By all means, pull the plug!
It's always kinda sad watching the arc of Portland politicians' careers. They come in promising the public that they're going to tame the bureaucracy and change the mindset of local government. They probably even believe what they're saying. But the day they take office, the career government employee types immediately start working on them, and within a year or two, the electeds are talking the same line as the arrogant clowns in the cubicles.
I'm sure the new guy on the City Council, Rene Gonzalez, is having it happen to him right now. And with Mingus Mapps, who joined the council two and half years ago, the transformation appears to be complete.
To see it, you need look no further than Mapps's performance the other day, when the mayor, Dud Wheeler, wisely proposed that local government take a break from the endless tax and fee increases, and downright creation of new taxes, that are driving many thousands of residents out of the city. Mapps, who recently inherited the city's "transportation" bureaucracy from the now-dormant Jo Ann With the Bullhorn, jumped up to defend jacking up parking rates in the city's dead core.
Now, if the city were being smart about trying to recover, they'd turn off all the parking meters entirely, for a year or more, to try to coax people back into the downtown and inner east side danger zones. But Mapps apparently thinks the city should move in the exact opposite direction. Because, well, his budget.
"The current funding model is fundamentally broken," Mapps said, describing the financial crisis PBOT is currently facing. "If we do not begin to support PBOT, we take a bureau and a vital service that's on life support, and we are pulling the plug. We are pulling the plug today," Mapps said
Would it be a bad thing to pull the plug on the arrogant car-hating bureaucrats' relentless campaign to make getting around in a car impossible? Pull the plug on the endless addition of bicycle toys catering to 5 percent of the population while making life miserable for the other 95 percent? Pull the plug on thinking up new traffic lanes to block, new "Naitos" to make "Better"?
Would it be a bad thing to pull the plug on the orange barrels, goofy lawn signs, traffic control sticks, curbs in the middle of the street, and other microaggressions that do nothing but aggravate families and other normal people who are just trying to live here?
Would it be so terrible to take frivolities like Sunday Parkways off the respirator and focus instead on why traffic fatalities are trending upward? Would it be the end of the world if we diverted money from "10-toes walking maps" to cops with ticket books?
I'm with Wheeler, and then some. If a freeze on taxes and fees would dismantle the "transportation" bureau, it would be a win-win.
Yep...and while they're at it, they should pull the plug on this too:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2023/05/portland-transportation-officials-float-utility-fee-that-would-generate-35-million-buoy-sagging-budget.html
What's happened to all the gas tax ($.10/gal) that PBOT's been collecting for, what, 13 years? That was supposed to fix everything!
Love the comment about “microagressions” against the majority car driving populace in the city at the hands of city government/minority interest groups. It’s such a perfect encapsulation of the insanity. Somehow we’re going to solve global warming by making everyone conform to some PSU urban planning groupthink of a carless society and if the people have to suffer so be it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is that extra second they put in between the light turning red on the cross street and your light turning green. Just to remind you who's in charge of your life.
DeleteOh, c'mon. Some people aren't cautious enough about checking for people blowing a red light before pulling out into the intersection. I was at the Stark offramp from I-205 when the car next to me went out promptly on a green ... and got hit by somebody speeding down Stark who hit her car hard but not enough to keep them from driving away.
DeleteOn the other hand, I can't believe what they've done recently to Couch between 12th and MLK. They've cut it down to one lane for cars, with the other lane dedicated to buses and bicycles.
They should at least make parking free all day on Sundays again. Giving church-going people free parking until 1pm discriminates against atheists!
ReplyDeleteAnd makes it nearly impossible to park to attend a Sunday afternoon event in town.
Delete"fundamentally broken but still funded because under all this horseshit there just has to be a pony."
ReplyDeleteSo many major roads in this city are falling apart (eg, W Burnside, SE Division, NW 23rd) yet PBOT seems to have endless money to replace curbs at every intersection and create new empty bike lanes everywhere
ReplyDeletePBOT is a cursed bureau. It's the surest way to ensure a commissioner serves only one term. It happened to Novick, Eudaly, and Hardesty. It's like the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers in Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteAll of Mingus' money problems would go away if he raided the PCEF and used the funds on city services that residents actually use.
ReplyDeleteThat thing is just handouts to the nonprofits, and the less accountable, the better. Oh yeah, t's all going for energy-efficient this and that, but they were going to have to buy those appliances and systems anyway. Money is fungible. It's the ultimate ripoff.
DeleteLooking at the PCEF site, I learned that people of color are more vulnerable to wildfire smoke. I can't process that.
Delete"I learned that people of color are more vulnerable to wildfire smoke."
DeleteGod must be a racist!
My favorite paragraph: "Would it be a bad thing to pull the plug on the orange barrels, goofy lawn signs, traffic control sticks, curbs in the middle of the street, and other microaggressions that do nothing but aggravate families and other normal people who are just trying to live here?"
ReplyDeleteThey're constantly thinking of new ways to make our lives miserable. It's time to start thinking about the 95%. Pulling the plug would be a step in the right direction.
I agree, but I also appreciate being able to get around by bike. it's one of the things Portland still has going for it. PBOT is also bad, but hey.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel much less safe on a bike in the city the bike advocates created than the way it was before it became a MOVEMENT. Back when riding a bike was fun way to get around rather than a political movement.
ReplyDeleteSHOULD pull the plug? I was under the impression that PBOT 'pulled the plug' on providing adequate public service a couple of decades back.
ReplyDeleteI think you’re correct. They seem more interested in protecting their salaries and expanding their budget than service to the community.
DeleteHi Commissioner,
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking-in. As you know, I've been on leave since February and am using today to catch-up on email before I leave Wednesday for Bali for the next three weeks. I wanted to take a second to level set on our priorities for the rest of the year. The team has been planning a big off-site in Dundee next month. Deposits have been paid and the balance is in the budget for this quarter. We expect this to be well-attended and a good chance for our team to do some planning away from the office.
Several members of the team just got back from last week's NACTO conference in Denver and are already planning to attend another conference in July. Again, this is already in the budget and deposits have been paid. Also, we're still planning an off-site in Bandon later this summer along with the holiday party. Again, these important events are all budgeted and should not be considered for any cuts. If you'd like to discuss this further, please put some time on my calendar when I return in June.
Thanks!