He must have cringed. Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt was standing behind the two visiting governors when they admitted that tolls are being levied against the residents of Vancouver as a sort of social experiment, reported in an April 26 story “Governors choose truss design for new I-5 Bridge.” Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber called it changing “the ‘paradigm’ of car-only highway systems” courtesy of D.C. bureaucrats. Oh, we’ve always known that, but how embarrassing it must have been for our mayor at that moment.
“Light rail and tolling creates incentives for people to get out of cars,” Kitzhaber said.
And Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.”
Is it any wonder that wealthy chamber of commerce types favor light rail and tolls? Encourage the working poor to leave their cars at home and take mass transit; free up those lanes for those who can afford them. Leavitt has always been in favor of light rail and recently of tolls. Many questioned why. Perhaps he just wants to free up the commute for his wealthy friends.
Robert G. Dean
Vancouver
