The Columbia River Crossing Task Force has spoken.
In its final meeting June 24, the task force voted 37-2 to recommend replacement of the Interstate 5 bridge between Vancouver and Portland with light rail mass transit as a locally preferred alternative.
Voting in opposition to the recommendation were representatives of the Coalition for a Livable Future and the Environmental Justice Action Group, both Portland-based.
The chosen option brings a host of implications for local businesses, from the chance of increased freight mobility and commerce to fears of possible displacement, increased crime, tolls on interstate freight and decreased foot traffic during project construction.
Since early 2008, Vancouver’s Uptown Village Association has conducted a web poll of its merchants and other community members to get a sense of opinions regarding the project.
About 30 UVA merchants responded, along with hundreds of community members, said Steve Lenzkes, UVA president and an attorney at Vancouver-based Grapevine Legal.
As of late June, the poll showed strong support for a replacement bridge with light rail. Eighty-two percent were in favor of new mass transit linking Vancouver and Portland, and 62 percent favored a light rail option.
A combined 57 percent favored mass transit along Vancouver’s Main or Broadway streets, while 43 percent didn’t want mass transit routed through the downtown area.
The association is not taking an official stance on the subject because opinions vary among its members.
“It’s a controversial project and we didn’t want to alienate our members because people have strong feelings both ways,” Lenzkes said. “The general feeling has been, ‘Let’s have light rail, but not in my backyard.’”
He said he observed a sense of resignation among Uptown merchants regarding light rail.
“The presentations of CRC were (about) the economic benefits of light rail and things you can do to prepare for light rail,” he said. “A lot of people felt a certain resignation that their voice really didn’t count as far as whether light rail was coming.”
The UVA poll showed 76 percent did not believe the CRC project would be self-sustaining. Lenzkes said the possibility of tax increases to support the project also is a concern for Uptown merchants.
“A lot of (these) businesses run on very thin margins and any tax increase hurts their bottom line,” he said.
Uptownvillage.com had 60 comments posted with the poll’s results. As of mid-June, about 33 percent of the comments supported a new mass transit component between Vancouver and Portland, 28 percent against it and 38 percent suggesting possible transit routes.
“Bringing (light rail) into Vancouver will not only allow Vancouver to further its own identity by bringing more people into the downtown area as it is revitalized, but it will establish a more sustainable and effective connection between Vancouver and Portland,” wrote one respondent.
In opposition, another wrote, “This is not about doing what’s best for the neighborhood. It’s about giving your tax dollars to contractors and developers during and after construction.”
The poll results will be sent to public agencies for consideration, Lenzkes said.
Another recent poll showed that a majority (65 percent) of residents think the I-5 bridge is in need of improvement, with 71 percent favoring light rail. Riley Research Assoc., a private Portland-based research firm, conducted the scientific telephone survey this month of 504 random households in Clark, Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.
Columbia River Crossing community surveys also show public support for the task force’s recommended option. Of 354 respondents, 68 percent favored a replacement bridge and 90 percent of 438 respondents supported light rail, according to reports presented by CRC staff at the June 24 meeting.
But the meeting’s public comment session was heavy on opposition. Local citizens, speaking from research and personal experience, said the task force was ignoring data, limiting public dialogue and emphasizing its preferred alternative ahead of time.
Port of Vancouver Commissioner Jerry Oliver spoke in opposition to the multi-billion-dollar price tag on the project.
“I have profound reservations about your proposed solution,” he said, noting that the addition of light rail could cost as much as $1.2 billion for the benefit of 7,000 to 15,000 riders.
“I can’t think of a business on this planet that would enter into a contract to spend $1 billion to serve 7,000 clients,” Oliver said. “I just feel this is the wrong solution at the wrong time at an uncertain cost.”
But Beth Quartarolo, president of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, told the task force that it has the support of the chamber’s board of directors. She predicted that making no improvements to the bridge would cost the community in restricted freight mobility and traffic flow.
Through late July, CRC’s six partner agencies will hold public meetings about the project and announce whether they will accept or modify the CRC task force’s recommendation.
The public comment period for the project ends July 1, seven days after the task force made its recommendation. Comments received by that date will be integrated into the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement. Publication of the FEIS is expected in 2009.
Picking up where the CRC task force left off will be a smaller formal oversight committee, likely consisting of two citizens and representatives from local government agencies.
The location of a Vancouver mass transit terminus will be determined in meetings of the Vancouver City Council and C-Tran, July 7 and July 8, respectively.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
