That's horrifying. 'specially as I thought Portland area had good transit!
Don't get me wrong, Portland has excellent transit. However, a very large number of people who work in Portland actually live in Vancouver, WA. Those commuters strenuously object to running light rail over any proposed replacement bridges for the more than 100 year old trestles that currently handle all of that traffic. In addition, commuters to the south of the city limits also strenuously object to light rail running into their neighborhoods.
If you thought that was nuts, check out this anti-subway video produced by Beverly Hills NIMBYs on behalf of the Beverly Hills High School:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81tihdzaecc
This is the same high school that has a huge active oil derrick in the middle of campus:
http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/los-angeles/2010/0...
This is an undisputed fact, as people in those communities will readily protest the "crime train" coming through their neighborhoods.[1][2]
[1]: http://lewwaters.com/2012/05/22/light-rail-likely-to-raise-v...
[2]: http://larslarson.com/would-you-trust-your-kid-on-the-crime-...