VanPortlander

You’re going to get more streetcars, whether you like it or not. Just ignore the fact they don’t really relieve congestion. PDOT will be holding a series of meetings about future streetcar planning.

On a sorta-related note, my sister was in town last weekend from Phoenix. I asked her how long it takes her to get to work, and she told me a little less than half an hour, noting that it was very fast despite how far she lives from her office. Why? In Phoenix, they build roads. Imagine that! Building transportation infrastructure which can meet the demands of the people… what a concept!

Most days, my commute brings me past Fairly Honest Bill’s on the corner of MLK and Couch. It’s an interesting secondhand store with a wide variety of merchandise… but that’s not the interesting part. To me, the interesting part is the signage, some of which I offer up here:

Click to view larger on Flickr

Today I was reading an article from the Tribune talking about one business’ program of offering a contest where employees could win a bicycle and accessories for commuting, with the caveat that they actually had to make a commitment to use the cycle for that purpose for 4-5 days per month.

The second winner, announced Friday, wasn’t so sure about that commitment.

Greg Owens, a 47-year-old accountant, drives to Rejuvenation’s Northwest Portland location from Washougal, Wash., in a Ford pickup five days a week. He says he’s spending about $60 a week on gas.

Even so, he was feeling a bit hesitant about going to two wheels.

“It’s 26 and a half miles,” he says. “I would practically have to start the previous day.”

Greenie-friendly commuting. A modern house. Property. Wages that employers can afford to pay.

Pick a mix; you can’t have it all.

Imagine a display screen on a bus or MAX car. Imagine that as the bus or train approached transfer locations, that screen would show the estimated times until the next transfers arrive.

The bus and train tracking technology already exists for use by the Transit Tracker system.

Surely I’m not the only one who has a commute that depends on a fairly close connection, and if I knew that I had just missed that connection I might take an alternate route…

One of the great things about the Portland area is the number and quality of tech startup businesses. What if a bunch of those startups (in varying stages of development) got together to share ideas and talk about business, tech, and Portland? That’s the idea behind Startupalooza, a gathering on March 29th billed as “an interactive forum for the Portland tech startup community” in a “candid, no-BS environment.”

Meet local entrepreneurs, view panels and participate in discussions about startup life in the area. The event is free to attend. Head over to the website to find out more about who will be there, and if you’re going to attend be sure to RSVP on Upcoming.

I wonder if anyone from the Portland Mercury, who brought the whole duct tape fiasco to light and led the effort to rip up tape last year, was invited to be a duct tape dignitary?

Nearly every day, I commute past this Shilo Inn on the corner of NE Grand and Holladay. And nearly every time I walk past, I look at it and wonder… isn’t the Shilo supposed to be a nicer motel? Last year an event that I run used the Shilo for our group lodging and we paid a decent premium for their supposedly-better service. I look at the property on NE Grand, and it’s easy to understand why the Metro folks think that perhaps better lodging might be needed around the convention center.

I saw in yesterday’s DJC that the Shilo just finished renovations on a property in the Couve. Maybe this eyesore could be next?

Money is green. Green is money. When folks go green, someone pays. I see that Fred Meyer is going for LEED certification for its Southeast Hawthorne location. Someone is going to pay, and I suspect that it’ll be me, as a Fred Meyer customer.

File this one in the “random things to perhaps bookmark in case you need it in the future” file.

As you wander Portland, you’ll find graffiti. It happens. Apparently Randy Leonard’s spray paint lockdown hasn’t entirely eliminated the issue.

The gateway to all things graffiti-related is the Graffiti Abatement page on the city’s website. From there you can link to graffiti information, the online graffiti reporting form, and an interesting graffiti map, which unfortunately is 2 years old.

Today while reading some RSS feeds, I learned a couple things about Portland.

• Nobody has any clue how we’re going to pay for a much-needed mental health center. We have no idea when/if it might get put together. note: Mayor Chavez’s illegalday labor center is still on the fast track for site selection and construction
• Portland has the only streetcar in the United States! note: Daily Journal of Commerce - you might check your facts. You don’t even have to get outside of the Northwest to find streetcars in Seattle and Tacoma.