Tuesday, August 31, 2004
$30 million in subsidies and they still aren't coming
Portland has wanted to revitalize Martin Luther King Avenue for fifteen years, so it spent nearly $30 million on various subsidies, including $7 million on traffic calming and $9 million on transit-oriented developments. Yet development in the area has stagnated, and some blame the planners for creating too many hurdles for developers to jump. So much for the idea of "build it and they will come."
Comments:
The subsidies totalling 30 million is a drop in the bucket because hundreds of millions will be needed to restore Martin Luther King Avenue. In fact, it's possible that BILLIONS will be needed to restore MLK avenue.
The 9 million in transit oriented developements is also a drop in the bucket. This amount would only cover the cost of buying several buses and the equiptment to service them.
If a 1.2 billion dollar light rail was established, business would have flocked by the dozens in a matter of years.
A good example is the Pondarosa shopping center in Jersey City which was built right next to the Hudson Bergen Lightrail. The Pondarosa is also located on a street called Martin Luther Kind drive in a predomanent poor black neighborhood but it is a success due to the lightrail.
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The 9 million in transit oriented developements is also a drop in the bucket. This amount would only cover the cost of buying several buses and the equiptment to service them.
If a 1.2 billion dollar light rail was established, business would have flocked by the dozens in a matter of years.
A good example is the Pondarosa shopping center in Jersey City which was built right next to the Hudson Bergen Lightrail. The Pondarosa is also located on a street called Martin Luther Kind drive in a predomanent poor black neighborhood but it is a success due to the lightrail.
