It’s official: Vancouver will vote in November 2011 on a sales tax increase to fund light rail. In a Vancouver commission vote yesterday, the city decided that Vancouver should vote on whether to increase sales taxes by one-tenth of 1 percent to cover the cost of operating the light rail line that’s planned to finally connect Portland to Vancouver under the $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing project.
It’s clear that the pro-light rail crowd will have some hard campaigning to do, since this vote combines two issues that Vancouver loves to hate: taxes and public transit. If Vancouver rejects the .01 percent increase, it’s possible the line could be canned or built with no funding sewn up the maintain it.
The city which the New York Times witheringly described as possessing a “humor that only masks the hurt” rejected light rail in 1995 by a 2-1 margin and strong opposition to the current light rail pitch warned Vancouver not to run the “crime train” to its center.
But, hey, maybe there’s hope. A anti-light rail measure campaign failed to get enough signatures to reach the ballot.
one tenth of one percent is 0.1 % not 0.01 %
“People who don’t like what I like are poo heads!”
There, I gave you a year’s worth of copy Mirk.
This link works better:
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/20/…
Fuck you and your refusing to round up ecoline.
Two slight corrections:
Vancouver doesn’t “hate” public transit. The September 20, 2005 ballot measure to keep C-TRAN running 7 days a week passed in a “landslide,” and Vancouver itself had some of the stronger “yes” precincts for the failed November 2004 measure.
Also, this was the Board of Clark County Commissioners voting on the issue, not a City of Vancouver commission. This is synonymous with calling the Multnomah County Board a “Portland commission.”
Buses are also a necessary part of public transit. Having a light rail system and no bus system to complement/back it up is like a tree with no branches.
If anyone hasn’t noticed who runs those shiny silver hybrid buses that serve Downtown Portland on weekdays, yes that’s C-TRAN. Also, all (that I know of) C-TRAN buses offer rides with all-temperature climate control, and cleaner interiors than TriMet. Something to think about when riding a 20-year-old, overcrowded, un-air-conditioned TriMet bus, playing “Name That Stain” and “What’s That Fishy Smell?” while trying to commute to/from work.
It may soon be time to again get out my “Yes for Jobs! Yes for C-TRAN!” sign. 😉
BTW, Intercity Transit of Thurston County, Washington (Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater) went to the ballot there, and their vote is Aug. 17th. If anyone would like to see a system that won “America’s Best Public Transportation System” in 2009 (the award TriMet won in 1989 and hasn’t won since), now’s never been a better time.
GAWD! Why couldn’t they have built this when I was still in High School! For 4 years I had to put up with the #5 to get outta that place. Thank god, I’m out for good. Still, the Couve’s got more heart than any other ‘burb…AND YES, Vancouver, you’re still just a Suburb.
Respectfully but pet-peevishly: In the same way that Multnomah County and the City of Portland are not the same, Clark County and the City of Vancouver are not the same. This vote was by the Clark County Commissioners, not the Vancouver City Council.
Jason’s right. Just as there is a big difference between Beaverton and Forest Grove, there is a big difference between Vancouver and Battle Ground.
The famous 1995 ballot measure rejecting light rail was countywide. This one will be only in the TriMet service area, which is much more urban, much more pro-transit and much more pro-tax.