Letter: Crime invasion is wrong argument

There are good and bad reasons to oppose light rail, but fear of an invasion of criminals is bogus.

After all, this newspaper barely has room to report on our present murders, stabbings, car bombs, arsons, fatal home invasions, drunk driver crashes, domestic assaults, elder abuse, giant drug raids, and so on. Maybe, just maybe, light rail would allow our local criminals to invade Portland, Gresham and Washington County.

As a retiree, I admit riding MAX from Delta Park or Parkrose occasionally because evening parking now can be as high as $13 for special events.

When I worked in Portland, I was a C-Tran regular.

As for the bridge height, the present clearance of 176 feet (with bridge lift) should have given Columbia River Crossing a hint.

And when we voted against light rail in the 1990s, there was no light rail north of the Rose Quarter, so we would have had to pay much more. And then state officials suggested that once imposed, the proposed sales tax would continue forever whether light rail was built or not. Not a good deal, the voters said.

Today, the federal government has said that without light rail, there will be no new Interstate 5 Bridge.

Bill Stewart

Vancouver