Letters to the Editor: Dec. 21, 2018

Best bets missed on bypass

Ken Dollinger makes some good points in his recent letter, but also missed some that are relevant.

Many of our homes are purchased by metropolitans coming here because they can’t afford housing in their home area. The city and state need to take some of the responsibility for this housing cost problem.

How much of the cost of new construction or remodeling is associated with fees that builders must pay? Couldn’t these fees be reduced to incentivize the building of lower-cost dwellings? If they wish to build a standard unit instead, they pay the normal fee.

We do need more manufacturing and industry, but both of these require good infrastructure, and that includes good access to the interstate freeway system.
The bypass was a help. The Highway 219-McKay Road junction and the Interstate 5 interchange at Donald are going to be major problems, but it’s better than going through Tigard, Tualatin or Salem, or crossing the Willamette River via the tolled Wheatland Ferry.

I wonder why they didn’t go with the original bypass route, or with a private construction offer that would have left the system in state hands after 20 years. Either of these would have addressed the two major junctions as part of the build.

Henry Evers

Dayton