How PDX Plundered Sellwood Car Tax for Light Rail

April 12, 2011

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As mentioned on the program a week or so again, I never want anyone–ever–to doubt that vehicle fees, gas taxes etc are used to subsidize light rail. It happens all the time, but now, unwittingly, the Portland Tribune (here) has given our argument an assist by stating the obvious. In this article about Milwaukie lightrail–$250,000,000.00 a mile– we read that the city of Portland will back out money it planned to chip in to fix the crumbling Sellwood Bridge and put it instead into the light rail project.
To wit:

The city’s share of the project had originally been $25 million. However, that figure was based on the federal government paying 60 percent of the project cost. When the federal government decided to pay only 50 percent, Portland increased its commitment by $20 million. That money is expected to come from savings generated by cutting about $40 million from the cost of the replacement Sellwood Bridge project.

Clackamas County taxpayers and car drivers must pay increased vehicle registration fees–car taxes–to replace the Sellwood and the city backs out its money it promised to give to the project and instead is used on Milawukie light rail. This is just what opponents have been saying for years.
Oh, and car drivers get an added bonus from the project! A NEW BRIDGE across the Willamette for everything BUT cars! NO CARS ARE ARE ALLOWED ON THE NEW BRIDGE.

The project includes a new transit, bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Willamette River from the South Waterfront neighborhood to a site just south of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Because of the limited construction windows in the river, work on the bridge could begin on July 1.

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com