You were warned. TriMet rebuffs C-Tran request

TriMet reiterated Wednesday that it has no plans to terminate a controversial light rail contract it signed with C-Tran last year, despite an earlier request from C-Tran to do just that. The two agencies signed the deal last year to detail how they would operate light rail in Vancouver as part of the proposed Columbia River Crossing project. The Interstate 5 Bridge replacement plan has since died, but the contract has no end date, leaving it in legal limbo.
www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/12/trimet-c-tran-l...tract

#Trimet #Metro #portland #pdx #portlandia #stumptown #multnomah #orcot #multgop #C-Tran #lightrail #orleg


https://chumly.com/n/297c94f

What's Portland's most crime-ridden bus line?

What is the Portland area’s most crime-ridden bus line? What TriMet park-and-rides do auto thieves target the most? Where are transit riders least likely to be a crime victim? The bus route with the most reported crimes was the No. 72 (Killingsworth/82nd Avenue). There were 44 reported incidents, including 14 assaults, eight robberies, one sex offense (involving masturbation) and eight thefts. Police were busiest at the Gateway Transit Center, the scene of 48 reported crimes. Twenty of those involved auto thefts or car break-ins at the park-and-ride garage. The only part of the TriMet system where crime went up in 2013 was along the Green Line between Gateway and Clackamas Town Center. Along that section of track, 48 crimes were reported in 2012 while 52 were reported in 2013. Most of that increase was recorded at stations along Interstate 205. Actually, only the Lents and Holgate stations, serving two of Portland's high-crime areas, showed upticks.
www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2014/04/wha....html

Energy-Efficiency Myths of Commuter Rail

Advocates of rail transit tend to argue that we need trains because they are more energy-efficient than buses or cars. Unfortunately, that’s only true in some cases. According to a new report by the Federal Railroad Administration, the average energy consumed by all commuter rail systems in America during 2011 was 2,923 British Thermal Units (BTUs) per passenger-mile. But the commuter line operated by TriMet (WES) was close to the bottom: WES consumed 5,961 BTU per passenger-mile, more than twice the national average. Nonetheless, TriMet management is"all-in” on more commuter rail. In its proposed FY 15 budget, the agency plans to purchase two additional rail vehicles at a total cost of $8.5 million. None of those costs will be paid by the privileged few who ride WES; debt service will be paid by taxpayers for the next 20 years. It’s a cliché but still true: In government, nothing succeeds like failure.
oregoncatalyst.com/27150-energyefficiency-myths-co....html

Building 'bridge to nowhere' in Milwaukie!!

Once feared of becoming the"ugliest bridge in America,” now the bridge TriMet is building may be the country’s most useless, at least for people trying to cross it on foot or by bike without an extra leap of faith. Local residents in 2011 panned TriMet’s design for a 1,675-foot-long light-rail bridge across Kellogg Lake, but its look got an aesthetic redesign. The bridge also gained favor with a concept for adding a parallel structure underneath to connect Lake Road with the Trolley Trail walkers and bikers. In 2012, city leaders celebrated getting the Oregon Department of Transportation to approve $1 million in Transportation Enhancement funds for the multi-use structure under the light-rail bridge being built across Kellogg Lake.
pamplinmedia.com/cr/24-news/214982-74013-building-...aukie

Building 'bridge to nowhere' in Milwaukie??

Once feared of becoming the"ugliest bridge in America,” now the bridge TriMet is building may be the country’s most useless, at least for people trying to cross it on foot or by bike without an extra leap of faith. Local residents in 2011 panned TriMet’s design for a 1,675-foot-long light-rail bridge across Kellogg Lake, but its look got an aesthetic redesign. The bridge also gained favor with a concept for adding a parallel structure underneath to connect Lake Road with the Trolley Trail walkers and bikers. In 2012, city leaders celebrated getting the Oregon Department of Transportation to approve $1 million in Transportation Enhancement funds for the multi-use structure under the light-rail bridge being built across Kellogg Lake. Milwaukie is responsible for an estimated $1 million shortfall to construct the bridge, according to its contract. Federal and state agencies are funneling $1.2 million through TriMet to complete the bridge, and, so far, Milwaukie has only allocated $200,000 more.
pamplinmedia.com/cr/24-news/214982-74013-building-...aukie

Milwaukie Light Rail Orange Line squeezes neighborhood parking!!

There is already competition for on-street parking in the Brooklyn neighborhood between SW 14th and 17th. But with TriMet’s new Orange Line just a block away neighbors said they may have to resort to parking permits in front of their own homes. TriMet employees use a lot of the street parking and the competition for parking will get worse as commuters from other parts of town park in the area, then hop on the MAX for the rest of the ride to work. TriMet admits at peak times there isn’t enough room for all its employees to park. Brookly neighbors are considering enrolling in a neighborhood permit system. They would tax themselves $60 per year for a permit to park near their own houses. Anyone else parking in the area without a permit would get tickets.

Report Shows $52 Million Dollars Wasted on Street Project which Makes Traffic Worse!!

To make matters worse, in September 2013 the entire road was shut down for three weeks and much of the new work torn up so that the light rail tracks could cross at grade just west of the new Willamette River rail bridge. Since accommodating light rail was the primary purpose of raising Moody in the first place, this additional retrofit simply wasted tax dollars and inconvenienced local travelers. Neither the City of Portland nor TriMet has provide a credible public explanation of why this was done.
oregoncatalyst.com/25990-report-shows-52-million-s...alyst)

Portland-to-Milwaukie Orange Line station gets Earth Cast For $1,000,000

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - The Portland-to-Milwaukie light rail line now has sculptures installed at one of its future stations. The cost of this one sculpture is One Million Dollars. Do You Think Tri-Met and Metro are growing beyond their means?
www.koin.com/news/multnomah-county/orange-line-sta...48367

MAX Green Line ships gangs to Clackamas County, survey suggests.

An uptick in gang banging around Clackamas County is tied mostly to gangsters based in Portland -- some who take TriMet's Green Line trains to Clackamas Town Center, according to a new survey. The survey lays some of the increase to recent transportation-system improvements, specifically the MAX light-rail line to Clackamas County that opened in 2009. Despite relatively few incidents on the trains themselves, deputies said they have seen an increase in graffiti tagging and thefts in the area, the telltale signs of gang activity. The majority of criminally active street gangs in Clackamas County are connected to outside gangs, most commonly from Portland.
www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2012/....html