Here at OurPDX, we are all TriMet, all the time. (Kidding. It just looks that way today.)
Coming May 24, downtown bus service will undergo massive changes. For the last two years, construction of the MAX Green Line and transit mall remodeling have had buses running along SW 3rd and 4th Avenue. In a couple of weeks the buses will return to 5th and 6th, and light rail trains will begin cross-cutting downtown.
Full MAX service won’t start until September, but there will be lots of practice runs. A train will be dedicated to downtown only, running back and forth between PSU and Union Station. The Green Line will travel from PSU to Clackamas Town Center. The Yellow Line will remain the same on the northeast side of town, switching to north-south on 5th and 6th after arriving downtown.
Some bus lines will change. Buses from Southeast, the #10 Harold and #14 Hawthorne specifically, will no longer cross downtown. They will travel up SW Main to SW Broadway, loop around on SW Madison and return across the bridge. Felony Flat-foots will now have to either walk or take a connecting bus/train.
I took a walk along SW 4th last night. Green-suited information officers walked about, handing pamphlets to commuters and answering questions. This week will focus on information; next week will feature safety, along with some pricy sanctions for transit misbehaviors. Police will be along 5th and 6th in full force, citing people for right turns, jaywalking, obstructing trains. The warnings of a few weeks ago will be replaced with substantial fines. Get ‘em where it hurts; in the wallet.
Businesses along 4th are mixed regarding the change. Chad, the bookie at The Rialto, thinks it will refocus the crime element back to 4th. (Dealers usually make contact near the bus stops, then wander to less populated areas to consummate the deal. It’s all fun and games until someone tries to smoke a macadamia nut, then all hell breaks loose.) With the bus stops removed, the dealers will have one less excuse for hanging out, but expect to see a lot more funny hand-shaking going on in the coming months.
Richard, manager of Peterson’s on 4th, fears the move will cause a downtick in business. No longer positioned across the street from two major bus stops, his captive audience will be diminished. He has noticed an upswing in lottery sales. Instead of coffee, people are throwing their last buck at a dream.
I spoke with Wackenhut officers, they of the neon green outfits. When I asked officer Philip Chan if he thought the move would bring significant changes? “No.” I asked if I could get a picture? “No.” Could I quote him? “No.”
Sorry Chan, I did anyway. Your protests were duly noted.
Clean & Safe officers I spoke with were of the same opinion. General consensus? The bad-guy faces will stay the same. Locations may vary.
I must admit, the wide expanse of 5th and 6th looks nice. I visualize it packed with commuters and people in a hurry to go everywhere, just like a big city. I don’t want to be one of those guys who resists change ‘just because.’ I will give it every chance to woo me before I praise or condemn. I’m kinda looking forward to it.
For more in-depth details, visit TriMet.org or check out this guy. He’s up on the transit scene.
{ 3 comments }
Not to be too self-centered, but why, oh why, did TriMet have to stop the ONLY two buses that will get me home in under an hour from crossing downtown? Oh, how I long for the days when the #10-Harold and the #14-Hawthorne stopped a block from my office (and at the same stop, so if I missed one, I could take the other.)
It just reinforces my choice to bike to work instead of using TriMet. Cheaper, faster, and it’s door-to-door service!
If you’re in a hurry, as most commuters are, public transit will never be the way to go. At least not downtown. You can walk faster than the MAX or Streetcar.
All this public transit build out, while perhaps well-meaning, is still fundamentally framing the solution in the same terms as the problem. The solution is not finding a better way to have your body transported about by an external machine, the solution is to power yourself: bike.
Take all the money and build bike corridors. For the vast majority of people, bikes will work. Leviathan machines that creep around at snail’s pace do not do anything other than consume space and money. And have you been on the MAX lately? Bit of a freak show.
The solution is not more technology. It’s less. Get all this stuff out of the way and let people move under their own power.
Jonah,
I agree with the sentiment of your argument, but the reality is that more people would drive, not bike. I think biking does get you there faster and it’s much easier to find parking downtown for two bikes than it is for one car. But perhaps this system will keep a few cars off the road. I’m always one to hope.
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