Forum on I-5 bridge slated for January 4
Last week we reported on a forum about tolling and a new I-5 bridge between Portland and Vancouver that featured speakers recruited by The Discovery Institute's Cascadia Project.
One of the co-sponsors of that event was Identity Clark County. My main lament isn't that the bidness guys 'n gals get together and slap backs, or that certain politicians slap right along, it's that their version of reality is often the only one present in public discourse.
And while the concerns of business are important, they shouldn't be the only concerns that are given consideration.
So it's nice to see that groups representing other voices are planning a forum of their own for January 4th in Portland. The panelists are not yet all confirmed, so I won't post those yet, but here's most of the text of a forwarded email I received from Lora Caine, who is President of Friends of Clark County.
(And one of the most well informed people you will ever meet when it comes to planning issues, by the way.)
New Columbia Community Education Room, 4625 N. Trenton St (Portland, OR)
Thursday, January 4th, 2007 - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Sponsored by Coalition for a Livable Future, Environmental Justice Action Group, Friends of Clark County and the Columbia Group of the Sierra Club.
The event is open to the media and the public. Bloggers are encouraged to come.
If you're coming from Vancouver, you can take TriMet line #6 to line #4
For more background on the project, go to the Columbia River Crossing page.
It's still early in the game, relatively speaking, on the I-5 bridge issue. But the process is moving forward, which is good, but so far I'm not so sure that the general public realizes what is going on here. Major decisions are being made, or will be made in the next year.
To comment briefly again on just one idea that is being bandied about, congestion pricing and tolls may work well for trucking firms who need to move goods and for executives who need to get to the airport quickly.
But low and middle income workers might not see $5 or $7 tolls as a bargain, but rather as a threat to their existence. These things need to be hashed out, otherwise there is the risk of a massive public backlash.
I'll post information about panelists as they are confirmed.
Here's contact information for the Coalition for a Livable Future in Portland:
One of the co-sponsors of that event was Identity Clark County. My main lament isn't that the bidness guys 'n gals get together and slap backs, or that certain politicians slap right along, it's that their version of reality is often the only one present in public discourse.
And while the concerns of business are important, they shouldn't be the only concerns that are given consideration.
So it's nice to see that groups representing other voices are planning a forum of their own for January 4th in Portland. The panelists are not yet all confirmed, so I won't post those yet, but here's most of the text of a forwarded email I received from Lora Caine, who is President of Friends of Clark County.
(And one of the most well informed people you will ever meet when it comes to planning issues, by the way.)
You may have read in the paper recently that the options being studied by the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) Project - a transportation project focusing on the 5-mile stretch of I-5 that spans the Columbia River - are narrowing.Columbia River Crossing Forum
Projected to cost a whopping $2 billion to build, and $1 million/month to plan, the proposal on the table is to get rid of the old bridges and replace them with one huge span. What are the implications for our health and our neighborhoods?
What sort of economic impacts can we expect? What can we really afford? What other ideas should be considered?
Come learn about this project and engage in a discussion about the pros and cons of the staff proposal. CRC staff will present their proposal followed by a response panel and open discussion.
New Columbia Community Education Room, 4625 N. Trenton St (Portland, OR)
Thursday, January 4th, 2007 - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Sponsored by Coalition for a Livable Future, Environmental Justice Action Group, Friends of Clark County and the Columbia Group of the Sierra Club.
The event is open to the media and the public. Bloggers are encouraged to come.
If you're coming from Vancouver, you can take TriMet line #6 to line #4
For more background on the project, go to the Columbia River Crossing page.
It's still early in the game, relatively speaking, on the I-5 bridge issue. But the process is moving forward, which is good, but so far I'm not so sure that the general public realizes what is going on here. Major decisions are being made, or will be made in the next year.
To comment briefly again on just one idea that is being bandied about, congestion pricing and tolls may work well for trucking firms who need to move goods and for executives who need to get to the airport quickly.
But low and middle income workers might not see $5 or $7 tolls as a bargain, but rather as a threat to their existence. These things need to be hashed out, otherwise there is the risk of a massive public backlash.
I'll post information about panelists as they are confirmed.
Here's contact information for the Coalition for a Livable Future in Portland:
Jill FuglisterSounds like a good idea to have the forum. Let's hope it presents some real discussion about how this will affect the average citizen.
Co-Director
Coalition for a Livable Future
310 SW Fourth Ave., Ste. 612
Portland, OR 97204
voice: 503-294-2889
fax: 503-225-0333
