The debate over a potential rapid transit line from Portland to Tualatin was cut a little shorter Monday, as leaders recommended dropping some potential routes from further study.
Members of the Southwest Corridor steering committee agreed that the potential transit line should extend no further than Bridgeport Village, on the boundary between Tigard and Tualatin. And they cut some routes through downtown Tigard and along the Barbur Boulevard corridor.
Traffic on SW Boones Ferry Road near Bridgeport Village. Also on Monday, the steering committee decided to advance several options for connecting rapid transit to downtown Tigard.
Metro Councilor Craig Dirksen, whose district includes much of the Southwest Corridor, said he wants to ensure downtown Tualatin gets enhanced transit even without a rapid transit line.The decision on a Bridgeport Village terminus effectively ends discussion of extending the line all the way to downtown Tualatin. Metro planners, who are leading the project study, said the extension to downtown Tualatin would only boost ridership 3 percent, but would add up to $135 million to the project cost.
"Early on, when we made the decision not to run a high capacity transit line all the way to Sherwood, there was a commitment that when the service is done it would provide enhanced bus service from downtown Sherwood to the terminus," Dirksen said. "If the terminus moves from Tualatin to Bridgeport, that same enhanced service could serve downtown Tualatin as well.
"We're not abandoning downtown Tualatin," Dirksen said. "We're just saying it makes more sense to terminate the high capacity transit at Bridgeport."
The steering committee also trimmed its options for serving downtown Tigard with the potential transit line.
Two of the three route options would run northwest from Bridgeport Village to downtown Tigard along the Portland & Western Railroad, then head east along either Ash Avenue or Clinton Street, crossing Highway 217 and stopping in the Tigard Triangle before continuing northeast toward Barbur Boulevard.
A third option would be to run two transit lines in the corridor, with one branching west from the Tigard Triangle to end at downtown Tigard; the other would branch south from the Triangle and end at Bridgeport Village.
Tigard Mayor John Cook said his support was contingent on the line serving downtown Tigard.
"In the further refinement, I do not want to see downtown Tigard excluded," he said.
Further north, the committee agreed to remove an alignment adjacent to Interstate 5 north of Southwest 13th Avenue from further study. The staff studying the project said a Barbur transitway would be less expensive than this alignmenta route along I-5, even if bridges were built to bypass potential bottlenecks. Transit alignments adjacent to I-5 between Southwest 13th Avenue and Tigard will continue to be considered, along with an alignment in Barbur Boulevard.
The staff studying the project said a Barbur transitway would be less expensive than a route along I-5, even if bridges were built to bypass potential bottlenecks.
The committee is in the process of whittling down options to consider in a formal federal study, called an Environmental Impact Statement. That study is thorough and expensive, so eliminating options now could make the federal study easier and less costly.
Its next decision is probably its most important: Whether to favor bus rapid transit or light rail on the corridor.
Light rail was overwhelmingly preferred in a recent Metro-sponsored quick poll, and would attract 11,000 more riders daily, Metro planners said, 28 percent more than bus rapid transit. A light rail line would be quicker than bus rapid transit, or BRT, and have less fluctuation in travel times based on traffic conditions. BRT buses would come more frequently than light rail trains.
But BRT would cost about half as much as a light rail line, which could cost $2 billion. That's because it's cheaper to upgrade existing streets and bridges for buses than for trains.
Cook said the discussion of BRT versus light rail somewhat reminded him of Metro's survey of people's preferences for housing.
"Everyone would like a single family home, and they would like a Ferrari," Cook said. "But you have to drive a Corolla because that's what you can afford."
The committee is expected to decide on buses or trains on Feb. 29. In advance of the meeting, Metro is conducting an online survey, which can be taken here.