U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a national television audience this morning that Portland's light rail and streetcar systems are a model for the nation and he would soon come to Portland to "make some announcements."On C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" this morning, LaHood also called Portland a model for reducing pollution, "getting people out of their cars" and creating "livable" communities.

The hint about a Portland announcement could mean approval of federal money for the Portland Streetcar's eastside extension, which would be the first streetcar project with substantial federal funding. As The Oregonian has reported, the Bush administration resisted the project for several years.

The Portland Streetcar Loop project would extend the line from the Pearl District, across the Broadway Bridge, and south to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. A federal transit grant could fund $75 million of the $147 million extension.

LaHood said that Portland's streetcar and light rail systems are a model for efforts to reduce the pollution that automobiles generate.

"They developed a streetcar system and we're going to be going to Portland and meeting with those folks and making some announcements," LaHood said.

"They really are a model, over the years, of getting people out of their cars and creating the livable community idea."

LaHood, a longtime Amtrak supporter and former Congressman from Illinois, said the administration wants to "get people into light rail, into buses, getting people on bicycles and perhaps people walking."

Washington D.C. is also a good example of an area with rail and bus systems that get people out of their cars, LaHood said.

-- Dylan Rivera; dylanrivera@news.oregonian.com