Parking fees in the city and gas prices in the state are the highest anywhere in America. Inner-city transportation via the MAX train has drawn national attention via the Wall Street Journal and is filled to capacity during rush hours. It takes two or three trains to get a seat and finally get home. Recently the city's transport authority celebrated the MAX train's 2-year anniversary on the west side of Portland. It brags that the train carried 16 million passengers in just 2 years.
Environmentalists have growth by the throat.
Builders in Portland must comply with gargantuan regulations just to put a project in the ground, yet they still manage. Actually, under Prop 202, a landowner or developer who wanted to increase density on less than 20 acres would need a four-fifths supermajority of elected officials. A density increase on more than 20 acres would require a simple majority vote by citizens. In effect, another growth boundary would have to be established. I worked for George for years and became close friends with his daughter, Catherine.