Camas resident Gary Gaskill offers reasons for not falling for the allure of light rail

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

You think light rail for the new I-5 Bridge is great. Non polluting, reliable, inexpensive access to Portland for all people but especially those who cannot afford or don’t want to use a car, or can’t drive for a wide variety of reasons. We build roads for the cars, why not light rail for the rest of us? It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get this transportation of the future in Vancouver.  You can see the Blazer’s game in Portland, have a few drinks and be transported home at a small fraction of the cost of an Uber or parking a car at the game – fantastic! European cities have had light rail for many years, why can’t we have it too? 

Well, let me explain why.  It is not non polluting, not reliable and certainly not inexpensive, at least not for taxpayers. But first, we could use a short transportation history lesson.  

Steam engines  

• 1780’s Steamships first – gone due to weight 
• 1810’s Locomotives  on special railroads – gone due to weight 

Internal combustion engines – Gasoline & Diesel 

• 1880’s Automobiles – light enough to go on existing roads 
• 1950’s Diesel buses – light, efficient, powerful yet also go on existing roads 

Electric motors 

• 1880’s Electric trolley on rails to follow the overhead wires required for power 
• 1880’s Electric cars – lost the battle to internal combustion engines due to battery problems 
• 1970’s Light Rail – just a new name for trolley 

Hybrid – fossil fuel, electric motors 

• 1950’s Modern diesel locomotives – replace steam locomotives 
• 1970’s Hybrid buses – diesel, electric motors & batteries 
• 1980’s Hybrid cars – gasoline, electric motors & batteries 

Light rail is not reliable and only travels 14 mph on the Yellow Line. The trains can’t run if the temperature is too hot or too cold. What does TriMet use when the Max doesn’t run? Buses! So you really have a bus system anyway. 

Light rail is not non polluting. Fossil fuel supplies over 30% of Clark County’s electricity, which would be used for light rail power lines. 

Light rail is not inexpensive to build or maintain. The costs of light rail transportation (LRT) lies in the roadway, overhead wires and low volume production.  LRT costs 10+ times the cost of bus rapid transit (BRT) with little or no benefit.  C-Trans spent about $80 million dollars in 2023. TriMet has asked C-Tran for over $7 million per year for just operations & maintenance costs.  The $2 billion capital cost for LRT, half to Washington & amortized over 30 year life of a typical bond, is $33 million per year. This brings the total cost per year to $40 million.  If there are 3,200 trips per day on light rail. The cost per trip is over $34. We could hire an Uber for every LRT rider for less.  

Don’t fall for the folly of an old electric trolley! 

Gary Gaskill
Camas