I tracked down and signed the Save Vancouver Streets petition because I don’t want to see Vancouver turn into Portland. I was born and raised in Portland, retired from Boeing in Everett, and moved back to the area four years ago where most friends and family reside. However, Portland has gone so far left I could never live there again (and I’m a centrist independent). Portland seems bent on forcing the reengineering of society, including declaring war on the automobile, which I view as fundamental to our modern freedom. Of course, the left would also like us to all live in cubicles stacked on top of each other because single-family homes are an evil to be eradicated. The approach is to make driving miserable by reducing traffic capacity and setting ridiculously low speed limits. The most vocal in support are militant bicyclists. They want to force everyone to be healthier, for our own good, because they know better. Probably vegan, too. I’m not giving up my freedom. How, as the city officials claim, would a vote on removal of traffic lanes impede road repair? Can they only fill potholes or repave while removing traffic lanes? Ridiculous!