I
Page A3
February 21,2001
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Tri-Met Adds Online Trip Planning to Website
Newest feature makes riding transit even easier
T ri-M etjust m ade planning a tran­
sit trip as easy as typing ww w.tri-
m et.org on a com puter and clicking
on its new online T rip Planner.
A ny com puter w ith Internet ac­
cess can now create custom transit
trips. It w ill soon be
available in Spanish, too.
“T he T rip Planner m akes riding
T ri-M et easier than ever,” said Fred
H ansen, T ri-M et G eneral M anager.
“T he m ost requested T ri-M et infor­
m ation is now available anytime, any­
place you have a com puter w ith w eb
access.” Filling out the online T rip
P lanner is sim ple - ju st enter this
inform ation: Y our starting point - ei­
ther by address, intersection o r land­
m ark; w here you w ant to go - by
address, intersection or landm ark;
w hen you either w ant to leave or
arrive; and w hether to list options by
the quickest tim e, few est transfers or
shortest w alk. O nce entered, the pro­
gram gives several trip options and
instructions, including directions to
the nearest bus stop o r M A X station;
w hen you need to board; w here to
transfer o r get off; and w alking dis­
tances and directions, fares and times.
For exam ple, som eone at N E O ne
Stop C areer C en ter on N E M artin
L uther K ing Jr Blvd heading to Sw an
Island for a jo b interview or w ork
could get this inform ation:
W alk w est to W illiam s & M orris;
board 4 -F essenden to St. Johns - get
o f f at A lbina &
K illi n g s w o r th ;
b o ard
72-
K illingsw orth/82nd A ve to Sw an Is­
land; travel tim e: 35 m ins., including
10 mins, walking and 10 mins waiting.
I f you use a palm com puter, Tri-
M et route an d schedule inform ation
can be dow nloaded, storing every
M A X an d bus schedule right in the
palm o f y o u r hand.
T ri-M et created the online T rip
P lanner becau se it is the m ost re­
quested inform ation at its w ebsite,
which gets over 100,000visits a month.
People w anting help planning rides
can still call 503-238-R ID E on w eek­
days b etw e en 7 :3 0 a.m .a n d 5 :3 0 p .m .
new online Trip Planner. Tri-Met unveiled its new service at the NE One
Stop Career Center in Portland.
County Environmental
Sewage to Columbia
Services Has New Mission Slough Finally Stopped
The Board o f County Com m ission­
ers has voted unanim ously to reorga­
nize and change the m ission o f the
County’s D epartment ofEnvironm en-
tal Services. The newly nam ed Depart­
m ent o f Sustainable C om m unity D e­
velopment will take a leadership role in
developing and im plem enting sustain­
able practices. “This change highlights
the County’s critical role as a regional
partner in protecting the environm ent,
developing sustainable operations and
enhancing the vitality and livability o f
the com m unity,” said County Chau-
Beverly Stein. The County is estab­
lishing sustainable developm ent prac­
tices to im prove services and rescue
waste and pollution in its operations.
The change will include adding alter­
natively fueled vehicles to the County
fleet, and constructing and m aintain­
ing County facilities in a sustainable
manner. “This new departm ent will
help us to use our resources more
efficiently and reduce the C ounty’s
energy consumption,” said Chair Stein.
(A P )-F o rth e firsttim e in lOOyears,
the city o f Portland has m anaged to
stop sewage from flooding into the
C olum bia Slough w hen it rains. Now
the city says it’s tim e to do the same for
the W illamette River. The river project
is the second h a lf o fa $ 1 billion plan to
restructure the city ’s sew er system to
reduce the am ount o f sew er w ater that
spills into local waterways during heavy
rains. The city plans to build a series o f
large pipes an d pum ps along the west
side o f the W illam ette R iver over the
next five years. The problem dates
back to the 1950s w hen Portland built
its first sewage treatment plant. At that
time, the city installed a “combined
system ” o f large pipes that earned
w astew ater from homes and busi­
nesses, and storm-water runoff from
city streets, sidewalks and parking lots
to the plant. During times o f heavy
rainfall, however, the pipes couldn’t
liandle the increased flow and the “com­
bined” w ater backed up and spilled
sewage into nearby waterways.
DEEP INSIDE
T h o m a s o n h e a d q u a r te r s ,
SPECIAL MACHINES
sm ash car p ay me n t s
INTO AN EASILY
d ig e s ti b le p a s te .
TH O M aSO N
a u t o g r o u p