Portland Transit | TriMet/Mass Transit News

[philopdx]

No irreverent language allowed? I'm in trouble then, especially when trying to describe my hometown in AL.

[bvpcvm]

no kidding, how do we even talk about gresham now?

[deasine]

Going back on topic here...

[joeplayer1989]

this new transit mall will be bitchin compared to the old one

[NJD]

First New Public Art Sculpture Installed
Michihiro Kosuge's work featured in Hotel Modera courtyard

The revitalized Portland Mall continues to take shape with the installation of the first sculpture in the Portland Mall Light Rail Project’s new public art collection.

Artist Michihiro Kosuge examines the
final assembly of his new sculpture
installed May 29 in the courtyard
of the new Hotel Modera at 515 SW Clay St.

The first of five sculptures by Michihiro Kosuge was installed at the new Hotel Modera on May 29, 2008. Kosuge created the abstract sculptures by reusing granite removed from 6th Avenue as a result of construction.

The 1,200-pound sculpture can be viewed in the 6th Avenue courtyard of the new boutique hotel located in downtown Portland at 515 SW Clay St. The remaining four sculptures will be installed in spring 2009.

Kosuge, a former professor of art at Portland State University, has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a Visual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest and is in numerous corporate collections.

Public art is a key component of TriMet’s light rail projects and the revitalization of the Portland Mall. Approximately $750,000 has been allocated to fund the Mall art program, a collaboration with project partners, the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the downtown community.

[PDX City-State]

Check this out! This is amazing.

http://www.portlandspaces.net/blog/t...ge-in-portland

[Okstate]

That'd be a huge hit instantly. I wish ALL the Light rail could pass over the river at one location such as this...with of course a stop for the market. Would this place be a tomb after market-hours? Say 6:00 pm.

[Sekkle]

Based on the rendering it looks like it would have a lift section to allow ships to pass under... I think the bridge options for the Milwaukie LRT all have enough clearance for ships without a lift. That probably makes this concept unlikely, but yeah, it would be cool.

Edit: but would a lift work if there was a market inside that section? The rendering just makes the bridge clearance look really, really low, so I assumed that the middle section would raise up...

[deasine]

Would you guys think it's better to move it in the transportation system or leave it as is?

(Looks great btw)

[IanofCascadia]

The design is OK... looks like a modern steel bridge. I like the cable-stayed designs (especially double masted) far better. ^I too see no way that this could NOT be a draw bridge with such a low deck height. If you go to the architect's website, one thing that they feature is that the deck is flat to allow for such a market.

However, transportation wise, reliability should be one of our top priorities. Just the other day I was on MAX for about half-an-hour as we waited for the Rose Parade ships to pass through. It would be just plain stupid to have both MAX crossings on draw bridges.

[crow]

i think if it did lift up it would be even cooler. imagine being on/in the bridge and the bells go off and it lifts up while having your dinner. you are in the middle of it - a rendition of the space needle spinning . maybe they could have articulated crossings, so you would not be stuck there. i love the ponte vechio similarity - i guess this bridge could be used in double levels like the steel bridge?

What a great spot for a restaurant, or taking in a drink in the evening. i think with some more serious design development and due dillignec, this should be an idea that is taken seriously to PDOT and Tri-Met.

[bvpcvm]

i'm sorry, i think this is a ridiculous idea; it seems forced (by gum, we're going to have something more in common with europe no matter what!) and reminds me of that silly plan to build a "little italy" from scratch near skidmore fountain. from a business perspective i guess i could see maybe one cafe supported by bike and pedestrian traffic, but an entire bridge-worth? doubtful. also, metro already decided to build the max bridge much further south, so what's the point?

[IHEARTPDX]

I don't get it either...A bridge with retailers is an absurd idea...let's fill up downtown first with retail and restaurants and then as demand increases we could think about putting retail on a bridge over a river under a freeway.
I recently went "shopping" downtown on a weekday after school and I was amazed at how many empty storefronts there were and how abandoned the CBD felt after 5pm. This is a definite change from when I moved here 4 years ago...I always thought the CBD would eventually catch on with retailers but I am beginning to lose faith.

[bvpcvm]

^ you might have just hit an 'off' day. i'm continually impressed with the number of people downtown after business hours. just a couple weeks back we were downtown on a sunday at like 6pm and there were people everywhere.

[tworivers]

I also think this is an absurd idea. I don't think Portland has nearly the density on either side of such a bridge to support the retail. Maybe in a world without cars. I appreciate the imagination, though.

The downtown question, I can see both sides. Parts of downtown seem very healthy at certain times of the day, but I also notice later on that large swaths of the CBD are deserted. I think some of this can be laid at the feet of our vaunted planners and politicians -- people like Leonard who shoot down tower projects like the Oak that are barely viable without subsidy and would increase residential density dt; Potter, for nixing the fire station move; and everyone involved in building 30+ story towers in South Waterfront -- those outsized and place-less towers are relieving pressure that could have been steered towards downtown developers and landowners. We need people living downtown in large numbers to achieve true vibrancy.

[smendesPDX]

what about the new max alignment that OHSU has requested?

[IHEARTPDX]

Originally Posted by tworivers

...everyone involved in building 30+ story towers in South Waterfront -- those outsized and place-less towers are relieving pressure that could have been steered towards downtown developers and landowners. We need people living downtown in large numbers to achieve true vibrancy.

YES!!! You hit it right on the noggin. If the condos towers in SoWa were built in downtown Portland the CBD would be a very different place than what it is right now.

[sopdx]

I think what this represents is thinking outside the box on bridge design. I think it's a cool idea. Maybe not retail, but what about a park, or some cultural facility.

[PacificNW]

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 3:50 PM PDT
TriMet had record 8.9 million riders in May
Portland Business Journal

Print Article Email Article Reprints RSS Feeds ShareThis
TriMet MAX and bus ridership set a new record in May.

Weekly rides on MAX and buses were up 4.4 percent from May 2007, averaging 2,064,800 rides, for a total of 8.9 million.

The record is also a 3.3 percent increase over April 2008 weekly figures.

Weekday trips increased to an average of 225,200 bus rides and 112,100 MAX rides. Bus rides increased 4.4 percent and MAX increased 1.6 percent from May 2007.

Weekend ridership averaged 217,500 bus trips and 160,800 MAX trips. Bus rides increased 7.6 percent and MAX increased 11.2 percent from May 2007.

More commuters are riding during morning rush hour (7-9 a.m.). An additional 5,400 trips were taken as compared with May 2007, an 11.2 percent increase from May 2007. This brings the total morning commute trips to 52,500.

New record trips were taken during evening rush hour (4-6 p.m.). Compared with May 2007, the increase of 6,000 riders was a 10.2 percent jump. This adds up to 65,100 daily commuter trips in the evening.

"This continuation of record ridership shows that riders are looking for alternatives to driving and ways to help offset high fuel prices, and TriMet is a great alternative," said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...ml?jst=b_ln_hl
_____________________________________

Is it me, or am I off base? These stats don't seem to me too be that impressive considering what I have read about other transit authorities ridership increase's in the other parts of the U.S. I assume different transit authorities measure their ridership figures differently could be a reason.

[bvpcvm]

i like the fact that they're being creative, but while outside of the box, it's not really a good idea. LRT + density = europeanization, in a subtle way. From-scratch Little Italy + PDX Ponte Vecchio = a las vegas vision of europe.