street roots
14
Aug. 3„ 2012
Portland’s famous free rail zones - going, going, gone
BY ROB SADOWSKI
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
n just a few short weeks, the Portland’s
free rail zone for both TriMet light rail
and the streetcar will end its more than
37 year history. The concept was adopted
1975 to combat limited parking and air
pollution and was initially referred to as
Fareless Square.
However, due to
budget
3RW •*...
restrictions, the
program is
ending at the
Bicycle
close of August.
Transportation
The days of
Alliance
_____________________ hopping on a
train or streetcar
downtown and
going a few blocks is over. Will this mean a
sharp increase in people driving downtown?
We don’t know. People typically don’t get in
a car to drive a few blocks anyway. It is
more likely to cut out trips entirely. This
could have more of a financial impact to
restaurants and small businesses than
anything else. There have been many times
that I’ve jumped on a train both to save time
I
îw ï
Healthy Streetbeat is a
monthly column for
Street Roots written by
the Bicycle
Transportation
Alliance (BTA). Our
contributors are Rob
Sadowsky, executive
director, and Margaux
Mennesson,
communications
director.
and extend my noon lunch choices. I’m
lucky, though. I can jump on my bike and
take that short, simple trip by bike in as
short if not a shorter amount of time.
Perhaps I’m an optimist, but here’s to
in hoping that the end of the free rail zone will
bring about an increase in people walking. I
find that people often have misconceptions
about how long it takes and how easy it is to
walk. I can walk from my office at NW
Glisan and NW 6th all the way to City Hall
in less than 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I’m
getting a good 20 minutes of moderate
physical activity. The other optimistic part
of me wonders if more people will choose
bicycling as an option when working
downtown.
There are many people who will be
impacted negatively by this policy:
downtown workers who cannot afford the
additional fees, especially those with
physical disabilities that might make it
difficult to take a 20 minute walk. Will losing
the zone box people in, particularly seniors,
who can experience many low cost to free
activities throughout the day?
The pessimist in me asks: “Does it really
matter?” After all, it is so rare that they
enforce payment of fares, anyway. Couldn t
someone just walk on and off if they spy an
inspector coming? Sure, but there is a big
financial risk in doing so. Fines are typically
$175.
The real issue here is that we need to
support transit to an adequate level so that
we can accomplish core goals that Portland
has established in reducing congestion and
carbon. The budget crisis at TriMet is not
because they are mismanaging our money, it
is because the United States spends more
money to subsidize the construction of
roads for cars that travel without a daily use
pass than we do to support transportation
systems that accomplish so much more.
One might call our roads fareless zones - or
even fairless zones.
So let’s hop on the rails for a few more
trips before the end of the Fareless era. If
you go shopping or to a restaurant on your
trip, let that business owner know that you
got their because of the free rail zone and
ask them to speak up in support of enewing
it. Or join me on Aug. 31 at noon when I
hop on and take one last free trip to a food
cart pod.
Keep Hope
By Harold Thompson
Keep hope
How do you keep hope when you are homeless and living on the street
with nothing to eat?
ro w n _
»op lo c a l
> e a t fre s h
,
Keep hope
Is it when you have nowhere to call home
How do you keep hope when everybody you meet
Treats you like a total stranger
Keep hope
Is it the little children you see at play
Or when their laughing or crying for the love they deserve but never comes.
Keep hope
How do you keep hope when you try to live your life from day to day
When you are the only one who has to pay.
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Vendors are regular contributors to Street Roots, as
columnist, poets and artists.
Look for your favorite vendor’s writings in each edition o f
the paper.
Keep hope
Is it in the pain and suffering of families who have lost a loved one
To all this senseless killing
Keep hope
People say it comes from the heart
But how do they know when the world you live in
Keeps falling apart?
Keep hope
Is it when all you see is the abuse of all the killing of children
Or do we just say, “what’s the use?”
Keeping hope is like the fear on people’s faces
When you try to ask them for help but all they want to do is yell
Keeping hope is what you feel when you have nowhere left to turn
When all you feel is the burn
From just losing hope.
Keeping hope is supposed to be about love, compassion, affection, friendship
But all you see is fighting, wars, suicide and all the bullshit of senseless killing.
This woman
works.
So does
Street Roots.