What was once a transit project can now officially be called a streetcar after two key votes this week in Lake Oswego and Portland.
Both cities' councils cast split votes to endorse the streetcar as the preferred alternative for the Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Project, a key step as studies continue on the proposal.
But the both councils promised additional scrutiny of the project, and voters in Lake Oswego will play a key role in determining whether a streetcar extension goes all the way to Clackamas County.
That's because the Lake Oswego City Council voted Tuesday night to put an advisory question about the streetcar on the ballot no later than May 2012, a caveat in a package that the council passed 4-3 after a 3 hour meeting.
The question won't be binding. Streetcar opponents on the Lake Oswego City Council, including councilors Jeff Gudman and Mary Olson, had attempted to put a binding question about the streetcar on the ballot this September, but the idea failed to gather four votes.
Councilor Bill Tierney suggested that he'd cast the fourth vote in favor of asking voters in November, after a study on proposed development in the Foothills area is released. But nobody made a motion to suggest a November vote – instead, Councilor Mike Kehoe suggested having a winter telephone survey of Lake Oswego residents on the project, followed by Mayor Jack Hoffman's suggestion for an advisory vote the following May.
The debate about the streetcar is particularly complex in Lake Oswego. Opponents have voiced concerns about the fiscal wisdom of the project, which is projected to cost as much as $458 million for a 6 mile project. They argue the project's construction could hurt the environment. They've also expressed concerns about the level of development in the Foothills area, east of downtown Lake Oswego, envisioned as a small-scale Pearl District.
Foothills, however, is also one of the key points of the project's champions.
"Generation Y, the Millennials, born between 1977 and 1994, want compact, walkable neighborhoods – and transit is the cornerstone of those places," Hoffman said Tuesday night. "We must look at the market that these citizens of the future want and make decisions accordingly."
The next morning, Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette, whose district includes Lake Oswego and parts of Southwest Portland, used that same reasoning as she asked the Portland City Council to support the project.
"It's our role to try to entice people into our downtowns so we can serve them with transit, bike facilities, sidewalks – all the amenities they like," so they don't sprawl beyond the urban growth boundary, Collette said. "Portland is the best example, and you've used streetcar to leverage that kind of residency downtown. Lake Oswego wants to have a similar model. They have an opportunity to develop their downtown in a way that people want to live there. The streetcar is a pretty central ingredient in that model."
The streetcar is also envisioned as a boon for development in the John's Landing area along Macadam Avenue. But a streetcar in the corridor could spell the end for bus service along that stretch of Highway 43, forcing West Linn residents to transfer in their commutes downtown.
West Linn City Councilor Teri Cummings told her peers on the Portland City Council that her city is already challenged enough by a lack of access to transit.
"Please focus on the greater good of transit for our entire metro area," she said. "Please don't allow the unintended cons of the Lake Oswego streetcar to affect our citizens."
A TriMet representative at the council meeting said only 12 percent of current riders on the 35-Macadam bus would be forced to transfer off a bus to get downtown. The 35 bus line, however, extends from the University of Portland to Oregon City.
Clarification (April 26) - According to TriMet, the "12 percent of current riders" number above reflects the route between Oregon City and Portland State University, not riders on the entire line. TriMet says 270 riders each day would be impacted by a change in the 35 route.
A major concern for both councils seemed to be TriMet's ability to run the streetcar if it's built. TriMet representative Alan Lehto, speaking at Wednesday's hearing in Portland, insisted the project would have no impact on the agency's ability to run its existing bus system.
But he also said TriMet may have to look at other funding mechanisms to get the wheels rolling if the project is built before 2019.
"We would not necessarily be able to do it on Day 1, because our higher priority is to restore services on the productive frequent service bus routes than to commit to the next project," he said. "So part of the finance plan is to identify whether there is a gap in operating needs of the first few years, and if so, where do sources for funding come from?"
Lake Oswego's Olson was worried the city could get saddled with some of the operating costs.
"I don't think we should find the funds to operate this. We're not a transit agency," Olson said. "I do know that Wilsonville spends about $300,000 a year as a contribution to operate WES and Washington County, I think, spends about $2 million a year for their contribution to operate WES."
Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz cited cost issues as one of the reasons she voted against the streetcar. The three other commissioners and Mayor Sam Adams voted in favor of the streetcar as the preferred alternative.
Even the $355,000 earmarked for studying the project in the current Portland budget "could be used for basic services like street lights and sidewalks," Fritz said. She also questioned whether the streetcar live up to expectations for bringing new development – proponents say it could bring as much as $1 billion in new private investment to the corridor.
As much as the government's costs in the project are used as a reason to oppose it, though, the question of cash is also used by supporters. They say the streetcar is cheaper to operate than bus service, and highlight that the local contribution for construction of the project could be as little as $57 million.
That estimate could change as studies move forward, particularly a harder look at how much the federal government would contribute in matching funds for the region's 1998 purchase of the Willamette Shore Line. It's believed the federal government would treat the appraised value of the Shore Line as a local match on the project.