Vancouver Mayor: City Should Pay For Light Rail

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt says his city needs to “step up and pay for light rail” over the Columbia River.

He is planning a city council workshop to discuss paying annual maintenance and operations costs for light rail.

The Columbian newspaper reports that that could add up to millions over the long term.

Leavitt says Clark County’s local transportation board has “lost sight of the difference between urban and rural public transit,” and that’s why the city needs to step in.

Other city council members are expressing surprise about the mayor’s perspective, and say they need more information.

Officials with the proposed Columbia River Crossing say local funding for light rail must be in place before there is any chance of getting federal money to pay for a new Interstate Five bridge.

This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.