TR Circular E-C058_9th LRT Conference_2003.pdf - Florida ...

Robbins 631
Funding Without New Taxes
Given the failure of the regional funding measure, the funding priority of a new project was to
use local dollars to match available federal funding. There was absolutely no support for new
taxes to create the local match, so a strategy had to be developed to find a source for the funds.
Discussion of possible funding partners and sources began when the business and
residential community brought through a proposal to go to North Interstate. Metro had a
potential $55 million in regional funds, TriMet $25 million, and the City of Portland pledged $30
million. The discussion was tied back into the technical aspects of the developing project. The
question of how much the region could afford was tied back to the technical process of how to
determine a project that could be built for that affordable price.
During the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) authorization
period in 1995, Congress added TriMet to the list of large interrelated projects. The ISTEA
statute was amended in the middle of its authorization period within the Appropriations Act. The
amendment required the secretary to forward a project in Portland along the South/North
corridor through to a Full Funding Grant Agreement. This provided motivation to continue
forward to create a project that could work for the region.
Community Resolve
In December 1998 and January 1999, Metro held a series of listening posts to allow people to
voice their opinions regarding the future of transit and transportation in the Portland
Metropolitan Region and the South/North corridor. With no specific project on the table, Metro,
the City of Portland, and TriMet wanted to bring people together just to listen. The slate was
clean and the potential was open to hear what transportation options the public supported. Public
comment paralleled the findings from the voting analysis in that the majority (75%) were
supportive of light rail but had reservations about specific elements of the South/North project,
such as:
• Build in segments;
• Too high a cost;
• Light rail necessary to achieve land use goals, economic development or
redevelopment; and
• Build rail but use multiple transportation modes (e.g., expanded bus service, streetcar,
high occupancy vehicle lanes, and car and van pools).
Additionally, those who supported building light rail suggested alignment variations that
either use existing structures, or in other ways could reduce overall project costs:
• Use the eastside connector/Hawthorne Bridge;
• Go to North Portland;
• Use 1-205 [existing right-of-way (ROW) for transit];
• Avoid the transit mall; and
• Go to Clark County.