Betting on Lottery Dollars for Milwaukie LRT?


Metro is floating its proposed legislative agenda past MPAC and JPACT. Included in the transportation plank is this phrase: “Providing lottery dollars to support the next leg of the region’s high-capacity transit system…” (this means Milwaukie Light Rail).

Could this be the boost to get that corridor off the ground? The accompanying report notes that the last time the region got lottery dollars for Light Rail was for the West Side project. We’ve funded three new lines (Airport, Interstate, I-205/Mall) without lottery dollars since then. Is it our turn again?

Here’s the full draft legislative agenda:

  1. Extend the region’s urban growth boundary evaluation cycle by two years;
  2. Increase transportation funding by:
    1. Increasing revenues for roads and bridges (by increasing the gas tax and/or other
      revenue sources, indexing the gas tax to inflation, and distributing any increased
      revenues to the state, counties, and cities based on the current 50%-30%-20%
      allocation formula),
    2. Providing lottery dollars to support the next leg of the region’s high-capacity
      transit system, and
    3. Passing an improved “Connect Oregon II” bill to provide additional lottery
      dollars to support multi-modal transportation investments; and
  3. Facilitate the designation of both urban reserves (to accommodate future urbanization)
    and rural reserves (to identify areas that shall not be urbanized).
,

18 responses to “Betting on Lottery Dollars for Milwaukie LRT?”

  1. I wished there was a way for transportation to be funded that was stable. Up here, the gas tax is dedicated to highway purposes, but we have too many people that ignore that fact, and continue to attack the DOT on it every time they need an increase. I do like the idea of indexing the gas tax to inflation, though. Our State Gas Tax has not kept pace with inflation since 1980,and it gets ignored by the voters. Indexing the gas tax to inflation is a good thing, but I wished the 42nd State in the Union(Washington) tried it first. Unfortunately, no takers in Olympia, probably fearing a voter backlash. I mean, we have one highway project that is a real political football, nobody will make a decision, and at one level, they want the voters to have a final say.(The City Council took a stand on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Governor Gregoire wants the voters to pick an option).

    On another note, I was down in Portland yesterday, using a couple Christmas gifts, a gift certificate for Powell’s Books, and a gift certificate to get there, on Amtrak. Took 501 in the morning, came home on 508. I only had 5-6 hours, but managed to get an hour in at the bookstore browsing, took a few Red and Blue trains to Sunset TC(I got off at a few stops), then took a Red Train to Gateway, and managed to get back in time to do a short streetcar ride before I got back to Union Station. Just to get to the nearest full service Apple Store to get my computer fixed at U-Villiage, it once took a change of buses, up to 3 changes of buses to get from the South End of the City to a point just north of the Ship Canal.

  2. Light rail to Milwaukie would be nice, but I doubt it will ever happen. In my opinion, Milwaukie is seen as a low priority by those who are planning transportation. Granted, the people of Milwaukie were up in arms when the origonal light rail proposal was floated. It seems to have support in the community now though.

  3. David –

    Two things changed in Milwaukie.

    First, many of the opponents of light rail were brought into a public process where they became its proponents after considering all the options and modifying the plans to better fit what they saw as their community’s needs. Proof again that citizens are often the real experts that transportation planners ignore at their peril.

    Second, the plan no longer ran through neighborhoods to Clackamas Town Center. Those neighborhoods had been the hotbed of the most emotional opposition.

  4. The Milwaukie LRT is being built. That is a fact. The only thing up in the air now is the exact location where funding is coming from. Although I am sure there will be tweaks in the final alignment as the design phase is performed. There will most likely be several sources of funding. There is work going on at all levels of Oregon government for funding. From Tri-Met all the way up to Federal Legislators – funding is being secured. This tidbit is merely talking about what Metro is going to be lobbying for at the state level.

    And JK:

    A small car is not more efficient than Mass Transit based on one factor: Mass transit is *already running*. So the fuel burned by one small car would be *in addition* to the fuel that is already burned by mass transit.

    In addition, if mass transit is being well utilized – it can be significantly more efficient than small cars. Rail is more efficient energy-wise than bus. But even with a bus, if you have 20 people on a bus – that displaces say 15 cars (optimistically assuming that a couple people on the bus might be travelling together). Those 15 cars would have to be pretty efficient to beat the bus… During off-peak times cars would be more efficient. During peak times, I know for a fact that most busses carry more than 20 people. :)

  5. I think its time to go to the voters for funding. A package that combines Milwaukie LRT (Clackamas county) with a Yellow Line extension to Hayden Island (Multnomah county) and a Blue Line extension to Forest Grove (Washington county) should have a good shot at approval in 2008.

  6. Maybe Milwaukie should be “Green Line Phase II”. I believe that Portland has put up $62.3 million toward the Green Line, Tri-Met has put in $43.3 million, and Clackamas County has ponied up $35.3 million. Collectively, that’s about $141 million.

    If Tri-Met, Portland, and Clackamas County could work on getting the state to approve matching funds for what’s already been spent, that’s $141 million right there. If the federal government matches the state’s contribution at a 60-40 ratio, that’s another $211.5 million. $352.5 million will build quite a bit of track.

    Legally, could Tri-Met add a “phase II” to the Green Line project to make the Milwaukie line part of the same project?

    A package that combines Milwaukie LRT (Clackamas county) with a Yellow Line extension to Hayden Island (Multnomah county) and a Blue Line extension to Forest Grove (Washington county) should have a good shot at approval in 2008.

    I’d add Blue Line extension to Mt. Hood Community College to that list.

    As to your rushed 5-6 hours, have your considered driving a small, fuel effieicnt car which will use less energy than mass transit?

    I don’t know about you, Jim, but I can’t read while I’m driving.

  7. I think the regional politics are such that we won’t do another LRT line until Milwaukie gets completed.

    I sure hope so.

    $352.5

    Actually, with China and other countries raising prices so much, that isn’t all that much rail. But I digress, it’ll probably be upwards off 400-500 Million to fund the Milwaukee rail at the rate prices are skyrocketing.

  8. Just to get to the nearest full service Apple Store to get my computer fixed at U-Villiage, it once took a change of buses, up to 3 changes of buses to get from the South End of the City to a point just north of the Ship Canal.

    It takes me at least two busses to get from one end of my town where I live (Tualatin) to downtown Tualatin, including a trip through three other cities (King City, Tigard and Durham). A minimum 45 minute trip, to do what takes less than 10 minutes by auto (and includes a stop at the Tigard TC, which is not a “friendly” place to wait around.)

    To get to Beaverton, my trip requires two busses just to get to the Transit Center. At least three to reach any of Beaverton’s employment centers to the west side, and in some cases four (or three busses and MAX).

    I can get to Gresham on one bus (line 12), but frankly why do I have any need to get to Gresham? Wait, it does require a change of bus – busses that serve Sherwood terminate at Parkrose TC. Have to stop anywhere between King City and Parkrose and wait 15 minutes; or transfer to MAX (or lines 4 or 9) downtown.

    Portland is not all that it is cracked up to be. In Seattle, I’ve found it easy to use transit from downtown (and I’m about to find out in a couple weeks.) – but I know better not to depend on it if I’m doing work in the ‘burbs.

  9. I think its time to go to the voters for funding. A package that combines Milwaukie LRT (Clackamas county) with a Yellow Line extension to Hayden Island (Multnomah county) and a Blue Line extension to Forest Grove (Washington county) should have a good shot at approval in 2008.

    And the I-5 to 99W connector.

    Once again, Tigard/Tualatin/Sherwood/Yamhill County gets screwed by the rail folks. If there can be $350M found for a LRT line that can support 15,000 riders (in how many years?), why can’t we find $350M for a highway that will support 25,000 vehicles (today) – plus pay its ongoing operating costs through the gax tas (instead of relying on an operating subsidy as mass transit does)?

  10. It’s kinda funny. I’m pro-rail, but also pro-auto, and also pro-LRT, sort of pro-Streetcar.

    But regardless of what any of us are, I was just thinking and realized that whatever the inner city of Portland is, will be what it’s going to be. If they want LRT and Streetcar, they’ll get it. At the rate condos are going up and people are moving downtown they’re going to outnumber the entire surrounding area. If that continues they will ALWASY get what they want when voting because there isn’t really any checks and balances on a city like there is for the federal Government, and that one is somewhat flawed and broken now. Imagine the bias in city Government.

    hmmm, the ideas squeel like flanges of an out of control train.

  11. Eric –

    To keep things in perspective. Those 25,000 vehicles pay about 1 cent per mile in gas tax at 25mpg. I believe the actual annual cost of building and maintaining an urban freeway is 2-3 times that amount. I would expect construction in the Highway 99 corridor it would be at the high end.

  12. How does Oregon City factor into this?

    Is the Milwaukie-Oregon City McLoughlin BRT line still on the table?

    Would the Green Line and/or Yellow/Orange Line continue to Oregon City in the future?

    Personally, I think it makes the most sense to not just build the Yellow Line to Milwaukie but to have it go all the way to Oregon City from the start and not as a future extension years later.
    The Willamette River bridge is costly and it would be ideal to get the full use out of it for its high cost. Going all the way to Oregon City would drastically increase ridership and be much more popular with voters since it serves a larger area and likely reduce the cost per rider by a huge amount.
    Additionally LRT to Oregon City would allow the 33 to be discontinued whereas LRT to just to Milwaukie would require duplicate service (or a transfer to bus or LRT). Yes it would cost more to build the line further but I think the pros well outweigh the cons.

    Fortunately 15 years ago the forward thinking idea to build Westside MAX out to Hillsboro instead of ending at NW 185 happened. It would be great if this also occured for Oregon City, afterall they were supposed to have a light rail line operating by 1976.

  13. Too bad the old Oregon City streetcar was not upgraded in 1958 when the new Morrison Bridge was built. Today, that alignment between M. & O.C. would be ideal for MAX, but I don’t think the voters in Oak Grove would agree.

  14. We are going to get Streetcar capability extended to OMSI. That is good but the real opportunity is how the Street could be extended from OMSI to Milwaukie and from there to Oregon City.

    I was told that the potential ridership of this extension of the Streetcar line routed through Sellwood/East Moreland would be excellent.

    We could find it routed on maybe Milwaukie Avenue opening up access to key shopping area and to the high density of people who live there. Estimated cost of this route from OMSI into Milwaukie is $200M.

    If we extend HCLRT/MAX into Milwaukie on or near McLoughlin Blvd, away from the people and town Center the cost has been estimated at approximately $800M.

    Compare the cost and the possible return of investment of these two choices. The big thing to me as a citizen of Oregon City this extension of Streetcar capability to Milwaukie opens the door for an easy affordable extension to Oregon City on the existing old Interurban Streetcar ROW.

  15. Ross Williams Says:

    Eric –

    To keep things in perspective. Those 25,000 vehicles pay about 1 cent per mile in gas tax at 25mpg. I believe the actual annual cost of building and maintaining an urban freeway is 2-3 times that amount. I would expect construction in the Highway 99 corridor it would be at the high end.

    It’s more like 5-10x that amount of money. Of course, a LOT depends on the traffic load too.

  16. Paul,

    Ditto for much of what you have said. The other commentors seem to be missing the latest etimates for Milwaukie MAX: up from $515 million in 2004, now to $550 million. For perhaps a third of that, at current estimates, we could have a two route SC service from Milwaukie–up the eastside to OMSI and over the Sellwood Bridge to the Westshore line (assuming it goes that far, which I think is likely). Moreover, there is some infrastructure already in place for rail connections to Clackamas TC and to Lake Oswego, albeit on privately held ROW’s.

    Oregon City would only fill a large, LR train for a very limited porton of the weekday. This has already been amply demonstrated by the existing MAX lines. I would agree that Gresham MAX, and the subsequent Westside MAX, seemed like very good deals, given the attitudes of the day: A “use it or lose it” understanding of the federal funding process, and the unpleasant alternative of building ugly freeways vs. a sleek, modern mass transit system for what was predicted to be $9 million/mile.

    Now we have a new “citizens challenge”: to bring federal pork under control. In the mututal admiration society of Washington politics, someone has to begin questioning excessive spending and I don’t have any qualms with questioning either the light-rail frenzy or excessive reconstruction of functioning infrastructure–like CRC. Here’s a website devoted to reigning in the federal pork:http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer

    Anyone got any better groups?

Leave a Reply to Chris Smith Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *