Category: Modes

  • A New Right of Passage

    When I was sixteen, empowerment was all about getting my drivers’ licence. Now, apparently it’s about getting a smartphone…

  • The Smartphone App I’m Waiting For

    One of my key bicycle ‘gateway’ corridors is Naito Parkway. I use it to get from my neighborhood in NW Portland to the parts of downtown closest to the river, and to any east side destination south of Burnside (by crossing the Steel Bridge and accessing the Esplanade). But there’s a problem. The route is…

  • C-TRAN also considers BRT

    TriMet is not the only local transit agency considering Bus Rapid Transit. C-TRAN is also in the early analysis and planning stages of a possible BRT line. They are calling this effort the Fourth Plain Transit Improvement Project. It appears that the proposed line, while still in early stages, would roughly follow the route of…

  • TriMet considers Bus Rapid Transit

    The latest update of TriMet’s Transit Improvement Plan contains an interesting development: TriMet is considering Bus Rapid Transit on two corridors: • A corridor from downtown Portland to Gresham, generally following Powell Blvd from downtown to around SE 82nd or I-205 and Division St east of SE 82nd or I-205 • A corridor generally following…

  • What’s Going On with Streetcar Fares?

    There’s been a bit of buzz about Streetcar fares lately, usually framed as “Streetcar is about to drop out of Free Rail Zone.” That may happen (in fact it probably will), but I’d suggest it’s the wrong way to frame the question. The real question is “what’s an appropriate fare structure for the Streetcar Loop?”…