CRC at Metro Again this Week


This week the Metro Council takes up the issue of authorizing President Tom Hughes to sign the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Columbia River Crossing project.

They’ll discuss this at a work session on Tuesday and Council meeting on Thursday.

This is Metro’s last major sign off on the project.


2 responses to “CRC at Metro Again this Week”

  1. A Vancouver perspective on the CRC:

    “My response: It might be that these subject areas do not take precedence over more important issues This community doesn’t realize that they are about
    to be hit by a freight train.

    1. Clark County has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.
    2. Clark County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state
    3. 50% of CC homes for sale are distress sales.
    4. It is estimated that Foreclosures could be stopped if a household was bringing in $500.00 extra per month.
    5. That means that if $500.00 extra goes out of homes – more homes
      will be foreclosed.
    6. Tolls will run between $100 and $300 per month, before taxes.
    7. How many more people will lose their homes?
    8. Taxes will go up to operate and maintain Portland’s light rail into Vancouver.
    9. Commuters who have a long job-life ahead of them, will move to Portland. Our property values will fall even more than they have already.
    10. CRC has scheduled to negatively effect 89 Vancouver businesses. How many long-term jobs-loss does that translate into as opposed toshort-term CRC created- jobs?
    11. Vancouver businesses earn 30% of their income from Portland shoppers. Tolls will crater that market.
    12. How many businesses will fold when 30% of their market share is
      taken away from them?
    13. At C-Tran, two months ago, a small businessman gave a public comment. He said, “You are building the light rail for the future.
      For me, the future is tomorrow.” That is how close small businessmen/women are living/ working/ surviving, right now.
    14. By CRC’s own studies, this project will do little to reduce congestion , southbound AM.
    15. By CRC’s own studies, this project will take 140 years to recapture the lost energy from destroying a perfectly good bridge (much better rating than the Marquam) and Vancouver homes/businesses. By that time, the light rail will have had to be replaced 4
      times…We’ll never recapture the lost energy from the CRC Light rail
      project.
    16. The footprint left behind by this poorly conceived project is
      immense and…unnecessary. There are many other bridge design
      proposals that actually reduce congestion without the massive
      footprint.”

    [Moderator: Adjusted HTML formatting to remove excess boldface — ES]

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