Portland Transport

Category: Modes

  • How Far Will You Walk to Transit?

    Perhaps further than you thought. A new study suggests that the distance people will walk to transit (generally assumed to be 1/4 mile or so) may be less a function of distance than of the obstacles they find along the way. Major findings: Pedestrians walk farther to access light rail stations than commonly assumed, with…

  • Cargo Trams

    An interesting pilot in Amersterdam moves freight on the city’s tram (Streetcar) network. Apparently one of the keys is separate sidings for loading/unloading. Could it work here? For example, could Intel get product to PDX along with Light Rail corridor?

  • Transit Ridership at Historic Levels

    Via Planetizen: The American Public Transportation Association reported that transit ridership on US systems is at its highest levels since 1957, having increased for the last three consecutive years. Light, heavy, and commuter rail, respectively, led the increase.

  • Urban Renewal and Streetcar

    An article in today’s Trib drills down on TIF (tax increment) funding for the proposed Streetcar Loop. The target is $31M of the $70M of local match coming out of 4 urban renewal districts. This is not a secret, Sam Adams testified to this effect in from of PDC more than 6 months ago. But…

  • Watch Out TriMet, Here Comes Google

    From the NY Times, Google has its own transit service (registration required). Interesting that here, the business community’s reaction to congestion is to ask for billions in public investment, while in the Bay Area, the reaction is to create a new employment perk.