I-5 Bridge

I have lived in Clark County since the early 1990s, and have been, nearly the whole time, observing regular debates over the replacement of our now 100-year-old bridge. Traffic thirty years ago was bad, and it hasn't gotten better in the interim. I understand that the investment required makes it a decision that should not be taken lightly, but it starts to feel like we are dragging our feet, 20-some-odd years into the discussion.

In the early part of this new century, we had a plan with strong support on both sides of the river (the CRC), that was forward-thinking and took into consideration our projected growth and decreasing access to petroleum. When the CRC was shelved, even as a mere observer I was disappointed and angry.

We have a responsibility to build a bridge that will serve this community long after we are gone. If this one lasted a century, the next will likely be in service even longer. A hundred years from now, the oil will be used up and Clark County's population will be more than doubled. It seems unlikely that our economy will be any less integrated with Portland's, so we are going to need to move exponentially more bodies with greater efficiency than recent short-sighted policy-makers have been able to envision.

Any replacement that does not include light rail and better access for bicycles and pedestrians would be irresponsible at best, but in my mind, would certainly represent a dereliction of duty. Royce Pollard noted the foolishness of ignoring our ease of access to Portland's MAX in 2007, back when the CRC was being debated. We have a hugely successful, internationally recognized system right across the river that many of us are already using (I ride a bicycle to Delta Park from The Mill), and that can provide us with a useful example of how to grow our own network of commuter-friendly trains. I can easily imagine a line running out to Camas and beyond, with another stretching north to Longview.

Growth is going to happen, whether we welcome it or not; the last two decades should have taught us that, if nothing else. Responsible leadership will focus not only on our immediate needs, but on those of our evolving community.