Lobbying City Council

I just joined this meetup today, so I may be on well-trod ground, but I'll toss out a couple of the local issues that I think deserve Portland City Council's Attention, and could give Portland a chance to lead a charge or two for Sustainability Programs, at least in Maine, if not further afield.

Short Term-

PV Generation on Municipal Buildings. This would not only model the technology for the community, but serve as a backup system to help city offices function in case of emergency power outages. It would also, of course, provide power and eventually pay for itself, which so few structural investments can really do. Others might be 'worth it', but this actually gives you the dollars 'Back'. Eventually.

PV and/or Wind Generation on the big flat rooftops at Reiche and other Schools. This would help the school budgets directly, also modelling the technology, and allowing these facilities to become more prepared as community gathering-points/shelters during emergencies.

Mid or Long Term-

ReIntroduce Trolleys, Coastal Passenger Rail and a Commuting Link to Augusta. Narrow Gauge RR has proposed a "loop" around much of the peninsula, and I envision a Trolley using possibly the Median on Spring/Middle St, connecting the Two main hilltops with the Old Port, making access to shops/jobs much less car dependent, and more accessible for older adults and people w/ disabilities. Electric rail is more efficient by far than buses, and can be supplied by a variety of non-LTF's (Liquid Transp Fuels)

Tide Power- I believe a test plan was offered in the 90's to create an experimental Tidal Hydropower project at the mouth of the back cove, capturing the movement of the waters entering and leaving the cove. I've seen some designs for a broad array of approaches to catching tide power. ( http://peswiki.com/in... , http://peswiki.com/in... ) and as always, it seems to be more an issue of the payback on a heavy investment, even if payback is essentially guaranteed. alas.


Anyway.. that is my self-introduction to you all today. I hope I will be able to be involved with this group and in any case some kinds of effort towards preparing Portland for an energy future which at this point seems precarious and unprepared for bad news. I strongly suspect that we are within a year or so of what will ultimately turn out to be the Peak in Oil Production, and that we have precious little to fall back on that carries anything near the punch of Oil. We will have to soon find ways personally to live with far less easy/cheap power, and yet we will also have to find ways to feed our people, which is, as you all must realise, currently totally dependent on oil and gas to function at all.

Still Hopeful,
Bob Fiske - Portland

I have to add, looking at the Trolley/Subway idea, that a Cross-link to the East-West Prom Line could cut through Franklin, and make use of that Dead Space within the Arterial. The West-bound could head out along Bayside, and the Eastbound turn Left or Right on Commercial, with even the outrageous thought of Rebuilding the Railway bridge and having the line up through Falmouth/Yarmouth make those communities 'commutable' into town. Easy!

I'm not a Transit-Designer, or an Urban Planner by trade, so I know these are fraught with 'yeah, buts', but still, in general, it would be a direction that would start to provide sustainable access throughout the Greater Portland area with the kind of system that can endure well beyond frail asphalt and rubber tires.. the NYC MTA has hundred-year old infrastructure in their subways. New Orleans can add a couple decades to some of their hardware. There are even ways to let a commuter/rail system do double-duty as a local freighting system, predominantly in the off-peak hours.

Read this article to put some Clean Coal into your boiler! http://www.lightrailn...
"A 10% Reduction in America's Oil Use in Ten to Twelve Years -
An Overlooked, Practical, and Affordable Approach Using Mature Existing Technology"

Bob Fiske

Welcome BOB!

My aren't you ambitious !

a few suggestions....work with Steve LInnell of the Portland COG on the light rail idea, since proposing it is great; finding an appropriate right of way is tough.

I was a proponent of a monorail in the ROW of I95/295 20 years ago....Turnpike commission has tons of money and plenty of ROW, A good engineer can snake a Monorail around,over or under obstacles....no matter how many people ride them at Disneyworld or in Seattle, 'they'll never work in Maine. ....if you can't do monorail with it's tiny footprint, imagine the difficulty with light rail---a perfect start to commuter rail between Brunswick and Augusta, but where's the advocacy...only thing people will talk about is AMTRAK!!!

I think Steve and I agree that one way to introduce a 'village car' system is to create via planning communities or convert existing college campuses, condo and corporate parks to a village commuting system with gentle roads and recharging stations--I've got designs, powered by solar/wind/microhydro energy.

Find a new development, esp. a retirement community under planning review, show up with a village road system designed for EV's, and let democracy take its course.

In Sweden commuter rail cars are propelled with bio-gas generated from manure and trash see http://www.svenskbiog... .

Go to the ARCHITALX gallery on exchange street, and contact Kyo Bannai
President, Board of Directors, Architalx, www.architalx.org 207.650.6760.

I briefed him on the role of Vertical AXIS Wind Turbines as both an architectural statement and an energy solution for urban buildings, worthy of being designed into new structures being proposed for Portland and a lot safer than prop. jobs.

After reviewing my portfolio of VAXT's, he agreed and invites me to their events. If you want to integrated alt. energy concepts, get in on the ground floor during the building design phase and influence architects.


Two suggestions...no sense leaving skid marks all over Portland with misdirected efforts....my house is surrounded with them.

Be patient...everything takes years. I worked on the Urban Mass Transit Act in the early 70's surveying cities on light rail, etc. ....that took ten years just to pass, let alone the decades to get anything done in cities!