Why Light Rail Is Wrong for Clackamas County 

Milwaukie MAX: $1,400,000,000?
Light-rail line will be region’s most costly transit project, TriMet says The Portland Tribune 1/17/07

TriMet releases cost, rider numbersMilwaukie light rail will cost up to $1.4 billion and carry as many as 26,000     6.5 miles of Light rail costs only $1,400,000,000 billion dollars to replace existing buses!!
That's only $215 million dollars a mile, not counting operating costs and more cost overruns! 
The Clackamas Review 1/16/08

TriMet to me: you cannot get there from hereHis office is on Lake Road in Milwaukie, nine miles and more than two hours from his Portland home by Tri-Met.The Clackamas Review 12/26/07 

Time for action on MAX safetyThe Clackamas Review 12/19/07

Council decries impact feesDeveloper’s attorney says Milwaukie’s development fees unconstitutional
While Milwaukie schools complain, 1 Portland school sings light rail’s praises
The Milwaukie City Council’s tour of an existing light rail line Multiple non-functioning ticket machines, numerous people smoking on the platforms and a man hopping the TriMet fence to urinate on a tree in the open lot in front of De La Salle High School The Clackamas Review 12/19/07
Paying the Planning Tax    Americans want to live in single-family homes.
Anti-sprawl restrictions increase the price of such housing
Bridge funding plan draws mixed reaction The Outlook 12/14/07
Density, growth to change Milwaukie's character? 4/12/07 the Clackamas Review
Light Rail Stations Magnet for Crime 6/13/07
Council set to extend east-side renewal Additional millions, streetcar loop, affordable housing emphasized
Milwaukie-area state Rep. Caroline Tomei, a Democrat, fears the streetcar project will take public money away from a southern light-rail extension that has been discussed for years. As planned, it would connect downtown Portland to Milwaukie over a new bridge across the Willamette River. 7/4/06
Train drain: Why transit users should oppose light-rail expansion 7/2000
The politics of light rail pork
Mess transit: A two-hour slog
State legislators helped advance Southeast Light Rail
Local polls gather to discuss legislative session
Monroe, who represents District 24 in East Portland and Happy Valley, was next up.
He said, “We made sure that $250 million was available for Milwaukie light rail,
Would a light rail line on Main Street cause businesses to flee downtown Milwaukie?
Milwaukie plays for time on light rail
The train is coming. Is the town ready?
"Another light rail dilemma..."
Resistance builds to Milwaukie MAX route
Metro-South Corridor Phase II: Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project
Milwaukie light rail gets back on track
Failing Grade for PSU and Light Rail
Funding plan for Tri-Mets $494 million “South Corridor” light rail expansion project.
Measure 32 1996 voter guide
Light-rail never was the right answer (1998) the south-north light-rail project suffered a dramatic election defeat

Light Rail Doesn't Work
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Will Milwaukie Light rail come in on time and on budget?
Milwaukie MAX Rail Time &  Budget (rail line is being discussed)

STUDY SAYS MAX CALCULATIONS WERE WRONG on Eastside Max
However, Tri-Met officials said that the agency drastically revised downward ridership projections in 1985 before the light-rail system opened and that since then ridership has exceeded Tri-Met's more conservative projection. They also said that the original projections were based on the forecast that MAX would open in 1983, when in fact it opened in 1986.

The study showed that Portland had forecast 42,500 riders weekdays by 1990 but that at the time of the study the actual ridership was 19,700.

_____________________Tri-Mets own web page _______________________________
Despite this admission, Tri-Mets own web page states

MAX Light Rail Project History

MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) is TriMet's light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area. The three MAX lines (Blue, Red and Yellow) run on 44 miles of track and serve 64 stations.
A history of success

    * All four MAX projects (Eastside, Westside, Airport and Interstate) have been completed on or ahead of schedule, and on or under budget.
    * MAX ridership continues to grow.
    * MAX has become a national model for community support, land-use/transportation planning, public art and environmentally friendly construction practices.
    * More than $6 billion in development has occurred along MAX lines since the decision to build in 1978.
    * MAX takes cars off our roads, helps keep our air clean and preserves neighborhoods and livability
_____________________Tri-Mets own web page__________________________________

Who should we believe? Tri-Mets first projections or Tri-mets  revised projections?

Crime along the Max