Leftist neo-comms: you need more proof that light rail is worthless?

Leftist fringiacs are usually very big on light rail. The social engineers infesting the Portland area and forcing their perspective on Portland North (aka Vancouver) continue their below-the-radar-efforts to saddle us with the multi-billion dollar boondoggle of light rail from Portland, even though it will do absolutely nothing to address our number one transportation concern of congestion.

Well, an article was mistakenly snuck into the Columbian (The paper itself, but not the web site)illustrating, once again, the truism that light rail is a colossal and total waste of money.

Portland is a traffic nightmare. Although allegedly “benefiting” from an extensive light rail system, Portland continues to rank consistently behind it’s much more important and senior neighbor to the north, Seattle, which has yet to lay a foot of light rail system.

Those advocating light rail are advocating the vaporization of billions of dollars that will accomplish nothing.

STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE

Oregon can't keep up as traffic bogs down

BY NIKI SULLIVAN
The Associated Press

June 13, 2005

The state's busiest stretch of road, Interstate 84 in Portland, is a maddening snarl during rush hour. Traffic slows from 65 mph to a crawl. Cars inch forward as they struggle to enter the city in the morning and leave in late afternoon.

More than 170,000 cars travel the six lanes on I-84 near 33rd Avenue every day, a 20 percent increase from 10 years before, according to Oregon Department of Transportation figures for 2003 and 1993.

With no room to widen the lanes, ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson said it's an example of what the department faces across the state: Demand for roads far outpaces supply.

Across the state, more people are driving more miles in more cars than ever before.

That means increased traffic, and the Department of Transportation says roads can't be built fast enough to keep up.

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