It was supposed to be a titanic clash. In one corner were the powerful Schnitzer and Zidell families, aided by their consultant, former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt; in the other was the financially troubled Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, backed by eastside businesses. The winners would get the new south-north light-rail line running by their front door. Just two months ago, the fight looked too close to call. Peter Fry, a consultant for the Central Eastside Industrial Council, says he lost sleep worrying about the outcome. "It was definitely nerve-wracking," says Fry. But the showdown never materialized--at least publicly. Last week the City Council voted unanimously that the light rail run to OMSI, then across the Willamette to downtown, instead of crossing the river further south where it might spur high-density housing and office development in a 50-acre North Macadam property owned by the Schnitzers and Zidells. "I thought it would be more controversial," says City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury. So did others. But several things happened to make the North Macadam forces wilt like warm spinach: * OMSI got a little help from corporate friends. The Caruthers Crossing Coalition, as it was called, was backed by Fred Meyer, Fry's industrial council and Robert Pamplin Jr., owner of Ross Island Sand and Gravel. Pamplin, a Lake Oswego millionaire, was adamantly opposed to a light-rail bridge crossing Ross Island and disrupting his gravel pit operation--so he spent some of his estimated $525 million fortune financing a campaign by political strategist Len Bergstein. "He paid for my services for a couple years," acknowledges Bergstein, who declined to discuss specifics. * Bergstein created an AstroTurf version of a grassroots coalition by bringing a few neighborhood groups into the Pamplin-OMSI-Fred Meyer camp. Then he stressed a populist angle that pitted kids and ordinary eastside folks against wealthy westside property owners. "It was the perfect campaign for the '90s," says one City Hall insider. "Citizens out front, corporations behind, with a slick public-relations machine to advance the message." * The North Macadam property owners were appeased by the city's recently announced plans to build a streetcar line running from Northwest Portland to North Macadam, with a possible tram connection to Oregon Health Sciences University. * In the end, the Schnitzer and Zidell families grew skittish about the prospect of a bruising battle in which they were depicted as private profiteers hungry for public subsidies. "The coalition put on an extremely compelling populist case for the Caruthers Crossing," admits a defeated Steve Shain, vice president of the Zidell companies, which own approximately 35 acres in North Macadam. But while Bergstein and crew were celebrating, Shain noted, "There are still a lot of issues that need to be resolved." Chief among them is funding for south-north light rail. Four years ago, Portland metro residents voted to tax themselves $475 million for a light-rail line running from Oregon's Clackamas County to Clark County in Washington. But the plan ran off track when Clark County voters balked at paying their share in a 1995 election. Oregon voters then shot down statewide funding for south-north rail the following year. Now local leaders are pushing an abbreviated route from Clackamas County to the Rose Quarter in Northeast Portland, with a later extension eventually continuing north across the Columbia River. They haven't decided if they will ask voters to approve the truncated route. "If it's an Oregon-only project we will revote," says Tri-Met spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. "If there still is a plan to go to Clark County, then we won't." What defines a "plan" to go to Clark County? "It has to be more specific than a nice idea," says Fetsch. "Let's say another vote by Clark County. That's an example." The bottom line is that the source of some financing for the $2.3 billion project is still unknown, Fetsch says, and the whole light-rail plan remains, at this point, unclear. Even if the money and votes fall into place, some transit advocates say they've got a route that's cheaper and faster than the one approved by City Council. And it would send trains all the way to Clark County, stresses Jim Howell, a director of the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates and a former Tri-Met planner. Howell's plan calls for light rail to cross the river on the newly decked Hawthorne Bridge, then connect to the existing MAX at Southwest 1st Avenue and Yamhill Street, rather than run the trains north and south on the bus mall. That would save $100 million--which, combined with other savings attained by shortening the route's southern end, would pay for construction of a line to Washington without a contribution from Clark County. Howell also claims it's a mistake to put light rail on the bus mall. "The transit malls should not be torn up for light rail, because within 10 to 15 years after completion, light rail will require more passenger-carrying capacity than can be accommodated in two car trains on downtown streets, and a subway will be needed," he says. But Howell is a little too far-sighted for some decision-makers. Under his plan, they say, ridership would slump because people would have to walk four or five blocks to get to big office buildings on Southwest 5th and 6th avenues. "You would miss the high-density office corridor, which is the primary market for light rail," says Richard Brandman, south-north light-rail project director at Metro. And while a subway would allow longer trains to carry more passengers on quicker trips, it too has shortcomings, says Brandman. "A subway takes people off the streets and puts them underground," he says. "It isn't what the city wants in terms of urban form and activity on the street." This isn't the first time Howell has been ahead of the pack. At last week's council vote he was hailed as a "father of the Caruthers Crossing" by City Commissioner Charlie Hales because he started pushing for it back in 1993. "Jim's a visionary, so I'm not one to rain on his parade," says Bergstein--particularly, he might add, when he's basking in his own victory. |
