City Club’s New Leaders Council has arranged a tour of the emerging South Waterfront neighborhood. They’ve invited me along to talk about the Streetcar (don’t worry, they’ll also be someone from PDOT there who actually knows what’s going on). Here’s the notice from their web site:
New Leaders Council tours South Waterfront
What does it mean to develop an entire neighborhood where there previously was nothing? How does the South Waterfront area relate to our definitions of community? New Leaders Council will explore these questions as it continues its Get to Know Your City series with a tour of the South Waterfront Saturday, August 25.
The tour will be led by three leaders of the area’s real estate development and transportation system: Homer Williams, a developer for both the Pearl District and the South Waterfront; Art Pearce, South Waterfront project director for the Portland Department of Transportation; and Chris Smith, chair of the Portland Streetcar Citizens Advisor Committee.
There will also be a brief tour of the inner workings of the tram’s drive equipment.
Date: Saturday, August 25; 10 AM to noon
Location: South Waterfront Aerial tram terminal
Cost: free; $4 for tram ride (includes a brief tour of the inner workings of the tram)
The tour is open to all, though space is limited. RSVP to Kim Adams McCool at kim@pdxcityclub.org or call (503) 228-7231 x103.
One response to “Transportation in South Waterfront”
Well, I hope the Vancouver, WA officials can have an equally enjoyable tour. I was surprised to find out that Van population is now over 150,000. With the waterfront there is a possibility of some spectacular development; I suppose the possibility of Columbia River flooding should be taken into account. ’97 was pretty bad; maybe a seawall would be a smart feature to integrate into any redevelopment plan.
I would question whether emulating Portland’s streetcar, though, is to the right scale for Van. I don’t think they are going to have the political pull for something that is running $30 million/mi. Try something really basic with historic cars. Or maybe just some really plush buses. Vancouver is a lot less caste-conscious than Portland. Not a lot of hills there for multi-million dollar homes.