D-Day


Here we are: the first commute day with the Transit Mall closed.

Yesterday’s O featured a chart with all the new stop locations (PDF, 764K).

We just wanted to let you know that our Transit Surfer tool has been updated with all the new route and stop information.

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26 responses to “D-Day”

  1. Look at the chart and you’ll find the #14 bus, my bus, the bus that brings 8% of Portland’s bus riders into downtown…is missing from the line-up on the matrix. Well, except there it is at the bottom…NOT included on the map. Guess it’s too embarassing to actually show how MUCH they’ve gutted our bus service.

    After Tri-Met reported to the Oregonian last week that only west side riders have complained about the changes, I submitted a letter to the editor stating otherwise. The Oregonian didn’t print it, but Amanda Fritz’s blog published my Open Letter to the Oregonian.

    http://www.amandafritz.com/

  2. I can tell you we struggled with the No. 14. On the one hand, as you say, it is a popular line, and it has one of the more extreme relocations. But including it in the map would have meant adding 2nd avenue for only one line –and shrinking the whole chart to fit it in. The decision came down to the overall readability of the chart, which is dang complicated in any case. It was important to note on the chart where the No. 14 stops are, however. Why would be embarassed by TriMet’s routing actions? It has nothing to do with us. We were just trying to do a service for the readers, and improve on TriMet’s map.

  3. It took me a while, but I finally figured out the Oregonian chart. Then I missed my 9 this AM because I didn’t look at a new schedule. And helping Swan Islanders figure this out is my job.
    re 14…maybe once the Burnside Bridge is back in business, it could be extended along 2nd. There are just too many 14 trips to fit them onto 4th…one every 3 minutes in the peak.

  4. While I usually ride my bike or walk to work (in Old town/Chinatown), I was dismayed to learn that my beloved 14 would no longer offer door-to-door service between home and office. This morning, however, I was happily surprised to learn that with the easy transfer to the MAX on 2nd Ave and Yamhill – avoiding the cluster@#$% on Main – this reconfiguration of my route will be less painful than I had imagined. Surprisingly, it may offer a quicker door-to-door. Time will tell… but so far so good (for me).

  5. And they could have avoided this mess by putting MAX in the left lane or (where it should be) underground. It is clear to me that going backwards, back to the bad ol’ days was not a good idea or the best option. I am strongly considering going out and protesting it tomorrow. More later–I’ve got to leave for my extended commute.

  6. If you don’t like walking than I guess you may have a point about the 14, but personally, I think Tri-Met made the right decision by keeping the 14 off 3rd and 4th avenues. Most 14 riders know that SW Main is pretty congested during the morning commute. It’s slow going getting to 6th Ave. My office is right on Pioneer Square and I found (along with many others) if I get off at 2nd Ave I can still walk to my office faster than I can ride the bus there.

    I believe the same would be true if the bus turned on 4th Ave. I also predict there is going to significant congestion on 4th Ave in the morning that 14 riders will be glad they are avoiding. I believe maintaining the current level of service 2nd Ave is a better choice.

    I do echo Frank and other’s frustration with the 14’s constant overcrowding in the morning. How much longer will people have stand at their stop and watch as full buses pass them by? It’s only going to get worse too. How many more condos are planned for the Hawthorne/Foster corridor?

  7. On the one hand, as you say, (#14) is a popular line, and it has one of the more extreme relocations. But including it in the map would have meant adding 2nd avenue for only one line –and shrinking the whole chart to fit it in.

    Oh good grief, Jim. You can design whatever you want. But you’ve told 8% of your Tri-Met ridership that their “extreme relocation” doesn’t rate being shown on “Your downtown bus guide.” Nor, do I see anywhere, ANYTHING about the “extreme” nature of our bus line’s changes.

    The Oregonian lets Tri-Met put out, unchallenged, that complaints ONLY come from west side riders. This despite east side complaints that were recorded about these changes even without a public hearing to express those reservations, or even let people know wht’s going on.

    “Rides through downtown will take longer and will make fewer stops.” And just how much longer for our #14 ridership? And how many fewer stops? I haven’t read the answer to THAT in the Oregonian. The published schedule adds 6 minutes to our ride home, for going home THROUGH downtown along 2nd, back over the Morrison, and through the Central Eastside Industrial District. I think Tri-Met’s move into the Fantasy –or is this Science Fiction?– publishing business warrants newspaper reporting.

  8. No one should have even remote expectations that newspapers, especially the ORegonian from what I’ve seen, will print anything that is 100% accurate. They gotta make money I’m sure the excuse will ring.

    If you want truth, read the blogs, do the research.

    As for the traffic, aside form the regular rush hour cluster#$%^ traffic isnt’ bad at all downtown. As usual Portland’s traffic problem is highly overrated by locals and nonlocals sit amazed at the efficiency compared to Seattle, LA, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Miami, … ugh, almost every major city in the US with more than 400,000 people.

    I do however mourn the #14 path now, I really think someone dropped the ball on that one REAL bad.

  9. I’m struggling to connect the degree of angst about changes to the 14 with the actual changes. My ride home will now take an extra 6 minutes. Sure, I’d always take 6 mins. faster, but I’m not sure that this will put me out too much. As for getting off at 2nd, this is something I’ve always done, because it’s often faster to walk than slog through the mall on the bus. The 14 is crowded, true. So are well used and loved transportation lines in other areas of the world at rush hour. Would I always love to have a seat? Yes. But in many ways I see the 14 and its crowds as an indicator species- and a good one, at that. Fact is that I never have to wait long for a ride on the 14, even if a full bus passes by.

  10. There were people that were going to say how bad it was that the Downtown Seattle Bus Tunnel was going to be shut down for 2 years. There were some that wanted compensation from the County Government because their bus was 20 or 30 minutes late. Now some of those very critics are saying they like 3rd Ave being transit only during Peak Hours. The DSTT was shut down for refurbishment in 2005. Unfortunately, the rails that were installed at the last minute before the tunnel opened had to be ripped out because the contractor in 1988 cut corners, and did not put much insulation in them. Anyway, it was better to go to Low Floor Vehicles, and the tunnel floor had to be lowered a foot anyway.

    There are always inconveniences, but one the critics of the tunnel refurbishment/rail conversion ignored, was that to accomodate extra traffic on 3rd, they staggered the stops, and to top it all off, the stop on the other side of the street(1st and 3rd Avenues in Downtown Seattle are not one-way like the others) is not for the same routes as the other. Although there was one plus, the SPD on their Hogs(they replaced the Kawasakis with Harley-Davidsons a few years ago) have made a lot of ticket revenue during peak hours on 3rd Avenue, too many people ignoring the heavy signage warning them not to enter 3rd Ave. Unfortunately, they often pull them over into the bus stops!

  11. a big joke.

    Light rail has done nothing for traffic congestion, is extremely expensive, and has cannibalized bus service. It is becoming less and less popular with residents (especially the price tag) so our city finds ways of paying for it without putting it to a vote. It requires massive development subsides to “encourage” (ie inflate) ridership. There is almost no grade separation so the trains must travel at the same speed as the road its built along + compete with traffic at intersections and downtown streets. The poorly designed stops have little to no room for expansion (3+ car trains) and lack security amenities such as turnstiles. The “honor” system is rarely enforced and provides a link between criminal hot spots such as Hillsboro, downtown, Lloyd center, 82nd avenue, and Rockwood.

    Some could argue those hot spots were actually induced by the construction of the light rail.

    A good bus system with local and express routes is all that Portland needs.

  12. Anthony,

    I understand your opinion- do you have any data or facts to back your your feelings? Much of my experience and reading is to the contrary. People can argue all kinds of things, but your assertions are pretty bold and your commentary about crime seems like a stretch. If what you say is true why are people from all over the world coming to see how well our system (for all of its flaws) works?

  13. Most of what I just said was not “feelings” but pretty obvious facts.

    We have the fastest growing traffic congestion in the country. We also have one of the most extensive (expensive) light rail networks.

    We had quick express bus service serving Gresham and Washington County. All of those routes are gone, now people are expected to transfer to a MAX, which is not an express as it stops at every stop (every other block downtown).

    Why are apartment ghettos and condo farms springing up around MAX stations? Couldn’t be because of the generous TOD grants, density subsidies, and urban renewal zones.

    No grade separation? Slow moving trains? Have you ever rode the MAX or do you just expect others to ride it?

    Less popular with the public? What was the result of the last two light rail votes? The answer was NO. How many times has light rail been voted on since then?

    Poorly designed stations? All of them are long enough for two car trains. The fact that the trains run on downtown streets makes the problem worse as there is no room to expand the stations. Only 3 stations are designed for some type of access control (such as turnstiles).

    “honor system” fare control? When was the last time someone was checked for a transfer? I hear stories all the time about how infrequently they are checked. Tickets should be checked at the door or at the gate (turnstiles).

  14. I looked at your facts.

    1. Fastest growing traffic congestion in the country.

    Look at http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion_data/tables/national/table_4.pdf

    It seems that we do not have the highest growth in traffic congestion in the country even though we have not been building highways like crazy.

    2. You seem to like express buses instead of MAX. Fine. What we do know is that ridership has increased with MAX, which seems to put your preference in the minority.

    3. Apartment ghettos and condo farms… I find your use of the word ghetto in this context offensive. If you look around apartments and condos are being built in most major cities because the four person family is no longer the norm. This is a response to need and demand.

    4. Grade separation…slow moving trains. There are some federal laws that limit the speed of the MAX alongside highways. I ride MAX all the time and I think that for the most part we are fortunate to have it.

    5. Less popular with the public. What we know from the light rail votes (along with many others) is that people don’t like to pay taxes. Opinion polls suggest that MAX is pretty popular with the public.

    6. Poorly designed stations… Well, I’m not a planner or a transit designer…do you have qualifications in this area? Again, lots of people come here to learn from our designs, so TriMet must be doing something right.

    7. “Honor system” You might hear stories all the time (I do, too). However you are not offering facts. It is a fact that there are fare inspectors. Personally, when I think of the delays (and cost) caused by turnstiles, checks at the door, etc. I think that our system is a good compromise.

  15. Anthony Says:

    “a big joke.

    Light rail has done nothing for traffic congestion, is extremely expensive, and has cannibalized bus service. It is becoming less and less popular with residents (especially the price tag) so our city finds ways of paying for it without putting it to a vote. It requires massive development subsides to “encourage” (ie inflate) ridership. There is almost no grade separation so the trains must travel at the same speed as the road its built along + compete with traffic at intersections and downtown streets. The poorly designed stops have little to no room for expansion (3+ car trains) and lack security amenities such as turnstiles. The “honor” system is rarely enforced and provides a link between criminal hot spots such as Hillsboro, downtown, Lloyd center, 82nd avenue, and Rockwood.

    Some could argue those hot spots were actually induced by the construction of the light rail.

    A good bus system with local and express routes is all that Portland needs.”

    OK, GUYS. This is not I saying this. As you can see, I am not alone in my opinion of light rail in Portland.

    Nick

  16. Light rail has done nothing for traffic congestion

    Until we stop subsidizing auto use with things like the pollution-cleaning Big Pipe, Washington County’s Major Streets Transportation Investment Plan, defense and “free” parking, other motorists will use up the room freed by people who switch to MAX. This means that roads will still be congested.

    It would also help if MAX was actually fast going through downtown, attracting cross-region commuters. But its like they would rather spend $4 on something that doesn’t help than spend $8 on something that actually works.

    And regarding express buses, they are useless if the roads are congested or they don’t run when you want to go. Especially when you have constricted travel corridors (like through the West Hills), it is more efficient to put riders on a higher-capacity mode.

  17. Until we stop subsidizing auto use with things like the pollution-cleaning Big Pipe, Washington County’s Major Streets Transportation Investment Plan, defense and “free” parking, other motorists will use up the room freed by people who switch to MAX. This means that roads will still be congested.

    With regards to Washington County’s MSTIP: It was voter approved FOUR TIMES.

    MAX? Voter approved ZERO times.

    Even with westside MAX, traffic congestion has worsened in Washington County. Don’t believe me? Why did ODOT spend hundreds of millions to widen Highway 26 – years AFTER MAX was constructed? I thought MAX would solve our congestion probems, and that said widening would not be necessary (because all those people would be on MAX).

    The bottom line is that government exists to serve the public, and the public (in Washington County) voted FOUR TIMES for better roads. The public consistently votes against MAX expansions – if it’s even given a chance to vote. MAX carries a single-digit percentage of the metro area’s commuters; based on TriMet’s own reports, MAX carries on a daily average 89,000 boarding riders (another 173,000 board busses). Assuming that most people ride round-trip, the number drops to 45,000 people. Divide that between westside and eastside, and we’re looking at about 20,000-25,000 riders – less than “full capacity” of a two-lane street, and a far cry from the freeway lane traffic on Portland’s busiest freeway (I-84).

    And speaking of “free parking”, let’s start with transit park-and-ride lots. $10 a day plus MAX fare. And let’s raise the cost of a MAX ticket to $3.00 (one zone) and $5.00 (all zone). Once transit is free of all subsidies, then let’s talk about eliminating highway “subsidies”.

  18. 5. Less popular with the public. What we know from the light rail votes (along with many others) is that people don’t like to pay taxes. Opinion polls suggest that MAX is pretty popular with the public.

    Again, MSTIP was passed FOUR TIMES. I think the voting public is aware that taxes are a necessary evil. Why did the anti-tax measures in Oregon fail last November? Why did most public safety and school measures pass? Why do nearly every highway transportation measures pass? Even in Washington after the initial vote to eliminate the “car-tab tax”, voters realized and voted for increasing their gas tax. But with the Seattle Monorail vote – they approved it (when there was no price tag), and as soon as they saw the price tag they voted to shut’er’down.

    Those who are pro-transit need to understand that highways and roads largely cover their costs, whether it be through federal and state gas taxes that pay for state highways (and 20% of that goes towards transit!!), or property taxes which support local streets. Without local streets, your fire department and police department wouldn’t be able to respond to emergencies; mail couldn’t be delivered; groceries and goods couldn’t be delivered to stores or to your homes or offices.

    If the solution is to force everyone into Soviet-style high-rises, then let’s let everyone have a fair shot. Eliminate all development subsidies, install housing price caps (and anyone who builds a home or rents out a housing unit above the cap will pay a 50% tax on the value of the home above the cap), and make sure that everyone can afford to live close to work and where they need to shop. I’ve challenged someone before – tell me where I can find a decent 3 bedroom unit under $150,000 (or $800/month) between Portland and Progress. Since it can’t be done, we have what we have today – exclusive housing in the “desirable” areas, and the “ghetto” elsewhere. No one can say that Rockwood is a “desirable” place – not even MAX can promote new development there. East Burnside is hardly a desirable, welcoming place to live. There are still large tracts of land on the westside that are un-developed. North Interstate didn’t bring any new housing with it. And Beaverton-Wilsonville Commuter Rail? There is no development; all of the development existed without transit subsidy.

    I shouldn’t leave out the A-Line. Well, that was a development disaster; at least people ride MAX anyways to the airport and to Parkrose/Sumner to make up for it.

  19. [delurk]

    Anthony wrote:
    “honor system” fare control? When was the last time someone was checked for a transfer? I hear stories all the time about how infrequently they are checked. Tickets should be checked at the door or at the gate (turnstiles).

    I take it you have no actual experience riding Max. From April 2000 to August 2006, I lived in NE Portland and commuted on average 3-4 days a week into downtown via Max. My job gives me a lot of freedom in when I traveled, so I often traveled outside rush hours (usually around 9am & 6-7pm). While I wouldn’t say fare inspectors were frequent, I did see them often enough and they did catch people; though maybe around 50% of the time. Note that for a significant amount of the time period, only two legs in the stretch I traveled required a fare: NE 60th ave to Lloyd Center.

    But ponder that; out of between 20-80 people in a car (depending on time-of-day, etc.) they’d maybe get one person. Everyone else on the train had a valid fare. To me, with more than 90% of riders paying, that seems like the honor system is working. I’ll also point out it’s not like Portland’s the only place where it exists; the subway system in Prague, Czech Republic, also works on the honor system (as part of an excellent transit system, IMO; Prague probably has as many streetcar lines as Portland has buses — and they have buses to supplement the rest, for a metro area with a slightly smaller population than Portland).

    For the 8 months before that (1999-2000), I commuted in from NW 185th to downtown. If I got to the 185th stop right before 9am, I frequently saw 2 or 3 fare inspectors starting their workday at that stop. I think Tri-Met tries to avoid doing inspections during rush hours; probably because the cars are too crowded that it would be hard for the inspectors to get to everybody before the next stop (I have had my fare checked getting off a train while an inspector was getting on, so they do make an effort to catch people hopping off because they see the inspectors waiting). So if you want to be a Max scofflaw, rush hour is your safest time to do it.

    Funnily enough, I’ve even seen Tri-Met do a fare inspection check on buses coming out of downtown on Burnside, to catch people who got on in fareless square. Turnstiles on Max would pretty much force the elimination of fareless square. (Yes, I realize some people would consider that a positive thing.)

    [/delurk]

  20. Eric,
    Westside MAX property tax was approve by region’s voters shortly after MAX opened in 1986. South/North property tax ($400M)was approved in 1994, but was resubmitted in 1998 and lost by 2K votes. Voters in Portland and Multnomah county have never NOT approved tax increases for MAX.
    The losing votes were Clark county in 1995 and the state lottery vote in 1996; the latter won going away in the metro area, but not by enough to overcome downstate opposition. I’m disappointed in your poor memory. You should be campaigning for the Barbur MAX line to come out your way asap; don’t waste your time on BRT.

  21. High capacity transit in the Barbur corridor will be a challenge no matter what form it takes, LRT, BRT, or whatever. But I-5 is parallel; how many lanes are enough? The sky has not fallen in North Portland where Interstate went to one lane each way, plus its a much nicer street.
    Maybe start with a tunnel under OHSU with station, then elevated to Terwilliger, then buy out some parking lots to get to West Portland.

  22. So let me get this straight.

    A measure has won, before it lost. The bottom line is that South/North failed, MAX in Vancouver failed. An election counts EVERY person in the district, so anyone who lives in the TriMet service boundary is eligible to vote. The statement that “everyone in Portland/Multnomah County approved” is insignificant, because TriMet is a regional transit provider. If the bulk of support is there, maybe TriMet should do what C-Tran did, and constrict its service boundary to what it wants to serve. (C-Tran originally encompassed all of Clark County, its boundaries are now largely the Vancouver UGB, plus some.)

    As for Barbur Blvd. MAX, I am NOT in support of it because the desired route is hardly desirable and would disrupt a major highway serving Yamhill County and a state highway – with absolutely nothing to replace it. There is a light rail alignment that I would have supported that would have served a much more transit-friendly and more densely populated area, but TriMet didn’t agree with me. So instead we have commuter rail (six hours a day, weekday rush hours only) when we could have built MAX from Portland to Tualatin, via Barbur Blvd., Multnomah Blvd., Oleson Road, Washington Square, and the Oregon Electric Railroad alignment from Greton via Tigard TC to Tualatin. (Freight trains would travel from the OE from Wilsonville using a new connector track to the ex-SP Newberg Branch in Tualatin, and could continue north at Cook to Tigard and to Beaverton; the ex-SP Tillamook Branch and MAX would cross each other (MAX would utilize an overpass or a tunnel) at Greton. It would substantially reduce the number of busses needed to serve the Hillsdale/Multnomah Village/Garden Home area, provide transit service to the Multnomah Village and Garden Home community centers (not to mention Washington Square, Tigard and Tualatin, as well as Durham), utilize a part of Barbur Blvd. that is sufficiently wide enough for MAX and two lanes of through traffic (although those two bridges would need to be replaced; or that stretch of Barbur between Capitol Highway and Terwilliger could be reduced to one lane in each direction) – and best of all, provide a positive alternative to a number of busses that had to operate on snow routes today.

    Barbur Blvd. MAX serves NO community centers; Barbur Blvd. is not transit-friendly/pedestrian-friendly, and would create a transportation bottleneck at the 99W/I-5 interchange, without any solution or outlet for displaced traffic – and most importantly traffic that would not be served by MAX, including significant freight movement and intercity passenger movement well outside the realm of TriMet and/or MAX. The ONLY reason Barbur Blvd. is being considered as a MAX route is because of one park-and-ride lot; and frankly that’s a lame and expensive reason. TriMet could just as well buy five articulated busses and provide the same level of service (including average speed) at a mere fraction of the cost.

  23. Since the temporary transit mall opening will be forever tied to Tuesday’s snowstorm, I bet everyone at TriMet is still waiting for a normal commute day. Sure, some of the buses were on snow detours, some tended to arrive in groups of two at a time (i.e, one 17 a few minutes after another 17), others would show up one at a time and already be jam-packed, but overall I’d rate the last two days a “B.”
    Kudos to everyone who’s been out there the last few days that signed up thinking they would only be telling people where their bus is – who also ended up doubling as snow route detour info. Definite “A” to those men and women.

  24. Yes, the South/North bond measure passed in 1994, but was then resubmitted in 1998 after Clark county pulled out because the original measure stated “Clackamas to Clark county MAX.” It failed by 2K votes, and we are now building it without property bond measures.
    The reason I mention the repeated support for MAX in Portland/Multnomah county is that Interstate MAX and the current I-205/Mall project are paid for…the local match…in part by urban renewal districts’ tax increment funding. Portland decision makers feel comfortable that their voters approve of this use of public resources.
    re Barbur high capacity transit…we agree on Barbur at least to Multnomah Blvd. That’s a start, and I think the most difficult part. I think the Westside studies looked on the Multnomah Blvd alignment…not sure of the data, but it is constrained, and it would be tough to get tracks plus existing lanes through.
    Also, I would guess you would get more resistance from residents of Multnomah, Garden Home to your proposal than to a Barbur alignment all the way to Tigard. Barbur has a lot of schlocky commercial buildings all the way out from Terwilliger which might better lend themselves to high density redevelopment around new stations, etc. Multnomah is passionate about staying a “village.”

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