July 04, 2003
TriMet To Pitch Three Possible Futures For Portland Transit Mall
Returning to an issue we've seen before (also here), TriMet is about to present to the public three choices for the development of the Transit Mall in downtown Portland, to incorporate light-rail:
The $150 million project -- for which funding is uncertain -- is aimed at speeding the flow of light-rail trains through downtown and revitalizing the retail environment of Fifth and Sixth avenues.
All three options would keep most of the existing sidewalks and would not involve massive changes to street elevations. But the three options present different consequences for the flow of buses and other vehicles on the two mall streets.
"All three technically work," said Neil McFarlane, TriMet's capital projects director. "But each one of them has its own pros and cons."
Today's Oregonian presents helpful graphics of each proposal, but much like prior Portland Tribune coverage of this issue, they aren't online. Which is unfortunate, because the only real way to get a sense of how they would impact the Transit Mall is to see them. Here's how The Oregonian describes the options:
Left side platform: Light rail stations would be on the left side of the street in which trains are headed. This plan would use some of the extended sidewalk areas now dedicated to art and decorative water fountains. Cars and buses would share one lane north of Burnside; south of Burnside buses would use one lane and share a lane with light-rail tracks. There would be no continuous lane for other vehicles.
Island platforms: Like the new Interstate MAX line under construction, this option would put light-rail passenger platforms on islands in the middle of the transit mall, and passengers would have to cross one lane used by buses or one lane used by other vehicles. This options provides for a continuous lane for cars and other nontransit vehicles.
Right side platform: This option would have the tracks swerve to the right side of the street at light rail stations. This plan would allow a continuous auto lane by removing extended sidewalks now dedicated to art and fountains.
TriMet itself has a Portland Mall Revitalization Project page, but it also manages to neglect to include graphics of the three proposals, although it does include a map of the proposed MAX route and stops.
And this news release provides provides TriMet's own descriptions of the three proposals, two of which have been modelled via computer simulations which will be shown at next week's open house events:
Option 1 Left Side Platform: This shows the addition of light rail, while keeping the same street layout as exists today, except where stations are located. Stations would utilize some of the extended sidewalk area now dedicated to art and fountains. Autos and buses would share a traffic lane on the North Mall; buses would have one exclusive lane and share a second lane with light rail south of Burnside in the Central Mall area.
Option 2 Island Platform: This option provides a continuous auto through lane south of Pine Street. At stations, the sidewalks would be narrowed and the station built on an island between buses and light rail to make space for the auto lane.
Option 3 Right Side Platform: This option would weave the tracks from the center of the street to a right side MAX station platform. Keeping all transit stops and stations to the right would allow a continuous auto lane on the left by removing extended sidewalk areas now dedicated to art and fountains. The computer simulation of this option is under development and will be available by mid-August.
The above news release also includes the dates, times, and locations for the three upcoming open house events TriMet will be holding to show off these proposals.
Comments (6)
Alexander Craghead on 05 Jul 2003
I am not happy with any of these designs, as I don't much like putting MAX down 5th and 6th. The bus mall gets pretty clogges with, well, buses, as it is. Adding LRT vehicles doesn't sound like a very good idea.
I think it migh be wiser if we (well, not literally we, as I am a user but not a PDX resident,) took Yamhill and Morrison out of vehicular use, deidcate them 100% to MAX, and perhpas use some signalization or other traffic control system to allow more MAX trains onto those routes. Or heck, put in a second track beside the current one.
The One True b!X on 05 Jul 2003
Well, that wouldn't solve the issue of having a north-south MAX route through downtown.
That said, I'm not particularly fond of shoving more onto the Transit Mall either, although I do see how it coudl ,at least in theory, help feed people into and out of retail operations along that strip.
Curiously, looking back at my earlier posts on this matter, there seems to be much concern on the part of the Portland Business Alliance that current "obstructions" such as the bus shelters are interfering with people's ability to even really notice what retail might be available. I wonder if they'll have a problem with enormous MAX trains further getting in the way.
The One True b!X on 05 Jul 2003
The other thing I'm not clear about (and I've mentioned this before) is how this plan gels with the Burnside Transportation and Ubran Design Plan, which would also affect some of the same area.
Perhaps these upcoming open houses on the Transit Mall would be a good time to ask.
The One True b!X on 05 Jul 2003
Or, for that matter, if there's a convincing argument for other transportation along the Transit Mall, why not a second line for the Portland Streetcar rather than an entire MAX development?
Alexander Craghead on 06 Jul 2003
On the north south MAX.... I'm not sure what the reasoning really is as to why that's needed. My understanding was that this was to serve the extra trains the the Interstate extension, and the proposed extensions in SE, would generate. I might be wrong about that though.
As for the streetcar, that's true, although I suspect the enxt major pushes for that will be down jefferson and over the Hawthorne, and/or along the current trolly line at Riverplace down to the Macadam area, and perhaps beyond.
Alan DeWitt on 07 Jul 2003
Given a North-South MAX line, I'm having trouble envisioning any way to bring it through downtown that doesn't involve the transit mall. And given my lack of imagination, the left side MAX option seems best to me.
Speaking as a driver, the car lanes on the transit mall are pointless as they currently exist. They're nearly useless as an alternate route for avoiding congestion, and parking is impossible. It's much simpler to avoid 5th and 6th entirely when driving.
This is not a problem, in my mind. Instead, it's simply a basic feature of the city's geography. A driver needs to work around this obstacle in the same manner that he crosses the river, or works around the impossibility of left turns from Burnside.
It also seems to me that removing the car lanes should have no negative impact on local businesses. With the lack of parking, it's not like a business on the mall can depend on car trips for its livelihood now. MAX would move a lot more eyeballs past the storefronts than car traffic does now, and it's a helluva lot easier to hop off of MAX than it is to park.
With the left side option, that side of the street will get an influx of pedestrians who must (at the least) hang about until they can jaywalk to a bus connection. :) If the ridership pans out well, that'll be a lot of new foot traffic to tap for customers.
I haven't seen the proposed designs, but the concept strikes me as a big winner.