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March 31, 2006

Signal Guy Gets a Little Credit

This morning's Tribune has a "Q&A" with Bill Kloos, who manages the signals division for PDOT.

The piece is a little bit light-hearted, but it's an opportunity to highlight one of those unsung heroes who makes our transportation system work so well. So hats off for Bill, who amply deserves the attention.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:32 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

My (non-)Trip on Streetcar

I had a first last night. The Streetcar was too full to get on board.

It was about 5:30 at 10th and Couch, trying to get back to Northwest. The train was shoulder-to-shoulder and about three people got off. About 15 people were waiting to get on, and about six of us wouldn't fit (I wound up walking a few more blocks and catching the #77 - got to walk by Jameson Square, where the fountain has just been turned back on - so it wasn't a total loss).

Time to buy another car or two and get those headways down to 10 minutes (or less)!

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:53 AM | Comments (29) | Permalink

I-5 to 99W Connector Project Steering Committee studies ways to improve traffic movement in the area

Excerpted from Rex's April newsletter:

Regional and local transportation officials have recognized the need for a connection between I-5 and Hwy. 99W for more than a decade. Traffic demand in the southwestern portion of the region has grown substantially, leading to increasingly congested conditions.

Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka serves on the I 5 to 99W Connector Project Steering Committee with other elected officials from Washington and Clackamas counties and the cities of Wilsonville, Tualatin and Sherwood, as well as officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. The committee is currently working to identify a corridor where transportation improvements could be located.

The Project Steering Committee recently adopted a purpose and need statement and a set of goals and objectives. These documents will guide the development of alternatives in the study. The adopted purpose and need statement and goals and objectives are posted on the project web site at www.i5to99w.org.

Though the project alternatives have not yet been defined, they are likely to include options that range from only improvements to existing streets and demand management solutions to options that look at new roadway connections. The project team will develop evaluation criteria, analyze future transportation needs and study the community and environmental features in the study area. The project will host an open house early next fall to begin identifying potential transportation corridors.

The project team will meet with community groups this spring and summer to share information about the project?s progress. Call 503.595.9915 or send email to info@i5to99w.org to request a speaker for your group.

Posted by Rex Burkholder at 12:01 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink

March 30, 2006

Portland 6th Most Prepared American City for Oil Crisis

Hat tip to the Coalition for a Livable Future for this link.

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:22 PM | Permalink

Would You Like Parking with That?

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal (sorry, their links require a subscription) had a piece about a hot new trend: reserving your parking space in advance (online or by phone).

One of the systems mentioned is ParkingCarma, which provides reservations at high-demand BART stations in the Bay Area.

XM Satellite Radio is also said to be getting into the act. Apparently the technology can go so far as to include sensors in individual spaces to track which are available.

The article suggests an overall transportation and environmental benefit by reducing the amount of driving around to find a space.

I'm not quite sure what to think about this. Is it an additional facilitator for more driving, or an information system to improve efficiency?

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:25 AM | Comments (12) | Permalink

China Taxes SUVs, Chopsticks

Hat tip to Dave Brook for the pointer to this article.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

March 29, 2006

Another Marker for Platinum

So you have to be either really compulsive or a political junkie (I hope I'm just the latter) to make a point of reading Willamette Week's "web only" murmers every Wednesday, but the reward this week was to discover that three of Portland's very own are among the top 100 bike retailers in the counry.

Posted by Chris Smith at 10:09 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

March 28, 2006

Streetcar Comes to Transit Board(tm)

We're delighted to announce that Transit Board™ Real Time Info now includes information from Portland Streetcar. We recently received permission to use data from NextBus, Streetcar's provider for next arrival information. We're busily integrating this data into our tools, and it should show up on Transit Surfer soon as well.

Remember, we're happy to build a Transit Board for your location, just click Contact Us at the bottom of this page.

Here's an example of a Transit Board combining Streetcar and TriMet data for one of my favorite locations:

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:39 AM | Comments (10) | Permalink

City Club Warms to its Reading

In April, City Club's book club, Citizens Read, will take up Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes from a Catastrophe, copies of which can be purchased at City Club events or from the City Club office (10 percent of the purchase price will benefit the Club). Read the book in April and then meet to discuss with moderator Tim LaSalle, director of Northwest Earth Institute, at 7 p.m., Monday, April 24 at City Club Commons (901 SW Washington St.). The discussion is free and open to the public; RSVP to City Club’s Office Manager Tim DuRoche at 503-228-7231, ext. 103, or timd@pdxcityclub.org.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Known for her insightful and thought-provoking journalism, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert now tackles the controversial subject of global warming.  Americans have been warned since the late 1970s that the buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere threatens to melt the polar ice sheets and irreversibly change our climate.  With little done since then to alter this dangerous course, now is the moment to salvage our future.  By the end of the century, the world will likely be hotter than it’s been in the last two million years, and the sweeping consequences of this change will determine the future of life on earth for generations to come.

In writing that is both clear and unbiased, Kolbert approaches this monumental problem from every angle. She travels to the Arctic, interviews researchers and environmentalists, explains the science and the studies, draws frightening parallels to lost ancient civilizations, unpacks the politics, and presents the personal tales of those who are being affected most—the people who make their homes near the poles and, in an eerie foreshadowing, are watching their worlds disappear. Growing out of a groundbreaking three-part series for the New Yorker, Field Notes from a Catastrophe brings the environment into the consciousness of the American people and asks what, if anything, can be done, and how we can save our planet.

WHY THIS BOOK?

Last spring, The New Yorker published a three-part series about global climate change by Elizabeth Kolbert.  This January, she followed up with an article entitled Butterfly Lessons, which examined the effects of climate change on butterflies, mosquitos and frogs.  It was the most chilling — and persuasive — article on global warming I have read.   Now, those articles have been expanded into a book-length treatise on global climate change and its effects on the environment.

In recognition of Earth Day, City Club continues its discussion of global climate change by reading Kolbert's Field Notes from a Castrophe.  As we consider her apocalyptic view of the future, she asks us:  "As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response?  Or will we retreat into ever narrower and more destructive forms of self-interest?” —  Wendy Radmacher-Willis

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:36 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

March 27, 2006

Transit Boards(tm) Rolled Out for Lloyd TMA

We're happy to announce that in partnership with the Lloyd Transportation Management Association, Portland Transport has deployed a set of Transit Boards^™ for the Lloyd District. Check it out at the Lloyd TMA's website (scroll down to the map)!

This also introduces a new user interface approach for Transit Board, displaying in a pop-up window.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:25 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Cost of Congestion at City Club

The Cost of Congestion: How Traffic Jams Waste More Than Just Your Time

City Club Friday Forum - March 31, 2006

Panelists:

• Jay T. Waldron, President of Port of Portland Commission and Co-Chair of Metro’s Transportation Investment Task Force
• Ann Gardner, Government Relations Manager, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.
• Michael Powell, Powell’s City of Books

According to the 2005 Urban Mobility Report, Portland ranks as the 20th most congested city in the country, and by 2025, the population in the metropolitan area is projected to increase by an additional one million people. But this is going to mean a lot more than just a longer commute to work. To pin down the real impact of congestion, the Portland Business Alliance, Port of Portland and Metro recently collaborated on a study that has quantified just how this byproduct of urban growth affects our economy and our quality of life — from its effect on jobs and worker productivity to transportation costs and business opportunities. Join us to get a better feeling for our region’s growing pains.

This week's Friday Forum, which is open to the public, will be held at the Governor Hotel (614 S.W. 11th Ave.). Doors will open at 11:30 a.m.; the program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon tickets are $16 for City Club members and up to two guests, $20 for nonmembers. Lunch reservations can be made online or by calling 503-228-7231, ext. 103, by 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, 2006 (members only may call the members' reservation message line at 503-241-9242). A limited number of coffee/tea tickets are $5 at the door. General seating, also available at the door, is free for members, $5 for nonmembers.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:18 AM | Comments (13) | Permalink

March 24, 2006

Sellwood Slighted?

Unfortunately, I was not able to recruit a correspondent for Wednesday's meeting on the Sellwood Bridge. It was competing with MPAC and the Columbia Crossing meetings the same night.

But I'm a little surprised that I haven't see any coverage in the Oregonian or Tribune. Did I miss it?

The only coverage I've heard so far was on OPB. Did anyone attend? What was your take?

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:22 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink

Transportation as Plumbing, Considering the RTP Update

At Wednesday's MPAC meeting, Metro Councilor Rod Park gave a briefing to MPAC on the update to the Regional Transportation Plan that is now being launched. For the first time, the region's land use and transportation plans are being updated at the same time, a unique opportunity to really examine our regions priorities.

A few of Councilor Park's main points:

Population will grow by 1 million people in the next 20 years

The buying power of available transportation funding is expected to decline by about 40% during the time period, based on current trends.

The need for transportation funding is expected to grow by 40% during that period.

Currently the plan would project that we have about $4 billion to spend on transportation during the next twenty years. The fiscally "unconstrained" plan calls for about $10 billion in projects.

Rod suggested that we may need to reframe how we think about how we do this (I'm paraphrasing slightly): if the transportation system is the region's plumbing, do we build a house around the plumbing we can afford, or do we plumb the house that we want to build?

Another fundamental question is whether we spend the transportation dollars that are available on the 80% of the people who are here now or on the 20% who are coming.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:16 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

My Trip: Cycling in the Burbs

It seems like a lot of the long trips I make these days have to do with medical care (happily not too often). Either I'm seeing a specialist who is located somewhere in the burbs, or in the case of my annual physical, I'm trekking out to Washington County. Few of my Portland friends know that when I first moved to the region, I settled in Beaverton (in my defense, I was working at the Tektronix plant at Walker Rd. and 185th when I arrived - a few years later and after a transfer to the Wilsonville plant, I made the decision to live in NW Portland). But as a result, my primary care physician is still out near Tanasbourne.

Anyway, to make the trip, I threw my bike onto MAX, since the medical office is only about two miles from the Quatama station. It was a nice, sunny day and I enjoyed the round trip.

What's notable is that during the 4-mile loop, going past both OGI and the Amberglen business park, two large employment sites, I saw not one other cyclist. And the facilities were not the issue. While the first road I tried was not very bike friendly and I opted for the sidewalk, the parallel route I found on the way back had bike lanes.

While the area certainly is not as dense as Portland, there are relatively dense clusters of housing, employment and retail, all within a few miles of light rail. What else do we have to add to make cycling a regular transportation mode in this kind of area?

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:04 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink

March 23, 2006

Columbia Crossing Options Narrowed

The Columbia Crossing is all over the front page of the Oregonian this morning following a four hour meeting of the Crossing Task Force last night. The task force narrowed the options under consideration.

As Jill (a task force member) reports in a comment to her earlier post, a west side bypass to a third bridge is off the table on the grounds that it would not help the issues in the I-5 corridor sufficiently.

Unfortunately, high-speed rail also appears to be off the table.

On the upside, a number of transit options are still in play (under the general heading of "high capacity transit") and one of my favorite ideas, a parallel arterial bridge, is also still under consideration.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:11 AM | Comments (26) | Permalink

Not a Satellite

At MPAC last night we had a very interesting presentation. The mayors of Sandy and Estacada presented about what's happening, particularly with growth, in their cities.

At Metro we use to talk about cities like these (Canby, Newberg and St. Helens are other examples) as "satellite cities" since they were outside Metro's UGB. Apparently this term rankled (it implies they orbit around Portland). We now use the more neutral "neighbor cities".

One key issue for both these cities is that they want to retain their individuality and character. They definitely DO NOT want the UGB to grow out to swallow them.

I was intrigued by the transportation challenges of these two cities. One issue is that both are cities on highways. It's not so bad for Estacada, since the city center is on one side of the highway, but for Sandy Highway 26 divides the city. It makes for interesting challenges in laying out things like bikeways.

The other interesting thing I heard is that Sandy, like Wilsonville, has opted out of TriMet and has their own local (and free) transit system that provides a lot more frequency than TriMet did (and also connects to Estacada). In fact it appears to me that there are a number of these transit systems on the periphery of TriMet's service area and they tend to interconnect with each other. So for example Wilsonville sends a bus to Canby, and Canby sends a bus to Oregon City, and I suspect you could circumnavigate the southeast quadrant of the region without getting on TriMet if you wanted to.

It makes me wonder if we shouldn't have some mechanisms for better making these connections. For example, a regional trip planner that integrated route info from all of these systems.

Hmmm...

Anyway, it was a lot less dry than the topics at many MPAC meetings.

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:52 AM | Comments (8) | Permalink

March 22, 2006

Portland Transport sends candidate questionnaire to Oregon Governor candidates

The following went out as an advisory to the press last night:

Portland Transport sends candidate questionnaire to Oregon Governor candidates

Portland Transport, a blog focusing on transportation policy in the Portland/Vancouver metro region, has issued a candidate questionnaire (attached) for the Oregon Governor’s race.

“State policy has a huge effect on local transportation and our readers and the community will benefit from knowing where the candidates stand on issues that affect the region and the State,” said Chris Smith, President of Portland Transport.

The questionnaire was developed collaboratively by the online community at Portland Transport and the responses will be published on the site. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Portland Transport will not endorse a candidate, but will publish the responses as a service to voters, and provide an opportunity for the community to discuss the responses.

The questionnaire (PDF, 20K) was sent to the Kulongoski, Hill, Sorenson, Mannix, Saxton, Atkinson and Westlund campaigns. The Westlund campaign has responded that they will take a pass for now (presumably since as an Independent, Westlund is not in the May primary) but will consider responding during the general election campaign.

Posted by Chris Smith at 5:07 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

How Will Portland Implement Measure 37

When he's not busy working on traffic safety at the Portland Office of Transportation, contributor Greg Raisman also chairs City Club's Growth Management and Environment Committee, where they're going to explore some of the local impacts of Measure 37, which is bound to touch on transportation.

Please join the City Club of Portland's Growth Management and Environment Committee from noon-1:30 (901 SW Washington, downtown Portland) on Thursday, April 6, for a free conversation about how the City of Portland will implement Measure 37. Our guest will be Chris Dearth for the City of Portland Planning Bureau. Chris will discuss the case load being generated by Measure 37 and the process to decide how to address Measure 37 claims.

Mr. Dearth may bring a colleague with him to discuss how other municipalities implementation of Measure 37 can impact Portland's growth goals.

Mr. Dearth is happy to accept questions prior to the presentation. If there is a particular question those who plan to attend would like him to address, please contact him cdearth@ci.portland.or.us.

WHAT: Free discussion about how Measure 37 will be implemented in Portland
WHERE: City Club Growth Management and Environment Committee, 901 SW Washington
DATE: April 6th
TIME: noon-1:30

Posted by Greg Raisman, Portland Office of Transportation at 12:05 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

March 21, 2006

Rehabilitate the Sellwood Bridge

We're happy to welcome Jim Howell to the rolls of Portland Transport contributors with this perspective on a potentially less costly way to deal with the Sellwood Bridge.

The apparent assumption that the Sellwood Bridge must be replaced and that it will take ten to twenty years to do it is misguided. This historic 1925 structure is currently suffering from lack of maintenance and lack of respect. Both problems can be remedied.

The existing bridge’s useful life can be extended another eighty years by completely rehabilitated it for vehicles, bikes and pedestrians.

If county officials and the public can live with a complete closure during construction and are willing to pay for it with bonds repayable with tolls and/or local and state gas tax revenues, not federal funds, it can be done within five years.

The protracted process and huge expense of a replacement span mandated by federal prerequisites, not common sense or local and state requirements, can be avoided if no federal money is involved.

The results of an analysis of the structural condition of the bridge, performed by David Evans and Associates, answered the question about what can be done to extend the life of the bridge for up to fifteen years. However the detailed results of the study did not identify any fatal flaw that would preclude the possibility of rehabilitating the bridge for a much longer useful life at a cost much less than what a replacement span would cost.

The four main steel truss spans, which cross the open water of the river, are in fine shape in terms of strength, although they are suffering from deteriorating paint and a leaking deck. The components that are slowly failing, and that need immediate attention, are the deck support system (“floor beams” and “stringers”) and the approach spans.

In addition to the repairs described in the Evans report, the deteriorated west approach structure, bridge deck and railings should be replaced, and the bridge repainted. Also, the roadway should be widened and a new deck for pedestrians and bicycles could be built underneath the main deck of the bridge.

A below-deck bicycle/pedestrian facility supported by the lower chords of the trusses would be protected from rain and vehicle spray and could provide an easy connection to the Springwater Trail. At the west-end, the new approach structure could be built to provide for bus stops with ramp and stair access to the bike and pedestrian level as well as to a train stop on the proposed Lake Oswego Streetcar Line.

The impact of the Sellwood Bridge closure on commuters can be greatly reduced if a temporary bus ferry system is established to shuttle buses, bikes and pedestrians across the river from the foot of Spokane Street during rehabilitation.

Of course TriMet would have to agree to provide a frequent east-west bus route between Clackamas County and Washington County in the Johnson Creek Blvd./Tacoma Street/Taylor’s Ferry Road corridor. This route would provide convenient connections to many existing bus routes and major transit hubs like Clackamas Town Center and Washington Square.

Although tolls aren’t essential to the concept of rehabilitating the bridge, this project could provide local experience in modern tolling techniques before they are considered for larger highway projects in the metro area. Since 60% of the trips across the bridge originate outside of Multnomah County, helping pay for refurbishing the bridge with a user fee (toll) seems fair.

Posted by Jim Howell at 8:25 AM | Comments (12) | Permalink

Damper on Light Rail to Clark County?

Yesterday's Oregonian reports that the Federal Transit Administration is pressuring Clark County to evaluate a variety of modes, not just Light Rail, in its study of high capacity transit options.

Federal meddling, or just prudent review of all the possibilities?

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:48 AM | Permalink

March 20, 2006

The Westside Bypass Rears its Ugly Head Again

At the last meeting of the Columbia River Crossing Taskforce participants got a first glimpse of the all of the potential transportation improvements that are being considered for I-5 across the Columbia River. Much to my alarm the list includes a couple of ideas that smack of what was considered a done deal in 1988 – the Westside Bypass – a freeway that would have decimated neighborhoods and farms in Washington County, and helped fuel uncontrolled sprawl development. Thanks to lots of hard work by folks who wanted to see something else happen in Washington County and the forward-thinking alternative vision provided by LUTRAQ, it died.

Unfortunately, some things never really die...even really, really bad ideas. If a new freeway across the Columbia River, that travels over Sauvie Island and impacts sensitive areas lands in the Tualatin Mountains and Vancouver lowlands makes your skin crawl, come to the taskforce meeting at the Department of Transportation, Southwest Region Office in Vancouver on Wednesday, March 22nd at 4 pm and testify during the public comment period.

Posted by Jill Fuglister at 6:55 AM | Comments (39) | Permalink

Burnside's Fifteen Minutes of Fame at PDC

Actually it's 12 minutes.

The separation of the east and west sides of the Burnside project continues next week when the Portland Development Commission takes up the issue at their March 22nd meeting. From 8:18 to 8:30am (who schedules these things to the minute?) the Commission will review a report concurring with the City Council resolution advancing the east side project separately from the west side.

Sigh.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:07 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

March 18, 2006

You're Invited to the First Oregon Bike Summit

The first ever statewide bicycle summit has been set for April 1st in Eugene.

Check out the invitation postcard (PDF, 382K) for all the details.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:58 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Volunteers sought for Sellwood Bridge task force

This recently came across the transom from Multnomah County:

Multnomah County is seeking volunteers to serve on a Community Task Force to provide important input during planning for the Sellwood Bridge Project. The 80-year-old bridge has serious structural and design problems that require a long-term solution. The purpose of the project, which begins this spring, is to identify the alternative that best meets the needs of bridge users, neighbors and the general community. Options to be studied include replacement and rehabilitation of the bridge.

After hearing presentations from the engineering consultant, the Community Task Force will develop criteria and evaluate and rank the alternatives.

In recruiting the task force, the county is seeking representatives of key interest groups, such as neighbors, businesses, commuters, freight haulers, bicyclists and pedestrians. The ideal task force volunteer is someone who is:

• Interested in the Sellwood Bridge Project
• Able to attend evening meetings approximately once a month for two years, starting in spring 2006
• A representative of the concerns of an organization or interest group
• Experienced with volunteer committees

No professional design experience is required.

Individuals interested in serving are asked to complete an application form and return it to Multnomah County by April 17. Call 503-988-6804 to request a copy of the form.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:19 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

March 17, 2006

Oil Distributors Appeal Oregon Apollo Ballot Title

A few weeks ago, we reported on Oregon Apollo, a ballot initiative on a program for biofuels and energy independence.

I just received an alert from the campaign that a group of Oil distributors have appealed the ballot title assigned by the Attorney General's office:

On the legal front, two oil industry trade groups requested changes to the ballot title that were rejected by the Attorney General. Subsequently, Brian Harris, on behalf of oil distributors, appealed the title to the Oregon Supreme Court on the last day appeals could be filed - March 14th. . This appears to be a delay tactic to keep us from collecting the valid signatures we need to submit to the Secretary of State by July 7th.

Here is the problem we now face: The Oregon Supreme Court is under no specific time line to address this oil industry appeal and we cannot move forward with collecting signatures until the Supreme Court acts. This delay can cripple our efforts to move forward with a clean energy agenda for the November 2006 ballot. We need at least 12 weeks to collect 75,000 plus valid signatures to be viable.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:42 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Trib Focused on Steel Bridge

This morning's episode in the Tribune's ongoing coverage of the Transit Mall Light Rail plan focuses on issues with the Steel Bridge, both in terms of operational capacity as well as maintenance issues with the aging bridge.

Of course, here at Portland Transport, we've been discussing the bridge for weeks.

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:05 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Report from the Bi-State Forum

I attended the Bi-State Metropolitan Forum (subtitled: Building a Healthy Economy for Oregon and Washington) yesterday.

We were addressed by Mayor Potter of Portland and Mayor Pollard of Vancouver, and both Governors, as well as Metro President David Bragdon and an economic development expert from Rhode Island.

The Columbia River Crossing was a recurrent transportation theme (its importance to our economy). Both Mayors endorsed Light Rail to Vancouver and Mayor Potter was explicit that this should be over both the I-5 and I-205 bridges.

Both Mayors also discussed the idea of merging the Ports of Portland and Vancouver into one organization.

Governor Kulongoski made a big point out of biodiesel, and Governor Gregoire talked about alternative energy and energy independence (including less dependence on the existing hydro resources). The idea of some kind of bi-state transportation district or compact to get around differences in Oregon and Washington governance frameworks was also thrown out.

There was a panel with senior managers from each DOT and there was a big emphasis on gaining credibility with voters by delivering projects on time and on budget (are the Tram folks listening?). ODOT director Matt Garrett mentioned the need for about $180M in freight rail investment on the Oregon side of the river (Washington has already allocated about $100M on their side) and the difficulty of making this a public investment since the rails are privately owned.

By the time we got to the breakout session on transportation, a little bit of reality got injected. At my table a Clark County Commissioner said that the voters in Clark County weren't ready for Light Rail yet. There was some good discussion about more focus on job/housing balance to reduce demand on the Columbia River bridges.

Between the Governors and the lunch speaker, there was also some focus on the idea of thinking in terms of a "Pacific NW" region or metroplex extending from Eugene to Vancouver, BC.

Lots of ideas and hopefully building some connections, but no lightening bolts.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:22 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink

Correspondent Wanted

There is a public meeting on the Sellwood Bridge next Wednesday (March 22nd, 5-6:30 at Oaks Park). The agenda includes:

• Current condition of the bridge
• Short-term strategy to keep the bridge in service
• Planning for a long-term solution that begins this spring
• How the public can be involved, including the role of a Community Task Force

Unfortunately I'll be tied up at MPAC (read: joyfully serving the citizens of Multnomah County as their representative).

Here's your chance to become a Portland Transport contributor. Attend the meeting and send in a report!

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:17 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

March 16, 2006

Moving the Sauvie Island Bridge

Over at CommissionerSam.com, they're discussing the economics of moving the old Sauvie Island Bridge to I-405 to use as part of the Flanders bike/ped corridor.

Share your thoughts there.

Posted by Chris Smith at 4:08 PM | Permalink

Boats and Trains

Finally, some good news on the freight front.

Yesterday's Oregonian reports that the Port of Portland has a new container shipper.

Zim Integrated Shipping, out of Israel, will shift its Northwest port of call from Seattle to Portland. While 70% of the cargo they expect to bring in will be destined for our local market, 30% will head inland via rail.

Let's hear it for Portland as a gateway city for goods from Greece, Turkey, Romania, Israel and Sri Lanka!

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:12 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

I Hate being Scooped

And Jonathan Maus over at bikeportland.org did it twice yesterday.

First with a piece about a new Bike/Ped Institute at PSU, and then again with a notice about a Portland Bike Summit this summer as part of the Platinum effort.

Sigh. Go comment over there...

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:07 AM | Permalink

March 15, 2006

Become a "Transportation Ambassador"

The Portland Office of Transportation's Options Division is looking for a few good men .... er ... people.

Learn how to help inform your fellow citizens about the panoply of transporatation choices in our fair city.

And there's a T-shirt involved!

[Credit to the ORBike blog for pointing me to this.]

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:22 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Bug TriMet About Something Else

Enough already with the Transit Mall Stuff.

TriMet is holding several open houses on its Transit Improvement Plan (TIP), essentially its capital investment plan.

The open houses are:

Wednesday, March 15th, 11-2 and 4-7 in the Portland Bldg (2nd floor)
Tuesday, March 21st, 4-7pm at the Portland Adventist Academy (1500 SE 96th Avenue, Portland)
Wednesday, March 22nd, 4-7pm at the Beaverton Community Center (12350 SW Fifth Street, Beaverton)

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:25 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

March 14, 2006

This is Depressing

Rex passes this along from the SHIFT list:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0222-27.htm

The scientific uncertainty in global warming isn't about whether it's occurring or whether it's caused by human activity, or even if it will "cost" us too much to deal with it now. That's all been settled. Scientists are now debating whether it's too late to prevent planetary devastation, or whether we have yet a small window to forestall the worst effects of global warming.

Our children may forgive us the debts we're passing on to them, they may forgive us if terrorism persists, they may forgive us for waging war instead of pursuing peace, they may even forgive us for squandering the opportunity to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle. But they will spit on our bones and curse our names if we pass on a world that is barely habitable when it was in our power to prevent it.

And they will be right to do so.

Posted by Rex Burkholder at 10:06 PM | Comments (13) | Permalink

Candidate Questionnaire II

Last month I proposed sending a Portland Transport questionnaire to all the candidates for Governor (well, at least the 3 top contenders in each party plus Mr. Westlund). I've been thinking more about this and have added a few questions. How about some more?

Will the budget you submit to the legislature include funding for high-speed rail from the Willamette Valley to Vancouver, BC?

The Sellwood Bridge, with a soundness rating of 2 on a scale of 100, was conspicuously passed over in the OTIA process. Some have attributed this to pressure from the trucking lobby, which wanted a 4-lane bridge instead of the 2-lane span (with bicycle and pedestrian facilities) suggested by the last major study. Will you support state resources for the bridge, and will this support be conditioned on a particular configuration?

Do you support the Oregon Apollo Initiative (http://www.onwardoregon.org/site/pp.asp?c=ffIOIRMEG&b=1355271) to reduce Oregon's dependence on imported energy sources?

Do you support reclaiming the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland by moving, burying or removing the I-5 freeway?

What else?

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:22 AM | Permalink

March 13, 2006

How I would untangle the Rose Quarter

Regular readers will recognize Bob Richardson as "Bob R." who has provided many cogent and informative comments. I'm happy to now welcome Bob as a Portland Transport contributor! - Chris

The Rose Quarter area is one of the most intense mix of transportation modes in the city of Portland. Three (soon four) MAX lines converge there, Interstate Avenue, Multnomah and Oregon streets intersect with approaches to the Steel Bridge, and there are multiple bus lines using the Rose Quarter as a transit center. Nearby, but not directly intersecting, are freight/passenger rail tracks which cross the Steel Bridge to Union Station.

A complex layout of light rail “interlocks” (track switches) and traffic signals orchestrates the flow of traffic in multiple competing directions.

As some transit advocates (including AORTA) have pointed out, the capacity of these interlocks constrains the potential for growth of the light rail system. With the addition of the MAX Green Line from Clackamas, the area may approach the practical limit for trains per hour of throughput within a decade.

Expanding capacity beyond the current limit presents a conundrum: How do you redo this complex interchange without shutting down the current rail system, which would have drastic short term and medium term impacts on ridership? Furthermore, how can the area be configured to accommodate future proposals such as a new river crossing (bridge or tunnel) or longer trains?

I propose the development of an underground station at the Rose Quarter for the Blue/Red/Green lines in a manner which presents many options for future expansion, eliminates several current conflicts, and provides greater rider convenience.

Full details with pictures on the flip...

First, an acknowledgement and some background…

The images which follow were created using the amazing Google Earth software package. All of the aerial images in this document are copyrighted by Google, but due to subsequent cropping and enhancement some of the images do not include the Google message. Please check out Google Earth, which comes in a free version, for some incredible ways to explore our city (and for that matter, our planet.)

Current Situation

The current Red and Blue Lines meet up with the Yellow Line at rose quarter in a Y-shaped arrangement of track switches known as an Interlock:

A closer look reveals a conflict: In addition to the multiple automobile lanes of Interstate Avenue, Multnomah, and the Steel Bridge ramps, northbound Yellow Line trains must cross the path of opposite-direction Blue Line and Red Line trains. This means that one of those trains must wait before proceeding.

It should also be noted that although light rail is given signal priority, once the traffic signals have allowed automobile traffic to proceed, trains which have “just missed” their opportunity to request priority will have to wait for the automobile signal phase(s) to complete.

The Near Future

With the completion of the Green Line from Clackamas (est. 2009), which will utilize the existing Red/Blue line tracks through this area, there will be a high number of trains per hour operating through this crowded interlock.

Today’s Trains per Hour (peak):

Line	Westbound/Southbound	Eastbound/Northbound
Blue Line	8	8
Red Line	4	4
Yellow Line	4	4
Totals	16	16	32

2009 Opening-Day Trains per Hour (peak):

Line	Westbound/Southbound	Eastbound/Northbound
Blue Line	8	8
Red Line	4	4
Yellow Line	4	4
Green Line	4	4
Totals	20	20	40

2025 Trains per Hour (projected peak):

Line	Westbound/Southbound	Eastbound/Northbound
Blue Line	12	12
Red Line	4	4
Yellow Line	6	6
Green Line	8	8
Totals	30	30	60

Whenever a Northbound Yellow Line train enters the interlock, all Westbound/Southbound trains must wait. In 2025, there will be 6 times per hour when a potential conflict exists due to the Yellow Line. Every 10 minutes there will be an opportunity for a slight schedule hiccup to cause an actual delay.

There will be a Westbound/Southbound train coming every 2.5 minutes, pausing for 30 to 60 seconds at the Rose Quarter platform. If that train is delayed (by missing an opportunity to cross the interchange, or by a passenger holding the door, a pedestrian crossing against the light, or other everyday factors) even by one minute, the next train behind it is now delayed. This sets up a ripple effect. Because the interlock is operating at capacity, trains cannot be expedited through it to remove the ripple. All subsequent peak hour trains could become delayed, and additional factors could amplify that ripple.

Other Problems

The Rose Quarter area has other problems than train interlock scheduling. Passengers wishing to transfer to the Yellow Line must walk over 300 feet and cross three separate, busy signalized crossings. These necessary pedestrian activities further constrain signal phase timing. After large events let out at the Rose Garden Arena or Memorial Coliseum, large crowds of people approach the platforms and jaywalking is an issue.

The current Red/Blue/Green platform area contains a third track used to store an extra train (usually eastbound) to provide immediate crowd relief to events. Any redesign of the transit facilities in this area must accommodate this important design feature.

Numerous groups and individuals have proposed further long-term enhancements to the transit system including a downtown subway, a new river crossing (bridge or tunnel), a Multnomah St. subway, and the modification of the system to accommodate 3-car trains (possible if a downtown subway is constructed.) A redesign should anticipate these plans so that further reconstruction in future decades is not required.

It is also vital that any redesign minimize interruption to the current system. Shutting down the Rose Quarter area for months to rebuild tracks would be highly disruptive to transit usage patterns in the region.

The existing interlock also provides an important connection for Yellow Line trains to travel to and from the maintenance facility in Gresham. This connection must be maintained for normal system operation.

A problem not addressed by this document: Once the Green Line is constructed, there will be a new interlock at the west end of the Steel Bridge. This interlock will create new constraints on capacity. These constrains can be partially (but only slightly) alleviated by the addition of a third track to the Steel Bridge. Because it is unknown to this author if the Steel Bridge could handle such modifications, that idea has been left out of this proposal.

Grade Separation

Grade Separation means giving a mode of transportation not just it’s own right of way (special lanes and signals, crossing gates) but to construct the route in such a way that conflicts are avoided in the first place (using bridges, ramps, tunnels, etc.)

If the most heavily traveled tracks (the Blue/Red/Green Lines) are grade separated, conflicts with auto traffic, opposite-direction rail traffic, and pedestrian traffic can be completely eliminated. This is the approach this proposal utilizes.

The Proposal

To create an underground “subway” station adjacent to the Rose Garden Arena, positioned under the arena lawn/plaza areas and Multnomah Street:

Design Aspects:

• A large, multi-platform station maintains the current extra-track arrangement
• The station and platforms are large enough to accommodate 3-car trains.
• Additional tunnel excavation at the east end allows for a future Multnomah St. subway.
• Further excavation at the west end allows for a future river crossing (bridge or tunnel) on the North side of the grain elevator facility.

Advantages:

• Conflicts with pedestrians, cars, and opposite-direction trains are completely eliminated.
• Various known future growth proposals are accommodated without further need for reconstruction.
• The station is located much closer to the major use in that area, the Rose Garden Arena.
• Crowds exiting Rose Quarter area events do not need to cross a street to reach Blue/Red/Green Lines.
• Transfers to the Yellow Line are now less than 100ft away and require crossing only one street with one direction of traffic.
• The middle track, in the years before 3-car operation begins, can accommodate (with care) two trains: A one-car Westbound train and a two-car Eastbound train, if desired.
• During construction, most excavation is away from existing rail lines, requiring minimal disruption to current rail operations.
• Station excavation can be done with less-expensive “Cut and Cover” methods, using Rose Garden Arena lawn areas as staging areas.
• Although automobile traffic on NE Multnomah (and the Steel Bridge on-ramp) will need to be closed for a long duration of time, it can be rerouted to nearby streets. Once construction is finished, automobile traffic will move much more smoothly through the area due to 80% fewer trains crossing against autos.
• Existing surface interlock tracks can remain in place to allow for Yellow Line start-of-day/end-of-day operations and as an emergency backup.
• Existing Blue/Red/Green platforms can remain for additional storage of up to 3 two-car trains to be deployed in any direction.
• Design uses almost entirely: Existing public right-of-way, private property containing no structures which can be restored to private use after completion, or private vacant land.

This plan is preliminary… Your comments and questions are appreciated.

Posted by Bob Richardson at 4:53 PM | Comments (43) | Permalink

Lessons Learned from the Transit Mall

Over the last few weeks I've been reporting on developments in the Transit Mall saga, and posing questions for discussion. Of course, I've also been integrating this in my mind and have reached some tentative conclusions. So here goes one transit advocate's take...

It's going to happen

TriMet has scheduled another Steering Committee meeting for March 16th, and from the agenda items ("Moving Forward", "Ramping Up for Construction") it's pretty clear TriMet is not having second thoughts. And I also think it's pretty clear that none of the governments that endorsed the Locally Preferred Alternative is going to change its mind at this point. It is possible that the Federal Transit Administration could use some of the noise and heat to slow things down, and I think that would be unfortunate.

It's a compromise, but that's not necessarily a bad thing

There's no question in my mind that this plan is far from perfect. I suspect that the business community will not get as much benefit from the auto lane as they hope, so the costs of this approach may exceed the benefits. But it's necessary to have this important constituency (and funder) buy into the plan. It also seems pretty likely to me that this plan puts a cap on the number of buses that can operate on the mall.

But it's not like we haven't compromised before. The whole design of Light Rail downtown, where it operates more like a streetcar than high-speed commuter service is a kind of compromise, but the system still works.

As a transit advocate, it seems to me the overall goal is to keep expanding the network, and yielding the network benefits. Remember, the value of a network grows as the square of the number of nodes. Even imperfect nodes increase the value of the network. Waiting until we can fund a subway is not the answer. This is a case where the perfect can definitely be the enemy of the good.

And in the end, I am not worried about TriMet being able to operate it safely. I am confident they can figure out the operating procedures.

Citizen participation is more effective the earlier it happens

I learned this when I served on a City Club committee in the '90s, studying ways to create residential density. One take-away was that a lot of energy goes into stopping or altering individual projects, when it would be much more effectively applied at the time when zoning was being established. There is a tendency for citizens to focus on the immediate: "they're going to build what in my neighborhood?", when they key parameters were determined much earlier.

A friend recently asked me "when was the mall alignment really decided"? Technically it happened when the City, County and Metro adopted the Locally Preferred Alternative. But in reality it happened in phases much earlier. Some of the decision making goes back to the South-North project, some goes as far back as the Downtown Plan. And each of these decisions has ripples. For example, one early concept might have put light rail on 10th and 11th, but when that was discarded as a preferred option, Streetcar was put there, eliminating that decision from reconsideration. The result is that when the time came to finalize the choice two years ago, many of the alternatives to the Mall were no longer feasible, either because they are not fiscally viable (e.g., subway) or have been precluded by other decisions.

So my perspective: it's not perfect, but it's still a very good thing for the region, and if you want to have an impact get involved early and often in regional planning decisions. The upcoming Regional Transportation Plan update is likely to be one of those watershed opportunities. And it would be an excellent venue for thinking through the real bottleneck in our light rail network: the Steel Bridge.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:05 AM | Comments (11) | Permalink

March 10, 2006

AORTA Goes on Record re Transit Mall

The Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates in a letter dated March 8th, is asking the Federal Transit Administration to appoint an independent reviewer to assess the Transit Mall light rail plan.

Among the concerns expressed:

All trains serving Washington County must cross the Steel Bridge and pass through the Rose Quarter interlocking, because there is neither a turnaround nor any useable storage tracks on the west side of the river. Consequently, the Steel Bridge and the interlocking will effectively limit all further growth in service to Washington County. All service diverted from the Cross-Mall alignment to the Mall will be at the expense of service to Washington County. Today, the Rose Quarter interlocking is at its effective free-flow capacity. By building delays into the schedules to produce queuing at that junction, which will increase travel times, the capacity of the current configuration may be pushed somewhat higher. However, the 30 trains per hour envisioned for the year 2025 may come at the expense of significant delays, and are likely the practical limit.

The full letter is available here (PDF, 71K).

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:06 AM | Comments (25) | Permalink

Anticipation is Making Me Wait

During my trip to the Czech Republic last fall, I got to see frames being welded for our next three Streetcars.

We have some photos of recent progress, they're further along now!

Notice the new colors we're adding to our palette, Golden Yellow and Apple Green. Look for them on Portland streets in the fall, after the Gibbs extension opens.

Copyright 2006 Portland Streetcar Inc. - All rights reserved. Copyright 2006 Portland Streetcar Inc. - All rights reserved. Copyright 2006 Portland Streetcar Inc. - All rights reserved.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:30 AM | Comments (21) | Permalink

March 9, 2006

I Learned a New Acronym Today

On Friday, I had the chance (because of my TPAC alumni status) to sit in on a class given for local transportation managers. The new acronym I learned was TSM&O (pronounce that "tismo").

It stands for Transportation Systems Management and Operations. The general idea is to take a more integrated look at the transportation system, understand it as a system that spans multiple jurisdictions, get good real-time data about how it's operating, and run it smarter. This lets you get more capacity out of the same road network, without building new lanes.

Some of the tools and techniques of TSM&O:

• Traffic Incident Management (get the wreck off the road ASAP)
• Travel Information Services (get told about the tie up on I-5 before you leave the house in the morning)
• Automatic Vehicle Location for Transit (when is the next bus coming)
• Traffic Signal Coordination
• Work Zone Traffic Management (better planned construction detours)
• Roadway Weather Information
• Electronic Payment (for transit, parking, tolls)
• Freight Management

It's about more intelligence instead of more asphalt. A local example of this approach is the http://www.keepportlandmoving.org/ web site. It will tell you about all the construction projects in the downtown core that impact traffic. Jim Mayer of the Oregonian covered this site in the context of Portland's upcoming construction projects.

On a larger scale, it's about collaboration between agencies.

Here's to working, and moving, smarter.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:12 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Shall we call it a "Freight Faire"?

COLUMBIA CORRIDOR ASSOCIATION PRESENTS

Past, Present and Future Transportation in Portland
Sponsored by Portland Office of Transportation

If you have a comment or question about transportation in the Columbia Corridor, this is the event to attend.

Give Your Opinion
Tell us where the City needs to install new signs, where the bottlenecks are, and how you suggest we improve traffic flow. You'll be surprised how useful your information is! We’ll have the maps and the experts; you just need to point and comment.

Get Information
We'll have exhibits on upcoming projects, new innovations, signal light improvements, and dream projects, plus a book back at Portland ’s early transportation.

Talk With
Portland Department of Transportation
Portland Freight Committee
Metro
Oregon Department of Transportation
Columbia River Crossing Project
I-5 / Delta Park Widening Project
Gresham Transportation Planning
TriMet
C-Tran
Port of Portland
Portland Business Alliance
UP & BNSF Railroads

This is a free event. Drop by anytime between 3 and 6.
We promise snacks and a lively discussion.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Sheraton Portland Airport
8235 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97220

For more information, contact Corky Collier, 503.287.8686 or corky@columbiacorridor.org

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:06 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

March 8, 2006

What Does Health Got to do with it? Metro's Relationship to Health

The Portland region is often commended for it's smart growth and planning. Benefits of our planning efforts have resulted in a range of transportation options, access to parks and greenspaces, and livable and walkable neighborhoods, to name a few. An often overlooked, yet important benefit is the positive impact that our planning efforts have on our health. Neighborhood and downtown areas have sidewalks and crosswalks that ensure people can walk safely, bike lanes have been installed all over the region, trails and greenways are being improved and expanded, and, because of the transportation options available, fewer people are driving--that leads to cleaner
air!

Projects promoting pedestrian and bicycle friendly environments are becoming more common, responding to citizen demand and a greater realization that more walkable communities prosper economically as well. In addition, research shows a clear relationship between land use, community design, and transportation planning and health. One reason for focusing on community health is increased health care costs. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2000, adult physical inactivity resulted in direct medical expenses totaling more than $76 billion. In addition, more than a third of young people in grades 9-12 do not regularly engage in vigorous physical activity.

Much of Metro's work promotes health. For example, we have worked hard over the years to preserve parks and greenspaces throughout the region, we have provided funding for trails that people can use to bike or hike on, and promoted the development of vibrant downtowns and livable streets that allow people to walk to stores instead of driving. In addition, we are leaders in providing transportation options. For example the Regional Travel Options Program (RTO) is a coordinated effort with public agencies and business organizations to promote and support transportation options in order reduce the number of drive alone trips in the region. Also, Metro produces the Bike There! map. This map provides a snapshot of bike lanes and multi-use paths in the Portland metropolitan region, rating selected through-streets where bicyclists share the road with motorists.

It is my hope that we can continue to integrate the health perspective in the current work that we are doing around planning for the future and updating our regional transportation plan. Take a look at the links below to learn more about the research and organizations that are taking a look at this issue.

Active Living Research: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is sponsoring a coordinated response to find creative approaches for re-integrating physical activity into American life.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Active Community Environments Initiative (ACES):  CDC's Active Community Environments Initiative (ACES) promotes walking, bicycling, and the development of accessible recreation facilities. It was developed in response to data from a variety of disciplines, including public health, urban design, and transportation planning.

National Association of County and City Health Officials, Community Design project: This project's goal is to raise the awareness of local public health officials so that they can proactively participate in land use planning decisions.

Transportation Research Board, a division of the National Research Council, has produced a number of publications addressing the relationship between the built environment, transportation, and health including one report entitled "Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity" (PDF, 1.5M).

Posted by Rex Burkholder at 7:35 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Transit Mall Update

Even from 2,000 miles south of fareless square, I couldn't help but notice developments on the Transit Mall Light Rail project. Here's the rundown:

• The Trib is focusing on the pedestrian safety aspects of the design. Does the operational change that would give buses and trains in the center lane the right-of-way increase risks for pedestrians. Note to self: avoid having Nick Budnick ever investigate Portland Transport.
• The Downtown Neighborhood Association has prepared their arguments (PDF, 330K) in opposition for City Council.
• TriMet has scheduled a Hearing and Open House for March 15th. They will take testimony on the bus relocation plan but only "answer questions" about the light rail plan.

Posted by Chris Smith at 5:21 AM | Comments (16) | Permalink

March 7, 2006

Let's Untangle the Neighborhood that Tried it First

Anna Griffin reports in the Oregonian today that Sam Adams would like neighborhood business districts to consider paid parking, funneling the revenue back into their neighborhoods.

I couldn't agree more. For 18 months I served on a Citizens Advisory Committee that arrived at the same conclusion for my neighborhood in NW Portland.

But that was only the beginning. Neighborhood businesses would not accept the plan without adding off-street parking, and the key developer involved insisted on a parking structure location that required rezoning a residential lot and tearing down a house. You can imagine the flap that ensued.

When the dust settled, the parking structure was approved, and the rest of the plan was still on the shelf. And two years of court cases followed.

So, Sam, how about we fix the mess in NW Portland first, then use that as the example to other business districts?

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:10 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink