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And Then the City Says…
Having just reflected on Metro’s Legislative Priorities, we now look at the City of Portland package (a much longer document). Here is the section on transportation funding: includes a five-year gasoline tax increase to fund a set of specific local government transportation improvements related to system safety, maintenance, preservation, operations, and congestion; includes the indexing…
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Betting on Lottery Dollars for Milwaukie LRT?
Metro is floating its proposed legislative agenda past MPAC and JPACT. Included in the transportation plank is this phrase: “Providing lottery dollars to support the next leg of the region’s high-capacity transit system…” (this means Milwaukie Light Rail). Could this be the boost to get that corridor off the ground? The accompanying report notes that…
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Turnpike Sell-off
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had a piece [trial subscription required to read the full article] on the leasing of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Apparently some 50 companies have expressed interest. The general tone of the article was that leasing public infrastructure may be the next big financial investment opportunity. Maybe we should see what we can…
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Outsourcing Our Political Will
A hat tip to the reader who forwarded this article in Mother Jones about toll roads. The article focuses on the privatization of the Indiana Tollway: The deal to privatize the Toll Road had been almost a year in the making. Proponents celebrated it as a no-pain, all-gain way to off-load maintenance expenses and mobilize…
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Pumping CO2
CO2, i.e., Connect Oregon 2, the expected follow-on from Governor Kulongoski to his $100M lottery-funded transportation package from last session, is apparently only the beginning in the minds of some regional leaders. The Daily Journal of Commerce is reporting that business and government leaders are looking for a broader transportation package from the next legislature.