Brian S., in a comment on Jack Bogdanski’s blog, touched on a point that I’d long been wondering about. One of the arguments in favor of building the Fill-To-Pill-Hill Tram (as I’ve named it, the Ftpht, which said correctly sounds something like a Bronx cheer) is that it will become a tourist attraction.
This means that the City’s expecting tourists to ride it.
Which means that the tourists are going to get to the top of the Ftpht and look around for something to do, other than to just ride the tram back down again.
Which begs the question: what is OHSU going to do for the legions of tourists that the City’s expecting to take the tram? As Brian S. describes it, OHSU isn’t expecting the Ftpht to be a tourist attraction: in his words, "the termination point up on the hill at that time was slated to be a boring doctor’s office lobby- no spinning restaurant or expansive view windows to draw the tourists." The tram’s project manager (Mr. S. said) saw the tram as simply an extension of the local mass transit system.
As I see it, the City’s selling the Ftpht to the public as a tourist attraction, even though the main beneficiary isn’t expecting any tourists. The City and OHSU can’t both be right.
Comments
2 responses
What about potential future condo conversions on the hill?
Once again, you are right.
My advice, for what it is worth, to those in charge of the project has been to pull the plug.