What was striking, sitting in the Oregon House Sustainability & Economic Development Committee session this afternoon, was the matter of factness around a pretty big idea: Extending a commuter rail line from the Portland metro area to Salem.
There is, of course, sometime to work with already on the northern reach: The tri-county MAX rail system, together with a recently-opened add-on, already runs not just from Hillsboro to Gresham but also south to Wilsonville, a big chunk of the way to Salem. There are also plans, in conjunction with planning for the upgrade to the Columbia River I-5 bridge, to extend commuter rail north through to Vancouver, where it could easily be strung in parallel to the Mill Plain crossway.
So now imagine a connector linking to the south, running through communities large and small (Donald might be a stop, or at least slow-down point) on existing tracks. The significant number of people commuting or running back and forth between Portland and Salem could train it. (Especially if they start loading in wi fi throughout the system.)
It's a big project at a time when big new projects aren't much in fashion. House Bill 2408, which has a substantial bipartisan group of sponsors, doesn't authorize the line, but it does create a task force on it and will wrap up a study on the idea, due out this fall.
Representative Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, said "I'm not famliar with Donald" (well, most people a few miles from it aren't), and said it was a shame the 4th congressional district wasn't included. But he'd support the study anyway.
We know of at least one legislative staffer (and there are doubtless others) who commutes from Eugene to Salem. Give it a little time, and Eugene might make the line yet.