Washington County push-back

Is anybody at Metro listening? 

Obviously not.  These days, the way for the people to be heard is through the initiative petition process.  When people vote at the local level, they can be the masters of their own fate.  

How many jurisdictions have the requirement that citizens vote before transit (and urban renewal districts) can be placed in their town?  Clackamas County, Tualatin, Tigard... whatever the number is, it's growing.  And still Metro doesn't get the message, or gets it wrong.  
Anti-transit bill heads to county vote 

Portland Tribune, December 19, 2014  By Geoff Pursinger

Tim Esau said plans to build a high-capacity transit line from Portland to Tigard and Tualatin affect all of Washington County, and county residents need to decide for themselves whether or not the project should continue.

Esau submitted an initiative petition to Washington County on Dec. 3, requiring a countywide vote on any new rail or transit project.

Under Esau’s petition, the county’s Board of Commissioners wouldn’t be able to finance new public transit projects — chiefly a new MAX line or a Eugene-style rapid bus service currently being considered as part of the Southwest Corridor Plan — without voter approval.

“I really want to make sure that we all agree to this, and not just 100 guys with a vision that can get their pockets lined and live some dream,” Esau said. “We will still be stuck with a traffic solution that doesn’t solve our needs in Washington County.”

The petition is similar to a ballot measure Esau put before Tigard voters in March, which calls for a public vote before the city can approve plans for either a MAX light-rail line or rapid bus line.

Since Esau’s ballot measure was passed earlier this year, Tualatin voters approved a similar measure, and Metro has had to rethink its plans for the line.

Best Comment:
Dave Lister
Light rail is not about transportation. It is obscenely expensive to build and cannot serve changing demographics. Light rail is about density development and extending the Portland elitist vision of how to live into the suburban communities. If you want wall to wall condominiums with no parking, by all means support light rail. For my part, I enjoy the suburban lifestyle and I enjoy getting around by car. I support Mr. Esau in his righteous struggle against Metro's vision of Soviet-Bloc style housing and total control of where we go and how we get there.

Second Best Comment:
Insider
What a biased headline. Nothing "anti-transit" about wanting public approval before many millions are committed.