sammy, I just love your new anti gun laws in the city.

"Clackamas Resident"

(email verified)

Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 06:28 PM

[tworivers]

Today's O story about the Clackamas petitioners not getting enough signatures for the May election. Lots of great comments, of course:

http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/...tml#incart_hbx

[Shilo Rune 96]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Today's O story about the Clackamas petitioners not getting enough signatures for the May election. Lots of great comments, of course:

http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/...tml#incart_hbx

I was out in Estacada last night, and people couldn't write fast enough

Wow! This project has nothing to do with residents of Estacada, and the next time they need a new bridge or road built out that way Milwaukie residents should put a stop to it! There's probably not even enough Estacada residents to pay for infrastructure maintenance of their own area anyway.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

Agreed. This dude is a creepzola, as are most of the angry tea partiers he's aligned with. Definitely not someone you want to have a beer with..

Thanks to guys like him trying to screw future generations over.

Whats that old adage?

"Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today."

Applies to infrastructure and educational investments.

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

What do they want instead? More freeways through their neighborhoods, would that be better? Or the "status quo", which of course means "get off my lawn and give me back the world I grew up in".

I may be willing to pay a billion dollars to have the state flatten his house and put in a freeway. This may just be the crappy weather getting to me today, however - I swear I'm not usually this vindictive.