December 2006 Archives

Sam Adams has earned my vote for whatever he runs for next. When the Burnside Couplet plan was derailed (or "Burnsided") by The Henry it was a crushing blow to Portland's future. But Sam Adams has brought the Burnside Couplet back!

While the initial plan was better for bicycles, this plan includes a streetcar! Additionally Sam Adams says that it will reduce travel times for motorists, provide 240 new on-street parking spaces, save lives by reducing the number of vehicle crashes, and "make Burnside and Couch a transit-rich, vibrant, commercial, mixed-use pedestrian-oriented district."

PDC estimates that new property tax revenues will pay for the entire project in 15 years, and Harold Schnitzer, the largest property owner on west Burnside, has committed to $200 million in development on his Burnside properties.

The comments on Sam Adams' post are exhausting and don't really add to the conversation. Over at the Oregonian they try to rustle up some public opposition, but it seems pretty poor (the opposition I mean, not the article). There are some well balenced letters to the editor published on the 11th.

Howard Shapiro claims that the plan will ruin the "tucked-in atmosphere of leisurely sidewalk dining and upscale shopping." I'm thinking he must be talking about the two or three blocks on Couch from the Henry to Whole Foods, because no one really walks on the other parts of Couch. Barnes Ellis has the incredibly helpful "This is a city, and it's going to have busy streets." Oh. Okay. Thanks Barnes. If that is best the Oregonian can do in finding people against the plan, then I think this plan just might make it!

Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard announced last week that Portland is providing $570,000 in grants to make biofuel more available in the City. Randy Leonard said "Biofuels create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and provide Oregon farmers with much needed new market opportunities."

The $570,000 is being administered by the Office of Sustainable Development. The Biofuels Investment Fund has $450,000 to support the development of infrastructure. The Retail & Fleet Biofuels Infrastructure Grant provides up to $10,000 to install or convert fueling equipment to support biofuels.

Randy Leonard's comments about providing new market opportunities for Oregon farmers strikes me as impressive. This past summer (July 12th) the City Council approved a citywide renewable fuels standard (RFS) which says that in on July 1st, 2007 a miniumim 5% blend of biodiesal for all vehicle diesel fuel sold in the city limits. While 5% is just a start, it does create a demand for thousands of gallons of biodiesel, which can be grown as rotational crops by Oregon farmers. The City/State synergy of this project is very awesome.

While the use of biodiesel isn't as sexy as Aerial Trams and WiFi, I really think that these are the sort of pioneering projects (The City of Portland is the first city in the country with a local renewable fuels standard) that are going to define the future awesome of Portland.

The Portland Art Museum is banking on getting more awesome in the future with the $3.1 million purchase of a 10,000 square foot parking lot and small building (just north of their campus). The Oregonian reports that PAM has no solid plans for the property, but that it was an opportunity they didn't want to pass up.

I have not attended many press conferences in my life, and as boring as they managed to make this announcement, I still sort of enjoyed it as a spectacle of futility*. How can so many people be involved in such a big project and everyone be so boring? I suspect this is just the nature of a press conference, but if you're having an event for the press you should be putting on a good show! (Perhaps I am spoiled from seeing Steve Jobs onstage reveal Apple products.)

You know how after you beat a video game you sit and watch all the credits, hoping for a secret scene at the end? It's such a let down when they don't reward you for your patience, and this event was the same thing, No Payoff! Except, later, when I was looking at their website, I found this amazing easter egg.

Also, this is from their terms of service: We have the right to monitor, intercept and disclose any transmissions over or using our facilities. And don't even think about Sending email with charity requests, petitions for signatures, or any chain mail related materials.

My healthy skepticism is a little more healthy now. I don't trust MetroFi. They feel like a company (logo, website design, heavy VC investment) that isn't going to be around for very long. Their CEO has a background in sales, business development, marketing, and "wholesale distribution channels". Their entire management team is former Covad employees and their Board of Directors is ex-Covad people and VC people. They feel like they are waiting to be bought out. They have banner-ads on their company website. The website looks cheap and provides little useful information.

*The futility of the press conference, not the project.

I sent the following questions to a general email address at MetroFi at 5:26pm after the press conference. I got a response at 6:50pm from their CEO, Chuck Haas. I am impressed.

1. How many people can be connected to one node at a time?
We had some problems during the ceremony connecting, but afterwards as we passed through Pioneer Square, everything worked fine.

We design the network to have no more than 30 simultaneous users at a time, the limit is 64. Special events and public spaces like Pioneer Courthouse Square presents unique challenges that are not found in 99% of Portland where there are only about 125 homes per access point.

2. How many people work for MetroFi in the Portland area?
We spoke with two separate people who were working on the project that were not MetroFi employees, but sub-contractors(?). It seemed a little odd that the technical person we spoke to did not have a MetroFi email address.

We have 3 full time MetroFi employees in Portland. What technical person did you talk with? We also have great subcontractors like O'Neil Electric (the bucket truck operator).

3. The press release states that the eventual result will be free wifi access to 95 percent of the city's indoor and outdoor spaces and that this will be completed by mid-2008. Is this 95 percent of Portland's city limits? Really!??!

Really. This is where light poles exist, so we are not covering the forests or uninhabited areas. Some people will need to purchase a high-performance wireless modem like you saw today.

4. Wouldn't the roll-out be faster if there were more people working on installing the nodes?

No. Portland will roll out more rapidly than any other large municipal deployment in the country. Can't make a baby in less than 9 months.

Wow. I sort of didn't expect answers at all, much less from the CEO. This certainly makes me feel a little better. Dan Saltzman said that going with MetroFi was a calculated risk, because MetroFi was the underdog of the bids. This is their chance to show off that they can do something bigger, so it seems like they taking it very seriously. I respect that.

Portland Mayor Tom Potter bids farewell to Schumacher Furs in a blog entry titled "Schumacher Furs will be missed". In the actual entry however, it seems like Tom agrees that Schumacher Furs is a business that doesn't belong in Portland.

"The City also assigned police officers to monitor the protests each weekend, at a cost of $25,000 in overtime."

"We ... offered to facilitate mediation between the protesters and the Schumachers. Unfortunately, they repeatedly declined our help."

"I also understand why they believe their business may be more successful in a mall in a suburban setting. Some businesses may flourish more where private property laws will allow them to avoid protests."

Ha! Nice burn Mayor Potter! I think most of us can agree that the Fur industry is a relic of the past and is pretty gross and isn't very Portland.

Protesters: 1
Fur Industry: 0