Longtime and frequent commenter Lenny Anderson pens an op-ed in the Oregonian on how riders can improve transit service. (Hint: Find more riders).
Which brings me to a few thoughts on how best to serve Swan Island.
A big problem with serving it is that it’s essentially a dead end. More accurately, it’s two dead ends, one being the actual “island” itself (which is now a peninsula, and has been for almost a century, though it original was an island before a land reclamation project connected it to the mainland), the other is the industrial site nestled between the Swan Island lagoon and the bluffs. Even more accurately, it’s three dead-ends, as the mainland side is cut in half by the railroad tracks, with the easternmost part of the industrial area only accessible via the Leverman Street overpass.
Dead ends are hard for bus service to serve, unless they are a really strong anchor. Right now, two bus lines go into Swan Island–the 85 pretty much exists only to serve it, serving the “mainland” side, and the 72 provides peak hour service to the “island” side.
What if a pair of bike/ped/transit-only bridges were constructed? I’m assuming the affected neighborhoods in Overlook and Portsmouth would oppose anything that could be used by trucks, so I’m assuming green bridges here. (I’m not assuming any need for rail; just busses). One bridge (bridge #1) would connect Overlook to Swan Island, running between N Willamette somewhere between N Killingsworth and N Rosa Parks (extending off of Rosa Parks would probably be the best place), down to Cutler Circle; the other (Bridge #2) would connect N Basin Drive, cross over the railroad tracks, and connect to N. Willamette just south of the UP campus.
With these bridges, the 72, rather than going S on Greeley to Going, could instead head north on Greeley, west down Bridge #1, to Cutler to Leverman, south on Basin, then west on Going and ending on the peninsula as currently done. The 85, rather then turning around at N Basin, could use Bridge #2 and serve UP and St. Johns, possibly even connecting with the Marine Drive bus (presently the 16).
Other useful service reconfigurations may well be possible with one (or both) of these bridges in place.
6 responses to “Improving service to Swan Island?”
Thanks ES for giving Swan Island, where I have worked for 25 years, some thought. My biggest frustration is the acres of free parking…on valuable industrial, even river front, land. At $250K per acre, its the most costly commute incentive offered.
re your engineering ideas, the City of Portland is building a bike/ped trail down Waud Bluff under the U of P to the north end of Basin; due to open in August (no buses!). But it will mean that UPS employees on Sunday can use the 44 and walk down, and U of P employees, students, etc can walk down during the week a get an 85 to RQTC…a 15 minute trip vs. twice that on the 35 or 44.
re transit service, the 72 trips to Drydock are the most problematic. 15 trips per day…if the Ops bother. We were down at the shipyard yesterday and heard from several current and/or former riders that in the afternoon their ride home was sometimes a no show…a real deal killer.
When MAX opened I pushed hard for the 85 to serve all the Island, all day and just go up Going to the Prescott MAX station. If such a shuttle had run every 15 minutes it could have had a fine connection to lightrail’s 15 minute headways, just as happens now with the C-Tran 65 and the Red Line. TriMet planners talked with current riders who were not excited about an extra transfer and the idea died, though we did get “most of the Island, most of the day” out of the deal. TriMet, like most public institutions, is rather risk adverse and not inclined to trade 2 possible riders for one current one.
I used to think that being on a dead end was a problem with just one road (Going Street) until I visited a TMA in Seattle in the south of downtown industrial area there. They are swamped with cut through traffic…a problem Swan Island does not have.
Job density is key to transit working…Rivergate is four times the area with same number of jobs as Swan Island, so the 16 struggles. Overall its a struggle at best to get folks to give up their private cars for their daily commute, but for every two who do, we make room for a semi tractor-trailer on Swan Island’s limited roadway network. It’s the low cost way to keep freight moving.
One other thought to what to do with the 85–run it down Greeley and Interstate to N Russell, then up the hill to Emanuel Hospital, and merge it with the 24/Fremont. Both routes are weekday-only (is weekend service to Swan Island viable at all?), and this would produce a much more useful crosstown route. There would be a one-seat ride to Gateway, and the 85/24 combo would also cross numerous other N/S frequent lines, including the 4, the 6, the 8, the 75, and the 72, in addition to the Yellow Line. And 24 riders would likewise have another connection opportunity to downtown, though I suspect many of them would prefer the 24 running down to Rose Quarter TC, or at least to Broadway and the Streetcar, rather than the current terminus at the hospital.
Another useful crosstown option for the 85 would be to connect it to the 10. Many 10 riders probably would object about losing a 1-seat ride to the Mall, but again–plenty of frequent services they can connect to to get there, including all four MAX lines in this scenario.
I recently had to go to Swan Island to pick up a package at UPS. I had to go on a weekend, and the trip was made possible by the 72 and a bike ride from there since the 85 doesn’t run on weekends. Believe me, I was grateful for it!
Having the 85 go to the MAX Prescott station as a shuttle sounds like a pretty decent idea overall, especially if it can be made into an all-week route. Granted, one would have to take the Yellow line from the Rose Quarter, but if it’s a timed connection, it would be doable. Having all-week service is better than the limited amount there is now on the 85.
Another option, I think, would be to have the 72 take over the 85 route at Swan Island. This could provide full-time service to Swan Island and connect it to a major route with many connections. Another possibility (thought perhaps not really feasible) would be to have the 72 and 85 alternating through the island. Having two different routes like that would be nice simply because at the main times of the day, like was mentioned, people coming down from UPS and U of P would have a much faster commute via the 85. Hell, even a timed connection on the 72 to the Yellow Line would give a faster trip, and with so many connections at the Rose Quarter would be pretty sweet.
That’s my unorganized two cents. :P
Need to be sure the solution is not worse than the problem; I wouldn’t want to hitch our wagen to the 24. My cure for getting more riders on 85 Swan Island is a transit subsidy at Daimler Trucks North America (3,000 employees on Swan Island) and growing the number of jobs on Swan Island from 10K to 15K. The 85 offers a 10 plus minute connection to four MAX lines and half a dozen bus lines at RQTC. When it comes to promoting transit on Swan Island, that is something we can sell.
Another useful crosstown option for the 85 would be to connect it to the 10.
One slight problem with that… the 10 no longer runs in NE Portland (still operates between Downtown Portland and SE as 10-Harold St). The current 73 is the remnant of the old 10-33rd Ave., and it looks like that could be connected with the 70 come September.
Now if something like the 85 were connected with the 14 as a means of putting one of the busiest routes back onto 5th and 6th Ave., I’d be all for it.
Another useful crosstown option for the 85 would be to connect it to the 10.
One slight problem with that… the 10 no longer runs in NE Portland (still operates between Downtown Portland and SE as 10-Harold St). The current 73 is the remnant of the old 10-33rd Ave., and it looks like that could be connected with the 70 come September.
Now if something like the 85 were connected with the 14 as a means of putting one of the busiest routes back onto 5th and 6th Ave., I’d be all for it.