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Lacamas Life Magazine
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Vancouver Mayor Royce
Pollard Delivers
Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, long a proponent of re-crafting Vancouver’s image as a small town, delivered a strong State of the City address Tuesday, January 23 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington.
The somewhat stinging speech contained a lot of information about where city has been, but focused more on where he wants it to go.
“Let’s stop living in the past and start thinking about what is best for the future of our community,” Pollard told the hundreds of attendees. “The days of labeling America’s Vancouver a small town are long gone.”
One of the directions he believes Vancouver should go in is to be part of the MAX public transit system.
“I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating — Vancouver and Clark County residents have the cheapest buy-in to one of the most successful light-rail systems in the world, the MAX system,” he said. “There is over $5 billion invested in light rail across the river. We can tap into that system at a very minimal cost. We’d be foolish not to.”
One of the methods under review to bring MAX into Vancouver is a plan to replace the dated Interstate 5 Bridge. A group of Washington and Oregon experts, subject to county voter input, should be recommending further study of a replacement bridge with light rail.
“This project should not happen without integrating light rail that comes into downtown Vancouver,” he said. “If the final alternative doesn’t have a light rail component, I will not support it.”
The plan, however, does have its skeptics, including Clark County commissioners Betty Sue Morris and Steve Stuart, along with several other countywide civic and business leaders.
The hour-long speech also marks the 150th birthday of the city whose “best days are still ahead.”
“On our 150th birthday, the time is now to push, promote and publicize our pride,” he said. “The time is now to cast aside indifference and cynicism. As neighbors, residents, parents, and friends, the time is now to dream big and pursue our shared vision with resolve.”
See the attached link for a full view of the speech
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