Paul Berg
2007-09-07 15:41:30 UTC
~
news article from The (Portland) Oregonian - September 7, 2007
The Portland City Council took a leap of faith Thursday, forced by a
deadline to quickly commit $27 million toward building a $147 million
extension of the streetcar to the east side.
The project carries some financial risk for the city, but the
commissioners agreed that the streetcar could spark the kind of
development boom on the east side that has accompanied the westside line
through the Pearl, the west end of downtown, the River District and
South Waterfront.
"We hope to knit together the east and west sides of the city in ways we
would not be able to do otherwise," City Commissioner Sam Adams said.
About half of the money -- $75 million -- will come from the federal
government through TriMet, which had to submit an application by today.
Under Adams' plan, the city contribution will come from three
urban-renewal districts: $17 million from the River District, $4 million
from Convention Center and $6.2 million from the Central Eastside.
Each of the districts has money budgeted for the streetcar extension but
at much smaller amounts. To get at the money, the city may have to raise
debt limits, put off other projects and take out short-term loans backed
by the city's general fund.
That the commissioners were willing to take those steps is a clear
signal that they're prepared to flex the budget muscle that voters
recently gave them over the city's urban-renewal agency, the Portland
Development Commission.
The council also overcame some initial nervousness about heading into a
project with potential tram-like cost overruns.
Adams noted that the cost estimates aren't firm, and the council members
will get another look at the costs before they make a final decision on
the funding. If the costs go up, the streetcar line could be shortened,
he said.
Michael Powell, chairman of the nonprofit streetcar board, said that
unlike "the project that shall remain nameless," streetcar construction
isn't novel and that all five segments of the existing line came in on
time and on budget.
The new route would bring the streetcar over the Broadway Bridge and
then link the Lloyd District to the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry via Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue.
If approved, construction would begin in September 2008, with service
beginning in February 2011.
The federal money comes from the Small Starts program. Congress created
the program at the urging of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., with
streetcars in mind, but the Federal Transit Agency has so far approved
only bus projects.
Chris Smith, chairman of the streetcar citizen advisory committee, said
that's one reason the federal agency is believed to be anxious to
approve Portland's application as the nation's first streetcar project
to get money.
Other sources of money for the project include $20 million in state
lottery bonds to buy vehicles, $15 million from property owners along
the route in the form of a local improvement district, $3.7 million from
a separate pot of federal money controlled by regional officials and $6
million from system development charges.
The River District is contributing most of the urban-renewal money
because that's where development has been heaviest and that's where the
most tax money has been generated.
The thorniest issues arise in the Central Eastside district, which
hasn't seen the kind of growth in property values that has generated tax
revenues in westside urban-renewal districts.
In an urban-renewal district, property-tax assessments are frozen and
any increases in property values resulting from development are spent in
the district to pay for streets and other improvements.
Adams said the streetcar is one project with potential to foster
development that will pay taxes into the district.
Testimony wasn't all positive.
Terry Parker, a frequent critic of the region's transportation policies,
called the streetcar a "tram on wheels" that will waste taxpayer money
and do nothing to improve transportation in the city.
An operating plan that assumes cutting service on the No. 6 bus line
drew some criticism from Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Erik Sten. Adams
explained that the plan was a way of demonstrating to the federal
transit officials that operating money could be found. He said the city
and TriMet had three years to figure out how to make it work.
~
news article from The (Portland) Oregonian - September 7, 2007
The Portland City Council took a leap of faith Thursday, forced by a
deadline to quickly commit $27 million toward building a $147 million
extension of the streetcar to the east side.
The project carries some financial risk for the city, but the
commissioners agreed that the streetcar could spark the kind of
development boom on the east side that has accompanied the westside line
through the Pearl, the west end of downtown, the River District and
South Waterfront.
"We hope to knit together the east and west sides of the city in ways we
would not be able to do otherwise," City Commissioner Sam Adams said.
About half of the money -- $75 million -- will come from the federal
government through TriMet, which had to submit an application by today.
Under Adams' plan, the city contribution will come from three
urban-renewal districts: $17 million from the River District, $4 million
from Convention Center and $6.2 million from the Central Eastside.
Each of the districts has money budgeted for the streetcar extension but
at much smaller amounts. To get at the money, the city may have to raise
debt limits, put off other projects and take out short-term loans backed
by the city's general fund.
That the commissioners were willing to take those steps is a clear
signal that they're prepared to flex the budget muscle that voters
recently gave them over the city's urban-renewal agency, the Portland
Development Commission.
The council also overcame some initial nervousness about heading into a
project with potential tram-like cost overruns.
Adams noted that the cost estimates aren't firm, and the council members
will get another look at the costs before they make a final decision on
the funding. If the costs go up, the streetcar line could be shortened,
he said.
Michael Powell, chairman of the nonprofit streetcar board, said that
unlike "the project that shall remain nameless," streetcar construction
isn't novel and that all five segments of the existing line came in on
time and on budget.
The new route would bring the streetcar over the Broadway Bridge and
then link the Lloyd District to the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry via Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue.
If approved, construction would begin in September 2008, with service
beginning in February 2011.
The federal money comes from the Small Starts program. Congress created
the program at the urging of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., with
streetcars in mind, but the Federal Transit Agency has so far approved
only bus projects.
Chris Smith, chairman of the streetcar citizen advisory committee, said
that's one reason the federal agency is believed to be anxious to
approve Portland's application as the nation's first streetcar project
to get money.
Other sources of money for the project include $20 million in state
lottery bonds to buy vehicles, $15 million from property owners along
the route in the form of a local improvement district, $3.7 million from
a separate pot of federal money controlled by regional officials and $6
million from system development charges.
The River District is contributing most of the urban-renewal money
because that's where development has been heaviest and that's where the
most tax money has been generated.
The thorniest issues arise in the Central Eastside district, which
hasn't seen the kind of growth in property values that has generated tax
revenues in westside urban-renewal districts.
In an urban-renewal district, property-tax assessments are frozen and
any increases in property values resulting from development are spent in
the district to pay for streets and other improvements.
Adams said the streetcar is one project with potential to foster
development that will pay taxes into the district.
Testimony wasn't all positive.
Terry Parker, a frequent critic of the region's transportation policies,
called the streetcar a "tram on wheels" that will waste taxpayer money
and do nothing to improve transportation in the city.
An operating plan that assumes cutting service on the No. 6 bus line
drew some criticism from Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Erik Sten. Adams
explained that the plan was a way of demonstrating to the federal
transit officials that operating money could be found. He said the city
and TriMet had three years to figure out how to make it work.
~