Bravo for taking a stand on the issue of street food carts in downtown Victoria. As a former Portlander, I can attest to the vibrancy of the Portland street food scene -- a vibrancy that makes working and playing in downtown Portland a pleasure.

Victoria might do well to emulate another of Portland's achievements: That of maintaining and preserving its historic bridges. Last time I counted, Portland had 11 of them spanning a far greater width of water than the Blue Bridge and none is in danger of being replaced due to unspecified and astronomic "seismic upgrade costs."

While we're at it, maybe Victoria could take a look at Portland's fantastic light rail system, too.

Grant Hayter-Menzies

Sidney