city news...
Oct 7,2008
Amber, Aqua, and the Streetcar?
by shooter
No, it's not porno version of " A Streetcar Named Desire ". These will be the names for the streetcar lines once the eastside alignment is operating. The existing South Waterfront to NW 23rd alignment will be named "Amber", and the new eastside alignment will be named "Aqua", according to PortlandTransport . Supposedly, the general family of colors is based on the colors of precious stones. I'm more of a primary color man myself.
PortlandTransport also reports that summer weekday ridership on the "Amber" line was up about 25% over last year. Saturday and Sunday also had record ridership. It amazing what people will do when fuel prices are so high. They'll even take Amber for a ride... Related links: PDOT Extends the Streetcar Survey PDC to Spend $5M for Streetcar Engineering City Council Approves Final Engineering for Eastside Streetcar Loop
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posted at 02:40 PM
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Sep 26,2008
PDOT Extends Street Car Survey
by pearlgirl
At the request of Neighborhood Associations from East Portland, the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) has extended the timeline for the Streetcar System Plan District Surveys from September 15 to October 31, 2008. Surveys for North Portland, Northeast Portland, East Portland, and Southeast Portland are available online . Printed copies of the surveys may be picked up or dropped off at Neighborhood Coalition offices. North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS) 2209 N. Schofield, 97217 Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN) 4415 NE 87th, 97220 Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
4815 NE 7th Ave., 97211 Southeast Uplift (SEUL)
3534 SE Main, 97214 East Portland Neighborhood Office (EPNO)
1017 NE 117th Ave, 97220 Survey translations are available upon request. Completed surveys may also be mailed back to PDOT at the address below: Portland Office of Transportation
1120 SW 5th Ave, #800
Portland, OR 97204
Attn:
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posted at 04:52 PM
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Sep 9,2008
No Streetcar for North Portland?
by shooter
This article from The Sentinel questions if a streetcar will be coming to North Portland. A "discussion" draft map of Metro's High Capacity Transit Plan does not include any high-capacity routes in North or Northeast Portland. This draft was released before PDOT's District Working Groups have completed their neighborhood surveys.Does this mean there will be no streetcar for North Portland? According to the article, PDOT says the map is an early part of a process that is just starting. PDOT and Metro are developing a long range-plan that will take into consideration the Portland Streetcar Plan. The final recommendations could be different depending on the work of the District Working Groups.
If you are interested in the future of public transit, in particular the streetcar in North Portland, you should attend the District Working Groups Presentations Sept. 15th, 7PM at the Kenton Firehouse , 8105 N Brandon Ave.
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posted at 09:31 AM
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Aug 29,2008
Take the Streetcar Survey
by Trace
The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) is currently drafting a Streetcar System Plan, with the intent of creating a citywide network. The purpose of the Streetcar System Plan (SSP) District Working Group process that is currently underway is to engage the public in the beginning of a long-range planning effort that will identify future streetcar corridors with the highest potential in a long-term implementation strategy. Specifically, the goal of the NE District Working Group process is to identify where community support for potential streetcar corridors is located in NE Portland. Currently, volunteers like us are doing community outreach to gauge the level of support in Northeast Portland along various corridors such as Broadway/Weidler, MLK Blvd, Alberta St, and 82nd Ave. The city has stated that new streetcar corridors will be prioritized in areas where community support exists.http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7QjGufQZvkQ5cFawdRA6CA_3d_3d
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posted at 11:07 AM
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Aug 27,2008
PDC to spend $5M for Streetcar Engineering
by shooter
The PDC is expected to approve $5M for final engineering of the eastside streetcar extension, even though the Federal government hasn't approved the money to build it. This article from the Oregonian gives some details of the politics involved in getting the Feds to approve $75M for the project. At present, it's held up because the Bush Administration favors buses. In February , the Administration gave tentative approval for $50M, but its uncertain when delivery will occur, possibly after the new administration takes office.
The reason for moving forward without receiving the federal money is to prevent cost increase due to automatic inflation adjustments in the contract. At present, every month of delay costs the city $500K in automatic inflation adjustments.
The project is expected to be completed in 2011.
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posted at 07:53 AM
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Aug 22,2008
Forced into a better solution
by shooter
The Steel Bridge should open next week after the completion of construction that links the new MAX green line into the existing routes. The Steel Bridge connection was the trickiest part, given the age of the bridge and the original design for the job.This story from the Daily Journal of Commerce describes how a creative solution was needed to get the job done.
As it turns out, no structural contractor would take the job because of the risk involved in working over a railroad. The industry had numerous highway projects from which to choose, so contractors didn't want to take the risk.
Faced with no contractor, the civil engineers redesigned the project so the risk of the railroad was eliminated—and in the process saved about $1M in construction costs and cut the bridge closure time in half!
They hope to use the same design when the streetcar line is extended over the Broadway Bridge to the east side.
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posted at 10:41 AM
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Aug 21,2008
City Council Approves Final Engineering for Eastside Streetcar Loop
by shooter
The Daily Journal of Commerce reports that the City Council approved $6.3M for project management, design, and civil engineering on the 3.3-mile east side streetcar loop. The extension will cross the Broadway Bridge and run south to OMSI.Federal financing has been delayed, and may not be approved, until after the November elections. Due to construction contingency requirements that rise with inflation, every month of delay costs the City $500,000. The City hopes to recoup the money once federal financing is approved.
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posted at 12:53 PM
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Aug 18,2008
LA Times Reflecting On Portland
by stockboy
"L.A. could learn a thing or two from Portland...""The city is a veritable transit utopia where light rail goes to the airport, parking restrictions increase public transit use and free streetcar service benefits downtown businesses. It also has a 20-year head start on planning." In an interesting article the LA Times marvels at the strides Portland has made and continues to make.
posted at 07:58 PM
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Aug 15,2008
Portland In the National News... Again!
by stockboy
USA Today reported that Portland was founded in the mid-19th century as a shipping and logging center (which prompted one of its first nicknames, Stumptown), and has been a poster child for progressive urban planning for decades. Check out the newspaper article online at USA Today .
posted at 11:11 PM
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Aug 14,2008
Goodbye SW 10th & Yamhill SmartPark—Hello Condos!
by shooter
From the Portland Tribune... The PDC approved a preliminary agreement with developer John Carroll to raze the SmartPark at SW 10th and SW Yamhill and build a mid-rise mixed-use building with 16-floors of hotel or residential, eight-floors of parking, and ground-floor retail. Carroll sees this property as a linchpin for downtown, connecting the main downtown shopping district with the Pearl District, and would bring new residents and businesses to downtown on the MAX and Streetcar lines. Some parking would be lost in the process, spaces would be reduced from 800 to 600. On the other hand, the public toilets - aka stairwells - would be eliminated.
Read more *8/15 Additional Coverage PDC Gives Preliminary OK to Downtown Portland Smart Park Tower
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posted at 08:46 AM
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