Local proponents of streetcars are upset that the federal government wants to write the rules about funding transit projects to favor buses over streetcars. So reports the Oregonian today. The streetcar proponents don't want the rules written to favor efficient transit (as such), but to favor streetcars. That at least is the sense I got from the article.
It reminds me of something one of my professors said many years ago. He was teaching the introductory statistics course and was encouraging the students to continue with the next course. "In elementary statistics," he said, "you choose a problem, you collect data, you pick a method, and you apply the method to the data to get an answer. But in advanced statistics, you choose a problem, you collect data, you select your answer, and then you look for the method that when applied to the data will give you the answer you want. That's much more fun."
The question I come back to, when thinking about the Portland Streetcar expansion (which is budgeted at $147 million), is whether there's a way to spend $147 million on faster transit for more people. Having raced the streetcar from Jefferson Street to Glisan Street, and usually winning, I have to think there is.
Recent Comments