My wife and I were in Phoenix in 1990. They voted down light rail, so they widened the freeways to six lanes each way. Traffic was still bumper to bumper, so then they went eight lanes each way; still traffic was bumper to bumper. So about 15 to 18 years later, they voted in light rail. Now figure out how much it cost later then sooner.
When Portland first put in light rail, it went from downtown Portland to Gresham. Now look where it goes.
Gas goes up about $1 a gallon every year. When the price of gas gets $8 to $10 a gallon, all these people who don’t want light rail will be wishing for it. Then imagine what will the cost of light rail will be.
Gary Sachtjen
Vancouver
