Quote:
Originally Posted by davehogan
Didn't the development company behind 8th Hassalo (or whatever it's called) specifically cite the new CL streetcar as a reason they decided to start with that? The easy access to the Pearl via the Streetcar I'm pretty sure came up.
The MAX was also cited as a reason I think, but the Streetcar isn't a bad amenity if we want to concentrate some density downtown instead of spreading it out as much.
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I understand the attractiveness of the idea. While you can't quantify
sexy, you can at least market it. Portland's crunchy appeal is magnified by the streetcar, to be sure.
The trouble is that it can't be used as a post-hoc rationale for growth in a few parts of Portland. There is simply no data to support this. There are anecdotes and marketing but that is not the same thing. Nor does correlation equal causation, our wishful thinking notwithstanding.
I am, btw, an ardent urbanist. I don't own a car. I haven't voted for a Republican in the past two decades. I despise the anti-environmental thuggery on the right. And I desire with all my heart for Portland to become emblematic of everything that is decent, humane, and wonderful about cities.
That doesn't mean I have turned my values into a church where our dogma can never be questioned, however. I'm not going to be a liberal version of a right-wing hack. Something is either true or it isn't. I want the streetcars to be successful. But I don't want that desire to turn me into a lying shill.