The Powell-Division Transit and Development Project steering committee meets Monday at Gresham City Hall to begin a new phase of decision-making for what could become the first bus rapid transit project in TriMet's system.
Powell-Division Steering Committee meeting
Monday, Nov. 9, 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Gresham City Hall, Trail Rooms
1333 NW Eastman Parkway
Public testimony will be heard at the beginning of the meeting.
Get agendas, packets and more details
As soon as 2020, the line could link Portland and Gresham with a new form of rapid bus, on a route connecting riders to two community colleges, several high schools, OHSU, OMSI and diverse neighborhoods.
Among the big questions still unanswered: how to connect between Powell and Division in Portland and how to reach Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. And where should stations go?
The committee – composed of community representatives and elected leaders from throughout the 15-mile corridor – won't make those decisions until February. But on Monday, they'll discuss how to get there.
Proposed station map: most riders' stops wouldn't move
A proposed map of stations for the Powell-Division bus rapid transit line. The project plans focused engagement on stations through the winter. The committee will consider a refined map in February.
By having fewer stations than regular buses, bus rapid transit can get riders where they're going faster.
Learn more about how bus rapid transit works
Planners have released a map with roughly 50 proposed stations between the Tilikum Crossing and Mt. Hood Community College, depending on which route is selected.
The locations were selected based on where riders get on and off the bus or make transfers to other transit routes today, and include major destinations like schools and grocery stores.
74 percent of riders would use the same stop locations they do now. Another 21 percent would find a new bus rapid transit station within three blocks of the stop they currently use.
If the proposed stations were adopted, most of today's riders would see no change to where they get on and off the bus now, planners say. Seventy-four percent would use the same stop locations they do now. Another 21 percent would find a new bus rapid transit station within three blocks (around 800 feet) of the stop they currently use – a couple minutes' walk for an average person.
But they would see improvements as bus stops become bus rapid transit stations, like a shelter or seating where none exists now, and level boarding to make it easier and quicker to get on and off.
Five percent of riders would have to walk more than three blocks to get to a bus rapid transit station from where they catch the bus today.
Download the full map:
Over the winter, project planners will convene bus rider focus groups and post a multilingual online survey to ask whether these stations work for riders and what would make it easier for them to reach a station, like safer sidewalks and crosswalks or connecting transit routes.
The steering committee will consider a refined station map in February.
There's another factor at play, though: what to do about other bus service connecting with or running parallel to the bus rapid transit line. Although the steering committee and planners are discussing that issue, TriMet won't make a final plan for connecting bus service until much closer to the project's completion.
But the agency's recently released draft Eastside Service Enhancement Plan does envision some changes to the area's network of bus lines, such as new north-south service on 148th, 162nd and 223rd avenues and Frequent Service on 122nd Avenue -- all lines that would likely connect with the Powell-Division line. TriMet is seeking comment on that plan through the end of 2015.
Finding a final route
The steering committee has selected an inner-Powell, outer-Division overall framework for the line.
But two key decisions about the route haven't been made: where to connect between those two arteries in Portland and how to reach Stark Street from downtown Gresham to access Mt. Hood Community College. On Monday, the committee will discuss how to move forward with both of these decisions.
In Gresham, project staff report hearing strong preferences from Gresham residents for running the line along Hogan Drive, a 5-lane artery largely lined with apartment complexes, a golf course and commercial buildings. Hogan is the easternmost of three options in Gresham; the others are Cleveland Avenue and Main/223rd Avenue.
In Portland, 82nd Avenue has been the preferred connection between Powell and Division for most of the steering committee and many local residents and business owners. Planners are exploring how to make the line work with heavy traffic there. 50th and 52nd avenue also remain options.
As with the station locations, the steering committee will seek consensus on a final route in February.
That would keep the project on track to put together a final project package for consideration by the steering committee and elected leaders in Portland, Gresham and Metro by spring.
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This story has been corrected to reflect the fact that the Powell-Division bus rapid transit line will not be the first to open in the Portland region. C-TRAN, the Clark County transit provider, is scheduled to open its first bus rapid transit line, called The Vine, in late 2016.