Portland Transport

Author: Chris Smith

  • We’re Number 10!

    Transit service is a painful topic right now, but we might want to take a second to remember that relative to a lot of other places, we’re still in a pretty good place (but will never be complacent). The good folks at WalkScore have released a ranking of major metros by their aggregate TransitScore –…

  • More Reflections on car2go

    Now that car2go has been in operation for a few weeks, I’ve had a chance to use it a handful of times and have some additional observations. There’s also been more than a little chatter on the interwebs among transportation advocates that car2go makes it too convenient to use a car! In my own use,…

  • Join Me in Supporting Sunday Parkways

    Portland has announced the schedule for Sunday Parkways this year (its fifth year). And as in prior years, perhaps even more important this year because of the City budget, the request for fundraising has gone out as well. Last week I made my contribution of $100 to the “Every Dollar Counts” campaign for Sunday Parkways.…

  • Our Occasional CRC Update

    The Columbia River Crossing is the project that keeps on giving. Some recent developments and opinions: The Columbian reports that the City of Vancouver is blocking a C-Tran public vote on funding for light rail operations – continuing the trend of doing everything possible to avoid confronting actually paying for this bridge. Ethan Seltzer points…

  • Is Parking (or Avoiding it) the Killer App for car2go?

    Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the car2go car-sharing system that debuted in Portland last week is one-way rentals. One-way trips imply a very different parking model than the incumbent Zipcar. Zipcars have reserved spaces (for which Zipcar pays the City – at least for those in on-street meter zones). You have to end each…