6 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
April 2018
Metro staff proposes initial light rail route from Portland to Tigard
SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
On March 19, Southwest Corridor
community advisory committee
members met and received the initial
route proposal of the proposed light
rail project.
The committee’s purpose has been
to review project components so they
can recommend a preferred alterna-
tive route for the 12-mile light rail line
between Portland and Tualatin.
According to Eryn Kehe, the proj-
ect’s senior communications special-
ist, there are just a few meetings left
for the committee.
Several members represent the
advisory group at Metro steering
committee meetings. In turn, the
steering committee will make recom-
mendations to the Metro Council who
will then make final decisions on the
locally preferred alternative route.
Metro Councilor Bob Stacey was
present at the meeting and thanked
the committee for its service.
“You have gone deeper and have
asked more questions than the steer-
ing committee,” Stacey said. “Keep
it up for about 60 more days. Make
your decision in a timely manner so
we can stay on schedule within a time
frame that the federal government has
provided.”
Chris Ford, Metro project manager,
and Dave Unsworth, TriMet director
of capital projects, were on hand to
provide updates.
Unsworth explained the proposed
route comes with some modifications
to reduce operating cost, minimize
impacts identified in the Draft En-
vironmental Impact Study, and im-
prove travel time and ridership.
He shared maps of the route
beginning at Portland State Univer-
sity. These can all be found on Metro’s
website.
“Barbur Boulevard has been se-
lected as the route of choice versus
Naito Parkway,” he said. “The tracks
will travel down Barbur Boulevard
until the Barbur Transit Center. From
there, it crosses Interstate 5 on a new
bridge and then runs adjacent to the
freeway to Tigard.”
“Selecting Barbur over Naito
provides a shorter connection up to
Marquam Hill,” Unsworth said. “It
has a faster travel time and fewer
property impacts.
“The Ross Island bridgehead im-
provements are necessary and some
traffic mitigation
will be needed.
We w i l l w o r k
with the city
of Portland to
make this hap-
pen which is very
high on the city’s
list.”
The proposed
route along Bar-
bur Boulevard
will also circum-
vent the two existing viaducts [New-
bury and Vermont] and avoid historic
and park impacts.
Michael Kisor, the bicycling and
pedestrian advocate representative,
wants to ensure improvements to the
future train viaducts.
“The current viaducts along Barbur
are very dangerous and narrow,” he
said. “Improvements for pedestrians
and bicycles should be included on
a wider viaduct to include the safety
features.”
From Hillsdale to the Barbur Tran-
sit Center, Kisor said stations will be
more accessible and attractive. Fewer
property displacements are anticipat-
ed and Metro planners hope to avoid
a complex bridge reconstruction over
Interstate 5.
Unsworth explained that after the
Draft Environmental Impact State-
ment is released, most likely in late
May, there will be additional com-
ments. “All public comments will be
accepted for 45 days,” he said.
The West Portland Crossroads
(where Barbur Boulevard intersects
with Capitol Highway) is expensive
and proposes challenges, Kehe said.
“Please tell us what you like about
this area and what works or not,” he
said.
A meeting with the leaders of sev-
eral neighborhoods surrounding the
Crossroads will be held early this
month.
“We [will] meet together to discuss
ways to share information and solicit
feedback from leadership and mem-
bers of the specific neighborhood
associations affected in this area,”
Kehe said.
The team is exploring a new option
that involves a MAX station at the
current location of the Barbur Transit
Station.
The light rail would then travel
along Taylors Ferry Road Road. After
crossing Capitol Highway, it would
cross a new bridge that carries the
light rail over Interstate 5 and then
travel along the side of Interstate 5 to
a station at 53rd Avenue.
“We are planning community
events this May and June to solicit
neighborhood input about the DEIS
and the initial route proposal,” Kehe
said.
What’s next? The Southwest Corridor
community advisory committee will meet
on Monday, April 2, from 6:15 – 8:45
p.m. The Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc.
Transportation Committee will meet at
7 p.m. on Monday, April 16. Both com-
mittees will meet at the Multnomah Arts
Center, 7688 SW Capitol Highway.
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