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Streetcar and Gentrification
An article in yesterday’s Trib about the Central Eastside urban renewal district quoted Sam Adams saying that additional funds were needed to lock in affordable housing in the face of the gentrification that would be created by the Streetcar and other improvements. This was part of his justification for increasing the maximum indebtedness of the…
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Happy Birthday to the Little Train that Could
It’s been five years since a parade led the first convoy of Streetcars from PSU out onto the rails with passenger service. On Friday, Commissioner Sam Adams will lead a party that will celebrate: – 5 years of successful Streetcar operation – Streetcar’s 10,000,000th passenger – Regional adoption of the Locally Preferred Alternative for bringing…
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The Streetcar that Swallowed the Meeting
Yesterday morning at JPACT, discussion of Eastside Streetcar chewed up almost the whole meeting (Sam Adams’ resolution about Hayden Island used the rest). The rest of the agenda got pushed out to August. In the end, the committee unanimously endorsed Metro Council adoption of the Locally Preferred Alternative, but not before a number of neighborhood…
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Sam Adams Gets Right to the Point at PDC
Yesterday the Portland Development Commission got their briefing on the Locally Preferred Alternative for Eastside Streetcar (the tour of local governments continues – this morning JPACT will review the LPA and make a recommendation to the finally adopting body, the Metro Council). Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams led off the discussion and after reviewing the benefits…
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In Defense of Rail Transit
Rail transit is regularly criticized, including by some commenters on this site, as cost-ineffective with respect to buses or other modes, particularly with respect to reducing congestion.. VTPI has recently produced an overview of the literature on the benefits of trail transit (PDF, 36K).