Editor,
Recently I sent out an email complaining about the fact that I have received Legislative updates but they were lacking information about the voiding of the outrageous C-Tran/TriMet contract.
It remains my opinion that if that contract is not voided, it will at some future date allow C-Tran to:
1. Invade Vancouver and Clark County and use our eminent domain laws to confiscate private property
2. Building, with Vancouver and Clark County dollars, the Columbia River Crossing complete, with light rail
3. Impose outrageous bridge tolls for Vancouver and Clark County voters and taxpayers to pay while Oregon gets to keep all the money
4. To fine Vancouver and Clark County voters and taxpayers $5 million if we don’t allow ourselves to be dictated to
Last week I got a legislative update from Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, that I just have to take issue with. I take issue with some areas of her update, especially when 4th Plains is being torn up as construction of the Bus Rapid Transit System that connects with Turtle Place is underway.
All should be aware of Turtle Place. It is the area in downtown Vancouver where the CRC Light Rail boondoggle and the C-Tran Bus Rapid Transit was supposed to meet. That boondoggle, wasted $200 million of our hard earned dollars in the failed attempt to bring Portland’s financially failing light rail system to downtown Vancouver and eventually all of Clark County.
Although the update mentioned that in 2013 68 percent of Clark County said they opposed light rail, it failed to mention that going back some 30 plus years, the citizens of Vancouver and Clark County voted no they do not want light rail a minimum of six times, only to have their vote ignored again and again. For the information of those new to the area, that is where the word, “Vote No On Light Rail the Gravy Train” came from. I still have court documents to confirm that information.
I was not too impressed with the paragraph in the report that talks about an affordable cross river solution. As one who travels frequently across the current Interstate 5 bridge, I very seldom, unless there is an accident, have any congestion until I am heading south across the bridge and heading north, congestion starts building in the vicinity of the Swan Island exit.
We do not need a cross river solution, Portland does. In fact Portland needs to, among other things, open wide 24 hours a day all three lanes between downtown Portland and the I-5 bridge. Note when you travel between downtown Portland and the I-5 bridge how open the I-5 freeway becomes halfway across the bridge and through Vancouver.
As far as freight mobility, freight scheduled for Portland and points south should be off loaded in the Port of Portland and freight for Vancouver and points north and east off loaded at the Port of Vancouver.
As I see it we only have one more shot to kill the light rail idea. That will be in November of 2016. Those who continue to do nothing to void the C-Tran/TriMet contract, Democrats and Republicans, should not be returned to the Legislature in Olympia.
In her update Rep. Oike said to the voters about her actions, and I quote, “I promised them I would not give up.” Neither will I.
Larry Patella
Vancouver
