I just want to highlight this comment left earlier this evening on an earlier post about the Columbia River Crossing. Hard to say it more articulately:
February 8, 2011 8:09 PM
David Bragdon Says:The real question, and the one which will determine whether anything gets built, is whether the Governors recognize that for the second time in six months the ODOT/WashDOT management group has been given a resoundingly failing grade by their own hand-picked experts? One law of bureaucratic physics is that agencies that have created a mess tend to spend more energy covering up the mess than cleaning it up. That’s exactly what ODOT/WashDOT have been doing for many years on this project. Nothing will change until that management is replaced by a team that can get things done right. Simply referring the matter back to the very same management that made the mess (which the Governors made the mistake of doing last summer) will simply lead to more failure.
[The commenter information appears authentic, although I have not made any efforts to verify it in any depth.]
28 responses to “Stinging CRC Rebuke from NYC”
The real question, and the one which will determine whether anything gets built, is whether JPACT members recognize that for the second time in six months their vison for a CRC has been given a resoundingly failing grade. One law of bureaucratic physics is that agencies that have created a mess tend to spend more energy covering up the mess than cleaning it up. That’s exactly what TriMet and Metro have been doing for many years on every project. WES, Green Line in the wrong place and acknowledging TODs are ineffective are recent examples. Nothing will change until JPACT memberhsip and TriMet/Metro management is replaced by a team that can get things done right. Simply referring the matter back to the very same people that make the messes will simply lead to more failure. The current cabal pushing MLR, LO streetcar and LRT to Vancover is in the process of making more messes on a grander scale.
He couldn’t have said it better. This group has wasted $100 mil in tax dollars on a dead project, and I have no reason to believe they didn’t all get up and go back to work today.
Why do we insist on putting the cart before the horse like this? Can’t we have a regional consensus on a bridge design and THEN start allocating public funds to it?
This is why people like the [perjorative label removed] in Clack Co don’t want to pay any taxes. They keep seeing these high-profile examples of terrible use of tax dollars, and suddenly a $5 fee is too burdensome, because they believe it won’t go to anything productive.
Sadly, I think all we can really hope for at this point is to kill the project completely and start from scratch with a completely new project team. There are a lot of viable alternative designs out there that the current CRC team rejected out of hand.
How much better would this whole process have been if the EIS had been about seriously evaluating legitimate alternatives instead of a multi-year sales pitch for the predetermined outcome? They wasted a hundred million dollars by refusing to even acknowledge dramatically less expensive alternatives.
Sadly, I think all we can really hope for at this point is to kill the project completely and start from scratch with a completely new project team. There are a lot of viable alternative designs out there that the current CRC team rejected out of hand.
1. Where is the METRO growth taking place?
2. How do we improve rail freight services so that there is less interstate highway demand?
3. Where is there inadequate transportation infrastructure at present?
4. What are the regional commuting patterns and how will they play out in the future?
5. What solution has the best cost-benefit ratio to Oregonians?
6. What is the desirable growth level in the METRO area and in the state?
7. What role does the Portland transportation network play in interstate commerce?
8. How do we reduce VMT, time loss on public transit, and time loss due to congestion?
9. Other stuff
In my mind, a third interstate route deals with these issues in the most cost effective way.
Ron, #1 is easy with regards to CRC. All METRO growth is taking place entirely south the Columbia River (I’m just being a smartass). A 3rd interstate is likely not the most cost-effective solution simply because building an entirely new facility is likely to be tremendously expensive. That huge numerator is going to be the driving factor in that equation, regardless of the benefits.
I’m with Douglas and have always been surprised how many alternatives are simply vetoed by ODOT and WSDOT. There are a lot of great ideas out there. Of course, a lot of terrible ideas too.
Portland has a rail transit network that is the envy of every city in the country; it needs to be built out. Projects have been done on time and under budget. There is no failure here of any note. WES deserves more time.
re the CRC, the failure is in the DOTs’ and other supporters’ illusion that we can build our way out of congestion with more lanes. It has been tried many places and always fails and at great cost; indeed, it is very destructive of the kind of communities we are trying to build. The CRC is not a data driven process; rather it is a publicly funded PR campaign to build something we don’t even need. $109M and counting…
“Portland has a rail transit network that is the envy of every city in the country”
LOL
I doubt that New York, or Washington DC, or Chicago, or Boston, or the Bay Area, or even LA envy PDX that much.
But beyond those…
A 3rd interstate is likely not the most cost-effective solution simply because building an entirely new facility is likely to be tremendously expensive. That huge numerator is going to be the driving factor in that equation, regardless of the benefits.
I need to clarify. I am not talking about anything like a major controlled-access freeway. Not I-605 or anything like that. That would be horrendously expensive and unpopular to boot. But there are already some north south routes that could be improved. And we have Hwy. 217 serving the SW quarter of the METRO area, so there really is no need for some major by pass.
Think more like the old Hwy 99. Which now has MAX on it, too.
I doubt that New York, or Washington DC, or Chicago, or Boston, or the Bay Area, or even LA envy PDX that much. But beyond those…
Probably depends upon who you would talk to. And honestly, if I were there I would envy it, too. Just like I envy people who bought Jaguar XKE roadsters when they were only a few thou. I don’t know if I could make it work for me, now, though.
New York has a rail transit network that is the envy of every city in the country. 7.6 million riders per day, without counting the PATH system that’s effectively integrated with it, or the Staten Island railway.
The number two system (DC) doesn’t even break a million.
If Portland keeps at it, we can stay in the top ten … but that’s about the best we can aspire to.
In fairness, we’ve got a very impressive system for a city/region of this size… according to Wikipedia, Portland has the fourth largest light-rail system by ridership, and the largest ridership of any light-rail system that doesn’t connect to a subway/metro. We’re also fourth largest in light-rail route miles, and in the top ten for boardings per mile.
Adding in the combined ridership numbers for light rail and heavy rail metro systems and I think we’re number ten nationally for overall ridership. It’s unlikely we’ll move up that list, since we’d need to pass Los Angeles. Given that LA is currently embarking on a massive rail transit building spree, that’s not gonna happen.
Still, given that we’re the 23rd largest metropolitan area in the nation, “top ten” is doing pretty good.
Counting everything — buses, MAX, WES, streetcar and the tram — U.S. News and World Report thinks we’re #1. Ahead of New York at #3 and San Francisco at #6.
Okay, I like Tri-Met and MAX and all that stuff — but seriously, NYC placed third, behind us and Salt Lake City? Whatever these guys were smoking, I want some.
They weren’t smoking anything, merely drinking the Portland Kool-aid. ;-)
While it’s nice to be recognized, I generally advise taking US News’ rankings on anything with a large grain of salt.
I clearly overreached and should have said “for a a region of our size” or something to that effect.
But “failure” is hardly a word that applies to our transit system. I get lots of positive comments about TriMet here on Swan Island from new employees that relocate here from elsewhere.
I see from January’s ridership numbers that MAX number are up almost 5% while bus ridership is down about the same. I’ll bet that when Milaukie and Vancouver lines and Streetcar are all open, rail ridership will equal bus ridership.
NYC’s system is impressive, to say the least. But Portland compares well in several areas.
Ever try taking your bike on a subway? Fugeduboutit!
If you’re in a wheelchair, or otherwise unable to negotiate stairs, too bad for you.
Bus service is crummy to average. Getting E/W across Manhattan is much more difficult than N/S due to no subway, except for the 7 and other lines downtown. The 7 only goes as far west as Times Square.
East of Lexington, no subway until the 2nd Ave. line opens. So the 4-5-6 are always, ALWAYS packed at rush hour, moreso than other lines.
So while I think MTA sets the standard as far as system density goes, it’s not perfect. It’s old and needs a lot more investment to catch up to demand. Our system has the advantage of being newer and designed to accommodate a wider range of users.
I hate it when US cities get compared against one-another on public transit. its like when people fight which boxed wine is better.
Political pipe-dreams or real projects to solve targeted problems? As long as government waste proliferates the former instead of the latter, a lot of consultants will laugh all the way to the bank. $109 million could have done some serious work on I-205, I-5 and a few other interchanges in the Region.
WES deserves more time.
Why does WES deserve “more time” while bus service deteriorates from disinvestment, service cuts, poor service, and a lack of attention by TriMet and Metro; and is not given the same due courtesy?
$161.5 million would have gone a long, long ways to improving bus service and increasing ridership by far more than 9.3% of 1,080 riders, or a net add of 100 (or 50 round trips).
Whether or not WES deserves more time, it will likely get it simply because the ervice can’t easily be cancelled.
That said, ridership has been rising, albeit from “inexcusable” to merely “abysmal”. Part of it has to do with the economy improving, obviously, but other factors could be in play.
And WES does provide one unique service, actually–during the days that it does run, its the best way to get in and out of Wilsonville, as you can get anywhere in the TriMet system to Wilsonville Station on a single ticket, and then transfer to the (free) intra-city SMART routes. No other TriMet bus routes presently serve Wilsonville, and if you transfer to the SMART 2x line, you’re looking at an extra fare. (It would be useful if the 96 went down to Wilsonville Station as well, allowing a one-seat ride from downtown, rather than ending at N. Wilsonville. OTOH that bus only runs weekdays so suffers from the same limitation that WES does…)
WES was a bad idea, but since we paid for it we’d best figure out how to make it work better. Converting it to all-day service, seven days a week, seems logical for building ridership if Tri-Met can work out scheduling issues with freight service. And are they still required to keep a conductor on board? Getting rid of that extra employee will significantly reduce operating costs, if the federal government would just let them do it.
As far as serving Wilsonville, I think Tri-Met should extend #78 to Commerce Circle and Wilsonville Station. That would provide connecting service seven days a week, and create an alternative for riders who miss the last WES.
Would you have the 78 on Stafford or what? I’d like to see the 96’s hours extended. It’s really weird that there’s no direct Portland to Tualatin/Wilsonville anything outside of commute hours.
WES’s big problem is that it’s a premium service but it can’t generate consistent full loads and premium fares. Any extension would just make the losses larger far in excess of any benefit.
The Merc is reporting that CRC Director Richard Brandman has been fired. Looks like David’s remarks had the intended effect.
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2011/02/11/top-crc-official-richard-brandman-is-out
CRC Director Richard Brandman just got the boot. Looks like someone was reading David’s postings and took them to heart!
Read it at the Mercury’s blog.
RA – I think Douglas meant the 76, which was originally supposed to become frequent service when WES opened. I think if that happened, WES ridership would go up significantly.
Tim – O K – that makes sense. The 76 is still in the RTP for frequent service within the next seven years.
It also makes sense that having a 76 lifeline would boost WES, but how much? You still have to get from where you are to WES and from WES to where you want to go. Unlike downtown Portland, parking at both ends of these intersuburban trips is free.
I did mean the 76. Mea culpa. They both run on the same route on the segments I use.
The 76 is still in the RTP for frequent service within the next seven years.
When I attended the 2001 TIP Open House at Tigard City Hall, the 76 was supposed to go Frequent Service within a few years back then!
A decade later, [self-edit: we know what I’m going to say here].
Warning: thread hijack.
The nice thing about the 76 is that it serves an entirely different purpose than WES – WES is real rapid transit, while the 76 is local service on a relatively long corridor. IMO, the key is to tie those two systems together. Were the 76 “frequent serviced,” WES would have a relatively quick transfer to the 76 at every station but Wilsonville. That essentially extends WES’ reach beyond the businesses immediately adjacent to the stations, and reaches some really good-sized destinations: Meridian Park Hospital, Bridgeport Village, Washington Square, etc. WES does have some things going for it – it’s clean, it’s dependable, and its wicked fast. The trick is making it convenient, because right now it’s not, unless you drive.
Full disclosure: I ride WES 3-4 times per month, and I’ve also ridden the whole length of the 76, from Beaverton to Meridian Park and back. With a few tweaks and fairly simple changes (like making the 76 frequent service), I’m still convinced WES can/will become a valuable part of the Portland area’s transit system.