No Tolls on The Bridge!
CRC’s answer to C-
Correcting False CRC Claims
M Claim: An investment of $450 million from Washington will result in a $3.1-
They forgot to mention the $100 million/year tolls which will escalate to over $200 million/yr and total over $4 Billion over 30 years. $4 Billion to get $3.5 Billion is not a good deal. (59,000 commuters x $2000/yr. tolls)
M Claim: More than a decade of input from citizens and local elected leaders.
Most of the input was ignored. Here is a direct quote from one CRC document: “The decision meetings would be open to the public, but only minimum legal notices would be provided and no display advertising would be placed. We would not encourage public participation.”
M Claim: Unanimous support for Locally Preferred Alternative.
There is little real support for light rail -
M Claim: For the Final EIS, the range of one-
The minimum toll is $4.24 each way. Page 4-
M Claim: A light rail component is absolutely necessary to secure $850 million in New Starts federal funding for this project,
Deceptive: New Starts is a Federal Transit Agency program & they only give money to build transit. It is completely unrelated to Federal Highway money for the freeway component, including the bridge.
M Claim: Local revenues and tolling will also be needed
Only for the mega project. If we remove the light rail and un-
M Claim: An estimated 25 % lower operations and maintenance cost per rider
Why does C-
M Claim: If light rail is removed from the project, additional environmental review process will be required, which would delay the project for years if not decades.
To quote their own document: “A supplemental EIS would likely require 12 to 24 months to complete.” That is a small delay to save over a billion dollars.
M Claim: Any further attempt to change the current bridge design will cause years, if not decades of delay.
Hurry up and buy this baby, before someone else gets it! Just like a used car salesperson.
Actually only 12-
M Claim: Eliminates last national interstate bridge lift
Low cost changes to railroad bridge will cut lifts by 90+%
M Claim: Improves crossing to modern seismic standards
Reality: The current bridges are less likely to fall than other Portland I5 bridges.
M Claim: Improves commute time and reduces congestion
Only slightly: ONE MINUTE in the am and EIGHT MINUTES in the pm, for a toll cost of $48/hr. saved
M Claim: Reduces accidents and emergency bottlenecks
Other I5 bridges have more accidents
M Claim: We will lose ... $450 million from Oregon if light rail is eliminated from the project.
Light rail is not the only contingency attached to Oregon’s $450 million. It must also pass muster with Oregon’s State Treasurer among other restrictions.
M Claim: The I-
Most bridges DO NOT meet the latest (“current”) standards.
M Claim: Compared to bus rapid transit, light rail provides: Better travel times [light rail averages 17 mph versus BRT’s 14.5 mph, including stops]
They forgot to tell you that the current express bus takes 15 minutes from downtown to downtown while the light rail will take over 30 minutes!
M Claim: Greater potential for nearby transit oriented development
This is the real reason for light rail -
M Claim: The approved project design anticipates a significant mode shift from single occupancy
vehicles to transit.
They claim a transit usage approaching that of New York City. That is simply unrealistic. The history of transit is one of steady decline since the automobile became affordable almost 100 years ago. Why would people abandon their convenient, fast cars for slow, inconvenient transit?
M Claim: What happens if light rail ridership projections aren’t met? Will express bus service be cut?
TriMet has cut bus service more severely than its light rail
M Claim: Based on current modeling, in 2030 during the PM 2-
Reality: That is with all riders standing and is about the capacity of a single lane of a freeway, but at the cost of a five lane freeway! Is this really the wave of the future?
M Claim: Generates a regional economic benefit of $5-
They forgot the cost of tolls & cost over-
The 59,000 residents from Clark County that work in Oregon deserve better than to be bled of $2000/yr just to get to work. That is a total of $120 million out of the local economy, about $10 million in lost sales tax due to loss of $300 million in purchasing power over 30 yrs.
More information: NoBridgeTolls.com crcfacts.info stopcrc.com
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