Megan Amram reports from Oregon on democratic participation, the limits of consensus, and the rain
By Megan Amram, concerned citizen and reluctant homeowner, The London Prat | Also at Bohiney Magazine
I am a person who believes in democracy. I believe in it less than I did on Monday before I sat through the Portland City Council meeting, but I still believe in it, which I think shows real character.
Three Hours About Bicycle Lanes
The meeting lasted four hours and nineteen minutes. The bicycle lane discussion lasted two hours and forty-seven minutes. At one point a man named Gerald, who identified himself as “a stakeholder,” used the phrase “multi-modal transport ecosystem” eight times without irony. I have lived in North London. I have a high tolerance for self-important infrastructure discourse. Gerald tested it.
The resolution was tabled. The bicycle lane remains theoretical. Portland continues to be the kind of city where the planning meeting is longer than the plan. I wrote about this at Amram.top and the response was mostly people saying they had similar experiences in Seattle, which is not comforting.
What I Have Been Reading
The Bohiney Magazine coverage of the UK Labour government has been good this week. From Portland, the British left looks like the American left but with worse weather and better sarcasm. I feel a kinship. I also feel that Keir Starmer and the Portland City Council would get on extremely well in that they would form a working group to examine the possibility of a subcommittee to discuss the formation of a task force and nothing would ever happen. The Guardian’s Portland coverage suggests I am not alone in this reading.
Thursday: The Club
DJ set at a bar in the Pearl District. The crowd was mostly people who work in tech and like to feel counter-cultural for one evening a week. I support this. We all need something. The music was good. Gerald was not there. It was the best night of my week.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
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