In “The cool kids vs. curmudgeons on the streetcar” an opinion piece that appeared in yesterday’s Idaho Statesman, Kevin Richert outlined Boise Mayor Dave Bieter’s latest strategy for promoting his $60 million boondoggle, the downtown Boise streetcar.
Richert’s piece has a new explanation for the difference of opinion between streetcar enthusiasts and detractors. “Part of the divide is generational, says Bieter; younger business leaders tend to support the idea. But Bieter also breaks things down as a schism between the ‘institutional’ Downtown and the ‘entrepreneurial’ Downtown. The entrepreneurs, he says, see an amenity that will draw talented workers and promote a green economy.”
“’They have a vested interest in that economy being vibrant, being entrepreneurial, and being future-oriented,’ Bieter told the Statesman editorial board Tuesday.
“So you can be one of those stodgy Downtown fogies and oppose the streetcar, or you can join all the cool kids and hop on board. No peer pressure there, huh?”
Richert is right on with his editorial and I have news for Mayor Bieter. I am years younger than he is and I oppose the downtown Boise streetcar. In this particular case, age is clearly not the determining factor.