With a mind toward making Lake Oswego more accessible to Portland residents, and vice versa, a meeting was held last night to discuss the feasibility of bringing Portland’s streetcar to the suburb. The mayors of both cities attended the meeting, encouraging public discourse in order to gauge public sentiment and begin addressing the pros and cons.

The idea is rather divisive however, at least at this early stage. A small group of protesters gathered outside the meeting to voice their concerns over a Lake Oswego addition to the streetcar, with many feeling that the streetcar simply isn’t worth the significant tax that would be required to fund the project large price tag.

The next step in the planning/information-gathering stage comes a few weeks down the line. A committee is currently studying the environmental impact of expanding the streetcar line. Once that study is complete, their findings will be presented to the full Lake Oswego City Council.