Friday's Oregonian notes in the fifth paragraph of a story titled "Sewage backup: Would you like one?" that, "According to an analysis by Metro, the regional government, meeting the population and job growth in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties will require infrastructure improvements of $27 billion to $41 billion. Even if that growth doesn't occur, the region's infrastructure needs $10 billion worth of repair..."
Malu Wilkinson, a Metro planner, is quoted as saying, "We're trying to emphasize that this is not just a problem of growth. It's also a problem of living off investments made 30, 40, 50, or 100 years ago--without reinvesting (emphasis added)."
We need to aggressively re-evaluate our collective priorities. Infrastructure isn't exciting, but it is essential. Much like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I would argue that having sound infrastructure with sufficient capacity is foundational and a prerequisite to more exciting projects (arts and culture funding, parks, social and community programs, etc.). For too long, we have lived off the courageous leadership and ambitious infrastructure investments of previous generations. It's time to start thinking big again.
At the ULI Central City symposium on Thursday, someone mentioned the 200+ mph MagLev trains that China now has in some of its cities. I'm sorry, the Portland Streetcar and MAX are nice, but not in the same league at all. We need to invest in (among other things) high-speed, high-capacity transit along the I-5 corridor as soon as possible. While we continue to drink the Kool-Aid about how cool Portland is (most recently from the NYTimes), we have lost our edge. Together, we can do this, but the time is now.
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