Friday, February 24, 2006
Business Owners Shocked to Learn That Light Rail Has Consequences
Business owners in downtown Portland are dismayed to realize that a two-year project of reconstructing the city's bus mall to accommodate light-rail trains will force Tri-Met, the region's transit agency, to reroute hundreds of buses to streets in front of their businesses. "Buses are noisy," says one. "They set off car alarms just from the vibrations."
This reconstruction is a part of Tri-Met's plan to blanket the region in expensive light-rail lines that will carry former bus riders. Existing light-rail lines traverse downtown in an east-west direction. Although there is no funding to build a light-rail line south of downtown, Tri-Met wants to build a north-south route through downtown so it can extend the route south when such funding becomes available.
The bus mall was installed in the 1970s. Fifth and Sixth Avenues were closed to through-auto traffic (though open in limited spots to access hotels), and sidewalks widened to make room for bus passengers. Construction of the mall destroyed numerous businesses on the streets and many were never replaced because few businesses can compete without auto access.
When Tri-Met first sought funding for a south-north light rail -- funding that was denied by voters in successive elections in 1996 and 1998 -- downtown businesses endorsed the plan provided the light rail would not be built on their streets. Businesses from Powell's Bookstore to a variety of restaurants all said they would move out of downtown if the light-rail line was built in front of their storefronts. Since most of the businesses on Fifth and Sixth were already gone, there was no one to protest construction of light rail on the bus mall.
The first problem is there is not enough room on Fifth and Sixth for both buses and light rail, so after construction is complete some 40 percent of the buses will have to go elsewhere. The second problem is that during construction even more buses must be rerouted to other routes. Many of the downtown businesses who conditionally endorsed light rail will have to suffer the consequences after all.
This reconstruction is a part of Tri-Met's plan to blanket the region in expensive light-rail lines that will carry former bus riders. Existing light-rail lines traverse downtown in an east-west direction. Although there is no funding to build a light-rail line south of downtown, Tri-Met wants to build a north-south route through downtown so it can extend the route south when such funding becomes available.
The bus mall was installed in the 1970s. Fifth and Sixth Avenues were closed to through-auto traffic (though open in limited spots to access hotels), and sidewalks widened to make room for bus passengers. Construction of the mall destroyed numerous businesses on the streets and many were never replaced because few businesses can compete without auto access.
When Tri-Met first sought funding for a south-north light rail -- funding that was denied by voters in successive elections in 1996 and 1998 -- downtown businesses endorsed the plan provided the light rail would not be built on their streets. Businesses from Powell's Bookstore to a variety of restaurants all said they would move out of downtown if the light-rail line was built in front of their storefronts. Since most of the businesses on Fifth and Sixth were already gone, there was no one to protest construction of light rail on the bus mall.
The first problem is there is not enough room on Fifth and Sixth for both buses and light rail, so after construction is complete some 40 percent of the buses will have to go elsewhere. The second problem is that during construction even more buses must be rerouted to other routes. Many of the downtown businesses who conditionally endorsed light rail will have to suffer the consequences after all.
Comments:
Post a Comment
