TriMet/Metro Southwest Corridor Planning (Portland to Bridgeport Village)

[maccoinnich]

I was genuinely worried to click on this thread in case it was going to be the opposite story.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

Metro planners recommend light rail, no PCC Sylvania tunnel for SW Corridor transit project

They should have just given that study money to us to split up and we could have saved them about a year's worth of research on this one, but good to see them siding with common sense and continue extending the light rail.

Not doing the PCC tunnel stop makes sense, shuttle buses during peak times would make more sense. I am guessing it will run along 99, so probably no chance for any tunneling to Hillsdale. I am expecting there to be some lost opportunity with this future line, but it might cause a major reconstruction of that whole corridor which might create some new urban districts, which makes sense seeing I don't think Hillsdale or Multnomah Village want to be those urban districts.....even thought that is what they are basically designed to be.

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I was genuinely worried to click on this thread in case it was going to be the opposite story.

Same here, I was so ready to cuss over this, but instead we were gifted with some good news.

[bvpcvm]

I know this is a losing argument, since Metro already rejected the idea, but if they're not going to tunnel under OHSU, it seems like the next best thing would be to connect the line in SOWA. Yes, there would be a fairly large elevation difference to connect back to Barbur, but by taking advantage of track already built out of downtown, a fair amount of money could be saved, too. And they'd have a connection to OHSU and better connectivity to other MAX lines (can't beat inlining for that). The only possible reason I can see for not doing it - lack of capacity on the tram - will become less of an issue as more of OHSU is shifted down to SOWA anyway.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

Metro planners recommend light rail, no PCC Sylvania tunnel for SW Corridor transit project

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I was genuinely worried to click on this thread in case it was going to be the opposite story.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm hoping now that the PCC tunnel is being scrapped, they'll revisit the OHSU tunnel. I still think that once the cost estimates come in for completely rebuilding Barbur Blvd along the side of a landslide-prone steep slope, they'll discover that it'll be just as expensive (and MUCH more disruptive) than the tunnel would be. I know it's probably a long shot, and that Metro feels they have to "fix" Corbett/Lair Hill with this project, but bypassing OHSU would be tremendously shortsighted.

[bvpcvm]

ON THE OTHER HAND.... I'm not too disappointed with the no-tunnel option for PCC. Sylvania is in a weird location, like OHSU, at the top of a mountain, but whereas OHSU is a very strong institution with hospitals and research laboratories, PCC is more single-use. It has classrooms and people go there for classes. A friend of mine teaches at Mt Hood and he says there's a very strong push to move as many classes online as possible. In fact, I don't think he's taught a class in person in a couple years. Given that, together with the poor accessibility at Sylvania anyway, I hope that bypassing PCC will push them to consider moving their campus downhill to the Tigard Triangle (which will be served by LRT). (In fact, I think there should be a campaign to move all community college campuses to LRT stations. And while we're at it, all city and county offices in the metro area, where possible.)

[bvpcvm]

And as much as a tunnel to OHSU would be cool, if they can somehow connect to OHSU in a way that's convenient for passengers, and not just financially convenient, then maybe the side effects in the Corbett neighborhood are worth it. As things stand, from a pedestrian standpoint, that area is disagreeable as fuck. I mean, there are like 3-4 areas that could potentially have great walkscores, but they're all cut off from each other by highways, connected only by the occasional lonely overpass or a dash between cars, frogger-style. But if this project's money can partially be spent to turn Naito back into an actual street and eliminate all the loops around the Ross Island bridgehead, we can work on reconnecting that neighborhood.

Someone here ran some numbers around connecting to OHSU Mid-levels style, with one or more escalators. Don't remember what the outcome was, even in HKG that seems like a weird solution. What about adding an intermediate station to the tram?

[pdxtraveler]

Deleted. Already answered.

[cailes]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

But if this project's money can partially be spent to turn Naito back into an actual street and eliminate all the loops around the Ross Island bridgehead, we can work on reconnecting that neighborhood.

That area is such a shit show. It sucks for cars, pedestrians, buses, birds, etc. Its terrible for anything...

[profx]

Originally Posted by cailes

That area is such a shit show. It sucks for cars, pedestrians, buses, birds, etc. Its terrible for anything...

That's going a bit too far. I live in the neighborhood and find it quirky and loveable. Yes, there is work to do, but progress has already been made, including the Gibbs foot bridge and the bike lane on barbur until Hamilton (making that stretch much more walkable as well). The real mystery is the crosswalk across Naito at NCNM. That was approved long ago, funding was identified, but it hasn't happened yet. That is where most of the dangerous scampering through traffic happens, and it is a necessary connection to NCNM and to the foot bridge and OHSU. Don Baak argued in the February issue of the southwest Portland post thàt the delay is Steve novick's fault and doesn't seem to have any reason other than mismanagement.

[dubu]

this would be cool if there was a underground bike path from this max to the sellwood bridge. then have the bike path happen that goes from downtown to lake oswego

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

And as much as a tunnel to OHSU would be cool, if they can somehow connect to OHSU in a way that's convenient for passengers, and not just financially convenient, then maybe the side effects in the Corbett neighborhood are worth it. As things stand, from a pedestrian standpoint, that area is disagreeable as fuck. I mean, there are like 3-4 areas that could potentially have great walkscores, but they're all cut off from each other by highways, connected only by the occasional lonely overpass or a dash between cars, frogger-style. But if this project's money can partially be spent to turn Naito back into an actual street and eliminate all the loops around the Ross Island bridgehead, we can work on reconnecting that neighborhood.

Someone here ran some numbers around connecting to OHSU Mid-levels style, with one or more escalators. Don't remember what the outcome was, even in HKG that seems like a weird solution. What about adding an intermediate station to the tram?

I'm going to repost my concept from last year on what a Barbur ground level MAX line could look like. I spent about 30 minutes on this, so... its really rough.

--------------------------------------------

Just for the hell of it...

The dimension for an escalator system from a MAX transit stop at SW Gibbs and Barbur (southbound, so west side of street) is exactly 721' horizontal distance by 115' vertical elevation, which puts you at the corner of SW Campus Dr. and Terwilliger. This puts you at the bottom of OHSU, but at least it isn't a 250' tall structure. Each escalator run is ~150' in length, which seems a bit longish for an escalator. Here is a quick mockup of what a structure like this could look like. This assumes small 30' x 30' escalator 'stations' that allow the structure to zig zag up the hill, although the route I chose is mostly a straight, gentle slope. The lower station is right in front of the Jewish synagogue.

[bvpcvm]

Thanks for posting this. Campus and Terwilliger is still pretty far away from things, although another set of escalators from there could be added. What's the travel time on this?

Also, just occurred to me, what happens when they need to maintain the escalators? I guess if there's a stairway running along them and the escalators are separate then it wouldn't be a disaster to for everyone if one of four goes out of service.

[maccoinnich]

Tweet from SW Corridor:

Steering committee votes 10-2 in favor of light rail over bus rapid transit in SW Corridor, 12-0 to end study of PCC light rail tunnel.

[maccoinnich]

Committee picks light rail for SW Corridor transit project



A steering committee has picked light rail to link downtown Portland and Tigard, and opted to ditch a plan that would have called for a tunnel to serve Portland Community College's Sylvania campus.

The selection follows a likeminded recommendation earlier this month from planners at the Metro regional government. The planners said light rail would cost less and cause less congestion because it could operate with fewer vehicles than the high-capacity bus service they had also considered.

And in the long term, the bus service couldn't keep up with anticipated growth, the planners said.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Tweet from SW Corridor:

This seems fitting,





Thank god they choose the correct choice. I figure this line will end up running along 99W for much of its length, but at least it will be light rail.

[maccoinnich]

Murmurs: Portland Testing Voter Support for Light-Rail Line to Bridgeport Village



Portland Voters' Support Is Soft for Light Rail to Tualatin

With Portland's latest light-rail line running to Milwaukie, local officials are already eyeing the next destination: a proposed MAX line between Portland and Tualatin. But they'll need skeptical voters to approve a $1.2 billion construction bond to fund the project. The Portland Bureau of Transportation spent $49,500 on four polls in May to assess whether voters would pay between $100 and $190 a year in new property taxes to support the Portland-Tualatin light-rail line. The polls gauged whether voters were more or less likely to support the project if it also included funding for extras such as bike safety and affordable housing. But the polls found that responses to all four concepts were almost the same—only between 45 percent and 48 percent of voters said they liked the ideas. "It's encouraging to see that level of support for something that I think hasn't really been on the radar for most people," says City Commissioner Steve Novick. "On their face, the results don't give us clear-cut direction as to 'this is what the package should be,' but it certainly gives us food for thought."

...via the Willamette Week.

[maccoinnich]

Thankfully this election will be on the November ballot in a presidential year.

Tigard vote could decide fate of Southwest Corridor light rail



Tigard voters will have a chance this fall to weigh in on a proposed light-rail line to the city, a decision that could topple the project after nearly a decade of planning.

The Tigard City Council on Tuesday referred a measure to the November ballot asking whether the city should support the Southwest Corridor light-rail project. Without the city's formal support, it's likely the plan would be shelved.

The light-rail project as planned would connect downtown Portland to Bridgeport Village. It would would cost $2.4 to $2.8 billion in 2025 dollars, reflecting the time when construction would be underway.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[urbanlife]

I personally think that any major decision like this should always be done during presidential elections because I feel like it tends to bring out everyone to vote, not just the ones that would shoot something like this down.

I am really hoping this goes through because it will be a major boost for that whole corridor.

[RED_PDXer]

The only measures that go on off-cycle votes are the ones supported by the right-wing nutbags who know that fewer people turn out and thus, they have a better chance of success. That's how the previous two anti-light rail measures passed in Tigard despite an overwhelming support for light rail in that city evidenced by recent polls.

[twofiftyfive]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

The only measures that go on off-cycle votes are the ones supported by the right-wing nutbags who know that fewer people turn out and thus, they have a better chance of success. That's how the previous two anti-light rail measures passed in Tigard despite an overwhelming support for light rail in that city evidenced by recent polls.

True, but you could just as easily blame the would-be transit supporters who fail to vote. We have vote by mail for crying out loud!