Bizarro Bridge stumbles on

 Bizarro World has come to Cascadia:

• The Governor did a complete 180 and has now pushed a pro CRC bill through the House.
• The majority of Oregon's environmental groups have been eerily silent about the biggest construction project to happen between Seattle and San Francisco.
• Everyone seems to be comfortable with going into massive debt, possibly because they don't think they will be alive to suffer the consequences.

In short, a region that is world redound for smart transportation will try to build itself out of a traffic jam.

How are we to measure the onslaught of colossal failure that is sure to come? Will we time the commute for a Vancouver resident? The cancer-carrying capacity of a child's lungs living near the I-5 bottleneck? The number of trees consumed by the shoddy environmental impact studies? The gigawatts of electricity used by bloggers decrying it as a waste? The number and variety of metrics for how much this is going to suck is mind-blowing!

But rather than looking ahead to the misery, let us focus the present. Our opponents would love for us to roll over and allow them to rape our future. I advocate we use our voice and tell them to stop. Now.

By Monday, March 4th you must call your Senator

Here is our simple 4 step plan:
1 - consider why it is that you hate this project. There is an impressive list of reasons below
2 - look up your legislator in the Oregon Senate
3 - Call your Senators office
4 - Make someone you care about repeat steps 1-3


This will take ~180 seconds of your life. That is probably less time than you spent reading this. 

 

You may hear a great number of reasons this bridge must be built. Lets examine them:

* Bridge Safety
Pro CRC folks will say the current bridge is old and should be replaced. They won't mention that the people whose job it is to keep an eye on this stuff, The Army Corps of Engineers, says the current I-5 Bridge has a higher safety rating than Portland’s Marquam Bridge, and 29 other bridges in the Oregon highway system. Also notable is that there are many more accidents occurring on the Marquam Bridge. If we want to improve safety, this would be a good place to start.

* Bridge Lifts
"A red light on an interstate?!?" Well it does sound like a bad idea, but ask how many times it happens during rush hour. For the 300+ lifts every year only a handful are during peak traffic. We wont lie, it sucks being stuck in traffic, but even according to the CRC's own website - "Bridge lifts cause vehicles to stop on I-5 for up to 20 minutes at a time to allow river traffic on the Columbia River to pass." Can you believe that? 20 Minutes! And yet we have among the shortest commutes of any west coast city. I guess the only reasonable thing to do is make sure we try and shave one minute off the commute to Vancouver, WA.

* Future Traffic
They say we have to plan for the future of traffic and we should expect traffic to get worse, but traffic is not getting worse. There have been fewer and fewer bridge crossings over the past five years. This trend means A) there would be less money from the tolls we would be collecting and B) we dont need to replace a working bridge.

* Freight Economy
Most everything gets put on a truck at some point in its life so it is pretty important. Strangely, the CRC proponents would have you believe that truck drivers are not smart enough to avoid traffic. Truckers should be offended! If the pro-CRC people were actually worried about freight they would be working on making the railroad bridge a few miles downriver. For 1/20th of the cost of the CRC we could fix the railroad crossing. Speaking of moving big boxes of stuff, our own Coast Guard says the current CRC design is too low, preventing some ships from sailing upriver. Sure enough maritime business upstream is fighting mad that our tax dollars are going towards this "solution" to the problem of moving stuff around. But dont worry we are make more jobs by moving the company to another location downstream.

* Wasting Funds
We are told that we should support it because we have spent millions on the plan. That if we dont spend billions than all those millions will be lost. Can you imagine a doctor talking about gang green in a similar fashion? "It has spread to your leg and is growing. We could amputate, but maybe we should wait." Only in this case the doctor caused the infection and will get money money if the patient dies.

* Jobs
For sure, we can spend a lot of money and employ a lot of people. But considering the epic scale of this freeway expansion project one would hope these jobs that we are creating will be around for a while. When the Pro-CRC camp talks about the 20,000 jobs they are creating they mean they are expecting 2,000 job increase over ten years. 2,000 x 10 years = 20,000. More accurate analysis showed that there will be an increase of about 1,150 temporary jobs.  We are all for making jobs but there are plenty of ways to make something better for cheaper. But this is Bizarro Cascadia. The workplace may soon be very, very different.

Back That Quotable Ass Up

  "Simply put, it's Orwellian -- our tax dollars are being used to deliberately hide inconvenient facts from the public's eyes," said Evan Manvel who has worked against the CRC project for the Coalition for a Livable Future. "Taxpayers and legislators should be outraged."

This quote via an article in the Columbian that calls into question the role of the Oregon Dept Of Transportation (ODOT). Are they the states auto mechanic, or are they a car salesman?

Oh. They are both.

Now unless you have a close, trusting relationship your mechanic/salesman you probably want to have them be separate entities. If not, you would certainly raise an eyebrow if every time your car needed a repair their suggestion would be to scrap it and buy a hummer-limo.

Forget "picking the kids up from the pool" try putting a pool in your car!

But even Hummer-limos are cheap compared to the cost of the Columbia River Crossing. Estimates hover between 3-8 billion dollars, which might seem like a lot for a bridge, but then this is more than just a new bridge, its a massive freeway expansion project.

ODOT spokesman Don Hamilton said both the northbound span, built in 1917, and the southbound span, finished in 1958, were rated as functionally obsolete in their 2011 inspections.

 
Manvel called the definition of a 'functionally obsolete' bridge a "term of art."

"I just think their spin machine is in full cycle," Manvel said. "They're working to remove anything that undermines their case. If we can't trust the information they're putting out on their own web page, why would we trust them in their new reports?"

He pointed out that the states lack money for the maintenance they need to do now, let alone find more funding for large new projects like the CRC.

ODOT is in a difficult place.  On one hand this governmental body is advocating for taxpayers to pay for the largest, most expensive infrastructure the region has ever known, and on the other hand it is responsible for providing info about the status of the current infrastructure to be replaced. For those following the project, this sort of conflicting interest, along with the numerous inconsistencies (such as their models showing traffic levels increasing over the next 20 years when they have also reported that traffic has decreased over the past 20 years)  has caused a significant credibility gap in our regional planners.

Drilling Holes In Their Arguments

They claim they are not building anything yet, that this is just a test. However considering the "hell or high-water" stance the pro CRC folks have been using I wouldn't be surprised if the building equipment that has appeared on the Oregon banks of the Columbia river near the I-5 bridge just stuck around for a while, slowly getting us all used to its presence so that we wouldn't be at all alarmed when we hear:

"The bridge? Oh, we have already started building and can't stop. But don't worry we will have a lot of people you can trust making sure it is done right."

Curious thing, trust. It is something that is usually earned rather than simply given. Moreover when trust is broken it usually takes twice as much work to regain the lost trust.

This organization of bumbling bureaucrats has already spent $140 million of your tax dollars on the project. So far they have tried to deceive us by telling us that traffic is getting worse, when their own projections prove otherwise.  They say it will make traffic smoother, when their own projections say that at best drivers will save one minute.

Never mind that they have avoided answering questions pertaining to how they will protect, fish and wildlife the original source of currency in the region, how it will affect air quality due to moving the bottle neck closer to the city (because all 8-12 lanes become 4 at the Rose Quarter, just where their construction stops), or even something as simple and tangible as how they plan to pay for it.

But we are to trust them because even though they have lied to us in the past and continue to lie to us now, they are really telling the truth about the future when they promise they will stop lying to us.

We may be in an abusive relationship...

DTMFA

The bridge that couldn't get it up

Heyo, its been a while since we checked in but as it turns out the powers that be have still not given up on this embarrassment they call a "public works project." Im all for spending money to build things, but it would be nice if those things didn't cost us

A) massive, untold environmental destruction
B) 3-10 BILLION (thats NINE zeros people )


 What factor could be worth all this?

Clearly this bridge is about jobs...  killing the few jobs we have left that is:
 http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/mar/02/official-planned-bridge-too-low/

A pretty damning article if we have ever read one. 

YIKES! What do you suppose we can do to make it more absurd?

well since we are not updating this blog very often you may want to join a Facebook group where we got this bit of news: http://www.facebook.com/groups/flatbridgenow/

Ready to do something?

You may have heard about some coming to senses by our local politicians. We are naturally thrilled to have all the help we can get, but lets not rest on our laurels. This thing is still costing taxpayers more than a million every month and it will keep costing us lots of money until it is over.


GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION!
SAT. OCT. 24TH
PIONEER SQUARE

In anticipation of climate talks in Copenhagen this December, a world-wide "350 Campaign" (www.350.org) is hitting the planet THIS SATURDAY - October 24th. With over 15 events in Portland & 1,000s around the world, Help us connect the dots to the biggest LOCAL opportunity to make an impact on GLOBAL climate change: Stopping the CRC Highway Megabridge!

we want real transportation policies that address global warming!
WE NEED YOU: our amazing no-CRC volunteers. Please see which of the volunteer teams below you can join, and help us make a big change on Saturday! Email volunteer@stopthecrc.org for more info.

prep team:

Thurs 12pm - 4pm

Fri 1pm - 9pm

We need help making more bike flags and rally signs, and making more buttons. If you can help during any of the times listed above, email volunteer@stopthecrc.org to get location details, and come help us make more stuff!!

march team:
12:15pm Meet on PSU Campus in the park blocks just north of the farmer's market. Look for No CRC banner. Help pass out signs to folks with No CRC messages, We pose for a photo-op, then march to the rally. Chalk along the route, pass out flyers. Wear green! Bring a sign if you're feelin' it in public!

bike team:
12:00pm
Meet at Col. Summers Park (20th & SE Belmont). Rain or Shine! Help zip-tie bike flags to folks' bikes. Pass out flyers at the rally. Represent in the streets! We ride to the rally via the Hawthorne Bridge! volunteer@stopthecrc.org


SIGN IDEAS --->
More Lanes =
More Cars =
More CO2

Mobility for People not Cars!

CRC: Highway to Climate Hell!

CRC: Highway to Climate Chaos
-------------------------------------------------

Thanks to StoptheCRC.org for organizing!

So many meetings so little time

It has got to be hard building a massive bridge. You gotta get lots of little detail work done, papers filed, taxes levied... it's work!

That is part of why Oregon Governor Kulongoski made 30 million available for the CRC. It is gonna take a lot of money to convince all these people that their kids should be saddled with a massive debt.

But it takes more then money. Like George Burns said, timing is everything. So why have one community meeting when you can have two, at the same time!

* CRC community meeting @ Former Hayden Island Yacht Club
12050 N Jantzen Drive
Portland, OR 97217
Thu, September 10, 7:00pm – 8:30pm

* CRC community meeting @ Vancouver Housing Authority
2500 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
Thu, September 10, 7pm – 9pm

Not enough meeting in your Thursday diet? This could help us loose our shirt and our lunch.

* Congestion Pricing Meeting @ Metro Regional Center
council chamber
600 NE Grand Ave., Portland
Thu, September 10, 12pm – 1pm

The idea that some force is conspiring to keep CRC opposition as diffuse as possible would be considered strange, outlandish even. What does our government have to fear from its people?

So more volunteers are needed to help ask the right questions.

Todays burning question is: Why are so many people willing to burden the future for their own comfort?

volunteer to help

Sometimes folks feel daunted by the massive force that is pushing the CRC agenda. While it is true that the people working to oppose the CRC do not have a newly approved 30 million dollar budget, it is also true that the opposition have people. But they always need more and your opportunity to join in the fight is coming up soon!

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email volunteer[-AT-]stopthecrc[-DOT-]org to get on board with any or all of these events:

Vancouver Peace & Justice Fair
http://vancouverpeaceandjusticefair.org/
Saturday, Sept. 12th
9am – 4pm
Esther Short Park
8th and Columbia St.
Vancouver, Washington

We are looking for folks to table as we connect and network with Vancouver’s progressive community. Two cities, one love! Help represent & create a unified Vancouver, Portland resistance to the CRC!

Muddy Boot
http://muddyboot.org/
Saturday, Sept. 12th
12pm – 6:30pm
and
Sunday, Sept. 13th
12pm – 6pm
St. Philip Neri Church
2408 SE 16th Avenue (near 18th & Division)
Portland, Oregon

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lots more volunteer specific info available over at:
http://stopthecrc.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/help-us-outreach-at-2-events-sept-12-13th/

How bad do you want it?

The Columbia River Crossing has many different players and affects many groups and as such is getting lots of interesting cross talk.

Sometimes they talk about freight and the poor, pathetic semi-truck drivers who for whatever reason are not bright enough to use the I-205 crossing (when in fact professional drivers have access to technology that helps them avoid traffic by not driving in cities during rush hour, amazing!).

Other times they talk about safety. Usually about the condition of the current bridge itself and specifically the timber pylons. "Did you know we are trusting our lives to wood?!?" But they don't bring up that nearly every other bridge in Portland has a lower safety rating according to their own investigations.

Then sometimes they talk about the river boat captains who run the risk of hitting the I-5 bridge because the opening does not line us up the railroad bridge just to the west. Alas, they never mention how the railroad bridge actually does need to be replaced, and could be done so for 1/400th of the cost of the current CRC proposal.

But today good reader we are all about the Tolling!

The pro CRC people have created a survey that is pretty interesting. I hope that everyone take 5 min to fill it out. http://survey.columbiarivercrossing.org/

They dance around the issue of tolling like a pro bowl quarterback dancing around defensive linemen. What a study in framing the discussion! The survey is awe inspiring in its ability to pacify the otherwise rabid opposition. I think, however that we can greatly simplify the matter for the majority of people:

Would you be in favor of a replacement I-5 bridge if it had a $4.00 toll?

This is the blunt question the CRC does not want to ask (especially the "build it now!" - type dittoheads in Vancouver). Even though the CRC folk haven't been forthcoming with all the information they have gotten the hint from Obamma that the federal government wouldn't pay for it outright, and since they are only a few billion dollars short... hey with a $8 toll (adjusted to $10.50 by 2017) we could pay for this bridge by 2050.

So would you be in favor of replacing the I-5 Bridge if it means paying a $4.00 toll to cross it?

The Economy of the Future Part 3

Joe has some pretty good numbers. In this final episode of his testimony he explains the fallacy of the Safety concerns the CRC people are selling us.


Moreover He shows hos important it is that we improve the railroad bridge for moving freight.



Here is Joe Cortright's 6 Prudent Steps for solving the problems the CRC is trying to solve.

1. Toll the existing bridge
2. Improve transit
3. Fix the railroad bridge
4. Seismic upgrade for I-5 bridge
5. Modify Hayden Island ramps
6. Light rail to Clark County

The Economy of the Future Part 2

What about funding?



Yes he said the CRC is "80 times more expensive than the Ariel Tram"

Not to sound like a jerk, but how dense is PDX? How about the Couve? What about the planners who expect that planners who think that we can build our way out of congestion?

Stand by for the conclusion of Joe Cortright's testimony to City Hall, "The Economy of the Future Part 3" " available here tomorrow.

The Economy of the Future Part 1

Joe Cortright provides some spirited info about the future of building more driving capacity.

Get your econ on.



Thanks for sharing, Joe!

Wait for "The Economy of the Future Part 2", coming tomorrow!