Saturday, July 10, 2004
Hotel may hold key to Lloyd housing
If the sale goes through, the nonprofit hopes to borrow $5 million from the Portland Development Commission to finance the purchase. An additional $3 million that would be needed probably would come from tax credits.
The proposed sale, however, prompted a June 23 letter to the PDC from the chairmen of the Lloyd Business Improvement District Inc., the Lloyd District Community Association and the Lloyd District Transportation Management Association castigating the development agency for the process surrounding the transaction.
It says the project “shows a blatant disregard” for the guidelines in the development strategy for the Lloyd District and the Rose Quarter.
The Rose Quarter plan, the letter says, identifies the property where the Ramada Inn is located, at 10 N. Weidler St., as “the linchpin for improving accessibility to the Lloyd District,
If the sale goes through, the nonprofit hopes to borrow $5 million from the Portland Development Commission to finance the purchase. An additional $3 million that would be needed probably would come from tax credits.
The proposed sale, however, prompted a June 23 letter to the PDC from the chairmen of the Lloyd Business Improvement District Inc., the Lloyd District Community Association and the Lloyd District Transportation Management Association castigating the development agency for the process surrounding the transaction.
It says the project “shows a blatant disregard” for the guidelines in the development strategy for the Lloyd District and the Rose Quarter.
The Rose Quarter plan, the letter says, identifies the property where the Ramada Inn is located, at 10 N. Weidler St., as “the linchpin for improving accessibility to the Lloyd District,
Lack of clear answer leads to clear-cut Metro, the regional government, forced his hand, he said. Metro said in a letter that his property was on an inventory of regionally significant wildlife habitat and might be subject to "moderate" development restrictions in the future
Thursday, July 08, 2004
News rattles Fairview Village
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
What if There Had Been No Forced Busing
Two Thirds of Central City Losses Might Have Been Avoided
During the 1970s, core city populations declined at an unprecedented rate, and, generally core cities that were growing (such as Los Angeles and Houston) experienced slower growth. Among the cities of 200,000 that had not annexed since before 1950, nearly 60 percent of the 1950 to 2000 population loss occurred in the 1970s, and 97 percent of the loss occurred in the 1950 to 1980 period.
A principal cause of this unbalanced population loss appears to be problems with core city education systems, and it is likely that the most important factor was forced busing.
The following table provides a counterfactual analysis of what core city population would have been during the disasterous 1970s if change in population had been balanced between adults and school age children at the same ratio as the rest of the nation. It is estimated that the cities would have lost only 650,000 people, rather than the actual 2.1 million.
During the 1970s, core city populations declined at an unprecedented rate, and, generally core cities that were growing (such as Los Angeles and Houston) experienced slower growth. Among the cities of 200,000 that had not annexed since before 1950, nearly 60 percent of the 1950 to 2000 population loss occurred in the 1970s, and 97 percent of the loss occurred in the 1950 to 1980 period.
A principal cause of this unbalanced population loss appears to be problems with core city education systems, and it is likely that the most important factor was forced busing.
The following table provides a counterfactual analysis of what core city population would have been during the disasterous 1970s if change in population had been balanced between adults and school age children at the same ratio as the rest of the nation. It is estimated that the cities would have lost only 650,000 people, rather than the actual 2.1 million.
Freeways & Urban Decline: When Data and Theory Collide
Unsustainable Propositions
Dr. Patrick Condon at the University of British Columbia released a paper suggesting that freeways were a prime cause of US central city decline.
There were other, more important reasons for the decline of American cities, and some were simply not experienced by Canadian cities. For example, “forced busing” decade of the 1970s accounted for virtually one-half of the 50-year core loss as people with kids left the cities. And the central city systems of non-education are ensuring that where urban renaissance occurs school children and their parents are absent. There is more, but further discussion is unnecessary to demonstrate that the Condon Theory is unsustainable
Dr. Patrick Condon at the University of British Columbia released a paper suggesting that freeways were a prime cause of US central city decline.
There were other, more important reasons for the decline of American cities, and some were simply not experienced by Canadian cities. For example, “forced busing” decade of the 1970s accounted for virtually one-half of the 50-year core loss as people with kids left the cities. And the central city systems of non-education are ensuring that where urban renaissance occurs school children and their parents are absent. There is more, but further discussion is unnecessary to demonstrate that the Condon Theory is unsustainable
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Tollroads Getting Popular Says WSJ
The Wall Street Journal reviews the growing popularity of tollroads in Texas, Florida, and other states. Subscription may be required.
Time to Replace Transit with Car Sharing?
Better, Lower Cost Mobility for Low-Income Households
In the U.S., we could provide cars for all travel by low-income transit riders for less than what we currently spend on transit subsidies. It would cost less than $10 billion to provide cars for all the transit riders who don’t have access to them, compared with annual spending of about $25 billion on transit subsidies.
A commercial model for such a program already exists. Around the world, anti-automobile activists have established “car-share” networks that allow people to have access to cars without having to own them. For example, “Flex-Car” in Portland provides cars for less than $0.30 per vehicle mile--a rate that includes the car, insurance, service, and fuel.
Today, car-sharing is seen as a substitute for car ownership. But its larger market may be to replace public transit systems.
Research by Steven Raphael and Michael Stoll of the University of California - Berkeley indicates nearly one-half of the unemployment rate gap between African-Americans and non-Hispanic whites would be eliminated if virtually all African-American workers (like non-Hispanic white workers) had cars.
Sounds like something worth thinking about.
In the U.S., we could provide cars for all travel by low-income transit riders for less than what we currently spend on transit subsidies. It would cost less than $10 billion to provide cars for all the transit riders who don’t have access to them, compared with annual spending of about $25 billion on transit subsidies.
A commercial model for such a program already exists. Around the world, anti-automobile activists have established “car-share” networks that allow people to have access to cars without having to own them. For example, “Flex-Car” in Portland provides cars for less than $0.30 per vehicle mile--a rate that includes the car, insurance, service, and fuel.
Today, car-sharing is seen as a substitute for car ownership. But its larger market may be to replace public transit systems.
Research by Steven Raphael and Michael Stoll of the University of California - Berkeley indicates nearly one-half of the unemployment rate gap between African-Americans and non-Hispanic whites would be eliminated if virtually all African-American workers (like non-Hispanic white workers) had cars.
Sounds like something worth thinking about.
Monday, July 05, 2004
Transit Gets 15 Times Highway Funding
United Airlines: Reform or Flop
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Discovers the Market
In an editorial on Saturday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch supported the recent US Treasury Department decision to not provide loan guarantees to United Airlines. The editorial said, in part:
With Uncle Sam now out of the picture, it's time for some harsh realism all around. Creditors and labor will have to give in. If not, United eventually will stop flying, leaving creditors poorer and workers jobless. The American economy would go on with barely a hiccup as United's voracious competitors snap up its passengers. That's capitalism. It's not pretty, but it is very efficient.
The paper further noted that only $1.6 billion of the $10 billion Congress authorized has been granted in loan guarantees to help the airlines recover from "911". This does not, however, keep the people who don't know the difference between user fees and subsidies from claiming that the airlines are subsidized (compensation for war related damage is like federal disaster relief --- hardly a recurring, general subsidy). If the airlines were to receive the same level of general subsidy per passenger mile as Amtrak, $150 billion annually would be required. At transit rates, nearly $300 billion would be required.
The editorial is further evidence that the editorial board of the newspaper is beginning to face the world more realistically. An editorial of this ilk could not have been produced back when the paper was referred to by its critics as "Pravda on the Mississippi." Congratulations, Post.
In an editorial on Saturday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch supported the recent US Treasury Department decision to not provide loan guarantees to United Airlines. The editorial said, in part:
With Uncle Sam now out of the picture, it's time for some harsh realism all around. Creditors and labor will have to give in. If not, United eventually will stop flying, leaving creditors poorer and workers jobless. The American economy would go on with barely a hiccup as United's voracious competitors snap up its passengers. That's capitalism. It's not pretty, but it is very efficient.
The paper further noted that only $1.6 billion of the $10 billion Congress authorized has been granted in loan guarantees to help the airlines recover from "911". This does not, however, keep the people who don't know the difference between user fees and subsidies from claiming that the airlines are subsidized (compensation for war related damage is like federal disaster relief --- hardly a recurring, general subsidy). If the airlines were to receive the same level of general subsidy per passenger mile as Amtrak, $150 billion annually would be required. At transit rates, nearly $300 billion would be required.
The editorial is further evidence that the editorial board of the newspaper is beginning to face the world more realistically. An editorial of this ilk could not have been produced back when the paper was referred to by its critics as "Pravda on the Mississippi." Congratulations, Post.
Sunday, July 04, 2004
BART to San Jose Questions
BART S.F. Woes concern San Jose line The true facts are starting to come out. Tom Rubin is quoted in the paper as saying "The people who make the projections start out with the results in mind and will change the model to get the desired results". Omited from the Email version.
Live, Play, But Don't Work
Another great planning concept, "live-work" townhomes, turns out to be a failure. In Portland's Fairview Village, an "award-winning" (but slow selling) New Urban development, townhomes were built with separate offices which the residents were supposed to use for work studios. But few residents wanted to work so close to home, and the offices are too small by themselves to rent out.
So people ended up selling their entire townhouses to businesses who set up beauty parlors, real estate offices, and other commercial uses. While the city approved the use of the townhomes for such businesses, the fire marshall now says the buildings are not built to commercial codes. This means the businesses must either make expensive modifications or move.
If only people were willing to live the way planners fantasize they should live we wouldn't have these problems. Of course, you have to also wonder why a three-story office requires fire walls and sprinklers while a one-story office with two stories of housing above does not. I guess it is okay to burn up residents, just not offices.
So people ended up selling their entire townhouses to businesses who set up beauty parlors, real estate offices, and other commercial uses. While the city approved the use of the townhomes for such businesses, the fire marshall now says the buildings are not built to commercial codes. This means the businesses must either make expensive modifications or move.
If only people were willing to live the way planners fantasize they should live we wouldn't have these problems. Of course, you have to also wonder why a three-story office requires fire walls and sprinklers while a one-story office with two stories of housing above does not. I guess it is okay to burn up residents, just not offices.
Bus-Rapid Transit Ground Broken in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon, starts construction of a $22-million route for bus-rapid transit. Bus-rapid transit makes sense, but only if it operates on roads and streets shared with other motor vehicles. Eugene plans to build exclusive bus lanes that will cost as much as other roads but carry only a tiny fraction of the people.
Eugene's Lane Transit District sold this concept using very deceptive photographs showing futuristic buses running in the medians of existing roads. The only problems are:
While the city will take right-of-way from existing streets in some areas, in others they have had to use eminent domain to get land from private owners. The main losers are businesses such as a Taco Time and the Spring Garden restaurant.
The groundbreaking ceremony was fully in keeping with the deceptive history of this project. In reality, no ground was broken. Instead, somebody dumped a pile of dirt on the ground so that a bunch of politicians could heft fake gold-plated shovels of dirt around.
Eugene's Lane Transit District sold this concept using very deceptive photographs showing futuristic buses running in the medians of existing roads. The only problems are:
- The buses are structurally impossible (the real bus will look like this) and
- There is no median in this particular road, so building the bus-rapid transit means converting general traffic lanes that carry 10,000 to 15,000 passenger miles per mile per day to exclusive bus lanes that will probably carry about a third of that.
While the city will take right-of-way from existing streets in some areas, in others they have had to use eminent domain to get land from private owners. The main losers are businesses such as a Taco Time and the Spring Garden restaurant.
The groundbreaking ceremony was fully in keeping with the deceptive history of this project. In reality, no ground was broken. Instead, somebody dumped a pile of dirt on the ground so that a bunch of politicians could heft fake gold-plated shovels of dirt around.
Tales from the Pearl
A lengthy article in The Oregonian discusses the Pearl District, Portland's downtown residential area, in an effort to show that not everyone living there is a high-paid yuppie. The article mentions $70 million in public subsidies to the district, which probably does not include the $40 million streetcar or the millions in property tax breaks. The article also mentions that hardly any children live in the Pearl, but don't worry: they bus some in to play in the fountain.
