8 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
February 2016
Light rail or bus rapid transit — to be determined Feb. 29
SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
On Feb. 29, from 9–11 a.m. at the at
the Metro Regional Center (600 NE
Grand Ave), the Southwest Corridor
Plan steering committee is scheduled
to decide whether new high capacity
transit along Barbur Boulevard (99W)
between downtown Portland and
Tigard will be light rail or bus rapid
transit. Both modes are currently
under consideration.
It is estimated that the new high
capacity transit would be built
between the years 2021 and 2025. Cost
in 2014 dollars was estimated at $1
billion for bus rapid transit. For light
rail the estimated cost is $1.8 billion
if no tunnel is built and $2.1 billion if
one is built.
The steering committee will be asked
to make two important decisions
regarding next steps for its high
capacity transit program which has
been in the works for several years.
1. Will bus rapid transit or light
rail be the best high capacity transit
mode to serve people in the Southwest
Corridor?
2. Will an underground light
rail tunnel directly to the Portland
Community College Sylvania campus
continue to be studied?
Mike Francis is a Hillsdale/
Bridlemile resident who works in
Northeast Portland. He loves the idea
of being able to stay on light rail for his
entire commute instead of switching
transportation modes downtown, so
he’s in favor of light rail in whatever
configuration is most practical.
“It’s hard to imagine a tunnel really
makes sense, but I’m willing to be
persuaded,” Francis said.
High capacity transit would
also serve the National College of
Natural Medicine which has been
located smack in the middle of one
This montage shows a bus rapid transit vehicle from Eugene's EmX system (left) and a
more-familiar Portland MAX light rail train. (Photos courtesy of Metro)
of the busiest traffic areas in the city,
encircled by Naito Parkway, Kelly
Avenue, the Ross Island Bridge, and
traffic leading to and coming off
Interstate 5.
NCNM employs about 685 faculty
staff and typically enrolls more than
600 students. That number is expected
to increase. About 25 percent of
students use public transportation.
“The location was perfect for us in
1996 when we owned one building
in the five-acre area in which we are
located,” said Marilynn Considine, a
spokesperson for NCNM.
“We were then a tiny private college
and the location is conveniently
located near downtown, public
transportation, and had room for
growth. Things have changed a
lot for NCNM. Today, access into
and out of our quickly growing
college is difficult for drivers and
very dangerous for pedestrians and
bicyclists.”
According to Considine, “At our
campus clinic alone we have 20,000
patient visits per year, which, along
with our faculty and students, brings
a lot of traffic into our small campus
every day,” she said.
“Traffic has grown increasingly
congested, fast-moving and dangerous
as Portland has grown in the past
several years. There are no traffic
lights on any of the streets around
us and people take enormous risks
crossing the streets every day.”
There are still options in Southwest
Portland and Tigard that would not
use Barbur Boulevard. Also, the line
is scheduled to go all the way to
Bridgeport Village in Tualatin.
Constructing a bus rapid transit line
is cheaper than light rail because its
infrastructure needs are less extensive
and in some areas it can use existing
roadways.
But operation costs are considerably
higher per rider than light rail, because
its vehicles are smaller and so there
must be more of them, plus the lower
ridership projection.
Craig Beebe, a Metro spokesperson,
explained that new high capacity
transit won’t necessarily follow
Barbur Boulevard the whole way
through Southwest Portland, and it
definitely will not use it in Tigard.
“While we’ve heard broad support
for the idea of better transit in
Southwest, there are people who
oppose specific route options, like
some of the neighbors to PCC Sylvania
that don’t want a tunnel below their
houses,” said Beebe.
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