Portland Transport

Author: Chris Smith

  • $77/Barrel – Test of Peak Oil Theory?

    With the Prudhoe Bay oil field shut down for weeks or months, the price of crude spiked yesterday. Peak Oil theory suggests that as it gets harder and harder to get oil out of the ground, the oil companies will have to put more and more effort into continuing to ramp production to meet ever…

  • Lowell Streetcar Costs

    There was a question last week about the recently approved budget for the Lowell Streetcar extension and why it appeared higher on a per-mile basis than prior extensions. I wanted to have the detailed data before answering. While part of the reason is that all construction costs are up, this project actually contains $2.6M in…

  • Blogger Cooks

    In the blatant self-promotion category, yours truly is part of a team hosting one of the City Club’s “Citizen Salons“. Our event is a brunch on Sunday August 20th with Metro President David Bragdon and Lake Oswego Mayor Judie Hammerstad as featured guests. Both are members of the state’s Big Look Task Force, re-examining the…

  • Urgency of Transportation Funding Problem

    Friday’s Tribune has an editorial about the urgency of coming to grips with the state’s transportation needs. While the author and I might disagree on what some of the specific projects might be, we’re on the same wavelength on several points, including the need to ensure that maintenance gets funded. We also see the way…

  • A Glimmer of Hope from Wall Street

    This week’s Business Week has an interesting article suggesting that Wall Street is tripping over itself to invest in alternative energy technologies. But it also says that the results may be a while in coming. It likens this trend to investing in computers in the 1970’s.