Vancouver, WA is considering its transportation options, and mayor Royce Pollard has drunk the Kool-Aid and come out strongly in favor of a light rail component to link up with Portland's line, which currently terminates at the Portland Expo Center.  This, of course, is precisely what Metro and Tri-Met have had in mind for quite some time.  They were flabbergasted when Vancouver residents overwhelmingly voted down a cross-river light rail "extension".

Emotions are running particularly high when it comes to light rail, a form of transit embraced by some as a way to ease freeway congestion and jump-start community revitalization and reviled by others as an inflexible method to move a few commuters at tremendous cost to all taxpayers.

Justifiably so:  light rail is inflexible.  It's incredibly expensive.  And it moves only about 2% of commuters while siphoning billions of dollars away from road improvements that are sorely needed for efficient movement of goods and services.  Light rail is likely among the top arguments in favor of dismantling the Metropolitan "Service" District, known today as "Metro".