Portland Streetcar News

[hat]

Portland Streetcar development plan for NW.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by hat

Portland Streetcar development plan for NW.

Looks good, I thought this was just going to be an expansion of a current line, didn't realize it would be a new line.

[MarkDaMan]

https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting...d-service.html

Portland Streetcar leader: ‘We need more cars’ to cut travel times, expand service
Today 3:29 PM
By Andrew Theen | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Portland, which led a national urban streetcar revival in the early 2000s, faces a slew of important and difficult questions about its own streetcar service’s future in coming years.

Planners are looking at a 2.3-mile extension through Northwest Portland to Montgomery Park. The city would need six additional streetcars to run on that new line.

There’s the potential for a massive disruption if the state transportation department moves forward with its more than $715 million to $795 million Rose Quarter freeway project.

“How are we going to manage your transit investment in that area through the construction period?” Dan Bower, Portland Streetcar Inc’s executive director asked the City Council Wednesday, saying that would be “an important conversation.”

...(continues)

[subterranean]

I was just reminded in another conversation today about the streetcar expansion into Slabtown.

Any word on whether or not this will proceed, and if so, on what timeline?

[maccoinnich]

From the October BPS newsletter, it looks like we should be hearing something soon.

Montgomery Park to Hollywood Transit and Land Use Development Strategy (MP2H)

What: Exploring options for a successful land use and transit system, including potential streetcar linking Montgomery Park in Northwest Portland to the Hollywood Town Center in Northeast Portland. The project is a joint effort between BPS and PBOT. The project will assess land use and transportation issues and options, including affordable housing, economic development and business stabilization opportunities associated with potential transit investments, including possible extension of the Portland Streetcar.

Status: The project team is developing a Discussion Draft proposal for the Northwest study area for public review. The draft is expected to be released in November.

Next opportunity to engage: The public will be invited to review and comment on the Discussion Draft proposal for the Northwest study area after it is released. Those interested can always sign up for email updates.

[CorbinWarrick]

Interesting. I’m assuming the route is up Sandy Blvd?

[PacificStates]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Interesting. I’m assuming the route is up Sandy Blvd?

Hopefully. There are three potential routes they're looking at. One uses Broadway to travel through Lloyd until it reaches Sandy in Hollywood.

The one I think is the clear winning choice is E Burnside to Sandy, then up Sandy to Hollywood. There's a lot of development going up along that route. Meanwhile developers have seemingly given up on Lloyd.

https://star-news.info/2020/08/06/ci...-to-hollywood/

https://portlandstreetcar.org/news/2...ontgomery-park

[bvpcvm]

That's one of the possibilities; another is out along Broadway. IIRC for Sandy, trains would follow the existing route south from the convention center to either Sandy > Hollywood or Burnside > Sandy > Hollywood. Broadway makes far more sense to me.

[PacificStates]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

That's one of the possibilities; another is out along Broadway. IIRC for Sandy, trains would follow the existing route south from the convention center to either Sandy > Hollywood or Burnside > Sandy > Hollywood. Broadway makes far more sense to me.

Ha! You beat me to it, but it looks like we have different preferred routes.

[MarkDaMan]

https://portlandstreetcar.org/news/2...logy-explained

Off-Wire and Battery Streetcar Technology Explained
POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024

The planned extension of the streetcar system's NS Line to Montgomery Park in Northwest Portland will look a little different from past projects. Why? There won't be any overhead wires!

The overhead catenary system (OCS) has been used on every inch of the Portland Streetcar system to date, connecting each streetcar vehicle by pantograph (that metal piece sticking up from the top of the streetcar) to provide power. The overhead wires offer a consistent source of electricity, allowing us to carry riders with 100% renewable energy.

Battery technology on streetcar systems has come a long way in the last decade. Battery-powered streetcars are in use in many other cities such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Charlotte, North Carolina, where vehicles go off-wire for sections of their trips. This technology also provides additional resiliency in the event of a power outage--if a section of our system loses power, the vehicle and its riders won't be stranded.

Battery-powered streetcars charge while connected to the OCS and store that energy for use when running off-wire, meaning there isn't a need for additional charging time during which the streetcar would be out of service.

Why Off-Wire?

The complex infrastructure in this part of Northwest Portland makes catenary wires costly--and where this project meets the right-of-way of Highway 30, likely impossible. Building the project off-wire will make construction less expensive and less complicated without sacrificing later maintenance and operations needs. The versatility provided by off-wire vehicles can maintain consistent operations across the system in the event of a power outage, ice storm or other issues created by tricky spots on our alignment such as the Broadway Bridge.

Where will new vehicles come from?

Portland Streetcar's original fleet of vehicles are nearly 25 years old and are in need of replacement. Later in 2024 the City of Portland will begin procuring up to 15 new streetcars that will have off-wire capability, meaning that by the time this extension opens the vast majority of Portland's streetcar fleet will be able to serve this area. Because this is an extension of the NS Line and not a new route of its own, we don't need additional vehicles for the project.

Will I have to transfer?

No. Streetcars will simply lower their pantograph at a defined spot before entering the off-wire section, providing a seamless transition for riders.

Will this cost more money?

The use of off-wire technology provides substantial cost savings for this project. Eliminating the need for excavation, construction of poles, power substations and vaults, hanging wires and testing will save nearly $20 million dollars in construction costs according to preliminary engineering estimates. Because we're buying new streetcars anyway, there isn't an additional cost to the project for making any changes to our fleet or how we operate.

The short version?

Utilizing off-wire battery technology will save money building this project while also making our entire system more versatile and resilient. Investing in replacing our aging original fleet means cleaner, safer and more efficient vehicles and a better experience for our riders.

[zilfondel]

Using battery powered streetcars is a solution in search of a problem. It will add cost and a huge amount of weight to the streetcars, as well as require the streetcars batteries to be replaced at high cost during their midlife refresh. Assuming a 25 year lifespan, the batteries may require replacement before that point.

While it makes sense where a historic district, say in Paris or other old city center may mandate no overhead wires, that doesn't apply to Portland.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Using battery powered streetcars is a solution in search of a problem. It will add cost and a huge amount of weight to the streetcars, as well as require the streetcars batteries to be replaced at high cost during their midlife refresh. Assuming a 25 year lifespan, the batteries may require replacement before that point.

While it makes sense where a historic district, say in Paris or other old city center may mandate no overhead wires, that doesn't apply to Portland.

Are these assumptions or do you have actual data and research to back what you're saying? It would also be important to have long term cost analysis done on both models to gauge which is a better option financially. Having overhead wires present's it's own set of issues as well.