Category Archives: transportation planning

North Northeast Portland Bicycle Demonstration Project

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bicyclistSince the spring of 2008, Metro has been working with local business leaders, elected officials, public health professionals and mobility advocates to determine if they were satisfied with the pace of development of our regional trails and network of off-street paths and walkways. This group, identified as the “Blue Ribbon Committee for Trails” decided to expand their scope to include all on-street bikeways. They did so in the course of studying all that is necessary to address this issue–including a trip to see comprehensive “active transportation” systems in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The committee published their report last year. That report, titled “The case for an active transportation strategy,” calls for hastening the development of active transportation systems and to create projects to demonstrate the potential of bicycling and walking–“active transportation”–in three different environments: urban, suburban and rural. The regional call for active transportation proposals was a direct result of their report to Metro.

The proposal calls for creating an urban demonstration project in a 13 square mile area of North and Northeast Portland. All selected roadways are either currently identified as bikeways in the City’s Transportation System Plan or are slated to be included as such with the update of that plan. Metro is currently assembling a grant application to the federal government that, if successful, will fund this project. View the proposal at: http://kingneighborhood.org/Reference_Files/NNE Demonstration Project final.pdf.

For more information on Metro’s Active Transportation Partnership, please see this web site: http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=30078
To see the report “The case for an active transportation strategy”, please see this pdf: http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files/brc_final_report.pdf

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about this project or about Metro’s effort (though I may steer you to Metro for detailed information).

Thanks and respectfully yours,

Roger Geller
Bicycle Coordinator

City of Portland Office of Transportation
1120 SW 5th Avenue, Room 800
Portland, OR 97204

voice: (503) 823-7671
fax: (503) 823-7609
TDD: (503) 823-6868

email: roger.geller@pdxtrans.org
web: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=34772

Bicycle Master Plan web site (updated regularly): http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=44597

Streetcar System Planning for NE

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King neighborhood residents are encouraged to weigh in on the Streetcar System Plan and specifically to advocate in favor of the “8S” MLK line that looks to be granted Tier 1 status in the plan. The public comment period ends this Friday.

The plan and comment form are here:
http://www.portlandonline.com/Transportation/index.cfm?c=46134

In terms of real-world results, Congressman Blumenauer has an earmark slated for the next Federal Transportation Bill that would fund an “alternatives analysis” for up to 3 of the highest ranking corridors in Portland. The document is at: http://kingneighborhood.org/Reference_Files/portlandstreetcar _planningandalternatives.pdf. In any event, if that funding were to come through, these corridors –which could include MLK– would likely see near-term streetcar planning and implementation.

TriMet Open Houses/Public Hearings

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TriMet is proposing making changes to frequency of 2-4 minutes on about two dozen bus lines in non-rush hour to close a $3.5 million budget gap.

Additionally, TriMet is proposing to change Fareless Square to rail-only (MAX and Portland Streetcar), since four MAX lines will serve Fareless Square when the MAX Green Line opens in September. Most trips within Fareless Square could easily be taken on rail.

Join us at an Open House/Public Hearing and learn about proposed bus frequency reductions effective in November and the proposal to limit Fareless Square to rail-only. Share your comments and suggestions and talk to TriMet staff. We want your feedback!

Monday, July 13, 2009
Open House: 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Public Hearing: Noon-2 p.m.
Liberty Northwest Center, Auditorium, Lower Level
650 NE Holladay St.
Portland, OR 97232

Monday, July 13, 2009
Open House: 4-7 p.m.
Public Hearing: 5-7 p.m.
City of Portland Building
Conf, Room C and Auditorium, 2nd Floor
1120 SW 5th Ave.
Portland, OR 97204

Communication aids
If you require a sign-language interpreter or other communication aids at a meeting, please call 503-802-8200 (select option 4) or TTY 503-802-8058 (7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays) at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Bicycle and Streetcar Open Houses start in May!

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Imagine getting around Portland twenty years from now, with streetcars serving neighborhood business districts and an extensive network of bikeways so safe, comfortable, and attractive that more than a quarter of all trips are made on a bicycle.

That’s a future that could come true if the City adopts a new Streetcar System Plan and a 2009 update to the 1996 Bicycle Master Plan.

The public is invited to help shape this transportation transformation at a series of six May open houses around the city to showcase the two long-range plans. Visit the open house event in your community to learn more about the City’s strategic investment in green transportation:

Northeast Portland
4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Grant High School Cafeteria,
2245 NE 36th Ave, Portland 97212

At the event, you may drop in anytime between four and seven, and there will be brief remarks by a member of Mayor Adams’s staff at 6:00 p.m. There will be bicycle parking, light refreshments, and certified childcare in English and Spanish.

The 1996 Bicycle Master Plan made Portland the top bicycling city in the nation and became recognized as a national model. Over the past dozen years, the City has successfully implemented many elements of the plan and created robust programs to encourage bicycling. The results: each year more people are choosing to bicycle! For example, in 2008, daily bicycle traffic over the Willamette River bridges was more than five times higher than in 1995, and 20% of all trips over the Hawthorne Bridge were made by bike. The Bicycle Master Plan 2009 update project is taking a fresh look at the next steps to make Portland a world-class bicycling city. The bicycle plan is expected to go to City Council in October, 2009.

The Streetcar System Plan looks at extending development-oriented transit throughout the City. Far outstripping the original ridership projections, the downtown streetcar now carries over 11,000 passengers per day, and ridership growth averages 15% per year. Construction of the Eastside Loop Streetcar will start this summer, with service beginning in 2011. Where else should streetcar service be located? The Streetcar System Plan is a big picture look at the City of Portland’s transportation network and how streetcars might fit into this network in the future. The plan identifies a citywide network of potential streetcar corridors integrated with TriMet’s existing and planned transit system. The streetcar plan is expected to go to Council in August, 2009.

According to Metro growth projections, the City of Portland’s population is expected to grow from 575,000 to approximately 725,000 by the year 2030. In that same time, the region’s population may grow from 1.9 million to 3 million people. As the City of Portland prepares for this growth, new cleaner, greener transportation and development strategies must be a part of the solution. Both the Streetcar System Plan and the Bicycle Master Plan are key elements of the transportation strategy in the proposed City-County Climate Action Plan, and are being coordinated with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s Portland Plan process. In addition to proposing new networks, these two planning efforts include funding and implementation strategies.

For more information on the Bicycle Master Plan, visit http://portlandonline.com/transportation/BicycleMasterPlan, e-mail bicyclemasterplan@pdxtrans.org, or call 503-823-4638.

For more information on the Streetcar System Plan, visit http://portlandonline.com/transportation/StreetcarSystemPlan, e-mail portlandstreetcarplan@pdxtrans.org, or call 503-823-5611.