« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »

October 31, 2006

Portland Videos on Streetsblog

Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson (featured at Saturday's film festival) writes:

Hello all,

There will be a featured Portland video short every day for the next week.

HERE: http://www.streetsblog.org/

We want to get a dialogue started, esp. from folks in Portland who'd like to inspire New Yorkers about what else is good/not so good, so PLEASE leave a comment if you so desire. The site crashed yesterday so we are trying to get people engaged in the Portland items!

Thanks. Appreciate it. Spread the word.

Clarence

Posted by Chris Smith at 1:38 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

RTP Exercise - Challenges - Compact Development

The next phase of the RTP exercise is to look at challenges.

[By the way, Jim and Adron, I'm still waiting for your outcome sets to examine in parallel with this one.]

As a reminder, my selected outcomes are below. The question for this post is what challenges are getting in the way of making these happen?

"Compact Development" scenario outcomes:

1. A seven-year-old on a bike should be able to safely and comfortably travel from his/her home to an elementary school, a park and a grocery store. (Chris)
2. When moving about from place to place, citizens have the opportunity to make eye contact and communicate with each other in normal speaking voices. (Clay)
3. 90% of households and 100% of businesses with employees in Metro area are a 10 minute walk from frequent, reliable, useful public transportation. (djk)
4. Most qualified graduates from local colleges and universities will be able to find sustainable employment in their field within 6 months of graduation, and are able to live within walking, biking, or a 15 minutes or less single-seat transit ride of their employment. (Garlynn, Chris)
5. Increasingly efficient use of existing roadway capacity through expanded transportation options will allow the region to continue to shift public resources away from transportation and toward education in order to "grow" and attact talent essential to a 21st century economcy based on adding value and innovation as opposed to the movement of cheap commodities. (Lenny)
6. Outside of peak commute times, freight flows freely past areas of SOV congestion through tools like queue-jump lanes, differential pricing or truck-only lanes. (Chris)
7. Run-off from transportation facilities is eliminated (that is, fully absorbed) through "green street" techniques. (djk)
8. Air pollution from transportation facilities is at or below the absorbtion capacity of vegetation in the Metro area. (djk)
9. 90% of Oregon children regularly travel self-powered to and from school safely without parental assistance. (mykle)
10. The quarter of the region's residents who cannot drive have a substantially similar quality of transportation choices as those who can. (Evan)
11. Traffic deaths are no longer the leading cause of death among ages 1-34 years old. (Evan)
12. Roads and other infrastructure receive the regular maintenance that will prolong their life in the most cost-effective manner. (Ross)

Again, the question for this phase: What are some challenges to achieving the outcomes?

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:14 AM | Permalink

Crossing Bikes with Rail

Via the SHIFT list, this is an interesting way to mix modes, especially for all the rail fans in the readership:

Monthly Small Museums tour by Bike - Trainspotting! Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave Sat 11/4, 1:00p (Tour will last at least 3 hours, more if interest)) Contact: Carye Bye, 503-248-4454, bathtublady[at]gmail.com

Details:
This Month: All Aboard! From Union Station to model trains - we are going to go trainspotting on today's tour & bike ride. First stop is our beautiful Union Station where we will spend some time admiring this great way of trave by visiting collections and displays in this beautiful historic building. Then we'll head on to the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club in Inner North Portland to see all kinds of regional train exhibits including a train model out of legos! And after all that if the weather is nice we'll head out to explore and trainspot (feel free to bring ideas for secret or not so secret train inspired places to ride.)

Bring $4 for the model RR Museum and your best train-hopping or train-tripping experiences to share.

-------------------------
Join us for a monthly bike tour of Small Museums & Collections in the Portland area. Each month we'll pedal to unique collections, enjoy presentations by experts, and have a fun yet educational outing by bike. The tour is lead by Carye Bye, the director of the Bathtub Art Museum (www.bathtubmuseum.org)

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

October 30, 2006

Smarter Roads

I had the opportunity to attend a breakfast meeting on Friday, convened by Gail Achterman, a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission. The subject of the meeting was Intelligent Transportation Systems, the whole concept of getting more capacity from our roads and transportation system by using information technology for better coordination and communication.

The headline speaker was Rick Capka, the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (in town for the AASHTO meeting). Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was hearing Capka describe the cordon pricing in London and Stockholm as successful!

A presentation by Fred Hansen of TriMet put a whole new perspective on the "cost of congestion" for me. TriMet buses are traveling on average about 1.5 mph slower now than they were 10 years ago. This means TriMet spends about 10% more to provide essentially the same service. This gives TriMet a lot of incentive to look for opportunities (like being able to hold a green light long enough for the bus to get through) to make the system operate more productively.

Perhaps the slickest technology described was the combination of scales built into highway roadbeds with transponders that allow trucks to "weigh-in" for the weight-mile tax without stopping.

The background presentation for the meeting is available on Metro's web site.

Posted by Chris Smith at 10:33 AM | Comments (16) | Permalink

RTP Exercise - What's Working? - Compact Development

So we now begin the 2nd phase of our RTP exercise, by assessing what we're already doing that helps advance us to our desired outcomes.

My set of desired outcomes follows below. I've credited the original author and linked to the comment where it shows up in the prior phase.

The ground rules for this step are that you can't criticize the outcome described (instead, feel free to contribute to the implementation questions about a different outcome set since we will have three). The trick here is to figure out how we move toward the stated outcomes.

"Compact Development" scenario outcomes (it was hard to keep it to 12!):

1. A seven-year-old on a bike should be able to safely and comfortably travel from his/her home to an elementary school, a park and a grocery store. (Chris)
2. When moving about from place to place, citizens have the opportunity to make eye contact and communicate with each other in normal speaking voices. (Clay)
3. 90% of households and 100% of businesses with employees in Metro area are a 10 minute walk from frequent, reliable, useful public transportation. (djk)
4. Most qualified graduates from local colleges and universities will be able to find sustainable employment in their field within 6 months of graduation, and are able to live within walking, biking, or a 15 minutes or less single-seat transit ride of their employment. (Garlynn, Chris)
5. Increasingly efficient use of existing roadway capacity through expanded transportation options will allow the region to continue to shift public resources away from transportation and toward education in order to "grow" and attact talent essential to a 21st century economcy based on adding value and innovation as opposed to the movement of cheap commodities. (Lenny)
6. Outside of peak commute times, freight flows freely past areas of SOV congestion through tools like queue-jump lanes, differential pricing or truck-only lanes. (Chris)
7. Run-off from transportation facilities is eliminated (that is, fully absorbed) through "green street" techniques. (djk)
8. Air pollution from transportation facilities is at or below the absorbtion capacity of vegetation in the Metro area. (djk)
9. 90% of Oregon children regularly travel self-powered to and from school safely without parental assistance. (mykle)
10. The quarter of the region's residents who cannot drive have a substantially similar quality of transportation choices as those who can. (Evan)
11. Traffic deaths are no longer the leading cause of death among ages 1-34 years old. (Evan)
12. Roads and other infrastructure receive the regular maintenance that will prolong their life in the most cost-effective manner. (Ross)

Again, the question for this phase: What is working well to achieve the outcomes?

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:21 AM | Permalink

I-5 Delta Park Open House - Final Design Phase

The I-5 Delta Park Project is moving into the final design phase. You are invited to attend a project Open House to learn more...

Wednesday, November 1, 2006
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Ockley Green School Auditorium
6031 N Montana Ave.
Portland, OR 97217

Please contact Stacy Thomas with any questions you may have at:

Stacy Thomas, Senior Community Affairs Coordinator
Oregon Department of Transportation --Region 1
123 NW Flanders
Portland, OR 97209
Email: Stacy.L.Thomas@odot.state.or.us
Tel. 503.731.8281
Fax. 503.731.3266

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:07 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

TriMet: All B5, All the Time

The Oregonian is reporting that TriMet will use B5 Biodiesel in its entire fleet (they had previously tried this with the Lift fleet). While 5% may not seem like a big deal, TriMet is such a large customer that this commitment should go a long way to help develop biodiesel infrastructure in the region.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink

October 27, 2006

Next Phase of the RTP Exercise

I want to thank everyone for their participation in generating outcome visions. It started a little slow, but it really picked up steam! Thanks for (mostly) following the rules.

Keep adding those comments, even as we start the next phase.

What happens next is that I am going to comb through the outcomes and pick a set of 12 that I think collectively represent a great vision for our transportation system. As you might guess, they'll most likely describe a rich set of transportation choices supporting a pattern of compact development.

But I'd also like to get some other picks. Adron has agreed to do a set that focuses on a minimal-government-intervention scenario. If anyone has input for Adron into this, send your e-mail address to webmaster@portlandtransport.com and I'll pass it on to him.

Jim Karlock has also agreed to put together an auto-centric set of outcomes

Once we have our vision sets, we'll subject each one to the next set of questions in Metro's exercise, one at a time:

• What is working well to achieve the outcomes?
• What are some challenges to achieving the outcomes?
• What are some solutions to achieving the outcomes?

So remember, ONLY TWELVE bullets in each outcome set, and we'll start in on the next phase early next week.

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:57 AM | Comments (8) | Permalink

Help Coalition for a Livable Future Shift the Balance!

It has been said that building highways to reduce congestion is equivalent to buying a larger belt to cure obesity. Yet, as illogical as this sounds, many of the Portland region's transportation projects and plans are still being guided by this perspective. The Coalition for a Livable Future believes that it is time to transform our approach to transportation and create a plan that will serve our communities for the 21st century.

The Coalition's plan, called Shift the Balance, aims to give people more transportation choices – healthier choices – and better access to the places they want and need to go. Using the plan, CLF will engage citizens in shaping Metro’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) Update now underway, helping guide how the region invests at least $4.2 billion over the next 20 years.

Visit www.clfuture.org/projects/ShiftTheBalance to read about Shift the Balance and get involved. Then, take our online survey. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and we’ll be sharing the results with Metro to inform the Regional Transportation Plan update.

Spread the word about Shift the Balance! Forward this message to your networks.

Posted by Jill Fuglister at 9:05 AM | Comments (13) | Permalink

AASHTO is Coming to Town: What Does it Mean for the CRC?

The American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (think ODOT and it's 49 brethren) is holding its annual meeting here in Portland. It started a couple of days ago.

Part of the meeting is to determine a legislative agenda, and preliminary work for this was done at a subcommittee meeting in Minneapolis last month. Reading through the notes from some of the working groups, I was struck by one recommendation:

2. Nationally Significant Needs – Do not fund projects of national significance through congressional earmarks or nationally allocated funds. Instead increase apportioned funds to states, so that nationally significant needs in a state or in multi-state areas are addressed through cooperative efforts using state apportioned federal funds matched by state funds, and/or other locally provided funds.

So why is that important? Because the strategy for funding the Columbia River Crossing is to pitch it to Congress as a national priority. It's a key bottleneck on the major west coast trade corridor. So we would ask for funds above and beyond our normal allocation.

What the AASHTO recommendation would say is, no, the crossing is an Oregon/Washington problem, and they need to prioritize it from their funds (maybe getting some help from California and Idaho).

Seems like that kind of funding model would cast the project in a whole new light.

Now I have no idea what kind of clout AASHTO has with Congress, but somehow I'm betting that ODOT and WashDOT might not be voting for this particular policy plank.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:13 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Reminder: Film Festival: A Celebration of Portland Transportation

Update: 10/27/06

Reminder, this is happening Saturday, as in tomorrow. Rumor has it that yours truly may show up on screen, or even say a few words live!

Original Post: 10/10/06

Sigh. Jonathan scooped me again.

A free film festival at the Bagdad Theater from 2-4pm on October 28th will feature the work of New York filmmaker and transportation activist Clarence Eckerson, focusing on Portland:

Come out for a series of locally made short films and live historical presentations highlighting how our community has created Portland’s world-class transportation system that serves families, seniors, walkers, bicyclists and businesses.

Get the rest of the details at BikePortland.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

October 26, 2006

Coming Up on the KBOO Bike Show: The Metal Cowboy

The KBOO Bike Show will feature Joe Kurmaski, also known as the Metal Cowboy, on how touring across the country with his kids brought him to a new point in his life.

9-10AM, Wednesday, November 1st
KBOO FM 90.7
Streamed live at KBOO.fm
Podcast here later that day

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:52 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Mall Bus Stop Relocations

TriMet has released the detailed locations of bus stops relocated for the Transit Mall reconstruction starting in January.

Posted by Chris Smith at 2:43 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

RTP Exercise: Fiscal Stewardship

This is the sixth and final in a series of posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Fiscal Stewardship:

Stewardship of the public infrastructure ensures that the needs and expectations of the public are met in an efficient and fiscally sustainable manner.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

Rules for the next step in this exercise tomorrow...

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:34 AM | Permalink

Updated: Mega Ships

Update: 10/26/06

The New York Times reported this week that the electorate in Panama has voted by a wide margin to approve $5B+ to widen the canal.

Original Post: 10/11/06

Having just reviewed The Box about containerization, I'm probably a little over-sensitized to container shipping issues, but the article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal ("Giants of the Sea") jumped out at me.

They're now building ships that can hold 11,000 containers, so we can get all those material goods from China. They're going to have to widen the Panama Canal, and the Port of Long Beach is going to spend $800M to replace a bridge with a taller one.

Let's hope no one has any thoughts about bringing one up the Columbia.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (14) | Permalink

October 25, 2006

RTP Exercise: Equity

This is the fifth in a series of six posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Equity:

Equitable access to affordable housing, jobs, transportation, recreation and services for people in all income levels is provided.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:55 AM | Permalink

Toll Road Blowback

I understand that the Governor of Indiana is in a tough re-election race, in part because he leased a toll road to a foreign corporation.

And in Texas, a documentary film, Truth Be Tolled, has been produced in opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor:

Government has figured out a way to make money on public infrastructure. The plan is to convert existing Texas roadways into tollways and hand them over to foreign interests without a public vote. Many citizens are crying highway robbery.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:17 AM | Comments (16) | Permalink

RTP Exercise: Transportation Choices

This is the fourth in a series of six posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Transportation Choices:

An integrated transportation system that supports land use and provides reliable, safe and attractive travel choices for people and goods.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- Rule change: multiple bullets in one comment allowed
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:19 AM | Permalink

Cleaner Medical Transport

The Daily Journal of Commerce is reporting that OHSU, Legacy, Providence and Kaiser have jointly launched a “Clean Diesel Hospital Zones” initiative:

Retrofit technology will be put into practice in the hospital project. Each system will use its yet-to-be divvied piece of the $250,000 grant to focus on specific emissions needs. At Providence Health System, said Michael Geller, recycling and waste management supervisor, catalytic screen filter retrofits are planned for more than 20 hospital trucks with additional money going toward cleaner fuel and equipment.

“The trucks are the biggest ones,” he said. “They go out into the community every day.”

Exhaust-reducing retrofits, ultra-low-sulfur diesel in both vehicles and power generation systems are also among steps planned by the other hospital systems.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

October 24, 2006

Sellwood Bridge Meeting Tomorrow

The first public open house for the SellwoodBridge project will take place on Wednesday, October 25 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Oaks Park Dance Pavilion, located at 7100 SE Oaks Park Way.

More details...

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:17 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

RTP Exercise: Healthy Environment

This is the third in a series of six posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Healthy Environment:

Forests, rivers, streams, wetlands, air quality and natural areas are restored and protected.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you have multiple outcomes, submit one comment for each.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

Go!

Posted by Chris Smith at 11:53 AM | Permalink

RTP Exercise: Healthy Economy

This is the second in a series of six posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Healthy Economy:

A healthy economy that generates jobs and business opportunities and sustains the region’s agricultural industry.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you have multiple outcomes, submit one comment for each.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

Go!

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:46 AM | Permalink

Shoot, Ready, Aim

I'm a big fan of curb extensions, for their benefits to pedestrians, cyclists and (sometimes) parking. So I'm delighted that several are being added to NW 21st Avenue as part of the bikeways and pedestrian safety programs.

But I was aghast last Friday to see that some genius had decided to construct the extensions at Flanders St. on both sides of 21st Ave at the same time. There was NO WAY for a pedestrian to go north or south on the avenue unless they wanted to ignore the barriers and tromp through the mud.

I stepped (carefully) out into the street. But what is an elderly or disabled person supposed to do? Backtrack and go east or west a full block?

What is PDOT thinking?

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:13 AM | Comments (13) | Permalink

October 23, 2006

RTP Exercise: Vibrant Communities

This is the first in a series of six posts in the first phase of our online RTP policy exercise. Your job is to describe what the outcomes will look like if the RTP succeeds in producing the 2040 objective of Vibrant Communities:

A vibrant place to live and work, and compact development that uses both land and infrastructure efficiently and focuses development in 2040 centers, corridors, and industrial and employment areas.

To remind you of the rules for this exercise:

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you have multiple outcomes, submit one comment for each.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on the exercise overview post, not here please.

I will be a comment Nazi to enforce these - thanks.

Go!

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:28 AM | Permalink

Why I'm Voting for Measure 26-80

No, it's not (direclty) a transportation measure. But it does have a big impact on our urban form, and therefore on transportation.

Measure 26-80 is the next phase of Metro's Green Spaces acquisition program. The first phase, based on a 1995 ballot measure, has allowed Metro to purchase in excess of 8,000 acres of natural areas for preservation, parks and trails; and to help local jurisdictions create parks in urban areas.

Measure 26-80 would allow Metro to continue this program, including the acquisition of key natural resource lands outside the UGB. By doing so, even in a Measure 37 world, Metro can help ensure that future urban expansion does not sacrifice these irreplacable resources.

At the same time, 26-80 will provide funds to help build parks in our region's urban areas. Parks and public spaces are critical components to keep our neighborhoods livable even as they accomodate more people.

I hope you'll join me in voting YES for our future.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:42 AM | Comments (14) | Permalink

An Online Exercise: New Policies for a New RTP

Metro has committed to make the next update to the Regional Transportation Plan "outcomes driven". As part of this process, the Metro Council wants to develop a new set of RTP policies to reflect the desired outcomes in the region. To facilitate this, Metro has set up a series of outreach sessions with stakeholder groups to gather input to facilitate the policy development.

I offered to run the exercise here on Portland Transport and the staff agreed to take in the resulting feedback.

Now Metro's exercise is a rather complex grid (a 6 by 5 matrix). We're going to simplify that by focusing on a subset. We'll do the first row (outcomes), then subject those outcomes to the questions in the subsequent rows. The outcome areas correspond to major policies in the 2040 plan:

• Vibrant Communities
• Healthy Economy
• Healthy Environment
• Transportation Choices
• Equity
• Fiscal Stewardship

Between now and the beginning the of next year, Metro will be developing the detailed policies for the RTP for each of these areas, and this exercise is part of that process.

I will put up a blog post for each of these six areas, and invite readers to post their vision of the outcomes as comments. To keep the exercise flowing, the rules for these comments will be a little more structured than usual (and I will be a comment Nazi and kill comments that don't conform to the rules):

- An 'outcome' must be reduced to a single 'bullet', i.e., a one sentence statement. You may follow that with a single short paragraph providing further explanation if you want.
- If you have multiple outcomes, submit one comment for each.
- If you agree with someone else's outcome, quote it in your comment (my preference is italics for quoting) and say you agree and elaborate (no more than one paragraph) on why if you want.
- No criticism of other people's proposed outcomes (you'll see why in a little while).
- If you have questions or comments about the exercise or rules, comment on this post, not on the topic posts, please.

My expectation is that we will have competing visions (we seem to on most topics!). After we cover all six topic areas, I will try to assemble some representative 'outcome sets' that map to the different visions. I may ask folks who have different points of view than mine to help with this. We'll then subject two or three different outcome sets to the rest of the questions in the exercise.

I consider this to be an experiment in ways to do meaningful citizen input online, so I hope everyone will cooperate.

Watch for the topic area posts, they'll be coming out one or two per day for the next several days.

Thanks!

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:05 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink

Funding the Backlog?

Over at the Oregonian's City Hall blog, they're reporting that Sam Adams is making a pitch to his City Council colleagues to use part of the City of Portland's $19M in one-time money to work some of the backlog in transportation maintenance projects.

The Friday Trib narrowed in on one project on the list, maintenance for the Steel Bridge (which has three, soon to be four, MAX lines crossing the Willamette).

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

October 22, 2006

Washington County Commuter Rail Groundbreaking celebration!

Update: 10/22/06

Jim Mayer has a piece in the Oregonian this morning that explores in detail the issues of operating on the freight line.

Original Post: 10/20/06

MEDIA ADVISORY

Washington County Commuter Rail Groundbreaking celebration!
Oct. 25th event at Tigard Transit Center

After 10 years of planning, the 14.7-mile Washington County Commuter Rail Project will celebrate its groundbreaking on Wednesday, Oct. 25th at the Tigard Transit Center. The line will connect the cities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville and become Oregon’s first commuter rail project when it opens in September 2008.

Who:

US Senator Ron Wyden
US Senator Gordon Smith
US Rep. David Wu
US Rep. Darlene Hooley
Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator Sandra Bushue
Washington County Chair Tom Brian
TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen
Oregon Transportation Commissioner Janice Wilson
Portland & Western President and General Manager Bruce Carswell

What:

Groundbreaking celebration for Washington County Commuter Rail
Speakers will arrive at the event on a vintage Portland & Western train

Where:

Tigard Transit Center
8900 SW Commercial

When:

Wednesday, Oct. 25th – 10:30 AM

About the project:

Washington County Commuter Rail will offer a new transportation option in the heavily traveled I-5/Hwy 217 corridor. Using existing Portland & Western freight tracks, the new line will provide commuters with morning and evening rush hour service on weekdays, and connect with Blue and Red MAX trains and bus service in Beaverton, and local bus service in Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. Up to 800 park & ride spaces will be available at four of the five stations. Travel time between Beaverton and Wilsonville is 27 minutes; by the year 2020 a car trip between those cities is expected to be 40 minutes. Top speed of the train is 60 mph and will average 37 mph. Cost of the project is $117.3 million, with the federal government providing 50 percent of the funds. Weekday ridership is expected to be 3,000-4,000 trips estimated by 2020, with half of the riders new to transit.

Posted by Mary Fetsch, TriMet at 9:45 AM | Comments (39) | Permalink

October 20, 2006

Land, Sea and Air

The opening of the Gibbs extension was an interesting juxtaposition between land transportation (Streetcar), aerial (the tram landing pictured here) and water (the barge being built just to the left of the tram landing at the Zidell plant). The new terminus at Gibbs (PT regular commenter, Jim Karlock, waiving) Three Leg Torso provides entertainment. Mike Houck, center, for once not thinking about Ross Island behind him. Loading the dignitaries, former PSU Dean Nohad Toulan center, TriMet GM Fred Hansen front right. Lake Oswego Mayor Judie Hammerstad (left), Earl Blumenaur and Portland Streetcar Chair Michael Powell. A popular congressional hangout. Congresspeople Earl Blumenaur and Darlene Hooley talk to former Transportation Commissioner Charlie Hales. Congressman David Wu, not shown, was also present. Unloading the dignitaries. Celebrating Streetcar in the shadow of the tram tower. Streetcar (the next extension) will be part of the plaza outside the new OHSU building, which opens Monday. Lowell extension, opening August '07, is already under construction.

Posted by Chris Smith at 3:30 PM | Comments (47) | Permalink

Time to Celebrate! (Gibbs)

I'll be heading out the door momentarily to get downtown for the ceremonial first train and celebration of the opening of the Portland Streetcar extension to Gibbs St.

Join us at 11am today for the official ceremonies (read speeches) at Gibbs and Moody (below the Tram landing tower). Or come back to the same location for the party from 11-5 tomorrow (Saturday).

I'll have photos this afternoon.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:35 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

Imitation is the Sincerest Form...

On Ramp is reporting on the formation of a "a transportation coalition led by 249 Puget Sound-area employers" that is modelled on our own LLoyd TMA, one of the first and most successful Transportation Management Associations in our region.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:29 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

October 19, 2006

Security Dollars for Transit

The Portland Business Journal is reporting that Homeland Security has awarded $800K to TriMet and $150K to C-Tran for security.

Anyone from TriMet reading out there who can tell us how it will get spent?

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:47 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

30 Years of Trolleybus Advocacy

Long-time transit advocates will be familiar with Ray Polani. Ray has been advocating for a greater role for public transit for decades, most recently focusing on the need to run MAX under the river and underground through downtown for greater speed and efficiency.

Ray is old-school, he doesn't use a computer. Nonetheless he heard about our recent discussion of Trolleybuses and sent along a piece he authored more than 30 years ago (PDF, 1.5M) on the topic, and asked me to post it, along with a more recent editorial piece.

Here's to Ray Polani, the dean of transit advocates in Portland.

Posted by Chris Smith at 4:13 AM | Comments (16) | Permalink

Bunk Beds for Cars

The Daily Journal of Commerce is reporting on the first project in Portland that will employ parking "lifts", a technology that lets you elevate one car, so you can park another one underneath.

Here's a site for a German vendor offering the same technology.

Posted by Chris Smith at 3:20 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink

October 18, 2006

Transportation Job: Safe Routes to School Coordinator

Via the SHIFT list:

DEADLINE: 4:30 pm, Monday, November 6, 2006

Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator Portland Office of Transportation – Bureau of Transportation Systems Management Recruitment No. 06-259 Approximate Monthly Salary: $4,534 - $6,047

The Position

The Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator will provide overall program coordination for the programs of the Community and School Traffic Safety Partnership, which address driver error, pedestrian and bike safety and safe routes to school. In fulfilling this role, this position will plan, organize, control, integrate and evaluative the work of the Safe Routes to School Program including developing and implementing work plans to achieve City goals and managing the program budget; developing and implement contracts for technical services and planning, organizing, evaluating and directing the performance of assigned staff. This position will work directly with Portland area school superintendents, traffic safety advocacy groups and neighborhood leaders to ensure the fair and effective allocation of Safe Route to School services and will coordinate and integrate Office of Transportation Services with the Portland Police Bureau to ensure effective traffic enforcement activity in school zones and perform legislative and policy analysis of complex traffic safety and school safety related issues.

To Qualify

Applicants must possess:

Knowledge of principles, practices, methods tools and techniques of program, administrative and organizational analysis and of program/project planning, budgeting and management.

Knowledge of principles and practices of public administration, including purchasing, contracting and maintenance of public records. Knowledge of federal, state and local laws, regulations and court decisions applicable to traffic safety.

Knowledge of principles and practices of public outreach and involvement, including marketing principles and practices.

Ability to coordinate program activities with multiple stakeholders and facilitate development of agreement and consensus.

Ability to collect, evaluate and interpret appropriate and applicable data, either in statistical or narrative form and to present conclusions and recommendations clearly, logically and persuasively to both internal and external program/project stakeholders.

A valid state driver's license and acceptable driving record (Click here for details).

The Recruitment Process

An evaluation of each applicant's training and experience, as demonstrated in their cover letter and résumé, weighted at 100%. Only the most qualified applicants passing the cover letter and résumé evaluation will be placed on an equally ranked eligible list.

Additional evaluation may be required prior to establishment of the eligible list and/or final selection. Some positions may require those placed on the eligible list to complete and sign a criminal conviction statement before being considered for employment.

Posted by Chris Smith at 3:54 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Missing Issue in Governor Race

This spring, we tried to get the Gubernatorial candidates to response to a questionnaire on transportation. We failed miserably.

Jim Mayer of the O did a little better, but transportation certainly is not a big issue in the campaign.

Posted by Chris Smith at 3:21 AM | Comments (24) | Permalink

Parking Meters = Gentrification?

Update: 10/18/06

According to yesterday's O, Sam is not making much progress with the Hawthorne folks.

Original Post: 10/6/06

Commissioner Sam has been advocating for parking meters in neighborhood business districts, including Hawthorne.

He's been using Pasadena's historic shopping district as a case study, citing improvements in turnover driving more profitable business.

Well, Willamette Week decided to check it out and sent a reporter to Pasadena. He found that in fact the district had thrived, to the point where national chains had replaced the local businesses.

Does that mean parking meters cause gentrification, or just that you have to be careful how you reinvest the proceeds?

Hint: NW 23rd attracted Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma without the help of parking meters...

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (27) | Permalink

October 17, 2006

Someone Came Away Impressed

The International Downtown Association conference was here in Portland last week.

One delegate from South Africa, Neil Fraser, came away impressed with Portland (including our transportation system) and wrote about it back home.

Now if only our local downtown association were as impressed.

Posted by Chris Smith at 6:18 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink

Commuting in America

Every 10 years the Transportation Research Board takes a look at the census data and produces a report on the state of commuting in this country. The current report, Commuting in America III (you can buy the report or download the executive summary) was published yesterday.

NPR had a piece on Morning Edition, which focused on one aspect of the report, exteme commuting. Exteme commuters are those who commute more than 60 minutes in each direction, a category that is growing.

Some facts that didn't get any play in the NPR piece:

• EVERY state had increases in commute time, including Kansas, which is experiencing a population decline. Oregon is in the middle of the pack on the scale.
• Portland is one of the very few cities in which SOV (single-occupancy-vehicle) commuting decreased (even though only by a little less than 1%)

Meanwhile, over at The Daily Score, they're pointing to a study that suggests that when you combine housing and transportation costs, your overall cost of living may be higher when you sign up for one of these long commutes to get a cheaper house.

One category of commuting that showed big growth: working at home. I'm enjoying that 20-step commute to my home office...

Posted by Chris Smith at 5:44 AM | Comments (16) | Permalink

Flexcar 101

Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Fall 2006 Transportation Seminar Series

Speaker: Brodie Hylton, Flexcar
Topic: Flexcar 101
When: Friday, October 20, 2006, 12:00-1:30 pm
Where: 204 Urban Center (www.pdx.edu/map.html)

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

October 16, 2006

Oops...

The database that drives Portland Transport has been locked up for the last several hours, preventing comments. It should be resolved now, please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Organizing the World's Transit

Google describes its mission as "organizing the world's information". Friday, at the Transit track of GOSCON, Google discussed its plans for Google Transit with the assembled participants.

Ultimately, Google intends for the transit planner to be part of its overall multi-modal trip planner (as in get from any point A on the globe to any point B - I hate the way they think small). In the nearer term we'll see improvements like a better walking trip algorithm (to get you to the bus).

Interestingly, one of the thorny issues in trip planners has been to get transit agencies to agree on a common data model. It appears to me that Google's entry into the field will prove catalytic, and their transit feed data specification will rapidly become a defacto standard. It's relatively simple right now, but will become more robust over time as features are added.

Posted by Chris Smith at 9:15 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

Loop Group Goes Underground

Update: 10/16/06

Randy Gragg weighs in on this issue in his Sunday O column.

Original Post: 10/9/06

According to the Portland Tribune, the next phase of the downtown Portland freeway loop study (known affectionately as the "loop group") will include consideration of a tunnel to replace the Eastbank Freeway.

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:44 AM | Comments (33) | Permalink

More Transit Mall Broken Eggs

Jim Mayer picks up in the Oregonian ("Downtown's maze gets tricker") where the Tribune left off, talking about disruption to businesses from Transit Mall and related construction.

Meanwhile, the Business Journal is reporting on an eminant domain fight (subscription required unfortunately) over the properties on the southern end of the mall where TriMet is putting the LRT turn-around.

Of course in ten years it will be a forgotten memory, but right now it's 'ouch'. It's worth remembering that with each LRT project, TriMet has gotten better at helping businesses along the alignment cope with construction.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

October 13, 2006

One Down, One to Go

I've described our family before as 3.5 drivers with two cars. Well, that changed this week.

Our youngest 1.5 drivers (son with license, daughter with learner's permit) have left for school (both without cars). We celebrated by letting go of one of the cars, via the Portland Transport vehicle donation program.

So we're now two drivers with one car. I'll keep lobbying my partner about that last hunk of steel...

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:57 AM | Permalink

You Can't Make a Mall without Breaking Some Eggs

Yesterday's O included an article on expected disruption to retail during the upcoming Transit Mall reconstruction.

At the same time, TriMet has just launched a web site (http://portlandmall.org/) just for the project.

You can get more details at a series of open houses that TriMet is holding in November.

Posted by Chris Smith at 8:11 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink

Trip Planning from the Experts

According to the Oregonian, apparently a few lucky households (participating in Metro's "Drive Less, Save More" campaign) got trip planning advice from the experts at UPS.

Trip chaining - it's not just for professionals.

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

October 12, 2006

Driving Your House

Over at the BTA Blog they're citing a study that indicates that for some income categories, transportation costs are now a larger portion of income than housing.

Read and comment there.

Posted by Chris Smith at 1:07 PM | Permalink

Transit at GOSCON

The Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON) is here in Portland today and tomorrow and I signed up because there is a track just on transit.

I just came from a session looking at development of a mult-agency, multi-modal trip planner. There's a lot of work to do but it could be very cool when it's done.

Posted by Chris Smith at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Progress from Tragedy?

Almost a year ago I had the sad occassion to write about a pedestrian fatality just around the corner from my home.

It's possible that some good may come out of this. The neighborhood association has been aggressively working with PDOT to improve safety on NW 21st and 23rd. PDOT has already re-signed the streets for 20 mph, and the neighborhood newspaper, the Examiner, is reporting on a (PDF, 353K) series of safety improvements that will be tried in NW as a pilot for possible use throughout the City.

Tools include:

• Curb Extensions
• Ladder-style Crosswalks
• Selected parking space removal to improve visibility
• Speed Reader Boards
• Centerline Caution Signs

Posted by Chris Smith at 7:22 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink

Tax Policy Head On

It's been remarked more than once recently that we seem to be repeating some of the same arguments over and over. I'm going to try to segment out some of those to highlight them in their own threads, so we can have the definitive discussion and then hopefully move on and not need to repeat these on other posts.

So let's talk about taxes and tolls. A common argument we seem to have is that gas taxes are user fees, and using them to fund bicycle or pedestrian facilities on roads is inappropriate (using the state gas tax, which is constitutionally restricted to roads). And then there is the 'siphoning off' of the federal gas tax for transit uses.

A similar argument says that if a bridge is tolled for cars and trucks, it should be tolled for bikes and pedestrians too.

I have a different view, which is that taxes are NOT user fees, they are both part of citizenship, contributing to the greater good of the community, and a policy tool, useful for discouraging things that have negative consequences, possibly also helping subsidize things that provide benefits to the community.

Since I believe that excessive reliance on cars is detrimental to our society (note that I'm not saying cars are bad in general), I have no problem if gas taxes and tolls are sometimes used to fund bike lanes, sidewalks or transit.

Excessive reliance on autos creates large roads that divide communities and detract from our landscape, pollutes our air (and water to some degree with runoff) and contributes to negative public health outcomes (asthma and obesity as examples).

Cycling and walking contribute to positive health outcomes and are very efficient uses of the public right-of-way from the point of view of use of space and energy. Transit is also a more efficient use of space (especially when you factor in the parking requirements for cars at both end of a trip). The energy benefits vary depending on the type of transit. It's also worth keeping in mind that almost every transit trip includes a walking component as well.

To me there is a very clear analogy to schools. I've never had kids in the Portland Public Schools (because of custody arrangements, my step-kids have gone to school in other districts or in private schools), but I faithfully pay my property taxes to support schools in my district (and through equalization, the whole state) and vote YES on school levies, even though I don't have a direct benefit. I believe that public education is vital to a civil society and I cheerfully pay up. If I just looked at it as a user fee, I'd have my hand out for a refund.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it, gas taxes and tolls are policy tools, not just user fees. Bring it on!

Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (27) | Permalink

October 11, 2006

BTA Advocates Bike Boulevard Project

Update 10/11/06:

Over at the BTA Blog, they're reporting that this is still up for grabs in the next round of decision making and have suggestions for the next steps for advocacy.

Original Post 9/29/06:

We heard from you and hundreds of other cyclists that you strongly prefer cycling on low-traffic bicycle boulevards.

Here’s your first chance to help get a new Bike Boulevard funded!

The project is called the “70’s Bike Boulevard.”

The City of Portland has requested $3.8 million from Metro to fund a new 7.8-mile north-south route in Northeast and Southeast Portland along the streets in the 70’s (71st to 76th, depending on the area). This project would run almost the whole length of the city, connecting the Springwater Corridor to NE Killingsworth.

A group of regional leaders is meeting THIS MORNING to make some decisions on regional projects, including this project.

While one boulevard project in the East 50’s is likely to get funding, the 70’s Bike Boulevard project is slated to be cut – so we need YOUR help to get it back on the list for funding.

Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams and the City of Portland should be making sure this project gets funded – call his office and urge him to step up for bike boulevards!

ACTION
Call and email Commissioner Sam Adams TODAY and urge him to support the 70’s Bicycle Boulevard.

Phone: (503) 823-1121
E-mail: samadams@ci.portland.or.us

More about bicycle boulevards:
http://www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/bikeboulevards.php

Posted by Scott Bricker at 1:38 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

An Editorial Comment on Comments

I am seeing more frequent use of the he said/she said style of quotes in comments, e.g.,

A says: quote...

B says: response

I much prefer the style

quote

response

The latter puts the emphasis on the ideas, the former puts a lot of weight on the authorship. As the rules make clear, my belief is that Portland Transport will pr