I
Page A3
February 21,2001
L lu r tlu n ò
Cßbseruer
ÿtarUanb (ßbseruer
Business
RLRCR RISTOftH
ÌÌIOÌÌTR
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