~

news article from The (Portland) Oregonian - August 15, 2007

Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams pitched his plan to the City
Council on Monday to squeeze three urban-renewal districts for the $27
million needed to complete financing for the eastside streetcar.

Mayor Tom Potter and Commissioner Randy Leonard, the only other council
members present for the work session, didn't say where they stood on the
plan, but Potter, in particular, seemed skeptical.

He sought assurances that the city wasn't heading for another debacle
such as the aerial tram, in which poor council oversight led to large
cost overruns.

"I am responsible to the voters for this project," Adams said.

The city money represents the last piece of the financing puzzle for the
$147 million project, which would take the streetcar from Northwest
Portland, over the Broadway Bridge to the Lloyd District, and then on
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue to the Oregon Museum
of Science and Industry.

pjberg@webtv.net (Paul Berg) wrote:

On a similar note, Minneapolis is whining about the State plan for the new
I35 bridge. Seems the State didn't include a light rail line.

On a separate issue, the city also wants some sort of memorial included.
Not a plaque, a memorial. We are becoming Ancient Egypt.

Lobby Dosser wrote:

Speaking as somebody who doesn't know a lot about Minneapolis, is that
such a bad idea? Or at least, a provision for light rail in the future,
should it ever make sense?

Bolwerk gmail.com> wrote:

If designed so that it could carry light rail Or regular traffic, it
might make sense.

On Aug 15, 1:53 pm, Lobby Dosser verizon.net>
wrote:

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:30:49 GMT, Lobby Dosser
verizon.net> wrote:

An entirely reasonable suggestion, given that (a) the Twin Cities are
in the process of expanding their light rail system, to general public
approval, and (b) that the Best time to deal with such a future
possibility is now -- Before the replacement bridge is built.

Yeah

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:59:23 -0700, lein my-deja.com>
wrote:

lein wrote:

Don Homuth <dhomuthoneatcomcast.net> wrote:

Good Lord! Something we agree on.

I've been sort of wondering about this lately. I forget just which local
tragedy it was, but the news channels all featured the Memorial Pile -
the childrens toys, flowers, candles, pictures, etc. and I got to
wondering where all this stuff goes and why it appears. I don't recall
when it started, but it seems to have spread worldwide.

Then there are the Memorials. IIRC, there is a memorial in Nova Scotia
for TWA 800 because it is the closests point of land to the crash site.
And the relatives now Assume there will be a memorial and that they will
have a say in everything related to it. Then there are Entire
Battlfields. If the Europeans memorialized all their battlefields, damn
little living space would remain. And the naming and renaming of streets
and other public places ...

And - since 9/11 - we have added the expectation of compensation for the
families of victims and the survivors.

Bolwerk gmail.com> wrote:

...