Portland Transport

Author: Chris Smith

  • Three Strikes and You’re Out

    I was driving down 4th Ave in downtown today (I was in a Flexcar) and someone blew through the intersection just in front of me against the light. Startled, I looked around and realized: 1) The driver (of a truck or SUV) was going the wrong way on Morrison St. 2) The driver was driving…

  • Tram Facts

    Sunday’s Oregonian has a two-part Q&A style piece by Ryan Frank discussing mostly operational issues with the OHSU tram. The mid-air rescue scenario is pretty harrowing, if unlikely (there are two backup power sources to get the cars back to the terminals if the main electrical motor fails). The engineers claim that they have a…

  • Bridgeport Parking Rage

    Regular readers will know that I have a beef with the almost total auto-dependence of the Bridgeport Village “lifestyle center.” Yesterday’s Oregonian brings word of “parking rage” at the mall. I’m not sure how much of this is a true shortage (Bridgeport has 3.5 parking spaces per 1000 square feet of retail, compared to 4-5…

  • Unsafe Routes to School

    Apparently some legislators in Pennsylvania think it’s unsafe for kids to walk 1.5 miles to school. They want to reduce the radius for required school bus service to 3/4 of a mile. I’m glad we think different here.

  • Popular Media Intersects Transportation

    It was bound to happen, transportation videos showing up on YouTube. Here are two. From Dave Brook, traffic in India (I love the pedicabs). And off the SHIFT list, a different way to get bikes up hills.